Nicodemus

For other uses, see Nicodemus (disambiguation).
Nicodemus (/nkdims/; Greek: ) is a
is mostly a reworking of the earlier Acts of Pilate, which
recounts the harrowing of Hell.
Although there is no clear source of information about
Nicodemus outside the Gospel of John, the Jewish En-
cyclopedia and many Biblical historians have speculated
that he could be identical to Nicodemus ben Gurion, men-
tioned in the Talmud as a wealthy and popular holy man
reputed to have had miraculous powers. Others point out
that the biblical Nicodemus is likely an older man at the
time of his conversation with Jesus, while Nicodemus ben
Gurion was on the scene forty years later, at the time of
the Jewish War.[1]

1 Nicodemus in Johns Gospel

Nicodemus helping to take down Jesus body from the cross

(Pieta, by Michelangelo).

Pharisee and a member of the Sanhedrin mentioned in Nicodemus (left) talking to Jesus, by Henry Ossawa Tanner
three places in the Gospel of John:
As is the case with Lazarus, Nicodemus does not belong
He rst visits Jesus one night to discuss Jesus teach- to the tradition of the Synoptic Gospels and is only men-
ings (John 3:121). tioned by John,[2] who devotes more than half of Chapter
The second time Nicodemus is mentioned, he re- 3 of his gospel, a few verses of Chapter 7 and lastly men-
minds his colleagues in the Sanhedrin that the law tions him in Chapter 19.
requires that a person be heard before being judged The rst time Nicodemus is mentioned, he is identied as
(John 7:5051). a Pharisee who comes to see Jesus at night. John places
Finally, Nicodemus appears after the Crucixion of this meeting shortly after the Cleansing of the Temple and
Jesus to provide the customary embalming spices, links it to the signs which Jesus performed in Jerusalem
and assists Joseph of Arimathea in preparing the during the Passover feast. Rabbi, we know that you are
body of Jesus for burial (John 19:3942). a teacher who has come from God. For no one could
perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him
An apocryphal work under his name the Gospel of (John 3:2).
Nicodemus was produced in the mid-4th century, and Then follows a conversation with Nicodemus about the

1
2 3
Christus und Nicodemus, by Fritz von Uhde (18481911)
meaning of being "born again" or born from above
(Greek: ), and mention of seeing the "kingdom
of God". Nicodemus explores the notion of being lit-
erally born again from ones mothers womb, but most
theologians recognise that Nicodemus knew Jesus was
not speaking of literal re-birth. Theologian Charles El-
licott wrote that after the method of Rabbinic dia-
logue, [Nicodemus] presses the impossible meaning of
the words in order to exclude it, and to draw forth the
true meaning. 'You cannot mean that a man is to enter
the second time into his mothers womb, and be born.
What is it, then, that you do mean?'"[3]
Jesus expresses surprise, perhaps ironically, that a
teacher of Israel" does not understand the concept of spir-
itual rebirth. James F. Driscoll describes Nicodemus as a
learned and intelligent believer, but somewhat timid and
not easily initiated into the mysteries of the new faith.[2] Entombment, by Tizian
In Chapter 7, Nicodemus advises his colleagues among
the chief priests and the Pharisees, to hear and investi-
gate before making a judgment concerning Jesus. Their
mocking response argues that no prophet comes from
Galilee. Nonetheless, it is probable that he wielded a cer-
tain inuence in the Sanhedrin.[2]
Finally, when Jesus is buried, Nicodemus brought a mix-
ture of myrrh and aloes, about 100 pounds, for embalm-
ing Jesus body according to Jewish custom.[John 19:39]
Nicodemus must have been a man of means. In his
book Jesus of Nazareth: Holy Week, Pope Benedict XVI
observes that, The quantity of the balm is extraordi-
nary and exceeds all normal proportions. This is a royal Both of these sculptures date from at least a millennium
burial.[4] after Nicodemus life, but the ascriptions attest to the con-
LEGACY
2 Veneration and liturgical com-
memoration
Nicodemus is venerated as a saint in the various Eastern
Churches and in the Roman Catholic Church. The
Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Catholic churches com-
memorate Nicodemus on the Sunday of the Myrrhbear-
ers, celebrated on the Third Sunday of Pascha (i.e., the
second Sunday after Easter) as well as August 2, the date
when tradition holds that his relics were found, along with
those of Stephen the Protomartyr, Gamaliel, and Abibas
(Gamaliels second son). The traditional Roman Catholic
liturgical calendar lists the same feast of the nding of
their relics on the following day, August 3.
In the current Roman Martyrology of the Catholic
Church, Nicodemus is commemorated along with Saint
Joseph of Arimathea on August 31. The Franciscan
Order erected a church under the patronage of Saints
Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea in Ramla.
3 Legacy
3.1 Nicodemus in art
Nicodemus gures prominently in medieval depictions of
the Deposition in which he and Joseph of Arimathea are
shown removing the dead Christ from the cross, often
with the aid of a ladder.
Like Joseph, Nicodemus became the object of various
pious legends during the Middle Ages, particularly in
connection with monumental crosses. He was reputed
to have carved both the Holy Face of Lucca and the
Batll Crucix, receiving angelic assistance with the face
in particular and thus rendering the works instances of
acheiropoieta.[5]
 3

temporary interest in Nicodemus as a character in me- National Park Service indicates that it was more likely
dieval Europe. based on a 1864 song Wake Nicodemus by Henry Clay
Work used to promote settlement in the area.[10]
In August 16, 1967, Martin Luther King Jr. invoked
3.2 Nicodemus in music Nicodemus as a metaphor concerning the need for the
United States to be born again in order to eectively
In the Lutheran prescribed readings of the 18th century,
address social and economic inequality. The speech
the gospel text of the meeting of Jesus and Nicodemus
was called Where Do We Go From Here?, and deliv-
at night was assigned to Trinity Sunday. Johann Sebas-
ered at the 11th Annual SCLC Convention in Atlanta,
tian Bach composed several cantatas for the occasion, of
Georgia.[11]
which O heilges Geist- und Wasserbad, BWV 165, com-
posed in 1715, stays close to the gospel based on a libretto
by the court poet in Weimar, Salomo Franck.
Ernst Pepping composed in 1937 an Evangelienmotte 4 Gallery
(motet on gospel text) Jesus und Nikodemus.
In popular music, Nicodemus name was guratively used
in Henry Clay Work's 1864-written Civil-War-Aera piece Nicodemus in Art
Wake Nicodemus,[6] which at that time was popular in
minstrel shows. In 1978 Tim Curry covered the song on
his debut album Read My Lips (Tim Curry album).

3.3 In Protestant vs. Catholic struggle

Main article: Nicodemite

During the struggle between Protestants and Catholics in

Europe, from the 16th Century to the 18th, a person be- Jesus and
longing to a Church dierent from the locally dominant Nicodemus by Crijn Hendricksz, 16161645
one often risked severe punishment - in many cases a lit-
eral life danger. At that time, there developed the use of
"Nicodemite", usually a term of disparagement referring
to a person who is suspected of public misrepresentation
of their actual religious beliefs by exhibiting false appear-
ance and concealing true beliefs.[7][8] The term was ap-
parently introduced by John Calvin in his 1544 Excuse
messieurs les Nicodemites.[9] To Calvin, who opposed all
veneration of Saints, the fact of Nicodemus becoming a
Catholic Saint in no way exonerated his duplicity. The
term was originally applied mainly to to hidden Protes-
tants in a Catholic environment - later used also in oppo- Cima
site cases. da Conegliano, Nicodemus with Christs body,
Apostle John on the right and Mary to left.

3.4 United States

The discussion with Jesus is the source of several com-

mon expressions of contemporary American Christianity,
specically, the descriptive phrase "born again" used to
describe salvation or baptism by some groups, and John
3:16, a commonly quoted verse used to describe Gods
plan of salvation.
Daniel Burke notes that, To blacks after the Civil War,
he was a model of rebirth as they sought to cast o their
old identity as slaves.[4] Rosamond Rodman asserts that Entombment, by Pietro Pe-
freed slaves who moved to Nicodemus, Kansas, after the rugino, with Nicodemus and Joseph from Arimatea
Civil War named their town after him.[4] However, the
4 8 EXTERNAL LINKS

6 References
Cornel Heinsdor: Christus, Nikodemus und die
Samaritanerin bei Juvencus. Mit einem Anhang
zur lateinischen Evangelienvorlage (= Untersuchun-
gen zur antiken Literatur und Geschichte, Bd.67),
Berlin/New York 2003

Nicodemus (right) talking to

Jesus, by William Brassey Hole, (18461917) 7 See also
Template:Nicodemus Ben Gurion

8 External links
Jewish Encyclopedia: Nicodemus

St. Nicodemus, Butlers Lives of the Saints

Tanner -
Nicodemus coming to Christ II

5 Notes
[1] Carson, D.A. The Gospel according to John. Leicester:
InterVarsity, 1991. 186.

[2] Driscoll, James F. Nicodemus. The Catholic Encyclope-

dia. Vol. 11. New York: Robert Appleton Company,
1911. 13 Dec. 2014.

[3] Charles Ellicott, Ellicotts Commentary for English Read-

ers on John 3, accessed 10 February 2016

[4] Burke, Daniel. Nicodemus, The Mystery Man of Holy

Week, Religious News Service, March 27, 2013.

[5] Schiller, Gertrud. Iconography of Christian Art. Volume

2. The Passion of Jesus Christ. Janet Seligman (tr.),
Greenwich, CT: New York Graphic Society, 1972: 144
5, 4723.

[6]

[7] Overell 2004, pp. 117-118.

[8] Livingstone 2000

[9] Eire 1979.

[10] Nicodemus National Historic Site, National Park Ser-

vice.

[11] King Jr., Martin Luther.Where do we go from here, Au-

gust 16, 1967, The Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and
Education Institute, Stanford University.
 5

9 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

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