Dear John,
I, Nicodemus, thank you for your recent inquiry regarding my conversation with Our Lord. I am honored to be asked. I pray my report may be of some use to you as you draft your written account of Our Lord’s words and deeds while He walked among us. What a blessing to have been chosen to walk the earth while He did, and more so, to have had the opportunity to speak to Him face-to-face. You and I are indeed blessed.
As you may recall, I closely followed the teachings and miracles of the Man Jesus. Everyone did, of course. But where my colleagues among the Pharisees immediately dismissed Him as yet another ignorant troublemaker, I insisted He was different–and argued with them until such arguments proved futile. Nevertheless, I remained convinced. His healings were easily verified. And His words were not the rantings of a madman, but the poetry of a genius.
Finally, one night I made some excuse to my wife about a late-night meeting and went out walking where Jesus and His followers were rumored to be staying. God led me to Him and I began by letting Him know I was sympathetic—that I was more fan than foe. Of course, I was wasting my time making small talk. Jesus looked me in the eye and immediately knew my entire life story. He KNEW me, you know what I mean? I am sure you do. He knew exactly who I was. And He spoke to the questions in my heart before I could ask them. Sadly, His answers were so far over my head, it would take me several years to understand them.
“Nicodemus,” He began, “unless a man is born again, he will not go to Heaven.” I asked how that was possible. “You must be born in the flesh and also born in the spirit.” I looked at Him in astonishment, and He went on: “the wind blows, you know it’s real, but you can’t see it. Spiritual life is the wind. It is real and everyone knows it—everyone knows they possess a spirit. But until you have a spiritual birth, you are not ready for life in the kingdom of heaven.” I sat there shaking my head, and He said, “No one has been to heaven but the One who descended from heaven. Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so must I be lifted up.”
(When He was crucified, I remembered this statement and was astonished. He KNEW He would be crucified three years before it happened! Not only that, but He knew it was God’s plan, prophesied somehow through Moses and the bronze serpent.)
Jesus continued: “Nicodemus, think of it this way. God loved the world so much He sent His One and Only Son so those who believe in Him will have eternal life—a spiritual birth into Heaven’s Kingdom. Those who don’t believe will never be born into the kingdom. Just as physical birth welcomes you into life on earth, so spiritual birth welcomes you into life in Heaven. The spiritual birth is as important as the physical birth. You see, God did not send His Son to condemn the world. The world was already condemned. God sent His Son so those who choose to believe can be born spiritually into the Kingdom of Heaven.”
In conclusion, John, Our Lord brought the conversation back to your favorite metaphor: light and darkness.
“The light [by which Jesus meant Himself] has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. Evildoers don’t want their evil exposed. But those who live by the truth embrace the light so their good works can give glory to God.”
After that, Jesus smiled and stepped away. It was late and I knew our short conversation was over—and frankly, I found those brief words enigmatic and overwhelming. He gave me all that I could absorb in that moment; I could not have handled any more.
Thank you again for consulting me. I pray you will find this report useful. Should it prove necessary, I welcome additional inquiries. It is always a privilege to share the most amazing conversation of my life.
Your Brother in Him,
Nicodemus.
ΑΩ
Household Words: 