But that's another lament for another time. At this moment I just want to put down for posterity another beautiful treasure I found this week in the pages of that dusty old book called the Bible. Here goes!
There's this guy named Leroy. We share a ride to or from our closest large city every now and again. He's an elderly gentleman who drives slow and enjoys good conversation. He's sharp and loves to talk about the Bible and things in Scripture. It's always an enjoyable ride.
Last week we chanced to be together again and got to talking about Nicodemus. If you're not familiar Nicodemus is the guy who came to Jesus by night asking (my paraphrase) "WHO are you???" It was blowing the old teachers mind that this young roughneck was doing such miracles. Plus I think he remembered a 12 year old boy who was left at the temple by some neglectful parents some years before and wondered if it was the same guy. Whether by omnipotence or memory or both, Jesus obviously knew who he was. . . . all speculation on my part but the the pieces fit the puzzle. Regardless, that question started the conversation that led to the most famous verse in the Bible: John 3:16.
I have long believed from Nic's actions following that encounter that he truly came to believe that Jesus was the Messiah. One of the reasons is that he so tenderly and lavishly cared for the body of our Lord after the crucifixion. Seriously. Who dresses the wounds of a dead man?? They didn't have open casket funerals back then. The best you could do was slow down the smell long enough to get them sealed up or buried.
So when I was studying some stuff putting together a children's lesson I bumped into a fascinating message about the immutability of God. Immutability is that characteristic where God Never Changes. Even if He changes his mind about something, it will be in keeping with His character.
Anyway . . . Acts 2:24 . . . "Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it." Why would Peter say it was impossible for Jesus not to raise from the dead? Because the Bible had already said it! Psalm 16:10: " For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption." That verse was a statement of God's character, a prophecy and a promise. My paraphrase again: "you're not going to leave me in the grave just like you're not going to let your Holy One rot in a grave!"
BAM! There you go! Nick knew that verse. The old teacher guy who had taught the Old Testament all his life knew that body wasn't going to stay there cause God had said so years before and Nic knew God meant exactly what He said.
I didn't know all that during the drive with Leroy. We had to agree that my belief about Nicodemus was a personal conclusion since it wasn't specifically spelled out in the Bible.
But I've got the goods now and I can't WAIT to ride with him again and share this!
