Nicodemus

Nicodemus is one of the most intriguing figures in the Gospel of John — a Pharisee, a member of the ruling Sanhedrin, and a man whose intellectual honesty drew him to Jesus even when it was dangerous to be associated with the rabbi from Galilee. He came to Jesus by night — whether from fear, discretion, or both — and opened with a generous admission: "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him" (Jn 3:2).

What followed was one of the most theologically dense conversations in the entire Bible. Jesus told Nicodemus that no one can see the kingdom of God without being "born again" — or "born from above," as the Greek ambiguously allows. Nicodemus was bewildered: "How can a man be born when he is old?" Jesus' answer pointed to Baptism ("born of water and the Spirit") and culminated in the most famous verse in Scripture: "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son" (Jn 3:16).

Nicodemus reappears twice more in John's Gospel, each time a little braver. He defends Jesus before the Sanhedrin, arguing that the law requires hearing a man before judging him (Jn 7:50-51). And after the crucifixion, he joins Joseph of Arimathea in preparing Jesus' body for burial, bringing an extravagant quantity of myrrh and aloes — about seventy-five pounds, a royal burial. In Catholic tradition, Nicodemus represents every honest seeker who approaches Christ with genuine questions, and whose faith grows gradually from darkness toward the light.