Topical Studies
Nicodemus
(From Forerunner Commentary)
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Mark 15:42-46 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
Several points stand out in this passage: - Evening was beginning—at best Joseph had only about three hours before sunset, when the Sabbath would begin. The task of preparing and applying the spices for burial required work, which is expressly forbidden on the Sabbath (Exodus 20:8-10). Additionally, Deuteronomy 21:22-23 demands that an executed criminal be buried before nightfall, and the Jewish law of the time required all dead bodies to be buried before a Sabbath or a feast day (John 19:31).
- Before he could take the body down, Joseph had to go before Pilate and receive permission. At first Pilate did not believe Jesus had died so quickly, so he called the centurion of the crucifixion detail to verify it (Mark 15:44-45). This delay must have taken at least a half hour.
- After being granted the body, Joseph went to a local shop and bought several yards of fine linen in which to wrap Jesus. With the help of Nicodemus, he then took the body down, wrapped it in the linen—along with about a hundred pounds of spices—and placed it in the tomb (John 19:39-41).
With all this activity and work between the various locations, Joseph and Nicodemus must have had very little daylight left when they finally rolled the stone over the entrance to the tomb. On this point all the accounts again concur; sunset was very near (Matthew 27:57; Luke 23:54; John 19:31). No one disputes that Jesus was laid "in the heart of the earth" at sunset. If, as we have shown, He was buried for exactly 72 hours, He was also resurrected at sunset—not at dawn!
Richard T. Ritenbaugh
'After Three Days'
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John 3:1-8 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
Nicodemus was a high-ranking Pharisee—one of the rulers of the Jews. He knew Jesus was a miracle-working Prophet sent by God, and was deeply interested in His teachings. But because Nicodemus did not want to be seen speaking with this man the other Pharisees called a "heretic" and a "deceiver of the people," he came to Jesus secretly at night. Jesus told Nicodemus a profound truth—something that completely mystified the man. "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God," said Jesus (John 3:3). Nicodemus was totally perplexed. He asked Jesus: "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?" (Verse 4.) Jesus told him: "Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again" (verse 7). But Nicodemus simply did not comprehend what Jesus was talking about (verses 9-12). How like so many people today! They, too, are baffled by these simple words of Christ. Most professing Christians think they were "born again" when they "accepted Christ" and were "baptized." From that time, supposedly, they received the Holy Spirit and have been living a new life in Christ. True, a real Christian has received the Spirit of God, and is indeed living a new life in Christ (Ephesians 4:22-24). But is this what it means to be "born again"? The new birth described in the Bible is far more than most professing Christians have assumed. When Jesus spoke of being "born again," He did not mean what most people think. Nicodemus was familiar only with the process of physical birth. Therefore he understood when Jesus said to him, "That which is born of the flesh is flesh." But then Jesus explained we must be born again—not again of the flesh—not again entering our mother's womb, as Nicodemus thought He meant. He explained that we must be born of the spirit—born of God! God must be our Father this time! As we were born of the flesh through fleshly human parents, even so we must be born of the Spirit of our spiritual heavenly Father. Here are two different kinds of birth—one physical, the other spiritual. When you were born of your fleshly parents, you were composed of flesh, but "that which is born of the spirit is spirit" (John 3:6)—no longer composed of flesh but spirit! There will be no blood in the body of one "born of the Spirit." He will not have to breathe air to exist. He will be literally composed of spirit, declared Jesus. That is the plain teaching of the Bible! The new birth is not an emotional experience, but a literal birth! So Nicodemus would not mistake the true meaning of being born of the Spirit, Jesus explained to him: "The wind bloweth where it listeth [where it wills], and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit" (verse 8). Notice that carefully. When you are "born again," born of the Spirit of God, you will be invisible to mortal eyes like the wind (unless you choose to manifest yourself). The effects of the wind may be easily discernible, but the wind itself cannot be seen. Clearly, Jesus compared the spiritual birth to the physical birth. The latter is a type of the former. Human parents pass on a physical nature at birth to their children, so when we are born of our heavenly Father, we will possess His spiritual nature in its fullness!
What It Means to Be Born Again
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John 3:3 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
Some have written that the phrase "born again" in John 3:3 means "born from above." Undoubtedly, they do this to lend credence to their theory that this birth takes place at the time of conversion. The combination of words here is gennao anothen. Anothen can be translated "from above," "again," or "from the first," depending on the context. But notice Nicodemus' understanding of what Jesus said when He said it, not two thousand years later. "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?" (verse 4). He understood anothen to mean "again," not "from above"! Nicodemus, a member of the Sanhedrin, was no simpleton; as a scholar and elder among the Jews, he was very conversant with the language that Jesus spoke. And his response was, "How can a man return to his mother's womb?" He knew the context of their conversation demanded "again." Returning to a mother's womb is very earthly. Nicodemus understood Jesus to mean being born again on earth. Jesus never took the conversation out of an earthly realm, but simply contrasted flesh and spirit on earth. Not until verse 12 does Jesus refer to anything beyond the earth, "If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?" By Jesus' own testimony, He was talking about something confined to the earth. He says, ". . . if I tell you heavenly things," not "I have told you"! Thus, the birth He is talking about will take place on earth, not from above. Nicodemus understood it in that context, and in the course of their dialogue, Jesus did not correct him in that regard.
John W. Ritenbaugh
You Must Be Born Again!
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John 19:38-40 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
Joseph was a believer, but in secret! Why was he afraid of the Jews? For the same reason Peter denied Christ—for fear that they too would be killed. More than that, Joseph was a respected pillar of the community, a man who had worked a lifetime to achieve what he had. To come out publicly as a disciple would have meant the destruction of the life he and his family enjoyed. John says Joseph "took the body of Jesus." Taking a lifeless body down from a stake is no one-man task. Nicodemus, another secret disciple, also a member of the Sanhedrin, helped him. This is the same Nicodemus who came to Jesus "by night" to ask Him some pointed questions and received some pointed answers (John 3:1-21).
Mike Ford
Joseph of Arimathea
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1 Corinthians 15:47 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
This is what Jesus was saying to Nicodemus. He was of the earth, earthy—human. He was flesh, not spirit. He was born of the flesh, so that is what he was—flesh. When one is born of the Spirit, he will be spirit. Paul is here explaining the same truth. But we cannot be spirit in this present age.
Herbert W. Armstrong (1892-1986)
Life After Death?
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1 Corinthians 15:50 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
No human can inherit the Kingdom. The Kingdom of God is not a human kingdom. There are no humans in it! It is a Divine Kingdom—the God Kingdom! Jesus explained it to Nicodemus in John 3:3-8: "Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." Nicodemus couldn't understand that. Not many today can understand it! Jesus continued that except a man be born of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God. "That which is born of the flesh," continued Jesus, "is flesh." Yes, we were all born of the flesh, therefore Jesus said we are flesh—yes, flesh and blood. And flesh and blood cannot inherit—cannot enter into the Kingdom of God. "That which is born of the Spirit," said Jesus, "is spirit." When we are born of the Spirit, then we shall be spirit—so said Jesus. Did Jesus know what He was talking about—or do some of us think we know better, today?
Herbert W. Armstrong (1892-1986)
What Is the Reward of the Saved?
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