John 3:1-21; 7:32, 45-53; 19:38-42

Nicodemus was an intellectual
Who wanted to know God
He’d attended the religious schools
And come out pretty much on top
As a prominent religious leader
In the Jewish Pharisees sect
He had a reputation to uphold
A position of power and respect

Unlike many other Pharisees
The Law was not all Nicodemus needed
To justify his righteousness
With rule keeping obsessiveness 
Nicodemus looked for more
Perhaps for the God King David adored
The One who loved, personally
And from their sins, set people free

So when Jesus came upon the scene
With miracles and deep wisdom
Forgiving, healing, setting demonised free
Loving God‘s way in every capacity
His actions caused Nicodemus to question
If the law was all he needed for salvation
Something in Jesus was so attractive
Nicodemus knew he had to see Him

So secretly at night he came
To find the place where Jesus was staying
Acknowledging that Jesus was a prophet
Because His miracles demonstrated it
Jesus response took him by surprise
Answering Nicodemus unspoken question
Telling him of the new birth needed
If people were to see God’s Kingdom

Nicodemus could not understand
The rebirth Jesus seem to demand
How could a man like him be re-born
So long ago leaving his mother‘s womb
But Jesus spoke of a spiritual rebirth
That takes place in later life
A new heart to replace our old one
By the Holy Spirit born into God’s kingdom

Jesus knew Nicodemus knew the Scriptures
Because he was one of Israel’s religious teachers
Yet even Nicodemus had yet to see
That re-birth was God’s plan for humanity
To give each person a new heart and spirit
With God’s law of love written on it
So they could live freely in God’s kingdom
Freed from sin by God’s hand of salvation

Nicodemus wanted to understand
Just how this rebirth was to be had
Jesus reply seemed like a riddle 
With scripture woven in the middle
Designed to make Nicodemus think
And ruminate upon it’s meaning
For in truth it was still too early
To really understand Jesus role history

Yet one thing Jesus did make clear
That belief in Him was the central pillar
Those rejecting God would also hide from Him
Seeking to cover up their sin
Those seeking God would come into Jesus’ light
Where all would see the truth of their lives
Where all would see that what they have done
Was by God’s hand empowered to become

We hear little more of Nicodemus
Though he asks that justice be applied to Jesus
Yet when Jesus was dead upon the cross
Nicodemus helped Joseph, a disciple of Jesus
To take Jesus from the cross and prepare Him for the grave
An act of love and respect in anyone’s day
So I wonder if after Jesus resurrection
Nicodemus finally found Jesus was his salvation