Pastor column: Are you fully invested in Jesus?

The man named Nicodemus appears only three times in the New Testament. Each occasion reveals his progress, in his relationship with Jesus — from an inquirer, to a convert, to a devoted disciple.

Nicodemus first came to Jesus as an interested inquirer. John 3 tells us, “Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council” (vs. 1). Nicodemus came to Jesus seeking to understand the Lord’s mission and His message.

He came at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.”

Jesus addresses the need of Nicodemus's heart. He tells him that he must experience the "new birth." Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again” (John 3:2-3).

The Lord tells Nicodemus that the key to receiving salvation is as simple as believing. Jesus, on the other hand, makes it so simple that little children can be saved by the grace of God.

“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). After 2,000 years, nothing has changed.

Secondly, we see Nicodemus as a confessing convert. It’s evident that he believed and received the gospel (John 3:16) by defending Jesus in the midst of his peers as they were seeking to arrest and imprison the Lord. Nicodemus asked, “Does our law condemn a man without first hearing him to find out what he has been doing?” (John 7:50-51)

Nicodemus was a new convert and this stand was resented and identified him with Jesus, in the minds of these powerful adversaries.

Lastly, we see Nicodemus as a devoted disciple. In John 9, he was willing to suffer the loss of his position for Christ’s sake, for this is undoubtedly what his action at the cross involved.

Joseph of Arimathea accompanied by Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes. Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs. At the place where Jesus was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had ever been laid. Now because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there (John 19:39-42).

Who would have thought this man would take down the body of Christ from the cross and lovingly anoint and wrap His body according to the proper customs. The life of Nicodemus is an example of being fully invested — totally surrendered and submitted to Jesus as Lord and Savior. Is the evidence of being fully invested in Jesus real and reflective of your life?

The Rev. J. Patrick Street is the lead pastor of Redeemer Church in Marion. He can be reached at coachpatstreet@gmail.com.

This article originally appeared on Marion Star: Are you fully invested in Jesus?