It seems as though the Pharisees believed the Bible; the Sadducees didn't.
Nicodemus was a Pharisee, obviously very open to the "things of God." Nicodemus recognized Him in Jesus Christ. He had questions. So who doesn't? John tells us that through it all, Nicodemus, the Pharisee, ruler in the Sanhedrin, was at the cross with Joseph of Arimathea. The New Birth obviously "took."
To be someone who always doubts because he cannot comprehend is a terrible way to live. I have said many times before that if "believing" means fully understanding, fully grasping, then I don't believe. Believing for me is accepting. Nicodemus said to Jesus, "How can these things be?" Good question. But then, we find him at the Cross.
Are you struggling with Sadduceeism, struggling with life's unanswerable questions to the point that you cannot surrender your life fully to Jesus Christ, beginning each day with Paul's question to Jesus, "Lord, what would you have me to do?" It's okay, you know, if you don't understand everything. Just live as the hymn says, "I Surrender All."
Romans 11:33 in the Interlinear Greek says, "O the depth of wisdom and knowledge of God How unsearchable the judgments of Him and untraceable the ways of Him." The Word for, "unsearchable," means, "cannot be searched into, inscrutable, unfathomable." The Word for, "untraceable," means, "that cannot be explored, incomprehensible." Nicodemus, the Pharisee, accepted this reality. Sadducee people will not.
Father, in Jesus' Name, help me to walk the way of Nicodemus. Amen.
When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"
Hebrews 12:2
Hebrews 12:2
