Act Two

I was looking for something on my thumb drives this afternoon  and ran across something I probably wrote for my church paper, the Haven Times way back on July 13, 2001. I didn't remember writing it and I couldn't find it posted on either of the blogs where is would have been posted. Of course, that was before I started any of my Blogger blogs. I don't know but I want to share it here because ... I like it.

The Play Continues

July 13, 2001

I watched the Easter Program at our church this past April much as I always watch such things.  A million thoughts went through my head.  I thought of how much I was enjoying the play because the message was moving.  I thought of how I always look forward to these church functions.  I thought that some of the participants were really very good at acting. I compared this year’s program with past programs, how some things were better, and how some things were not as good.  I was doing exactly what nearly everyone else was doing.  

The play reached the point where the High Priest, Caiphas, played by Bro. Jason Lawson, was giving his lecture to the council citing Jesus as a troublemaker and a danger.  He urged the Council to murder Jesus.  Then Bro. Phil Wagoner walked on as Nicodemus, and I stopped listening to Caiphas.  An awareness of something I had never considered before was revealed in the actions of Bro Phil as he played the part of a man mentioned only three times, to my knowledge, in Scripture.

Nicodemus paced.  He pulled at his robes and his headgear.  He put his hands on his hips.  He put his hands down.  He crossed his arms.  He turned his back to Caiphas and then, turned back to face him, only to turn away again.  He paced some more.  Finally, when he could stand no more he tried to speak on Jesus’ behalf.  When Nicodemus saw it was hopeless, he left.  It was evident as he walked away that Nicodemus was imagining the weight of that cross on his shoulders.

I grabbed my pen and paper because never, ever had I seen such a revelation simply from one person’s actions.  Admittedly, Bro. Phil did a good job as Nicodemus but I have to ask, did he know exactly the impression he was giving?  Were his actions planned in his mind or did he just do what seemed natural?  Or did God, for one moment, let me see into the past and into the heart of a man long dead?

If you remember your Bible, Nicodemus went to see to Jesus early in his ministry, at night, when no one would see him or know of the visit.  You see, Nicodemus was a member of the Sanhedrin and these were the people who Jesus repeatedly offended with his teachings. However, they were not stupid men, at least, not all of them.  As a member of the Sanhedrin, Nicodemus had watched, listened to the arguments and probably participated in them.  Then, he decided to do what any intelligent person should do when confronted with rumors and innuendo.  He went to the source.  And Jesus received him and told him what salvation meant.

As I watched the play I wondered what kind of struggle Nicodemus must have suffered.  His heritage as a Jew, his membership in the Sanhedrin and his regard for Jesus must have started a war in his heart that was unbelievable.  If he spoke out he risked losing everything, perhaps even his life.  But if he kept silent, he couldn’t live with himself.  He had to speak out.  But it did no good.  He could not stop it.

I wonder if he ever realized that he was an instrument of a divine plan?  No matter what he did, it would have changed nothing.  He could not stop the events that followed.  And if he had . . . there would be no salvation.

Nicodemus was struggling with the same thing we all face in our walk -- to speak or keep silent.  And he struggled with it for the same reasons.  He would have wanted to believe he could convince the Council to see Jesus as he had seen him.  He knew that Jesus had committed no crime worthy of death.  He was a good man fighting to save an innocent man.  He fought alone that day.  And when he left that meeting with Caiphas and the Council, he would have felt as if he had betrayed Jesus.  He couldn’t stop it.

After Jesus’ death we find that is wasn’t his family or his disciples who saw to Jesus’ burial.  Nicodemus, accompanied by Joseph of Arimathea, another secret follower of Jesus, went to Pilate to request the body of Jesus. These two men prepared the body for burial.  Nicodemus brought seventy-five pounds of myrrh and aloes to wrap the body in.  This was an expensive gift but it was all he could do.  Perhaps it was his way of atoning for his failure.  He had failed to save the life of the man he respected, but he could certainly see that he had a proper burial.

In As You Like It, Shakespeare said, ”All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players.”  Just as the players in a play are constrained by the script, so too, were those involved in the crucifixion of Jesus.  God had written the script long ago and the only choice the players had was to choose the part they would play.  Whatever part they chose, they could not stop the play.  The eternal God was directing and the curtain came down on a Savior determined to save the world at any cost. Act One had ended.

I don’t know if that was the end for Nicodemus.  He is not mentioned again in scripture, but there were a lot of people present on the Day of Pentecost.  Perhaps as the curtain came up on the second act he was in the wings, waiting to play another part.  I hope so.  At any rate, the play continues.  What part will you play?