Tuesday 29 December 2020

Wordfortheweek Week 19 Are you a #Nicodemus?

There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night... John 1:1,2 NKJV

Are you a Nicodemus?

copyright aakintoye
I used to think that when Jesus was here on earth, his disciples were materially poor. After all, his disciples left all to follow him. 


When Jesus died, Joseph of Arimathea, a rich and important man asked Pilate to give him the body of Christ to bury. Nicodemus brought expensive spices – myrrh and aloes to anoint the body of Jesus for burial. Joseph and Nicodemus would have cleaned, spiced and wrapped the body of Jesus in stripes of linen. We never heard of them again.  These two men’s deed like Rahab’s was immortalised in the Holy Scriptures. What lessons could we learn from the life of one of them?

 

Nicodemus was a pharisee, a ruler of the Jews and a teacher of the law. He was an important man. And he was a disciple of Jesus. A secret disciple. This man came to Jesus at night. It is interesting to note that he was able to get access to Jesus and engaged in one of the most insightful discuss about salvation and what it means to be born-again. This conversation was recorded in John chapter three.

 

The second recorded story about Nicodemus was when he chided the Pharisees and the rulers of the Jews about judging before hearing the testimony of a defendant. And the final time was with Joseph of Arimathea at the burial of Jesus.

 

Nicodemus had access to Jesus but could not acknowledge Christ publicly. He was a closet disciple. When he was accused of being a disciple, he did not deny neither did he acknowledge it. He was neither cold nor hot. His secrecy meant he could not confess Christ publicly, even the anointing of Jesus’ dead body was done in secret. Whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 10:32). 

 

Nicodemus had the position and power. He could use this to get access to Jesus but there was no record of the transformation in his life like the other disciples. How could that be when he refused to confess Christ before men.

 

Are you a Nicodemus? Is your worldly position preventing you from publicly confessing Christ as your Lord and Saviour? You might have access to the spiritual leaders but there is nothing about your public life that reflects Christ that you (secretly) profess.

 

Jesus requires us either to be cold or hot and not lukewarm. Let the light of Christ so shine through you that the world will see your good works and give praise to the Almighty God.

 

By your silence, you are denying Christ.

 

#Prayerfortheweek

Almighty Father, thank You for the gift of my salvation. Give me the grace to boldly confess Christ. May I never be a lukewarm believer in the name of Yeshua I pray. Amen.

 

I pray that this inspire you to reflect on your relationship with Elohim and be determined to be more and do more for Him each day. 

#AdeolaAkintoye©

#ajourneytospiritualmaturity2020

 

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