People of the Bible: Nicodemus

Who was Nicodemus?

Book of the Bible: John 3:1-15

Nicodemus is one of the first people we see interact with Jesus in the gospel of John. But after this initial encounter with him, we don’t see much more of him. Nicodemus was a religious leader during the time of Jesus. When Jesus was starting his ministry, these religious leaders wanted to see what he was all about. As we read through the gospels, we see that many of these leaders opposed Jesus very strongly.

We aren’t entirely sure what Nicodemus thought of Jesus, but we do know that he was curious. The Bible tells us that during the night, Nicodemus went to go see Jesus. The Bible makes it clear that he did not come during the day, but at night. That distinction has intrigued many people throughout history. We are left to wonder, why did he come at night?

There are a few different ways to look at it. Nicodemus could have come at night because he was afraid of what people would think about him. Jesus was not a popular figure within the religious leader group, to be caught talking to him could have done damage to his reputation. Some believe that Nicodemus went at night so that nobody else would know he went to see Jesus.

Another possibility is that nighttime was the time people gathered to have discussions with each other. If this were the case then Nicodemus was not hiding the fact that he was going to see Jesus, but he was simply operating in the customs of their culture.

One other possibility is that Nicodemus just could not wait until morning to talk to Jesus. His thoughts about Jesus could have been burning so deep within him that he had to go and find him immediately. Whatever the case, we do know that Nicodemus wanted answers, but what did he want answers to?

Nicodemus affirms Jesus by telling him that he is surely of God because of all the miraculous things he can do. But if we read between the lines, we can see that he wasn’t entirely sure what it all meant. And that is when Jesus went to the heart of the issue.

The religious leaders believed they had special rights through their lineage. They thought that because they were children of Abraham they were assured a place in God’s Kingdom. But in his typical fashion, Jesus takes this misunderstanding and turns it on its head. Jesus told Nicodemus that the only way to enter into God’s Kingdom and have eternal life is to be born again. Nicodemus questioned how anyone could actually be reborn, but Jesus specifies that it is a rebirth through the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit that gives birth to spiritual life, and it is only through Jesus that this has been made available to us.

Another interesting fact is that Nicodemus appears only one more time, and it is at Jesus’s burial. We are led to believe that Nicodemus truly did believe in Jesus even though the other religious leaders had him killed. It seems that Nicodemus was experiencing the rebirth of the Holy Spirit that Jesus told him about years earlier.

Key Takeaways:

• We are called to be born again

• We received salvation and eternal life through Jesus

• Everyone Needs Jesus

Parents, 3treesKIDS will also be learning about Nicodemus, this Sunday, both in-person and online.

Be sure to check out their lesson at www.3trees.com/kids.

To find service times and locations, visit https://www.3trees.com/planyourvisit.

People of the Bible: Zacchaeus

Who was Zacchaeus?

• Rich Tax Collector

• Short Man

• Known as an evil man, “notorious sinner”

The account of Jesus and Zacchaeus is not a long one, but it is one that we can learn quite a bit from. As Jesus was making his way through town, Zacchaeus wanted to see Jesus but he couldn’t see over the crowd. Because of this, Zacchaeus decided to climb a tree to get a better view of Jesus passing by.

However, to Zacchaeus’s surprise, instead of passing by, Jesus stops and calls him by name. Jesus then proceeds to invite himself to Zacchaeus’s house. Zacchaeus was very happy about this, there is no doubt that he had heard of all the good things Jesus had done and here he is wanting to go to his own house.

But the people around Zacchaeus had different feelings. You see, they knew Zacchaeus. They knew he was an evil tax collector that would take more money from people than he was supposed to. No one really liked Zacchaeus, he was considered an extra bad sinner. But this did not stop Jesus. Jesus knew he was a sinner, and that is precisely why he wanted to get close to him.

After Zacchaeus saw the love Jesus gave him, his heart was transformed. He vowed to pay everyone he stole from four times as much back. Seeing this heart transformation Jesus declared that salvation had come to Zacchaeus’s home.

There are several things we can learn from this account. The first is that Jesus loves sinners. The Bible says that Jesus came for the sinners because it is the sick who need a doctor, not the healthy. Jesus shows us that we should love all people, even the ones we think are evil because they need God’s love too.

The second thing we learn is that Jesus wants to be our friend. He invited himself to Zacchaeus’s house because he wanted to spend time with him and get to know him better. He wants to do the same thing with us. Jesus is inviting himself into our heart, and when we accept him like Zacchaeus did, we receive salvation.

The third thing we learn is that Jesus changes people’s hearts. Zacchaeus went from an evil, greedy person, to a loving and generous person after his encounter with Jesus. Being around Jesus changes everything. He can take the biggest sinner and make them into the biggest saint. He does it with all of us, we are all sinners but because of him our hearts can be changed and we can become more like him.

Key Takeaways:

• Jesus Loves Sinners

• Jesus Wants to be Your Friend

• Jesus Changes Our Heart

Parents, 3treesKIDS will also be learning about Zacchaeus, this Sunday, both in-person and online.

Be sure to check out their lesson at www.3trees.com/kids.

To find service times and locations, visit https://www.3trees.com/planyourvisit.

People of the Bible: Mary & Martha

Book of the Bible: Luke 10:38-42

Who were Mary and Martha?

• Sisters who lived in a town called Bethany

• Very good friends of Jesus

• Not Mary Magdalene

• Sisters of Lazarus

In this account found in Luke 10, we see Jesus arrive at Mary and Martha’s house. While Martha was preparing dinner and being extra hospitable to Jesus and those with him, Mary was sitting at Jesus’s feet. Mary was sitting there because Jesus was teaching his disciples. Martha became frustrated with Mary because she was not helping in any of the chores. Martha speaks up and tells Jesus that it is unfair for her to do all the work and for Mary to do none. Jesus replied by saying that Martha was being distracted by the little things and that Mary was doing nothing wrong. In fact, Jesus said that Mary had discovered the only thing worth being concerned about.

There is quite a bit to unpack in this short story. First is that Martha being hospitable was a good thing. We can read Jesus’s response and think he was speaking against her hospitality. However, that cannot be the case because the Bible makes it clear that we are to love and serve one another. This is what Martha was doing, and that is a good thing. What Jesus was speaking against was her attitude of comparison. She was comparing what she was doing with what her sister Mary was doing.

Another thing that we see in this story is the value of sitting at Jesus’s feet. Mary was tuned into Jesus’s teaching, soaking up all he had to say. Jesus commends her for this, saying that she had found what was important in life, him. We all have other responsibilities, chores must be done, and other things will need our attention, but Jesus needs to be the most important thing in our life. We should not be so easily distracted by the things of this world, instead, we should sit at his feet and dwell in his presence.

Lastly, this passage speaks volumes to womens’ roles in Christianity. During this time, it was unheard of for a woman to sit at a Rabbi’s feet during his teaching. Women were not given the same spiritual opportunities as men. This could be part of the reason Martha was calling Mary to help her, because she was “out of place”. However, when Jesus affirms Mary we see that he did not just come for a certain group of people, but he came for anyone who would be willing to sit at his feet.

Jesus wants everyone to come to him. His sacrifice paid for all of our sins. He wants to be close to you like he was with Mary. He has made himself available to us, it is up to us whether we accept him.

Key Takeaways:

• Don’t Compare

• Be Close to Jesus

• Jesus Wants all People

Parents, 3treesKIDS will also be learning about Mary & Martha this Sunday, both in-person and online.

Be sure to check out their lesson at www.3trees.com/kids.

To find service times and locations, visit https://www.3trees.com/planyourvisit.