Nicodemus

We read about Nicodemus only in the gospel of John.  Yet he is a very important man in the story of the earthly ministry of Jesus.  Nicodemus is an interesting name.  It means “Victory over the People.” We believe Nicodemus was a major player in first century Jerusalem.

Nicodemus was a Pharisee and a ruler of the Jews (John 3:1).  He was also a member of the Sanhedrin.  At a rigged trial of Jesus, Nicodemus stood up against the rulers to stand on the law (John 7:45-52).  Jesus was being tried without being present.  Nicodemus would have none of it and attempted to stop the trial on a point of law.  He was apparently successful since Jesus was not arrested at that time, but that didn’t keep them from continuing to plot against Jesus.

The entire next chapter, chapter eight of John, is a long argument between the Jewish leaders and Jesus about just who He was.

The final time we see Nicodemus is at the burial of Jesus’ body in John 19:38-42 when he brings seventy-five pounds (KJV and NKJV say “one hundred pounds) of spices to include with the wrappings of Jesus’ body.  Seventy-five pounds of spices was unusual for a common burial.  That much was usually only appropriate for a royal burial.  This implies Nicodemus either considered Jesus in the highest regard or perhaps was a dedicated follower of the Christ.

Many scholars believe Nicodemus may well have been a very close relative to Flavius Josephus, the famous first century Roman/Jewish historian.

Nicodemus is mentioned just three times in John’s Gospel.  In chapter three, we see a discussion between he and Jesus about the new birth.  Reading these verses from a 21st Century perspective gives us a poor idea of what is going on here.  We need to remember Nicodemus is a consummate Jew.  He is still under the Law and, as a Jew, believes he is assured a place in God’s kingdom.  Then Jesus tells him that’s not enough. He needs to be “born-again.”

Do you remember your confusion the first time you heard the term “born-again?”  It was worse for Nicodemus.  Here he was, a teacher of the Law, a Pharisee, an authority on the Jewish faith, and Jesus tells him he needs to be reborn.  The fact he couldn’t understand what Jesus meant by that brings up the foolish question “can I climb back into my mother’s womb?”  We might have asked the same thing if this were our first time hearing this.

In John 3:3, Nicodemus had just finished recognizing Jesus as a “teacher come from God” when Jesus throws “You must be born again” at him.  Nothing Nicodemus said seemed to lead up to that though we do see just a few verses earlier that Jesus knew what was in man (John 2:25).  So, Jesus probably read why Nicodemus was there and jumped right to it.

The rest of the passage is Jesus trying to give examples of what He meant by “born-again.”  He goes directly to the very question Nicodemus asked and used the same example of fleshly birth, “born of water.” 

Even 2,000 years ago people knew of the amniotic fluid that comes with the baby.  The child seems to be born of water.  So, first be must be born physically as Nicodemus knew, but then we must be reborn spiritually as Jesus explained: “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” (John 3:6)  So, the context says we are all born of flesh, but to enter the kingdom of God, we must also be born of spirit.

Some think Jesus is talking about Christian baptism here when He speaks of being born of water, but we must remember there was no such thing as Christian baptism when this conversation took place, only the baptism of John.  This was still Old Testament times.  The New Testament does not begin until the ultimate sacrifice is given for us: the crucifixion of Jesus.

Why is this important?

Understanding the main characters of the Gospel helps us to examine ourselves, our faults and our strengths.  Also, having a better understanding of what it means to be born-again makes our Christian witness stronger and more accurate.

Nicodemus needed to know what was required to enter the kingdom of heaven.  In verse 16, Jesus makes it abundantly clear for him in a single sentence:

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

I have taught Bible study methods for years.  One such method is called the ABC Method.  It’s called that because with any passage we study, we should be able to Find: A Title, Basic verse, and the Challenge or commitment in that passage.  John 3:16 is the basic verse, the verse which best explains the entire Bible plan, the verse we often turn to to explain God’s offer.  It was first explained to Nicodemus.