Calling and Purpose 22—Nicodemus, the Pharisee Who Believes

By the time we encounter Nicodemus in John’s Gospel, Jesus has begun His ministry, selected His first twelve disciples, turned water into wine at a wedding in Cana, celebrated the Passover in Jerusalem and chased the money changers, sheep, and cattle from the Temple with a whip. The Jewish leaders are already showing animosity toward Jesus.

 Nicodemus was a high-ranking Jewish leader, who was almost certainly part of the debates about the controversy Jesus was causing.  We learn that Nicodemus was a Pharisee and a member of the Jewish ruling council (John 3:1).  We also discover that Nicodemus approached Jesus at night—perhaps due to fear of reprisals from his fellow leaders.  Surprisingly, he greeted Jesus as “Rabbi” and acknowledged Jesus as a teacher “who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.”  Given that what we know of other Pharisees and ruling councilors is not pro-Jesus and not in favor of the concept that God was with Jesus, this was a significant statement!

 As He always seemed to do, Jesus spotted Nicodemus’ true need—to be transformed by the knowledge that Jesus is from God:  “Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again [or born from above]” (John 3:3).  Nicodemus took Jesus literally, and Jesus answered: “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit” (John 3:5-8.

 Nicodemus was confused and Jesus gently reprimanded his lack of understanding—expecting more from a Jewish teacher who had studied God’s word.  Then, thanks to Nicodemus’ curiosity and his willingness to stay engaged in conversation with Jesus, we get the following verses that are so central to John’s Gospel:  “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him” (John 3:16-17).

 Thanks to Nicodemus’ curiosity, his willingness to overcome his fears, his sense that Jesus was unique and from God—we have those beautiful words that have lasted for thousands of years as both promise and invitation.

 Nicodemus recedes into the background for several chapters while Jesus interacts with an assortment of people:  a Samaritan woman at a well, a royal official and his ill son, a thirty-eight-year-old invalid, those who find His reference to God as His Father offensive, five thousand hungry people, and His disciples.  His travels include Jerusalem, Galilee, Judea, Cana, Capernaum, and walking on water.  Jesus is increasingly the reason for discord among the Jewish leaders and many disciples desert Him because they find His teaching offensive. 

 Then, Jewish leaders in Judea seek a way to kill Jesus, and He begins to restrict His travels (John 7).  When He teaches at the Festival of Tabernacles, some see Him as good, others as a deceiver—but “no one would say anything publicly about him for fear of the leaders” (John 7:13).  In fact, the “chief priests and the Pharisees sent temple guards to arrest him” (John 7:32), but “no one laid a hand on him” (John 7:44).

 During the argument between the temple guards and the chief priests and Pharisees, we encounter Nicodemus again:

 “Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus earlier and who was one of their own number, asked, ‘Does our law condemn a man without first hearing him to find out what he has been doing?’” (John 7:50-51).  Nicodemus seems to have been emboldened in the intervening time, but his colleagues accuse him of ignorance.

 The rest of Jesus’ ministry takes place.  The next time we see Nicodemus is after Jesus’ arrest, flogging, public shaming, and sentence to crucifixion—by Pilate at the urging of Nicodemus’ fellow religious leaders.  Jesus is crucified.  Jesus dies.  The Jewish leaders want the bodies taken down in observance of the Sabbath. 

 “Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jewish leaders. With Pilate’s permission, he came and took the body away. He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds. Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs. At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there” (John 19:38-42).

 The final time we see Nicodemus is as assistant to Joseph of Arimathea in removing Jesus body, preparing it for burial, and placing it in a tomb.  Nicodemus is associated with Joseph--a secret “disciple of Jesus”--taking the same risks (implying the Nicodemus is also a secret Jesus’ follower).  We also learn that Nicodemus supplies seventy-five pounds of expensive spices to prepare Jesus’ body—likely at significant cost to himself.

 Nicodemus’ deep interest in and pursuit of Jesus and his sense that Jesus was the key to real connection to God was likely rooted in his study of the Hebrew Scriptures, his training as a Pharisee, and his service as part of the Jewish council.  Certainly some of the Jewish leaders, like Nicodemus and Joseph of Aramathea, saw and heard the resonance with Messianic prophecy and found the life, ministry, and death of Jesus compelling.

 As Nicodemus lived out his purpose—undergoing the training required to be a religious leader and rising to a position of power on the council, God positioned him to engage with Jesus and with his fellow council members during a pivotal time.  As Scripture about the Messiah resonated with Jesus’ teaching, signs, and wonders, Nicodemus’ interest in and pursuit of truth drew out the amazing conversation recorded in John 3 and the behaviors seen in John 7 and 19.  Nicodemus’ wealth also provided for Jesus’ burial at a time when Jesus’ disciples were not only economically poor but had scattered to the winds in fear.

Where has your training positioned you to engage in important conversation with your colleagues, perhaps with eternal significance?

 When have you found yourself in a setting where you sense an urging to speak up for what is right and true, even if you are in the minority and fear reprisal?

 How has God provided for you financially, and where might He be asking you to invest at significant cost?

 For more on these subjects, see the Gifts-Calling-Purpose blog.  Check out other resources and a six-week workbook at GodGiftsYou.com.

Shirley Giles Davis, author of the God. Gifts. You. Your Unique Calling and Design workbook, is a consultant, coach, facilitator who has worked with faith-based organizations, nonprofit agencies, and law enforcement leadership for over 30 years.  Shirley has been EquipConnectServe Director at First Pres Boulder since 1999.  She has worked with leaders and organizations in 47 of the United States as well as having clients outside the U.S.  Contact Shirley.