| John 3: | 1: “There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: 2: The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.” |
Yet for all his knowledge and position, Nicodemus was not satisfied with his life. He knew, that far beyond and above what his own religious group could provide, something important was missing. Overcoming his strict orthodox reservations, Nicodemus visited Jesus by night! Within a flash the Master diagnosed Nicodemus' problem. This respected religious ruler, this pillar of society, this learned man needed something a lot more than Phariseeism could deliver. What was it? Where and how could it be obtained? Jesus provided the answers.
| John 3: | 3: “Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. 4: Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? 5: Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” |
| Acts 16: | 27: “And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled. 28: But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here. 29: Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, 30: And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? 31: And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.” |
| 2 Kings 5: | 1: “Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honourable, because by him the LORD had given deliverance unto Syria: he was also a mighty man in valour, but he was a leper.” |
Naaman knew that all his bravery, his skill, his victory and fame and honour were worthless; because eating into his body and soul was the deadly disease of leprosy! To be sure he would give anything to be rid of this living hell - anything! Wouldn’t you?
| 2 Kings 5: | 8: “And it was so, when Elisha the man of God had heard that the king of Israel had rent his clothes, that he sent to the king, saying, Wherefore hast thou rent thy clothes? let him come now to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel.” |
After being healed Naaman spoke these words:
| 2 Kings 5: | 15: And he returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and came, and stood before him: and he said, Behold, now I know that there is no God in all earth, but in Israel: now therefore, I pray thee, take a blessing of thy servant.” |
| Mark 5: | 28: “For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole. 29: And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague. 30: And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him, turned him about in the press, and said, Who touched my clothes? 31: And his disciples said unto him, Thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me? 32: And he looked round about to see her that had done this thing. 33: But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth. 34: And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague.” |
| Mark 2: | 1: “And again he entered into Capernaum after some days; and it was noised that he was in the house. 2: And straightway many were gathered together, insomuch that there was no room to receive them, no, not so much as about the door: and he preached the word unto them. 3: And they come unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which was borne of four. 4: And when they could not come nigh unto him for the press, they uncovered the roof where he was: and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay. 5: When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.” |
| 1 Corinthians 10: | 11: “Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.” |
Accepting that fact, that these Old & New Testament stories are examples, types and living dramas, each containing a spiritual lesson, and possibly even a prophetic message, let me ask a few questions:
Nicodemus the Pharisee
Once again consider Nicodemus the Pharisee:
a leading lecturer on the Torah, the law of the
Almighty God of Israel. Oh what a respected man he
was. But like Nicodemus we need to be born again to
even see the Kingdom of God, let alone enter
it. Many are blind and totally ignorant of real
spiritual concepts, values and priorities. We need to be
converted, born again; else we shall never see or
enter the Kingdom of Heaven.
Naaman The Syrian
Consider Naaman the Syrian: that brave and valiant
soldier, through whom Yahweh had wrought many victories.
But Naaman was a leper. Few knew about his condition, but
Naaman did. Like Naaman the Syrian some of us are outwardly
successful, victorious, rich and powerful. Perhaps the LORD
has even used us to bring deliverance to others. But we have
a spiritual problem, a ‘moral leprosy’
which is eating our souls away. We are unclean and need to
be thoroughly washed - seven times!
The Jailer from Philippi
Consider the Jailer from Philippi: He is like the
outwardly successful manager of a large and difficult
institution with many souls under his control - prisoners
in a jail! Some have never heard about a
Day of Judgment.
One day a spiritual earthquake will jolt him out of his sleep.
You can be sure it will come. When it does, remember
Paul's answer to the jailer's question:
“What must I do to be saved? Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.”
The Haemorrhaging Women:
Consider the haemorrhaging woman: She is like those who
are frail, bankrupt and drained of their resources -
bleeding to death! But she had faith. She had one
last chance to touch the hem of the Saviour's garment
(the symbol that he was an obedient follower of the Most
High) and she took it.
The Paralytic:
Consider the Paralytic: He is like the man who is
unable to move or even speak on spiritual matters.
His faith is probably as paralysed as his body.
But he has friends who believe in the Saviour;
friends who can pray for him; friends who will
rip open the rafters of heaven and bring him -
in prayer - to Yeshua for salvation! Do you come
into this category? Are you the paralytic? Or
are you one of his friends? The fact is, salvation
is on offer to all. Why?
