The pressure was increasing to reject Jesus. His popularity was waning. It was certainly no longer politically advantageous to know him. We saw how the soldiers changed their mind when the pressure was applied (John 7:45; 19:6). We saw the crowds begin to dwindle (John 6:66). But one man, a Pharisee by the name of Nicodemus (the one who came to him by night) was gaining strength in his belief. When the rest of his political party rejected Jesus he did not sit silently by.
“Does our law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he is doing?” Nicodemus confronts his contemporaries (John 7:51). They are not impressed. “Are you also from Galilee? Search and look, for no prophet has arisen out of Galilee.” (John 7:52). In other words, “Be careful or your political career is over.”
Unlike the officers Nicodemus’ faith did not waver but grew in strength (John 19:39).
