The life of Jesus, in the three-and-a-half years that He walked on the Earth, touched many people, some more obviously than others. His 12 disciples were probably the ones impacted the most greatly, as they walked with Him and heard His teachings much more so than others did. Many are mentioned in the gospels, who were healed or set free from demon oppression. But then there are the more casual encounters that are easy to overlook; people whose lives were touched and even changed by Jesus, but are largely ignored as we read through the scriptures.
Nicodemus can be said to fall into this last group. While his own personal encounter with Jesus was profound and probably life-changing, there are only three places in the gospels where he is mentioned. So, it is easy to overlook this man and what happened in his life. Knowing that he was a Pharisee merely increases the tendency to overlook him, as the Pharisees are often thought of as the “bad guys” in the gospel story.
But it is clear that not all the Pharisees were bad guys; at least Nicodemus wasn’t. Understanding who he was and the part he played in the life of Jesus can help us to understand those whom we might not agree with on doctrine, but are still amongst the followers of our God.
Who Were the Pharisees?
We don’t see the Pharisees appearing in the Bible until the New Testament, although they have their roots firmly embedded in the Old Testament. Often, we see them mentioned in the gospels along with another group, the Sadducees. To many Christians, the two names are essentially synonymous, both referring to the religious orthodoxy of the day, who actively opposed Jesus.
Yet there were distinct differences between the two groups and the existence of the Pharisees is largely due to problems with the Sadducees. The Aaronic priesthood, which was established by God, through Moses, was there to act as a bridge between man and God, representing man to God and God to man. Yet somehow this changed through the years, to the point where during the time of the reconstruction of the temple (written about in the book of Ezra) the priesthood had taken on the attitude of the daily and other required offerings that they gave were only on their own behalf, rather than on behalf of the people.
Recognizing the need for someone to represent the people before God, the Scribes started going out into the community to teach the Law and the Prophets to the people. They were uniquely qualified to fulfill this role, as their job of copying the scriptures caused them to become intimately familiar with it. Not only were they teachers, but also took on the role of being canonical lawyers, when such were needed.
The name “Pharisee” literally translates as “one who separates themselves,” indicating their focus on keeping themselves away from all things and people who were impure. Their personal goal was to obtain personal holiness, following God’s command:
Speak to all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say to them: You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy. – Leviticus 19:2
Consecrate yourself (dedicate yourself to a higher purpose) therefore, and be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy. – Leviticus 20:7
It is the Pharisees, not the priesthood, which created the synagogue for the people of Israel. It was originally intended to be a place of teaching, but quickly became a place of worship as well, as the people didn’t have any other place where they had the freedom to worship. The Pharisees encouraged joyful worship, with singing and dance, which the Sadducees were apparently against.
The big problem with the Pharisees came out of their desire to obey the Law, as it had been handed down by Moses. In their desire for personal holiness, they became legalistic, to the point of building “fences” around the law to keep themselves and those whom they taught from accidentally breaking the law and offending God. This is what Jesus referred to, in saying:
These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. 9 and in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men. – Matthew 15:8-9
Making the Word of God of no effect through your tradition which you have handed down. And many such things you do. – Mark 7:13
Yet these very same people, who Jesus railed against, were the most right-on believers of their day. Their most closely held doctrine was the common of the Messiah, yet when their Messiah did come, they were so fixated on the trappings of their religious beliefs, that most of them missed seeing who was in their midst.
But not Nicodemus
While Nicodemus may not be the only Pharisee in the time of Jesus to recognize Him as the Messiah, he is the only one mentioned in scripture that seemed to. Even then, we are not absolutely sure, although it is clear that he recognized that there was something different about Jesus and wanted to gain a greater understanding. Therefore, he went to visit Jesus and hear for himself what this new Rabbi had to say.
This is the first place we hear of Nicodemus and where we find that he was a Pharisee. But he was more than that, he was a ruler of the Jews. Nicodemus belonged to the Sanhedrin, the ruling court in Jerusalem; essentially the Supreme Court of ancient Judea.
Even though Nicodemus was curious about Jesus, recognizing that he was “a teacher from God,” and that God was doing miracles through Him (John 3:2), he was apparently uncomfortable about the potential reaction of the other members of the Sanhedrin, for he visited Jesus at night, when people wouldn’t see him. Jesus quickly turned the conversation to a direction that Nicodemus apparently hadn’t expected, giving us today an understanding of what salvation is.
Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 4 Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” 5 Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. – John 3:3-6
There are two ways that we can take Nicodemus’ questioning of Jesus. The first is to say that he didn’t believe Jesus. I doubt this one is correct, simply because Jesus didn’t rebuke him for it; but rather, answered his question. This makes it clear that Nicodemus’ question was an honest one, asked as a true student of the Scriptures, seeking knowledge. Jesus answered his question; but also rebuked him for his lack of knowledge (John 3:10. But what is more interesting than that, is that of all that Jesus could have said, He chose to talk to Nicodemus about salvation. Equally important is that He chose to reveal the most important points about salvation to Nicodemus, a Pharisee and member of the Sanhedrin, rather than to His own disciples.
And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man (Jesus Himself)2 be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. – John 3:14-15
And the verse that everyone quotes about salvation:
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. – John 3:16
And the verse after it, which is just as important to our understanding of salvation:
For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. – John 3:17
We rarely connect all this to Nicodemus; but it is clear if we read the chapter, that all this, and more, is contained in Jesus’ conversation with him. Jesus wasn’t totally against the religious rulers of the day; He was just against their religious stance. He wanted them to know the truth about salvation and took the opportunity to teach the one member of the Sanhedrin who came to Him.
Nicodemus Accepted Jesus’ Teaching
There is no record in the Bible of whether Nicodemus accepted Jesus as his personal Lord and Savior, but it is clear that what Jesus said to him had an impact on his life. We know this, because he stood up for Jesus, when the Sanhedrin wanted to arrest Jesus for his preaching and performing miracles.
Nicodemus (he who came to Jesus by night, being one of them) said to them, 51 “Does our law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he is doing?” – John 7:50-51
Granted, Nicodemus’ argument in this case didn’t make much of a difference, as the soldiers had already returned without Jesus; but it does show us his heart. While the other Pharisees and Sadducees were against Jesus, Nicodemus stood up for Him, using their own legal customs to remind them that they couldn’t declare Jesus as being a phony, without even hearing Him speak for themselves.
Ultimately, Jesus was captured, when Judas turned against Him, and was brought before the High Priest. It is interesting to note that He was not brought before the full Sanhedrin at that time, quite possibly because of Nicodemus standing in their way. Rather, the Bible tells us that Jesus was tried in private, at Caiaphas, the High Priest’s, home. That was against the convention of the day, as the Sanhedrin normally met in the Lishkat La-Gazit (Chamber of the Hewn Stones) in the Temple. Making this change allowed the High Priest to control who was there, the proceedings of the trial and its outcome.
From there, Jesus was taken to Pontius Pilate and eventually crucified, even though Pilate could find no fault with Him (John 19:4). Nevertheless, due to pressure from the chief priests, who called for the crucifixion of Jesus, Pilate ordered for Him to be crucified, symbolically washing his hands of the affair (Matthew 27:24).
When Jesus Died
Nicodemus couldn’t do anything to prevent the crucifixion of Jesus; but then, he probably wasn’t supposed to. The crucifixion of Christ was an integral part of God’s plan for our redemption and nothing was going to get in the way of that. While He used the evil hearts of men to accomplish His will, it was still God’s will being carried out.
Yet we see Nicodemus showing up in Jesus’ life at this point. Together with Joseph of Arimathea, who is defined as being a secret disciple of Jesus, they petitioned Pilate for permission to take Jesus’ body down from the cross and bury it, after He died. The Bible tells us that Nicodemus came prepared to bury the body of Jesus with honor.
And Nicodemus, who at first came to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds. 40 Then they took the body of Jesus, and bound it in strips of linen with the spices, as the custom of the Jews is to bury. – John 19:39-40
In the process of writing this gospel, John makes it clear that this is the same Nicodemus and not someone else with the same name. The remarkable thing was that he brought 100 pounds of myrrh and aloes for the burial. Some historians have argued that a pound would be a generous amount to use for burial, making this enough for the burial of 200 men. But if only a pound were brought, there would be no reason for the Bible to make mention of it. Rather, it is mentioned because the amount of spices used was remarkable.
Such a large amount of aloe and spices is an indication of the importance of the person being buried. According to the writings of the Roman historian Josephus, fourscore pounds of spices (80 pounds) were used for the burial of the great Jewish Rabbi, Gamaliel. That’s still considerably less than were used for the burial of Jesus.
This was clearly intentional on the part of Nicodemus and recording it was intentional on the part of John. This one act, along with investing the time and effort to bury Jesus’ body properly, shows the honor in which Nicodemus held Jesus. It is fairly safe to say, based on this act alone, that Nicodemus had accepted Jesus as being the Jewish Messiah.
The Gospel of Nicodemus
There are many ancient writings, not included in the Bible, but which are still considered Christian writings. Those which are included in the canon of the scripture are there because the believers of the Early Church deemed them the most important. Since the church was under persecution by the Romans for most of the first three centuries, owning copies of those scriptures was sufficient evidence to be killed for.
The common understanding in the church is that the canon of New Testament scriptures was established at the First Eccumenical Council, the Council of Nicaea, in 325 AD. However, this was a mere formality, as the believers themselves determined the canon of the New Testament by preserving those scriptures and hiding them from the Roman authorities. Hence, the books which were officially canonized as the New Testament in 325 AD, had actually been unofficially canonized as early as 170 AD.
The Gospel of Nicodemus, also known as the Acts of Pilate was not included in either of these canons, as we don’t have it in the Bible today. Nevertheless, it is a historic document, of which various copies have managed to survive through the ages. It is attributed to Nicodemus, although some scholars suggest that different parts may have been written by different authors, as there is some variance in the style of wording.
While being attributed to Nicodemus, that name dates back to the 4th or 5th century AD. It is still possible that the book was not originally written by Nicodemus and is in fact a fraud. There were a number of such books written in the first three centuries, mostly by people trying to discredit Christianity.
The book is divided by context into two basic parts. The first part deals with the trial of Jesus and tracks fairly much along with Luke, chapter 23. It is the second part which is most noteworthy, containing a story known as “The Harrowing of Hell.” This story claims to be the eyewitness account of two individuals who were raised from the dead, after Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection (there were many who rose from the dead after Jesus’ resurrection – Matthew 27:52-53). According to the text, they testified before the Sanhedrin about the descent of Christ into hell and His delivering of the righteous patriarchs of the Old Testament.
This latter part of the book has had a huge impact through the years, both in fiction and in Biblical teaching. It is the source of the idea that Jesus descended into hell, before rising from the dead. While Ephesians, 4:8-9 alludes strongly to this, there are other interpretations that could be put on these verses, without the Harrowing of Hell. The phrase “descended into the lower parts of the earth” could just refer to death and burial, without the descent into hell.
Therefore He says: “When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men.” 9 (Now this, “He ascended” – what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? – Ephesians 4:8-9
It is the Roman Catholic church that gave the common interpretation of these verses as referring to Jesus’ descent into hell; the same Catholic church which gave us the Gospel of Nicodemus. While I have absolutely no ground to accuse them of anything, there are sufficient grounds to arouse suspicion.
It is possible that this book has, in fact, affected church doctrine, even though it is not included in the canon of scriptures. That isn’t the only place that has happened, but it could be one such example.
Who Did Nicodemus Try to Heal?
In the opening episode of the television series “The Chosen,” Nicodemus tried to heal a demon-possessed woman, but failed. The woman is supposed to be Mary Magdalene, a woman who Jesus freed from demonic oppression. Sadly, this has affected some people’s understanding of the Bible, thinking that the event must have been in the Bible somewhere. But they are not. There is no record of Nicodemus trying to heal anyone, either in the Bible or in the Gospel of Nicodemus.
It should be noted that there were Jewish exorcists in those days who did try to cast our demons. We find such a thing in the book of Acts, chapter 19, where the “seven sons of Sceva,” who was a Jewish priest, got chased off by an evil spirit, even after invoking the names of Jesus and Paul.
Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists took it upon themselves to call the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “We exorcize you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches.” 14 Also there were seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, who did so. 15 And the evil spirit answered and said, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?” 16 Then the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, overpowered them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. – Acts 19:13-16
Seeing this, one might conclude that Nicodemus tried something similar himself. But there’s a huge difference here. Nicodemus was a respected Pharisee and member of the Sanhedrin, while these sons of Sceva were not. Who they were is something left to our imagination; but it is possible they were trying to make a name for themselves as exorcists. One thing is clear, they didn’t know what they were doing.
The authority to use the name of Jesus comes from being in relationship with Him, something that Sceva’s sons didn’t have. We know this, because they said “Jesus who Paul preaches.” Had they taken the time to get to know Jesus for themselves and learned how to do it properly, they quite possibly could have cast out that demon.
Did Nicodemus know Jesus that well? We just don’t know. The encounters I’ve mentioned above are the only ones we know that he had with Jesus. It is possible that he had others; but if he did, they are not recorded in scripture. Therefore, it is unlikely that he would have had or understood the authority of the believer to minister in that way. The idea that he did so is an invention of the scriptwriters of The Chosen.