Nicodemus comes to Jesus at night — a ruler of the Jews, a teacher of Israel — and is told he must be “born again” (v.3). He leaves the conversation more puzzled than when he came. But John doesn’t let him disappear. He surfaces again in chapter 7, cautiously reminding his fellow Pharisees that the law gives a man a hearing (7:50–51), and one last time in chapter 19, carrying seventy-five pounds of spices to bury a crucified man in broad daylight (19:39). Was he a true believer, or only intrigued? John seems to want us to watch the man move — from night, toward the light — and to ask the same question of ourselves.
