Jn 3: 14-21
Today’s gospel passage describes the dialogue between Jesus and Nicodemus. He was a Pharisee and a member of Sanhedrin, the supreme governing body of Jewish law and religion. He was one of the prominent leaders of the Jewish community. We see Nicodemus in two different phases. First, he came to meet Jesus in the dark. The probable reason could be that he did not want to reveal his relationship with Jesus in public. He might have afraid of other Pharisees. But we encounter an authentic seeker of truth in him. All the other Pharisees they were controlled by their prejudice about Jesus. But he came to meet Jesus and seek clarification of all his doubts. Jesus explained to him that He is the fulfillment of all the Old Testament laws and prophecies. In the Old Testament Moses lifted up the serpent as a symbol of God’s salvation and all those who looked at the serpent were healed. In the New Testament, the crucified Christ became the symbol of salvation and those who looked at him would be saved from the darkness. But God has given each one of us the freedom to choose Jesus, the eternal truth and light. But many prefer to choose darkness than the light.
This encounter of Nicodemus with Jesus transformed him. He accepted Jesus as the truth. In the second phase, we see Nicodemus as a courageous man who dared to acknowledge his discipleship in public. He claimed Jesus body from Pilate along with Joseph of Arimathea. He believed in the truth and that truth liberated him from the clutches of darkness. Like Nicodemus let us seek the truth? Then the question comes, what is the truth? I believe that truth is neither a concept nor an ideology but it is a person, who is Jesus himself…You need not agree with me till you seek and find that truth for you…