Nicodemus

For other uses, see Nicodemus (disambiguation).

Nicodemus (left) talking to Jesus, by Alexander Ivanov, 1850.

Saint Nicodemus (Greek: Νικόδημος) was a Pharisee and a member of the Sanhedrin, who, according to the Gospel of John, showed favour to Jesus. He appears three times: the first is when he visits Jesus one night to listen to his teachings (John 3:1–21); the second is when he states the law concerning the arrest of Jesus during the Feast of Tabernacles (John 7:45–51); and the last follows the Crucifixion, when he assists Joseph of Arimathea in preparing the corpse of Jesus for burial (John 19:39–42).

The discussion with Jesus is the source of several common expressions of contemporary Christianity, specifically, the descriptive phrase born again used to describe the experience of believing in Jesus as Saviour, and John 3:16, a commonly quoted verse used to describe God's plan of salvation.

An apocryphal work under his name — the Gospel of Nicodemus — was produced at some point in the medieval era, and is mostly a reworking of the earlier Acts of Pilate, which recounts the harrowing of Hell.

Though there is no clear source of information about this Nicodemus outside the Gospel of John, the Jewish Encyclopedia and many Biblical historians have theorized that he is identical to Nicodemus ben Gurion, mentioned in the Talmud as a wealthy and popular holy man reputed to have had miraculous powers. Christian tradition asserts that Nicodemus was martyred sometime in the first century. Nicodemus is venerated as a Saint by the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. Roman Catholics celebrate his memorial on August 3. The Franciscan Order erected a Church carrying his name and the name of St. Joseph of Arimathea in Ramla. The Orthodox Church celebrates him on the Sunday of the Myrrhbearers, a variable date falling always on the third Sunday of Easter and also on August 2, the date when tradition states that his relics were found, along with those of the Apostle and Protomartyr Stephen and Gamaliel (another member of the Sanhedrin who, according to a disputed Christian tradition, converted to Christianity).

Nicodemus in art

Jesus and Nicodemus, Crijn Hendricksz, 1616–1645.

Nicodemus figures prominently in medieval depictions of the Deposition in which he and Joseph of Arimathea are always 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 Batlló Crucifix, receiving angelic assistance with the face in particular and thus rendering the works instances of acheiropoieta.^[1] Both of these sculptures date from at least a millennium after Nicodemus's life, but the ascriptions attest to the contemporary interest in Nicodemus as a character in medieval Europe.

Popular culture

Nicodemus was portrayed by Laurence Olivier in the Franco Zeffirelli television miniseries Jesus of Nazareth (1977). In the miniseries, Nicodemus tries to warn Jesus that he might be arrested, and is there to watch the Crucifixion. He speaks the famous words "And with His wounds we are healed" (Isaiah 53:5).

Nichole Nordeman's song To Know You includes the lyrics: "Nicodemus could not understand how You could truly free us. He struggled with the image of a grown man born again. We might have been good friends, 'cause sometimes I still question too how easily we come to You."

In the Dresden Files series of novels, by Jim Butcher, Nicodemus betrays his faith by teaming up with Anduriel, a fallen Angel, who is also the captain of Lucifer's armies of Hell. Unlike the other humans who are possessed and enslaved by the Fallen, Nicodemus chooses his fate. In the series he wears "The Rope of Judas" (the piece of rope Judas used to hang himself) as a sort of macabre necktie.

The name Nicodemus is given to the leader of the rats in Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH.

Other references include songs from the Christian band For Today, in which one song entitled "Nicodemus (The Seeker)" contains lyrics hinting at his biblical legacy.

Also, in many books are there names used as Nicodemus to represent him.

In the Biblical, historical fiction, "Nicodemus" by Keith Ballard Farris, the life of Jesus is told from the point of view of Nicodemus. The story begins in Bethlehem, where the life of a young Nicodemus first collides with the changes and challenges that will tear apart his family.

See also

• Myrrhbearers

References

• Cornel Heinsdorff: Christus, Nikodemus und die Samaritanerin bei Juvencus. Mit einem Anhang zur lateinischen Evangelienvorlage (= Untersuchungen zur antiken Literatur und Geschichte, Bd.67), Berlin/New York 2003

References

1. ^ Gertrud Schiller, Iconography of Christian Art. Volume 2. The Passion of Jesus Christ. Janet Seligman (tr.), Greenwich, CT: New York Graphic Society, 1972: 144–5, 472–3.

External links

• Jewish Encyclopedia: Nicodemus
• Catholic Encyclopedia: Nicodemus
• "St. Nicodemus", Butler's Lives of the Saints

Jesus meets with Nicodemus Life of Jesus: Ministry Events
Preceded by Temple Cleansing	New Testament    Events	Followed by Samaritan Woman at the Well