Reference: Nicodemus
American
A member of the Jewish Sanhedrin, at first a Pharisee, and afterwards a disciple of Jesus. He was early convinced that Christ came from God, but was not ready at once to rank himself among His followers. In
Joh 3:1-20, he first appears as a timid inquirer after the truth, learning the great doctrines of regeneration and atonement. In Joh 7:45-52, we see him cautiously defending the Savior before the Sanhedrin. At last, in the trying scene of the crucifixion, he avowed himself a believer, and came with Joseph of Arimathea to pay the last duties to the body of Christ, which they took down from the cross, embalmed, and laid in the sepulchre, Joh 19:39.
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Now there was one of the Pharisees whose name was Nicodemus--a ruler among the Jews. He came to Jesus by night and said, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher from God; for no one can do these miracles which you are doing, unless God is with him. read more. "In most solemn truth I tell you," answered Jesus, "that unless a man is born anew he cannot see the Kingdom of God." "How is it possible," Nicodemus asked, "for a man to be born when he is old? Can he a second time enter his mother's womb and be born?" "In most solemn truth I tell you," replied Jesus, "that unless a man is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God. Whatever has been born of the flesh is flesh, and whatever has been born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be astonished at my telling you, 'You must all be born anew.' The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it is going. So is it with every one who has been born of the Spirit." "How is all this possible?" asked Nicodemus. "Are you," replied Jesus, "'the Teacher of Israel,' and yet do you not understand these things? In most solemn truth I tell you that we speak what we know, and give testimony of that of which we were eye-witnesses, and yet you all reject our testimony. If I have told you earthly things and none of you believe me, how will you believe me if I tell you of things in Heaven? There is no one who has gone up to Heaven, but there is One who has come down from Heaven, namely the Son of Man whose home is in Heaven. And just as Moses lifted high the serpent in the Desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, in order that every one who trusts in Him may have the Life of the Ages." For so greatly did God love the world that He gave His only Son, that every one who trusts in Him may not perish but may have the Life of Ages. For God did not send His Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who trusts in Him does not come up for judgement. He who does not trust has already received sentence, because he has not his trust resting on the name of God's only Son. And this is the test by which men are judged--the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness more than they loved the Light, because their deeds were wicked. For every wrongdoer hates the light, and does not come to the light, for fear his actions should be exposed and condemned.
Meanwhile the officers returned to the High Priests and Pharisees, who asked them, "Why have you not brought him?" "No mere man has ever spoken as this man speaks," said the officers. read more. "Are *you* deluded too?" replied the Pharisees; "has any one of the Rulers or of the Pharisees believed in him? But this rabble who understand nothing about the Law are accursed!" Nicodemus interposed--he who had formerly gone to Jesus, being himself one of them. "Does our Law," he asked, "judge a man without first hearing what he has to say and ascertaining what his conduct is?" "Do you also come from Galilee?" they asked in reply. "Search and see for yourself that no Prophet is of Galilaean origin."
Nicodemus too--he who at first had visited Jesus by night--came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, in weight about seventy or eighty pounds.
Easton
the people is victor, a Pharisee and a member of the Sanhedrin. He is first noticed as visiting Jesus by night (Joh 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 (Joh 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 (Joh 19:39). We hear nothing more of him. There can be little doubt that he became a true disciple.
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Now there was one of the Pharisees whose name was Nicodemus--a ruler among the Jews. He came to Jesus by night and said, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher from God; for no one can do these miracles which you are doing, unless God is with him. read more. "In most solemn truth I tell you," answered Jesus, "that unless a man is born anew he cannot see the Kingdom of God." "How is it possible," Nicodemus asked, "for a man to be born when he is old? Can he a second time enter his mother's womb and be born?" "In most solemn truth I tell you," replied Jesus, "that unless a man is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God. Whatever has been born of the flesh is flesh, and whatever has been born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be astonished at my telling you, 'You must all be born anew.' The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it is going. So is it with every one who has been born of the Spirit." "How is all this possible?" asked Nicodemus. "Are you," replied Jesus, "'the Teacher of Israel,' and yet do you not understand these things? In most solemn truth I tell you that we speak what we know, and give testimony of that of which we were eye-witnesses, and yet you all reject our testimony. If I have told you earthly things and none of you believe me, how will you believe me if I tell you of things in Heaven? There is no one who has gone up to Heaven, but there is One who has come down from Heaven, namely the Son of Man whose home is in Heaven. And just as Moses lifted high the serpent in the Desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, in order that every one who trusts in Him may have the Life of the Ages." For so greatly did God love the world that He gave His only Son, that every one who trusts in Him may not perish but may have the Life of Ages. For God did not send His Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who trusts in Him does not come up for judgement. He who does not trust has already received sentence, because he has not his trust resting on the name of God's only Son. And this is the test by which men are judged--the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness more than they loved the Light, because their deeds were wicked. For every wrongdoer hates the light, and does not come to the light, for fear his actions should be exposed and condemned. But he who does what is honest and right comes to the light, in order that his actions may be plainly shown to have been done in God.
Nicodemus interposed--he who had formerly gone to Jesus, being himself one of them. "Does our Law," he asked, "judge a man without first hearing what he has to say and ascertaining what his conduct is?" read more. "Do you also come from Galilee?" they asked in reply. "Search and see for yourself that no Prophet is of Galilaean origin."
Nicodemus too--he who at first had visited Jesus by night--came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, in weight about seventy or eighty pounds.
Fausets
A ruler of the Jews, a master ("teacher") of Israel, and a Pharisee. John (Joh 3:1-10) alone mentions him. John knew the high priest (Joh 18:15), so his knowledge of Nicodemus among the high priest's associates is natural. John watched with deep interest his growth in grace, which is marked in three stages (Mr 4:26-29).
(1) An anxious inquirer. The rich were ashamed to confess Jesus openly, in spite of convictions of the reality of His mission; so Joseph of Arimathea "a disciple, but secretly for fear of the Jews" (Joh 19:38). The poor "came" by day, but Nicodemus "by night." By an undesigned coincidence marking genuineness, Jesus' discourse is tinged, as was His custom (Joh 6:26-27; 4:7-14,35), with a coloring drawn from the incidents of the moment: "this is the condemnation that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light", etc.; "every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light ... but he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest that they are wrought in God" (Joh 3:19-21). Nicodemus was now a timid but candid inquirer; sincere so far as his belief extended. Fear of man holds back many from decision for Christ (Joh 7:13; 9:22; 12:42-43; 5:44; Pr 29:25; contrast Isa 51:7-8; 66:5; Ac 5:41).
Where real grace is, however, Jesus does "not quench the smoking flax." Many of Nicodemus' fellow rulers attributed Jesus' miracles to Beelzebub; Nicodemus on the contrary avows " we (including others besides himself) know Thou art a teacher come from God, for no man can do these miracles which Thou doest, except God be with him." Nicodemus was probably one of the many who had "seen His miracles on the Passover feast day, and believed (in a superficial way, but in Nicodemus it ultimately became a deep and lasting faith) when they saw" (Joh 2:23-24); but "Jesus did not commit Himself unto them ... for He knew what was in man," as He shows now in dealing with Nicodemus. Recognition of the divine miracle. working Teacher is not enough for seeing the kingdom of God, Jesus with a twice repeated Amen solemnly declares; there must be new birth from above (margin Joh 3:3,5,7), "of water (the outward sign) and of the Spirit" (the essential thing, not inseparably joined to the water baptism: Mr 16:16; Ac 2:38 (See BAPTISM) ), so that, as an infant just born, the person is a "new creature"; compare Naaman the type, 2Ki 5:14; 2Co 5:17; Eze 36:25-26.
For, being fleshly by birth, we must continue fleshly until being born of the Spirit we become spiritual (Joh 3:6). Nature can no more east out nature than Satan cast out Satan. Like the mysterious growth of the child in the womb, and like "the wind" whose motions we cannot control but know only its effects, "the sound," etc., so is the new birth (Joh 3:8; Ec 11:5; 1Co 2:11). Such was the beginning and growth of the new life in Nicodemus (Mr 4:27). Regeneration and its fruits are inseparable; where that is, these are (1Jo 3:9; 5:1,4). Nicodemus viewed Jesus' solemn declaration as a natural man, "how can these things be?" (Joh 3:4,9; compare Joh 6:52,60; 1Co 2:14). Yet he was genuinely open to conviction, for Christ unfolds to him fully His own divine glory as having "come down from heaven," and as even then while speaking to him "being in heaven" in His divine nature; also God's love in giving His Son, and salvation through the Son who should be lifted up, as the brazen serpent was, to all who look to Him in faith, and condemnation to unbelievers.
(2) A sincere but as yet weak believer. The next stage in Nicodemus' spiritual history appears Joh 7:45-53. Naturally timid, Nicodemus nevertheless remonstrates with bigots. The Pharisees, chagrined at the failure of their officers to apprehend Jesus, said, "why have ye not brought Him?" They replied, "never man spoke like this man." The Pharisees retorted, "are ye also deceived? surely none of the rulers or the Pharisees have believed on Him, have they? (Greek) But this people who knoweth not the law are cursed." Here one who, as they thought, should have stood by them and echoed their language, ventures to cast a doubt on their proceedings: "doth our law judge any before it hear him and know what he doeth?" (compare Le 19:15; Ex 23:1). Indignantly they ask, "art thou also of Galilee? ... out of Galilee hath arisen (Greek) no prophet." Spite made them to ignore Jonah and Nahum. John marks the spiritual advance in Nicodemus by contrasting his first coming "by night" (Joh 7:50). He now virtually confesses Jesus, though in actual expression all he demands is fair play for an injured Person. As before he was an anxious inquirer, so now he is a decided though timid believer.
(3) The third stage is (Joh 19:39) when he appears as a bold and strong believer, the same Nicodemus (as John again reminds us) as "came at the first to Jesus by night." When even the twelve shrank from the danger to be apprehended from the mob who had clamored for Jesus' crucifixion, and whose appetite for blood might not yet be sated, and when Christ's cause seemed hopeless, the once timid Nicodemus shows extraordinary courage and faith Christ's crucifixion, which shook the faith of others, only confirms his. He remembers now Jesus had said He "must be lifted up," like the brazen "serpent," that all believers in Him might have eternal life. So Nicodemus had the honour of wrapping His sacred body in linen with 100 pounds of myrrh and aloes, in company, with Joseph of Arimathea.
Christ's resurrection richly rewarded the faith of him who stumbled not at His humiliation. Compare on the spiritual lesson Mt 12:20; Zec 4:10; Pr 4:18. Like Mary who "anointed Christ's body to the burying," "what Nicodemus did is and shall be spoken of for a memorial of him wheresoever the gospel is preached throughout the whole world." Where real desire after the Saviour exists, it will in the end overcome the evil of the heart, and make a man strong in faith through the Holy Spirit. The Talmud tells of a Nicodemus ben Gorion who lived until the fall of Jerusalem, a Pharisee, wealthy, pious, and of the Sanhedrin; bearing originally a name borne by one of the five rabbinical disciples of Christ (Taanith, f. 19, Sanhedrin f. 43); and that his family fell into squalid poverty.
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A crushed reed He will not utterly break, nor will He quench the still smouldering wick, until He has led on Justice to victory.
Another saying of His was this: "The Kingdom of God is as if a man scattered seed over the ground: he spends days and nights, now awake, now asleep, while the seed sprouts and grows tall, he knows not how.
he spends days and nights, now awake, now asleep, while the seed sprouts and grows tall, he knows not how. Of itself the land produces the crop-- first the blade, then the ear; afterwards the perfect grain is seen in the ear. read more. But no sooner is the crop ripe, than he sends the reapers, because the time of harvest has come."
He who believes and is baptized shall be saved, but he who disbelieves will be condemned.
Now when He was in Jerusalem, at the Festival of the Passover, many became believers in Him through watching the miracles He performed. But for His part, Jesus did not trust Himself to them, because He knew them all,
Now there was one of the Pharisees whose name was Nicodemus--a ruler among the Jews. He came to Jesus by night and said, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher from God; for no one can do these miracles which you are doing, unless God is with him. read more. "In most solemn truth I tell you," answered Jesus, "that unless a man is born anew he cannot see the Kingdom of God."
"In most solemn truth I tell you," answered Jesus, "that unless a man is born anew he cannot see the Kingdom of God." "How is it possible," Nicodemus asked, "for a man to be born when he is old? Can he a second time enter his mother's womb and be born?"
"How is it possible," Nicodemus asked, "for a man to be born when he is old? Can he a second time enter his mother's womb and be born?" "In most solemn truth I tell you," replied Jesus, "that unless a man is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God.
"In most solemn truth I tell you," replied Jesus, "that unless a man is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God. Whatever has been born of the flesh is flesh, and whatever has been born of the Spirit is spirit.
Whatever has been born of the flesh is flesh, and whatever has been born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be astonished at my telling you, 'You must all be born anew.'
Do not be astonished at my telling you, 'You must all be born anew.' The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it is going. So is it with every one who has been born of the Spirit."
The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it is going. So is it with every one who has been born of the Spirit." "How is all this possible?" asked Nicodemus.
"How is all this possible?" asked Nicodemus. "Are you," replied Jesus, "'the Teacher of Israel,' and yet do you not understand these things?
And this is the test by which men are judged--the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness more than they loved the Light, because their deeds were wicked. For every wrongdoer hates the light, and does not come to the light, for fear his actions should be exposed and condemned. read more. But he who does what is honest and right comes to the light, in order that his actions may be plainly shown to have been done in God.
Presently there came a woman of Samaria to draw water. Jesus asked her to give Him some water; for His disciples were gone to the town to buy provisions. read more. "How is it," replied the woman, "that a Jew like you asks me, who am a woman and a Samaritan, for water?" (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) "If you had known God's free gift," replied Jesus, "and who it is that said to you, 'Give me some water,' you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water." "Sir," she said, "you have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep; so where can you get the living water from? Are you greater than our forefather Jacob, who gave us the well, and himself drank from it, as did also his sons and his cattle?" "Every one," replied Jesus, "who drinks any of this water will be thirsty again; but whoever drinks any of the water that I shall give him will never, never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become a fountain within him of water springing up for the Life of the Ages."
Do you not say, 'It wants four months yet to the harvest'? But look round, I tell you, and observe these plains-- they are already ripe for the sickle.
How is it possible for you to believe, while you receive glory from one another and have no desire for the glory that comes from the only God?
"In most solemn truth I tell you," replied Jesus, "that you are searching for me not because you have seen miracles, but because you ate the loaves and had a hearty meal. Bestow your pains not on the food which perishes, but on the food that remains unto the Life of the Ages--that food which will be the Son of Man's gift to you; for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal."
This led to an angry debate among the Jews. "How can this man," they argued, "give us his flesh to eat?"
Many therefore of His disciples, when they heard it, said, "This is hard to accept. Who can listen to such teaching?"
Yet for fear of the Jews no one spoke out boldly about Him.
Meanwhile the officers returned to the High Priests and Pharisees, who asked them, "Why have you not brought him?" "No mere man has ever spoken as this man speaks," said the officers. read more. "Are *you* deluded too?" replied the Pharisees; "has any one of the Rulers or of the Pharisees believed in him? But this rabble who understand nothing about the Law are accursed!" Nicodemus interposed--he who had formerly gone to Jesus, being himself one of them.
Nicodemus interposed--he who had formerly gone to Jesus, being himself one of them. "Does our Law," he asked, "judge a man without first hearing what he has to say and ascertaining what his conduct is?" read more. "Do you also come from Galilee?" they asked in reply. "Search and see for yourself that no Prophet is of Galilaean origin." So they went away to their several homes;
Such was their answer, because they were afraid of the Jews; for the Jews had already settled among themselves that if any one should acknowledge Jesus as the Christ, he should be excluded from the synagogue.
Nevertheless even from among the Rulers many believed in Him. But because of the Pharisees they did not avow their belief, for fear they should be shut out from the synagogue. For they loved the glory that comes from men rather than the glory that comes from God.
Meanwhile Simon Peter was following Jesus, and so also was another disciple. The latter was known to the High Priest, and went in with Jesus into the court of the High Priest's palace.
After this, Joseph of Arimathaea, who was a disciple of Jesus, but for fear of the Jews a secret disciple, asked Pilate's permission to carry away the body of Jesus; and Pilate gave him leave. So he came and removed the body. Nicodemus too--he who at first had visited Jesus by night--came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, in weight about seventy or eighty pounds.
"Repent," replied Peter, "and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, with a view to the remission of your sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
They, therefore, left the Sanhedrin and went their way, rejoicing that they had been deemed worthy to suffer disgrace on behalf of the NAME.
In Him also you were circumcised with a circumcision not performed by hand, when you threw off your sinful nature in true Christian circumcision;
The bond, with its requirements, which was in force against us and was hostile to us, He cancelled, and cleared it out of the way, nailing it to His Cross.
No one who is a child of God is habitually guilty of sin. A God-given germ of life remains in him, and he cannot habitually sin--because he is a child of God.
Every one who believes that Jesus is the Christ is a child of God; and every one who loves the Father loves also Him who is the Father's Child.
For every child of God overcomes the world; and the victorious principle which has overcome the world is our faith.
Hastings
A Pharisee and a member of the Sanhedrin (Joh 3:1; 7:50), elderly (Joh 3:4) and evidently well-to-do (Joh 19:39). He is mentioned only in the Fourth Gospel, and there he figures thrice. (1) At the outset of His ministry Jesus went up to Jerusalem to keep the Feast of the Passover, and His miracles made a deep impression on Nicodemus, half persuading him that He was the Messiah; insomuch that he interviewed Him secretly under cover of the darkness (Joh 3:1-21). He began by raising the question of the miracles, which, he allowed, proved Jesus at the least a God-commissioned teacher; but Jesus interrupted him and set him face to face with the urgent and personal matter of regeneration. Nicodemus went away bewildered, but a seed had been planted in his soul. (2) During the third year of His ministry, Jesus went up to the Feast of Tabernacles (October). The rulers were now His avowed enemies, and they convened a meeting of the Sanhedrin to devise measures against Him (Joh 7:45-52). Nicodemus was present, and, a disciple at heart but afraid to avow his faith, he merely raised a point of order: 'Doth our law judge a man, except it first hear himself and know what he doeth?' (RV). (3) At the meeting of the Sanhedrin which condemned Jesus to death Nicodemus made no protest; probably he absented himself. But after the Crucifixion, ashamed of his cowardice, he at last avowed himself and joined with Joseph of Arimath
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Now there was one of the Pharisees whose name was Nicodemus--a ruler among the Jews.
Now there was one of the Pharisees whose name was Nicodemus--a ruler among the Jews. He came to Jesus by night and said, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher from God; for no one can do these miracles which you are doing, unless God is with him. read more. "In most solemn truth I tell you," answered Jesus, "that unless a man is born anew he cannot see the Kingdom of God." "How is it possible," Nicodemus asked, "for a man to be born when he is old? Can he a second time enter his mother's womb and be born?"
"How is it possible," Nicodemus asked, "for a man to be born when he is old? Can he a second time enter his mother's womb and be born?" "In most solemn truth I tell you," replied Jesus, "that unless a man is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God. read more. Whatever has been born of the flesh is flesh, and whatever has been born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be astonished at my telling you, 'You must all be born anew.' The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it is going. So is it with every one who has been born of the Spirit." "How is all this possible?" asked Nicodemus. "Are you," replied Jesus, "'the Teacher of Israel,' and yet do you not understand these things? In most solemn truth I tell you that we speak what we know, and give testimony of that of which we were eye-witnesses, and yet you all reject our testimony. If I have told you earthly things and none of you believe me, how will you believe me if I tell you of things in Heaven? There is no one who has gone up to Heaven, but there is One who has come down from Heaven, namely the Son of Man whose home is in Heaven. And just as Moses lifted high the serpent in the Desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, in order that every one who trusts in Him may have the Life of the Ages." For so greatly did God love the world that He gave His only Son, that every one who trusts in Him may not perish but may have the Life of Ages. For God did not send His Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who trusts in Him does not come up for judgement. He who does not trust has already received sentence, because he has not his trust resting on the name of God's only Son. And this is the test by which men are judged--the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness more than they loved the Light, because their deeds were wicked. For every wrongdoer hates the light, and does not come to the light, for fear his actions should be exposed and condemned. But he who does what is honest and right comes to the light, in order that his actions may be plainly shown to have been done in God.
Meanwhile the officers returned to the High Priests and Pharisees, who asked them, "Why have you not brought him?" "No mere man has ever spoken as this man speaks," said the officers. read more. "Are *you* deluded too?" replied the Pharisees; "has any one of the Rulers or of the Pharisees believed in him? But this rabble who understand nothing about the Law are accursed!" Nicodemus interposed--he who had formerly gone to Jesus, being himself one of them.
Nicodemus interposed--he who had formerly gone to Jesus, being himself one of them. "Does our Law," he asked, "judge a man without first hearing what he has to say and ascertaining what his conduct is?" read more. "Do you also come from Galilee?" they asked in reply. "Search and see for yourself that no Prophet is of Galilaean origin."
Nicodemus too--he who at first had visited Jesus by night--came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, in weight about seventy or eighty pounds.
Nicodemus too--he who at first had visited Jesus by night--came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, in weight about seventy or eighty pounds.
Morish
Nicode'mus
One of the Pharisees and a teacher in Israel. He came to the Lord by night for instruction, and was greatly astonished to find that, instead of instruction, he needed to be born again. See NEW BIRTH. To this the Lord added that the Son of man must be lifted up: sin must be condemned, and the Son of God be given in love, in order that whosoever believeth in Him should have everlasting life: that is, heavenly blessings in new creation. Nicodemus afterwards grew bolder, and suggested in the council that the Lord ought to be heard, and His acts examined before He was condemned. The last we read of Nicodemus is that after the crucifixion he brought about a hundred pounds' weight of myrrh and aloes to embalm the Lord's body. Joh 3:1-9; 7:50; 19:39. This last act was a tacit acknowledgement of his attachment to the One to whom he had come for instruction, but who had spoken to him of God's love, and of heavenly blessings through the Son of man lifted up, and whom he had attempted to defend in the council.
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Now there was one of the Pharisees whose name was Nicodemus--a ruler among the Jews. He came to Jesus by night and said, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher from God; for no one can do these miracles which you are doing, unless God is with him. read more. "In most solemn truth I tell you," answered Jesus, "that unless a man is born anew he cannot see the Kingdom of God." "How is it possible," Nicodemus asked, "for a man to be born when he is old? Can he a second time enter his mother's womb and be born?" "In most solemn truth I tell you," replied Jesus, "that unless a man is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God. Whatever has been born of the flesh is flesh, and whatever has been born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be astonished at my telling you, 'You must all be born anew.' The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it is going. So is it with every one who has been born of the Spirit." "How is all this possible?" asked Nicodemus.
Nicodemus interposed--he who had formerly gone to Jesus, being himself one of them.
Nicodemus too--he who at first had visited Jesus by night--came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, in weight about seventy or eighty pounds.
Smith
Nicode'mus
(conqueror of the people), a Pharisee, a ruler of the Jews and a teacher of Israel,
Joh 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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Now there was one of the Pharisees whose name was Nicodemus--a ruler among the Jews.
"Are you," replied Jesus, "'the Teacher of Israel,' and yet do you not understand these things?
Watsons
NICODEMUS, a disciple of Jesus Christ, a Jew by nation, and a Pharisee, Joh 3:1, &c. At the time when the priests and Pharisees had sent officers to seize Jesus, Nicodemus declared himself openly in his favour, Joh 7:45, &c; and still more so when he went with Joseph of Arimathea to pay the last duties to his body, which they took down from the cross, embalmed, and laid in a sepulchre.
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Now there was one of the Pharisees whose name was Nicodemus--a ruler among the Jews.
Meanwhile the officers returned to the High Priests and Pharisees, who asked them, "Why have you not brought him?"