Nicodemus

Nicodemus, in the Gospel According to John, a Pharisee and ruler of the Jews at the time of Jesus’ preaching and crucifixion.

Nicodemus is mentioned only three times in the Gospel According to John (and nowhere in the Synoptic Gospels). As such, his character remains largely ambiguous within the biblical canon. Early traditions of the Roman imperial church, which held Nicodemus in high esteem, and apocryphal biblical literature both offer detail that informs the modern reception of Nicodemus’s identity and biography. Nicodemus has not been identified with any known historical figure, in part because of the lack of information regarding his identity in the Gospel According to John.

Nicodemus in the Bible

The Gospel According to John differs from the other canonical Gospels in its emphasis on the mystical theology surrounding the divine incarnation of Jesus. The most elaborate mention of Nicodemus, in chapter 3 of John, maintains that mystical approach. In that chapter Nicodemus comes in the secrecy of the night to learn from Jesus, whom he professes as a teacher sent by God. It is in the context of his conversation that one of the most famous biblical passages, John 3:16, occurs:

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For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.

In the same conversation Nicodemus seeks to understand how a person might be “born again” after having left a mother’s womb. Jesus answers that those who wish to see the kingdom of God must be born again in both water and spirit, a passage commonly interpreted as referring to the initiation rite of baptism.

The second mention of Nicodemus occurs when some of the chief priests and Pharisees of the Sanhedrin ask why the temple guards failed to bring Jesus to them. Nicodemus speaks in subtle defense of Jesus, saying that Jewish law requires that a person cannot be condemned without first being heard (John 7:50–51).

After Jesus’ crucifixion, Nicodemus assists Joseph of Arimathea in laying Jesus’ body in a nearby tomb (John 19:39–42). He brings along a mixture of myrrh and aloes to anoint him for the entombment. Although Joseph of Arimathea, the owner of the tomb, is mentioned in all four canonical Gospels as preparing the body for burial, Nicodemus is mentioned only in the Gospel According to John.

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Extra-biblical traditions

Some of the extra-biblical traditions about Nicodemus are based on conjecture. The Gospel According to John identifies him as a Pharisee, “a leader of the Jews,” and “a teacher of Israel” and portrays him in discussion with the chief priests on Jesus’ fate. Because of his apparent stature among the Pharisees, it was supposed that he was a member of the Great Sanhedrin, the supreme Jewish legislative and judicial court in Jerusalem under Roman rule.

It is believed that he was somewhat elderly, based on the first question he posed to Jesus: “How can anyone be born after having grown old?” (John 3:4). That he was wealthy is conjectured from his pairing with Joseph of Arimathea, who is identified in the Gospel According to Matthew as a rich man, and from his provision of a large quantity of myrrh and aloes for Jesus’ burial.

Other traditions are hagiographical, intended to clarify his acceptance of Jesus’ teachings. For example, some traditions relate that he was ostracized by the Pharisees for his Christian sympathies. They also hold that he lived the remainder of his life in the home of Gamaliel, another member of the Sanhedrin who otherwise remained in good standing among the Pharisees (Acts of the Apostles 5:34–39). The traditions of the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church hold that their relics were housed and venerated together in the 5th century, along with those of St. Stephen the martyr.

Nicodemus in art and literature

Representations of Nicodemus in art tend to focus on his sympathy for Jesus, his identification as a Jew, and his purported social prominence.

Among the most influential representations of Nicodemus is that in the apocryphal Acts of Pilate, a 4th/5th-century work that expounds on the sentencing and crucifixion of Jesus. He appears as a protagonist in the text and as one of several Jews who testify in Jesus’ favor before Pilate, in apparent contrast to the charges brought against him by an otherwise undifferentiated group of Jews. The entirety of the apocryphal account was, at some point, attributed to Nicodemus and later incorporated into a more elaborate work, known as the Gospel of Nicodemus. Scholars remain unclear on the overall polemical purpose of either the Acts of Pilate or the Gospel of Nicodemus, but the contrast of Nicodemus as a righteous Jew against an obstinate crowd of Jews, along with his alleged authorship of the texts, is considered by many as providing literary reinforcement to anti-Jewish views held by contemporary Christians.

In visual art, Nicodemus most frequently appears within the context of the deposition and entombment of Jesus after his crucifixion. He is typically, but not always, paired with Joseph of Arimathea, who together with Nicodemus carries the body of Jesus. In some depictions, such as Filippino Lippi’s Pietà, he is the lone figure bearing the body, flanked by two angels. When appearing with Joseph of Arimathea, Nicodemus more commonly supports the lower body of Jesus while Joseph supports the upper body. In Michelangelo’s sculpture of the entombment, Nicodemus is assisted by the Virgin Mary and Mary Magdalene, rather than Joseph of Arimathea. Nicodemus is often depicted in an exotic turban, intended to indicate his position among the Pharisees.