Such was the character of this man who came to Jesus by night. The meeting that took place that night is the most important one in human history. We know of many great figures who have appeared in the history of mankind, and their biographies have been written out in full for all to read. The Bible only makes brief mention of Nicodemus, but it seems to me that his conversation with Jesus that night was the single most important conversation that has ever taken place.

As a scholar of the scriptures, Nicodemus had been watching Jesus and the deeds He had performed, and they had given him food for thought. He had sensed that there was something deeply significant to all of this and so he came to see Jesus. He had come to the conclusion that this Man must have come down from heaven or He would never have been able to act with such daring. So he decided to come and speak with Jesus. He sought out this great Teacher in order to ask Him about a matter that concerned his whole life.

This man who would submit to no one was speaking as a teacher of Israel as he stood before Jesus and said, "Having seen the things You do, I'm certain you must have come from heaven."

Let's try to imagine this scene. These two men had never met before. Nicodemus had come to Jesus with the greatest question of his life, but Jesus began to give him an answer that had nothing to do with the question. In fact, He told Nicodemus that there was something he had to do.

If we consider the respective backgrounds of Nicodemus and Jesus, we can see that there was a tremendous difference between these two men. Nicodemus was a member of the Council of the Jews. He was a scholar, thoroughly versed in the Law. But what kind of person was Jesus? Even His birth had not taken place in a proper human dwelling; He had been born in a stable. In the eyes of the world, He was "(as was supposed) the son of Joseph" (Luke 3:23). As far as His social status was concerned, He had grown up in the family of a carpenter.

Once Jesus had turned thirty, He began to appear in public and carry out His work. It was then that Nicodemus, this highly educated scholar of the Law, came to see Him. How do you think Jesus saw Nicodemus at that time? For Jesus, this was not a meeting with a scholar and religious leader.

Nicodemus had eagerly awaited the coming of the Messiah. He had searched the scriptures to find out all he could about Him, and he had even taught about Him. Now the Messiah he had sought for so long was standing in front of him and talking to him, but this Man was quite different from the person he had been expecting. Jesus did not regard Nicodemus with any form of human love, sympathy, or emotion; His words were full of the power of the One who is the very source of mercy. This was not a discussion between two religious leaders, two scholars of the Law, two people who understood the Old Testament scriptures and the words of the prophets. This was not an exchange of ideas between equals. Jesus' words were full of deep compassion for this man who had come in search of something. Through whose eyes was He looking at Nicodemus?