⁵⁰ Nicodemus (he who came to Jesus by night, being one of them) said to them, ⁵¹ “Does our law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he is doing?” ⁵² They answered and said to him, “Are you also from Galilee? Search and look, for no prophet has arisen out of Galilee.”

7:50

Nicodemus (he who came to Jesus by night, being one of them) said to them,

Nicodemus was a ruler of Israel. He was “one of them”—that is, of the Sanhedrin.

7:51

“Does our law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he is doing?”

Nicodemus’ appeal was based on common commitment to the law. A person accused of a crime should get a fair hearing (Dt 1:16-17). He did not directly defend Jesus but simply asked for a just disposition toward Jesus.

7:52

They answered and said to him,

Other rulers caught the implication of Nicodemus’ statement.

“Are you also from Galilee?

Accusing Nicodemus of being from Galilee was an insult to him. They tried to label him as a Galilean. Labeling others is not logic; it is an attempt to avoid objectivity.

Search and look,

Closed minds create superficial arguments to justify their case. The Pharisees challenged Nicodemus to study the Bible and he would come to their conclusions about Christ.

for no prophet has arisen out of Galilee.”

There is no expectation that the Messiah would come from Galilee. They were not right even in this conclusion because Jonah had come from Galilee, from Amittai (Jonah 1:1).

PRINCIPLE:

Manipulation of truth violates biblical principles.

APPLICATION:

Closed minds will make arguments that are not accurate to self-justify. This is selfish manipulation of truth. No one representing Christ should ever manipulate truth, even in an attempt to win others to Christ.