The Person Who First Heard John 3:16

In John 9:13-16 some Pharisees bashed Jesus and insulted the man He'd healed of blindness, claiming Jesus could not represent God. 

But other Pharisees said, “How can a sinner perform such signs?” 

When Christians use the word Pharisee it's synonymous with greed, hypocrisy, legalism, and empty religion.

But not all Pharisees were the same. I was reminded of this while studying John 3. I'd never thought about the fact that a humble Pharisee was the first man to hear Christ's most well-known quote: John 3:16.

In John 3:1-21 the Pharisee Nicodemus came at night to ask Jesus questions. The majority of his fellow-Pharisees would have been shocked if they knew he'd done this. But he was open and listening, and Christ spoke life-changing words to him.

Later in John 7:14-52, the Pharisees wanted to silence Jesus by arresting him, but Nicodemus said they weren't being fair.

Finally in John 19:38-42, Nicodemus proved his love and respect for Jesus by helping Joseph of Arimathea give Jesus a proper burial after His crucifixion.

Sometimes, Christians who speak up for God's truth are falsely compared to Pharisees. If this happens to you, why not say “thank-you” and tell them about Nicodemus.

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See A One-Liner Pharisees Love Using for additional truths about this subject. 

This is the last in a series of 5 one-minute devotions based on John 9. If you'd like to read the full series, see Important Truths from John 9.