Nicodemus asked again, “How can this be?” And Jesus answered, “You are a teacher
in Israel, and you don’t know these things! Truly, I say to you, we speak of what we
know and we witness to the things we have seen, but you don’t accept our testimony.
If you don’t believe when I speak of earthly things, what then, when I speak to you of
heavenly things? No one has ever gone up to heaven except the one who came from
heaven, the Son of Man. As Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted
up, so that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
Reflection:
The conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus is sometimes
brutally frank. If the latter is a man of lesser stuff, he would
walk away and go on with his comfortable life and beliefs.
But his thirst for truth is too strong that he remains despite the strong
words of the Lord. This is a conversation between men who are comfortable with
themselves. Both are mature and secure in themselves that words do not wound
them easily. After all, they are just vehicles to convey thoughts and feelings.
Respect need not fly away when one disagrees with the other. The conversations
between these two mature men must have been interesting. Nicodemus
heard that which others will have to ponder for the rest of their lives.
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