Only Son (part 2)

So what was it that Nicodemus was supposed to understand from these famous words of Jesus? Undoubtedly, when Jesus speaks these words, He is clearly being self-referential. However, we should not imagine that such was supposed to be immediately clear to Nicodemus. To think such a thing would be an unreasonable assertion on our part. Also, to treat him as anything less than a well-learned, well-respected individual, simply because of what seem to be odd responses to the questions and statements that Jesus is putting to him, would be an unwarranted reading of our own theological pre-suppositions (and unfortunately ill-informed prejudices), along with the tangible benefit of the theological treatise of the Gospel of John, back on to the Scriptures.

The bottom line is that Nicodemus is no fool. When we first meet him, he is identified as a Pharisee. Not only that, we are informed that he a “member of the Jewish ruling council” (John 3:1b). As a Pharisee, Nicodemus would not only have been well-versed in the history of Israel, but he would have also stood as a guardian of its covenant-related identity markers. He would have been very much concerned, and very much looking forward to the time at, and the means by which, Israel’s God would intervene on behalf of His chosen and faithful people, delivering them from their long-running exile (foreign subjugation, which was connected to God’s curses upon His people for failure to obey His commands and to fulfill His purpose for them). As a Pharisee, and therefore, as a member of the group of people that was informally charged with the maintenance of the faithfulness of the people when it came to the marks of Jewish identity (covenant markers: circumcision, food and purity laws, Sabbath-keeping), he would have found the existing situation, with Israel under the heel of Rome, untenable and highly undesirable, no matter how many benefits Rome might bring, and no matter how much “freedom of religion” was offered to them by Rome. Anything short of total autonomy, with Israel ruling itself, was ultimately unacceptable.

As a member of the Jewish ruling council, he would have been in an officially sanctioned position of religious and civil influence among the people, walking in the world of Judaism (religious) that was attempting to keep the people faithful to their covenant God as they lived in a state of great expectation, while also attempting to keep those same expectant people from running afoul of Rome and its power (civil), while awaiting another exodus similar to that which Israel experienced under Moses. We must remember, as we attempt to gain a more thorough understanding of what Jesus means with the words of John 3:16, that not only are the words offered in the context of a larger discourse, but that they are offered in a political, historical, cultural, social, and theological context as well. So it will not do to simply examine the verses that come before and after, rather, the entire setting in which the words were spoken must be taken into consideration, which will allow us to gain an insight into the possible mindset of Nicodemus. We do this so that we can understand first what Nicodemus may have thought when Jesus spoke these words, and then also the things to which Jesus might be referring upon speaking these words. Then, if we have traversed the material correctly, though relatively briefly (and certainly not exhaustively), the words will have a more correct, and perhaps, deeper meaning for us as well, as we see the way in which they fit into what it is that it is the great and over-arching plan of God for this world and for the beings that had been made in His image.
The very first thing that Nicodemus to Jesus is “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs that you do unless God is with him” (3:2b). There is, of course, a great tradition of the giving and receiving of signs within Israel’s history. Abraham, of course, asked for a sign from God. Moses asked for a sign that would demonstrate that the One speaking to him was truly the God of his forefathers. Gideon would request and receive a sign from God. There are, of course, numerous other instances of people asking for signs, so this was not simply limited to Jesus’ day and to the people of the time. With his statement, Nicodemus fits neatly within this long tradition. First, he acknowledges that Jesus seems to be quite special, and then, he references signs. To this point, the record of the Gospel of John does not have Jesus performing a large number of “signs.” What were the signs, according to what has been presented by the author, of which Nicodemus would be aware, and to which he would be making reference? In the second chapter is the story of Jesus turning water into wine. We read that “Jesus did this as the first of His miraculous signs, in Cana of Galilee. In this way He revealed His glory, and His disciples believed in Him” (2:11). Following that, we are able to read about Jesus’ dramatic actions in the Temple. It was to this drew the attention of the Jewish leaders, and they said to Him, “What sign can you show us, since you are doing these things?” (2:18b) In response, Jesus speaks about the destruction of the Temple and its being rebuilt in three days. He offered this as a sign. We then go on to read that “while Jesus was in Jerusalem at the feast of the Passover, many people believed in His name because they saw the miraculous signs he was doing” (2:23). So it is His activities in the Temple, together with the signs (symbols of Messiah-ship?) that He was performing during the feast, that prompts the conversation with Nicodemus.