Jesus and Nicodemus (Chapter 3:1-21) (Part 2)
Posted on June 20th 2010 in St. John's Gospel
The conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus now broadens out into one between Christians and Jews with Jesus taking the initiative. St John, whilst writing the ‘history’ of Jesus, was simultaneously addressing the issues of Christian self-identity in relation to rejection from the synagogue and official Judaism.
Jesus begins this second part of His conversation by gently chiding Nicodemus on his inability even to recognise the origins of earthly phenomena as a precursor to the revelation of heavenly realities. Nicodemus’ ignorance of such earthly phenomena as the wind should inspire a humility with regard to his religious knowledge.
Jesus can reveal the secrets of heaven because of His identity as the Son of Man, who has His origin in heaven. The self-description of Jesus as the Son of Man is rich in meaning. The title, ‘Son of Man’, was mentioned both by the Prophet Daniel as the harbinger of the Final Judgement and also by the Prophet Isaiah who describes Him as taking on the sins of the people.
This revelation of Jesus’ identity will involve His lifting up, in other words His death on the Cross. This lifting-up, similar to that of the bronze serpent in the desert, will have salutary consequences, this time of a spiritual nature, namely eternal life. The Greek word for lifting up, upsothenai, also carries a spiritual meaning of ‘exultation’ and, as an act of God, this lifting-up should generate faith and with this eternal life.
This public act of God, the visible crucifixion of Jesus, demands a human response to the reason behind the Cross, the love of God for the world. The mission of the Son, Jesus Christ, was to offer life to those who recognise their need for this life. Such people recognise they are living in the dark, but wish to step into the light. Many however express no interest and so, in terms of the Gospel, prefer to live in the dark. In this way they are passing judgement upon themselves. The world, therefore, is an ambiguous place, and the individual is either heading out into the light with the recognition of Jesus’ identity or heading further into the dark of his or her moral certainty.