Nicodemus now appears for a second time in John’s Gospel, but on this occasion it was with a group of his peers, the Pharisees, and the chief priests (7:45). His religious colleagues had sent out officers of the temple guard to arrest Jesus, but they had returned empty handed: “No man ever spoke like this Man!” (v. 46). Evidently, Christ’s words had been so gracious and profound that the officers had no heart to arrest Him. The Pharisees were infuriated by this, saying, “Are you also deceived?” (v. 47). They followed this up by stating that all who have believed in Jesus were “accursed,” not knowing the law (v. 49).

But there was one among them who knew the law extremely well, in fact he was “the teacher of Israel” (3:10). And not only this, but he now knew something about the Lord Jesus also; he had recently had a long discussion with Him (3:1–21). “Does our law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he is doing?” Nicodemus, a man of the Book, had done just that; he had gone to Jesus and heard Him. To say that Nicodemus had been impressed with the Rabbi from Nazareth would be a gross understatement. In fact he had come away from his conversation with Him feeling that his very religious foundations had crumbled; he now had a smitten conscience and, at the same time, an inner cleansing he had never known before. He had been in the presence of Majesty.

That Nicodemus should stand up for the Lord Jesus in the midst of his religious peers was a huge step. It was tentative, but he was confessing Christ before men. He had much to lose, but if Jesus of Nazareth was the long-awaited Messiah, it was worth it. It is the same today. If we believe in our heart and confess Him with our mouth, we shall be saved (Rom. 10:9).