There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:
John 3:1, The Bible
Poem: Nicodemus
Rabbi, you do miracles That can only come from God; How can I be born again? Go back inside my mom?
With the last couple posts I've posted, it may seem like Pharisees were always proud and publicans (and prostitutes) were always humble. Well, that was the rule, but there were definitely exceptions.
One notable exception was Nicodemus.
Who was Nicodemus?
Nicodemus was a Pharisee, but he was different. Nicodemus was curious about Jesus. He didn't just dismiss him like his peers.
Nicodemus knew that for Jesus to perform these miracles, he must have been sent from God. And with that in mind, Nicodemus visited Jesus at night (so as not to be seen by fellow Pharisees) to inquire:
The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.
John 3:2, The Bible
Jesus answered him:
Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
John 3:3, The Bible
As we can see, even though Jesus was normally harsh to the Pharisees, he wasn't like that with Nicodemus, because Nicodemus humbled himself before him, so Jesus told him how he could receive everlasting life:
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
John 3:16, The Bible
Once again, this proves that Jesus is not a respecter of persons. He will save the Pharisee, the publican, the prostitute, everyone!
Nicodemus also defended Jesus when some leaders wanted to arrest Jesus:
50 Nicodemus saith unto them, (he that came to Jesus by night, being one of them,)
51 Doth our law judge any man, before it hear him, and know what he doeth?
John 7:50-51, The Bible
Nicodemus also helped Joseph of Arimathea to bury Jesus:
39 And there came also Nicodemus, which at the first came to Jesus by night, and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred pound weight.
40 Then took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury.
John 19:39-40, The Bible
As you can see, Nicodemus revered Jesus, even after death.
Bottom line
There is hope for everyone, even for the Pharisees. As I've discussed above, it all depends on true humility from the inside. This is why Jesus says we should focus on cleaning the inside of the cup:
25 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess.
26 Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.
Matthew 23:25-26, The Bible