When Nicodemus learned that Jesus had died, his attention turned to giving an honorable burial to the Messiah. A spirit of persecution still filled the atmosphere, so any public connection to Jesus could spell trouble. Nicodemus therefore faced his third dilemma: should he go to the cross of Calvary or not?

Muslims, and especially Muslim religious leaders, can strongly identify with the dilemma faced by Nicodemus. They, too, are parts of religious systems which largely reject Jesus as being Lord and Savior. Receiving Jesus as Lord triggers apostasy status in Islam and typically a lot of persecution as well.

Jesus posed a question to Simon Peter, “Who do you say I am” (Matthew 16:15)? Some thought Jesus was a prophet from the past whom God had raised from the dead. Others thought he was an imposter. Everyone had an opinion about him. Even today, everyone has an opinion about Jesus! Jesus, as recorded in the Word of God, provides these descriptions about himself: I am the bread of life (John 6:35). Bread was an essential of life in Jesus’s culture. No meal was complete without b