(John 3:4, NIV), For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have. [14] Scott H. Faulring, Kent P. Jackson, and Robert J. Matthews, eds., Joseph Smiths New Translation of the Bible: Original Manuscripts (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 2004), 37172. The first time Nicodemus is mentioned, he is identified as a Pharisee who comes to see Jesus at night. Additional information about Pilates wife can be found outside of the Bible. Some of the extra-biblical traditions about Nicodemus are based on conjecture. He may have been absent. However, Nicodemus became a disciple of Jesus and publicly defended Him in the fourth gospel. Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to release for the people any one prisoner whom they wanted. When his wife becomes terminally ill, Nicodemus seeks out Jesus, a radical teacher rumored to heal the sick. According to the Bible, Nicodemus was a Pharisee, member of the Sanhedrin, and a close associate of Jesus. . The officers only recorded response was, Never man spake like this man (v. 46). Fear also plays an important role in the conversations that Nicodemus has with his wife. I've condensed the lesson into an easily printable pdf below. It was an open secret in the streets of Jerusalem spoken in hushed voices behind Jesuss back, Is not this he, whom they seek to kill? (v. 25). and all who heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers (Joseph Smith Translation, Luke 2:4647). Nicodemus had listened to the Baptist, but he had failed to grasp the deeper significance of what he had heard and apply it to his own life. Ibid. His list includes forty-two of the seventy-one members of that body. He is using plain, simple, and forceful language. Jesus responds with surprise, stating, probably in an ironic manner, that a teacher of Israel does not comprehend the idea of spiritual rebirth. Ibid. If Farrar and McConkie are correct in their assessment that it is not just possible but rather extremely probable that the Nicodemus of the Bible and the Nicodemus ben Gorion of the Talmud are the same individual, then the story of Nicodemus is one of the most dramatic stories of conversion and sacrifice in scripture. Corrections? Nicodemus states his reason for seeking an audience with Jesus by referencing the miracles Jesus had performed. Nicodemus knew from personal experience what the officers meant when they said that never man spake like this man. On that night years earlier, Jesus had used phrases like I say unto thee, we speak, we know, we testify, I tell you, and we have seen. His authority derived not from quoting others but originated from Himself. Commenting about Nicodemus and Joseph on this occasion, Farrar writes: However much he had held back during the life of Jesus, now, on the evening of His death, his heart was filled with a gush of compassion and remorse, and he hurried to His cross and burial with an offering of truly royal munificence. . This amount of spice was enough to fittingly bury royalty, signaling that Nicodemus had recognized Jesus as King. I realize asking these questions might feel like opening up a can of worms. [35] Edersheim, Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, 1:381n1. Nor was this all. However, some exceptions, like in the cases of Jacob and Joseph, exist. You may want to supplement with your own knowledge of first century Jewish and Roman culture, but keep in mind that the episode itself will provide plenty of concrete snapshots of the life of women in Jesus' day. It drives him to abuse his position as an esteemed teacher to serve the interests of Rome. [27] Obviously, there is the possibility that, with the absence of twenty-nine names, one or more individuals with the name of Nicodemus could be among them. After all, he only shows up in one Gospel (John) and only makes a handful of appearances: the well known "Born Again" conversation (John 3:1-21), in a brief argument with the Sanhedrin about whether Jesus should get a full hearing (John 7:45-52), and at the burial of Jesus, to which he brings an exorbitant amount of spices (John 19:38-42). Add to this Elder McConkies speculation about the possible location of Nicodemuss dialogue with Jesus: We are left to assume the meeting took place in a house owned or occupied by John in Jerusalem. The most elaborate mention of Nicodemus, in chapter 3 of John, maintains that mystical approach. It would seem that Nicodemus, if his visit was indeed an act of cowardice, was nevertheless the bravest of his associates. Unfortunately, Apple's iOS doesn't support home screen shortcuts in the Chrome browser. That being said, I'm not 100% sold on every aspect of how The Chosen ends up depicting his character and interactions with Jesus. The Chosen should allow its characters to embrace faith in Jesus with a more incomplete or tentative understanding of who he actually is. . Tacitus speaks of a population of 600,000; at the time of the Passover this number rose to between 2,000,000 and 3,000,000. . The failure of his character to follow out of his fear of societal disapproval sets up an interesting plot trajectory for his future development. While in Jerusalem he chased the moneychangers from the temple and overturned their tables. Then John shows Nicodemus timidly defending Jesus before the Sanhedrin. In the first instance, he meets Jesus to converse about the latter's teachings. (2021, September 7). Some scholars speculate that he was killed for his beliefs, while others say he hid from persecution. The reason for such a reaction becomes clear when one understands the pharisaic reasoning and laws which they themselves had established. Jesus is the source of all truth, the meaning of life. So the following information may not be true. Known for: Nicodemus was a leading Pharisee and well-recognized religious leader of the Jewish people. There is no indication in the Bible that Nicodemus left money for Jesus. . His story only appears in Johns retelling of the life of Jesus. It seems like no accident, then, that the kinds of Jesus stories that The Chosen takes interest in are personal encounters. If you liked this post, you might want to check out some of my other posts on The Chosen and Bible adaptation. He was also a member of the Sanhedrin, the high court in Israel. In the show, Nicodemus seems to already understand that Jesus is not just the Messiah but also divine, which isn't at all obvious from what Jesus actually says. One would have thought that under the circumstances, Nicodemus, with his position, learning, and wealth, if his coming were motivated by idle curiosity or timid discipleship, would have ended the conversation at this point. [1] Merrill C. Tenny and Steven Barabas, eds., The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1975), s.v. Besides cowardice, there are other possible explanations why Nicodemus would seek an audience with Jesus at night. Jesus calls him by an honorific title, "the Teacher of Israel" (John 3:10). Adam Zeidan is an Associate Editor, having joined. In Chapter Seven, Nicodemus asks his fellow chief priests and Pharisees to carefully listen and examine before passing judgement on Jesus. Nicodemus relationship with Jesus was marked by a complex spiritual development. Nicodemus protested, urging the group to give Jesus a fair hearing. Why do you think he did that? John describes two distinctly different reactions that Jesus had on this occasion to those who claimed belief based on His miracles. [11] Alfred Edersheim, The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1971), 1:381. That evening Nicodemus learned from Jesus that he must be born again, and he was. . We hear nothing of Joseph during Nicodemuss defense of Jesus at the Feast of Tabernacles. One need only read of the occasion when Christ was brought before Annas for questioning about his disciples, and of his doctrine. After Jesus pointed out His ministry and teachings were a matter of public record, He suggested, Why askest thou me? It will be remembered that blasphemy was the very charge the Sanhedrin would use three years later to justify Christs death (see Matthew 26:6368; Mark 14:6165; Luke 22:6671; John 19:7). Because of his apparent stature among the Pharisees, it was supposed that he was a member of the Great Sanhedrin, the supreme Jewish legislative and judicial court in Jerusalem under Roman rule. Answer (1 of 2): Nicodemus was a Pharisee, a teacher of Israel, meaning he teaches about Jewish Old Testament Laws and Traditions. The provision for paying the tribute, levied on all, for the support of the Temple, added to the distraction. 2. Would those other believers, some of the we spoken of in his interview with Jesus, follow his lead in as innocuous defense as a point of order? If he be identical with the Nakdmn Ben Gorin of the Talmud, he outlived the fall of Jerusalem, and his family were reduced from wealth to such horrible poverty that, whereas the bridal bed of his daughter had been covered with a dower of 12,000 denarii, she was subsequently seen endeavouring to support life by picking the grains from the ordure of cattle in the streets. Even so, a degree of ambiguity could still have been retained. How so? Protecting The Most Valuable Treasure On Earth. Instead, Elliott took to fishing and had already begun angling by the age of 12. It's not strange that Nicodemus' wife is not mentioned by the Gospel of John. The Sanhedrin is known as the supreme court in ancient Israel. He may have been present but remained silent. Commit.. Jesus and the disciples did not agree with them, and this group of people was a major opposition to Him and His ministry. Many a husband and wife today live in this situation. The Gospel of Nicodemus. With Jesuss public challenge to the Jewish aristocracy in cleansing the temple, with so little known about the man and his intentions, with other messiah figures having come and gone, caution could be seen as a wise approach, especially for a person of position. With that first bold purgation of the Temple a deadly feud between Jesus and the Jewish authorities had begun. There were, says the Hebrew book, three eminent men in JerusalemNicodemus ben Gurien, ben Tzitzith Hacksab, ben Kalba Shevuaheach of whom could have supported the whole city for ten years.[30], Robinson sets forth the argument thus: The connection alike of office, affluence and genuine, if ostentatious, piety is not at all impossible; and there could not have been that number of top people in Jerusalem with the name of Nicodemus.[31], The historical Nicodemus ben Gorion fits all the characteristics described in the New Testament. Obviously John was no stranger to the high priest and perhaps to others in power. Sidney R. Sandstrom(cesnashville@juno.com) was a retired Church Educational System coordinator living in Smyrna, Tennessee when this was written. Martin Luther King Jr., during his Where Do We Go From Here? speech, given at the 11th Annual SCLC Convention in Atlanta, Georgia, on August 16, 1967, used Nicodemus as a metaphor to speak about the need of the United States to be born again, so the country is able to successfully deal with social and economic inequalities. . I was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, in 1981, and grew up in Southwest Ohio by way of Upstate New York. But Jesus wasn't like most rabbis. Nicodemus was not the only one among the ruling classes who believed in Jesus; but of most of these we learn nothing to indicate that they had sufficient courage to come even by night to make independent and personal inquiry. Even though the timeline between their relationship remains anonymous, the couple apparently met a while before 2014. Nicodemus is described in John 3:1 as a Pharisee and a member of the powerful Jewish high council called the Sanhedrin.
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