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Nicodemus

Man living at the time of the New Testament

Nicodemus was a Pharisee and a member of the Jewish ruling council who had several encounters with Jesus.

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Nicodemus was a Pharisee and a member of the Jewish ruling council, the Sanhedrin (Jhn.3.1). He came to Jesus at night, likely to avoid being seen, and engaged in a discussion about the need to be born again to enter the kingdom of God (Jhn.3.1-21). Later, Nicodemus defended Jesus before the Sanhedrin, reminding them that the law required a person to be heard before being judged (Jhn.7.50-51). After the crucifixion, Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes to anoint Jesus' body for burial, demonstrating his devotion to Jesus (Jhn.19.39-40). Though initially coming to Jesus in secret, Nicodemus grew to be a follower of Christ.

Connections

Part of: Bethany and the Women Around Jesus

Two Sanhedrin members bury Jesus

FriendsStated in the text

Joseph of Arimathea, a member of the council and secret disciple, asked Pilate for the body. Nicodemus came with about seventy-five pounds of spices. Both belonged to the council that condemned Jesus.

NicodemusPharisee who visited JesusJosephOf Arimathea, buried Jesus in his own tombPilateA Roman ruler
Where the text shows it: John 19:38-42 — Joseph and NicodemusMark 15:43-45 — Joseph asks PilateJohn 3:1-2 — Nicodemus a ruler of the JewsJohn 7:50-52 — Nicodemus defends Jesus

Sources: Scripture

More background: search Wikipedia ↗

Bible dictionary

Nicodemus Easton Easton’s Bible Dictionary (1897)

The people is victor, a Pharisee and a member of the Sanhedrin. He is first noticed as visiting Jesus by night (John 3:1-21) for the purpose of learning more of his doctrines, which our Lord then unfolded to him, giving prominence to the necessity of being “born again.” He is next met with in the Sanhedrin (7:50-52), where he protested against the course they were taking in plotting against Christ. Once more he is mentioned as taking part in the preparation for the anointing and burial of the body of Christ (John 19:39). We hear nothing more of him. There can be little doubt that he became a true disciple.

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Nicodemus Smith Smith’s Bible Dictionary (1863)

(conqueror of the people), a Pharisee, a ruler of the Jews and a teacher of Israel, (John 3:1,10) whose secret visit to our Lord was the occasion of the discourse recorded only by St. John. In Nicodemus a noble candor and a simple love of truth shine out in the midst of hesitation and fear of man. He finally became a follower of Christ, and came with Joseph of Arimathaea to take down and embalm the body of Jesus.

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Nicodemus Hitchcock Hitchcock’s Bible Names Dictionary (1869)

victory of the people

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Nicodemus Hastings Hastings’ Dictionary of the Bible (1898)

NICODE'MUS (victor of the people), a ruler of the Jews, and a distinguished member of the sect of the Pharisees, whose conversation with the Messiah, as recorded in John 3, reveals one of the grand doctrines of the Christian system - viz., regeneration by the Spirit of God. On this occasion he betrayed himself as a timid disciple, or as one just seeking after the truth, for he came to Christ under the cover of darkness. Later he defends Christ against the bitter injustice of the Pharisees, John 7:50, and finally he appears as a professed follower, helping in the sepulture of the crucified Lord. John 19:89.

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Nicodemus Schaff Schaff’s Dictionary of the Bible

NICODE'MUS (victor of the people), a ruler of the Jews, and a distinguished member of the sect of the Pharisees, whose conversation with the Messiah, as recorded in John 3, reveals one of the grand doctrines of the Christian system - viz., regeneration by the Spirit of God. On this occasion he betrayed himself as a timid disciple, or as one just seeking after the truth, for he came to Christ under the cover of darkness. Later he defends Christ against the bitter injustice of the Pharisees, John 7:50, and finally he appears as a professed follower, helping in the sepulture of the crucified Lord. John 19:89.

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Easton (1897), Smith (1863), Hitchcock (1869), Hastings (1898) and Schaff are in the public domain. Parsed text: neuu-org/bible-dictionary-dataset (CC BY 4.0). Headwords and whitespace normalised for this site.

Where Nicodemus appears

5 verses in 1 book · English text: BSB (change it from the menu at the top) · Strong’s G3530

John5

Names, family links and references: STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). Short descriptions were drafted with AI assistance by STEPBible. Family links follow STEPBible’s scholarly decisions where genealogies are ambiguous.