For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16
The Temple area, the sacred place of worship, representing God’s presence among His people, had been made into a shortcut to town, a convenient market place and currency exchange where a chosen few were able to prosper at the expense of the less fortunate. With tremendous authority Jesus cleared the temple of these evil doers. People obeyed and the Pharisees and Jewish counsel took offense. They believed that the foretold Messiah would be a political conquerer, not a humble servant of mankind. This Jesus just wouldn’t do, so the rejection began.
There was a man named Nicodemus, a prominent citizen, a Pharisee. He had observed Jesus quietly and in the night, discretely went to ask questions that his educated mind couldn’t reconcile. He was not turned away because of his secrecy and cowardliness. Instead, he heard the human voice of God’s own Son speak the most wonderful words known to man. “You don’t have to perish, come, have eternal life.” Nicodemus chose to believe. Years later he stepped forward and away from his own colleagues who had just had Jesus crucified, and with a friend named Joseph, asked for their Savior’s body. They took Him to a tomb He would only need for a weekend.
John 3:16: The first scripture I ever committed to memory, because somebody cared enough to inform me that I was heir to the greatest, most profound love I would ever know. When all other imitators of love had very nearly destroyed me, this Love saved me.
Go Share This Good News,
Gretchen