Read John 3:1-36

He came in darkness. The darkness of the night, and the darkness of his soul. Nicodemus the Pharisee came to Jesus, looking for light. He came to the Light of the World because he could not see the truth.

“This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil (v19).”

On the surface, he looked like he had it all. He was a leader in the Jewish community, a Pharisee. He held status as an expert in God’s Law so he knew well the story of Moses lifting up the snake in the wilderness (v14). But his understanding had been cloaked by the darkness of confusion and chasing the wrong stuff to give him his purpose and save him for real and forever life.

The Law Nicodemus knew so well pointed to the truth he sought, but the darkness had cloaked his understanding. Because darkness has a way of keeping us from truth. When it’s dark, we don’t know what we don’t know. We can’t see what the light doesn’t reveal. Still, here he was, asking the Light of Life to illuminate the truth and show him who He was. 

So, Jesus reminded Nicodemus of the snake in the wilderness that their ancestor Moses had erected on a pole (Numbers 21:4-9).

God had told Moses to lift up a snake in the desert so the Israelites could look at it and live. They were dying and this was God’s chosen way for them to survive. And now, Jesus showed Nicodemus the truth about where he should look in order to truly live, even as he wandered through the darkness of his own soul’s wilderness. Jesus Himself would be lifted up on a cross for all mankind. And whoever would look to Him, see Him for who He is, would live.

“But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.” – John 3:21

The Light Himself illuminated the way for Nicodemus. He showed him where to look. When we let Jesus illuminate the way for us, we look to the light. He Himself is the Light that shows the Way of the truth.

Are you looking to Jesus for your life today? Are you letting Him illuminate His way? Have you looked to Him to rescue you from the darkness of the sin you’ve been hiding behind? Are you keeping your eyes on Him and letting Him show you the way through the dark?

Bria Wasson