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Who
Was Nicodemus?
Lesson 5 Scripture Footnotes
By John A. Tvedtnes [Supplement to Gospel Doctrine New Testament lesson 5]
“There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.” (William Shakespeare, Hamlet , Act 1 Scene 5)
Hamlet's declaration to Horatio always reminds me of Jesus' question to Nicodemus, “If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?” (John 3:12). Attempting to explain the necessity of being born of God, the Savior also asked him, “Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?” (John 3:10).
The Greek didaskalos , rendered “master” in this passage, means “teacher,” and appears in the Greek New Testament 58 times, of which 40 refer to Jesus. John 1:38 equates it with the Hebrew term rabbi , the title by which Nicodemus addressed Christ (John 3:2). The rabbis were Pharisees and leaders of the people, some of them serving in the Sanhedrin, a group of 72 men who governed the Jews and constituted the highest tribunal in Judaism. [1]
According to John 3:1, Nicodemus was “a ruler of the Jews” and hence probably a member of the Sanhedrin. The Babylonian Tamud [2] and the Midrash Rabbah [3] name one Nakdimon son of Gorion as one of the richest men in Jerusalem at the time the Romans destroyed the temple in A.D. 70. He may be the Nicodemus of John's account or his grandson. [4]
Nicodemus believed that Jesus came from God (John 3:2). Consequently, when the rabbis met to discuss Jesus and those who followed him, “Nicodemus saith unto them, (he that came to Jesus by night, being one of them,) Doth our law judge any man, before it hear him, and know what he doeth? They answered and said unto him, Art thou also of Galilee? Search, and look: for out of Galilee ariseth no prophet” (John 7:50-52).
After the crucifixion of Christ, Nicodemus was joined by another secret believer in preparing him for burial:
And after this Joseph of Arimathaea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, besought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus: and Pilate gave him leave. He came therefore, and took the body of Jesus. 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. 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 19:38-40)
Early Christian tradition attributes to Nicodemus an account of Christ's visit to the spirit-world, called the Gospel of Nicodemus . He is also named in several medieval Syriac and Armenian texts as one of the Seventy chosen by Christ, as described in Luke 10. These are the lists prepared by Jacob bar Salibi (also called Dionysus, died A.D. 1171), Michael the Syrian (A.D. 1126-1199), and Shelemon (Solomon) of Basra (early 13 th century A.D.) in his Book of the Bee. [5]
Though the account of Nicodemus's nighttime visit to Jesus is relatively short, it includes some of the most profound of Christ's teachings. One of these is the concept of rebirth via water and the Spirit (John 3:3-8). The apostle John, who recorded the conversation, wrote of being born of God in some of his other writings (John 1:12-13; 1 John 2:29; 3:9-10; 4:7-8; 5:1-8, 18) [6] and this was one of his major themes. Another major theme reflected in what the Savior taught Nicodemus underlies the doctrine of the atonement:
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. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. (John 3:16-17)
Of the four men who wrote the gospel accounts of Jesus' life, only John mentions Nicodemus. We owe him a debt of gratitude for preserving some of the most important teachings of the Savior.
For an introduction to the books of the New Testament and in-depth discussions of each verse in the New Testament, see Kevin L. Barney (ed.), John H. Jenkins, and John A. Tvedtnes, “ Footnotes to the New Testament for Latter-day Saints,” go to: http://feastupontheword.org/Site:NTFootnotes
[1]The Sanhedrin was patterned after the seventy elders called to serve in the days of Moses (Exodus 24:1, 9). Indeed, ancient texts vary as to whether the body comprised 70 men or 72; the latter would suggest 6 men from each of the 12 tribes. Ironically, the nominal head of the Sanhedrin was the high priest, who headed the party of the Sadducees.
[2] Ta'anit 19b-20a; Ketubot 65a, 66b-67a; Gittim 56a; Abodah Zarah 25a.
[3] Lamentations 1:31; Ecclesiastes 7:19.
[4] In Judaism, newborn boys are often given the names of their paternal grandfathers.
[5] Nicodemus is not included in the lists of the Seventy prepared by Hippolytus and Dorotheus. John Chrysostom (A.D. 347-407), bishop of Constantinople, in his Homily 85 on John 19:38, suggested that Joseph of Arimathea, who joined with Nicodemus to bury Christ after his crucifixion, was “not one of the twelve, but perhaps one of the seventy.”
[6] 1 John 5:7 does not appear in the earliest Greek manuscripts and is considered to be a later addition, included to justify the concept of the Trinity taught in most Christian churches.
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