Season 1 Eps 6 Responding to Light

[Dr. Shane]

Nicodemus and Jesus have the famous John 3:16 conversation in this episode. The writers of The Chosen have both Matthew and Nicodemus struggling to understand what the miracles of Jesus mean. The two characters are coming from opposite ends of the religious spectrum. Nicodemus is a highly respected scholar among the Pharisees. Matthew is a tax collector who has sold his soul to Rome and willingly cooperates with them to oppress Israel.  Two distinct reactions take the two characters on two different paths to the light their eyes have been opened to.

Matthew immediately accepts the invitation to follow Jesus. He abandons everything. He is drawn to Truth. This is an example of a sudden conversation.

The writers of The Chosen have Jesus invite Nicodemus to follow Him and that is not in the Bible. However, it does represent a class of people that hear the gospel and are slow to respond. This type of conversion is what the psychologist, William James, called the educational variety. The person approaches truth as a skeptic but with a willingness to learn and give up previous beliefs they held as true. The complete conversion of Nicodemus does not happen until much later in the ministry of Jesus. However, at this point we see the wheels begin to turn.

I identify with the educational variety of conversion because that is how I came to Christ. I was raised in a back-slidden Seventh-day Adventist home. I quit attending church on a regular basis after 8th grade. I had doubts not only about Adventism but about Christianity itself. Statistically it was highly unlikely that I was born in the "true" religion and if I was, it was even more unlikely that I was born into the denomination with the most "light". I started on a spiritual quest in college that eventually brought me to the Adventist church which was not where I expected it to take me.

Matthew was the great sinner. His conversion was sudden. Nicodemus was the religious scholar. His conversion took time. God is patient and His love is never ending. Both types of conversions are authentic and probably have a lot to do with the person's cognitive development in childhood and the young adult years. Those that convert suddenly need the support of friendship and to be given responsibilities in the church. They can fall away. Those that experience the educational variety of conversion need church members not to give up on them. Once their conversion happens, they do not fall away often and are very loyal believers.