Ni-cô-đem

Nicodemus was a Pharisee and a 'ruler of the Jews'—likely a member of the Sanhedrin—who came to Jesus by night, perhaps from caution or from the desire for a private conversation (John 3:1–21). Jesus's conversation with him about being 'born again' (or 'born from above') and the famous declaration 'For God so loved the world' (John 3:16) are among the most quoted passages in the Christian tradition. He appears twice more in John's Gospel: he cautiously challenges the Sanhedrin's hasty judgment of Jesus (John 7:50–51), and after the crucifixion he joins Joseph of Arimathea in preparing Jesus's body for burial, bringing about seventy-five pounds of spices (John 19:38–42). His trajectory from secret inquirer to open disciple at great personal and social risk marks one of John's sub-narratives of faith development.