He Came at Night
A Lenten Reflection Through the Eyes of Nicodemus
Welcome to today’s reflection.
Thank you for being here.
These Lenten reflections are written for those who want to sit a little longer with the text. Not just to understand it, but to be gently unbound by it. Nicodemus comes at night, and perhaps some of us do too. I’m grateful we can explore that space together.
There is a story in the Bible (John 3) about a man named Nicodemus who came to Jesus at night.
John gives us this detail in passing, but if we read slowly, it jumps out. He does not say Nicodemus visited “later” or “privately” or “after the crowds had gone”. He specifically tells us the time of day.
Night.
It feels less like a scheduling note and more like a window into Nicodemus himself.
Because Nicodemus is not the sort of man you expect to arrive in darkness. He is a Pharisee, a teacher, a leader among his people. He is a man who operates in public spaces, in daylight, in structured religious settings where questions are answered and authority is recognised.
He belongs to the world of clarity, and yet he comes in the dark.
We are not told why. John leaves the motivation open, perhaps deliberately. It allows us to recognise something of ourselves in the approach. There are some conversations we only have internally. Questions we carry quietly. Curiosities we do not voice in the open.
