Devotion
Coming at Night
“There was a man from the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to him at night and said, Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God, for no one could perform these signs you do unless God were with him.' - John 3:1-2”
Two words carry this whole verse: at night. Nicodemus came. But he came when nobody could see him.
Nicodemus was a Pharisee and a member of the Jewish ruling council, which made him one of the most respected religious men in Jerusalem. He had the training, the title, and the reputation. And he still had a question he could not ask in daylight. John tells us he came at night, most likely so no one would catch him with the teacher who was upsetting everything. Here is what Jesus does not do. He does not send him home. He does not tell him to come back when he is more certain, or better read, or braver. He receives a man who shows up unprepared and half-hidden, because being unprepared has never been the same thing as being unwilling.
Practice
Most of us have a night question. It is the one we do not raise in the group, or the pew, or over lunch. Maybe it is about the loss you did not see coming. Maybe it is whether God actually likes you. We assume the question disqualifies us. It does not. It is the beginning of the conversation.
Prayer
Jesus, here is the question I have been carrying around in the dark. I have been afraid that asking it means I do not love you or trust you. Thank you that you did not turn Nicodemus away, and that you will not turn me away either. Meet me here tonight, and give me the courage to say it out loud to someone this week. Amen.
This Week’s Message
This devotion follows along with this week’s message.