Nicodemus

Who is Nicodemus? Why is he important? What can we learn from him? This paper is a character analysis of Nicodemus from a narrative critical perspective. In it, I examine the three passages in the Gospel of John where Nicodemus appears and critically analyze his characteristics to see what new insights we can gain into his life.

Nicodemo è un personaggio biblico singolare: non solo
perché compare unicamente nel Vangelo di Giovanni, ma
anche perché, nelle tre volte in cui ricorre, si presenta
come una grande “allusione narrativa”, sottile come un
filo rosso e ostinata come un tema musicale. Ne emerge
un personaggio tanto coraggioso e desideroso della verità
quanto incerto e impaurito per le sue conseguenze.
La proposta, attenta alle dinamiche esegetiche e animata
da un approccio narrativo-esistenziale, costituisce
una sicura opportunità per la riscoperta di una figura
apparentemente marginale nel Vangelo di Giovanni.
Nicodemo sorprenderà di certo il lettore, che troverà
nella sua vicenda un aiuto decisivo a non scandalizzarsi
delle proprie insicurezze nella ricerca di Cristo e a credere
fermamente che quell’incontro gli donerà la verità
che unica libera e salva la vita.

When he died in May of 1564, John Calvin left behind a body of thought which theologians, philosophers, and historians have been trying to process ever since. The task has been a monumental one. As one of the most prolific writers of the sixteenth century, Calvin is known for having produced one of the most systematic approaches ever attempted in theology, the Institutes of the Christian Religion, as well as for being actively involved in the political situation of France from the relative safety of his adopted home of Geneva. The result of this theological and polemical output was a tangled web of ideas and concepts created for Calvin’s contemporary audience, but which have had a resonance through today. In trying to sort through Calvin’s deep and cacophonous body of work, historians are constantly looking for new approaches which can serve to center and interpret his thought. One approach which has not been tried thoroughly enough is using Calvin’s engagement with a single biblical figure to trace his thought across a number of works. This paper proposes to follow this approach by looking at the different ways in which Calvin struggled with and utilized the character of Nicodemus in his polemical and theological works.

This paper focuses on the ways in which the most important cult-image in Medieval Lucca, the so-called "Volto Santo" (holy face) came to be regarded by contemporary viewers as a true-to-life image of Christ, sculpted by the Pharisee Nicodemus. The paper emphasizes also the connection with the liturgical tradition of the Passio ymaginis feast on November 9 and its literary and ritual framework.

The scene where Jesus and Nicodemus talk at night is sometimes named a rabbinic discussion. Even if on the literary level we may see certain features of this kind of discussion, in reality it cannot be perceived as such. The used terms ῥαββί (rabbi) and διδάσκαλος (didaskalos) not necessarily mean the same. It should be noted that the first of these words most probably is not yet in use in the times the Gospel describes, some claim it to be used anachronicly here. Moreover, Jesus was certainly not a rabbi, and if the term was not yet present in his times, neither was Nicodemus. There is no rabbinic discussion if there is no rabbi. The Gospel seems to be in that matter a witness of its times – probably it uses some images of rabbinic discussion to show that not the Phariseeism / Rabbinism is the true fulfillment of Israel's vocation, but it is Christianity and only way for the Jews is to recognize Jesus as the only and highest teacher and a true rabbi.

In the third chapter, verses 1-21, the author of John’s Gospel describes a night discussion between Jesus and Nicodemus the Pharisee in which the latter is taught about the need for a spiritual rebirth. Jesus reveals to Nicodemus the truth about the light that has come to earth in order to judge people’s deeds. There is no doubt, in the context of the Gospel, that when Jesus speaks of the light, he refers to himself. Thus, it is also clear that Nicodemus, while coming to Jesus by night, leaves the world’s darkness and enters into the circle of the true Light.  An even greater emphasis on the opposition of light and darkness can be seen in Nonnus’ retelling of the aforementioned account (Par. 3.1-109).  The opposition is reinforced not only by means of the accumulation of the imagery of light and darkness, but also by references to other texts in which the theme of light and darkness is of key importance. As a result, Nonnus creates a poetic image of passing from darkness into the light in which the moment of enlightenment is explicitly correlated with the sacrament of baptism and Jesus is correlated with the source of light.

Few complete commentaries by Greek authors of Antiquity on the
three Johannine passages where Nicodemus is explicitly mentioned have been
passed on to us. Cyril of Alexandria is one of them. Beyond his commentary
on the Johannine passages, one must take into consideration all mentions of
Nicodemus in the rest of his oeuvre, as was done in this paper, in order to
establish if Cyril considers that the character of Nicodemus undergoes some
kind of evolution from the beginning to the end of the Gospel. His exegesis
is confronted with that of other authors, in particular Antiochians, to demonstrate
its specificity by answering three questions: what kind of a faith was
Nicodemus’? How was the relationship between master and disciple built?
What were the theological errors across which Nicodemus stumbled?

The characters of the Fourth Gospel have often been described—following Culpepper’s initial engagement (1983)—as ‘flat,’ barely ‘rounded,’ or even as ‘ficelles’ with their only purpose being to drive the internal plot of the gospel narrative. In this light, characters such as Nicodemus, the Samaritan woman, and even Peter are read as two-dimensional cut outs seeking only to provide a pattern for information transmission or conceptual stimulation. From this perspective the common pairing of Nicodemus with the Samaritan woman (John 3-4), and Peter with the Beloved Disciple (John 21) make sense as cases of near neighbour foils, to highlight earlier failings and misunderstandings. However, these pairings also serve to heuristically flatten rather complex characters, and result in subsequent character readings as inexorably tinted by the earlier judgements. Yet, from a socio-cognitive perspective, audiences do not merely interact with characters as two dimensions specimens. Rather a narrative provides an opportunity for an audience to construct and fill out presented characters, and to inhabit their identity, even if only for a time (McAdams and McLean, 2013). In addition, from these narrated identity constructions audiences utilise the narrative to project their own interaction with the set of narrative identities and extrapolate their own future from the narrated postulation (Cinnirella, 1998). These possible future social identities are subsequently used to inform present social identities for the audience and how they represent other groups that they interact with (Jaspal and Cinnirella, 2013). Therefore, it is from this perspective that this paper will read the characters of Nicodemus and Simon Peter as contrasting liminal group members. Through this paper we will trace the possible future social identity of Nicodemus as wrestling with moving from a distinct out-group (ἄρχων τῶν Ἰουδαίων; 3:1) through to a sympathetic quasi-disciple (John 19). Paralleling this transformation, we will read Simon Peter’s misunderstanding (John 13) and then dithering (John 18) and denigration (John 20) before his restoration in John 21 as a similar liminal social identity pattern. Finally, this paper will postulate the differences in Nicodemus and Peter’s narrated social identities if the Fourth Gospel was read without the final chapter.

John the Evangelist writes in detail about the necessity of being begotten of the Spirit is a conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus.  Then John the Evangelist contrasts the ministry of John the Baptist with Jesus showing why there is no competition involved.  That Judaism and other Christ denying world religions are condemned as being godless, may come as a surprise.

This essay seeks to provide a Latino rereading of the ‘born again’ identity in John 3:1–8. It argues that being ‘born again’ is not a religious identity as popularly understood in American evangelicalism but an anti-racist identity that rejects all notions of racial superiority through the negation of birthing privileges. To champion or support racist policies toward Latin American migrants (or any minoritized community) is contrary to the very identity of a ‘born again’ believer. This Latino reading explores the racial context of the historical milieu of the New Testament and reflects upon the contemporary challenges of white supremacy and white evangelicalism in a post-Trump America.

El personaje misterioso de Nicodemo, propio del evangelio de Juan, presenta características difíciles de desentrañar. Un análisis narrativo de sus diversas apariciones en el contexto joánico es una opción posible para comprender su proceso personal y, al tiempo, permitir al lector identificarse con él.
Nicodemo es un fariseo que deviene discípulo de Jesús. Un proceso que
exigirá, en él y en el lector, más de un movimiento: dejar los propios discursos claros y seguros para lanzarse a la acción osada y desafiante. La dinamicidad de fariseo nocturno invita a dejar las propias seguridades. Solo así, el lector podrá convertirse en verdadero discípulo.

Palabras clave: Evangelio de Juan. Nicodemo. Lector. Proceso de fe. Dinamismo. Contexto. Análisis narrativo.

The Transition from Pharisaic Safety to Silent and Daring Discipleship Narrative study of the Johannine character of Nicodemus

Abstract: The mysterious character of Nicodemus, typical of the Gospel of John, has characteristics that are difficult to unravel. A narrative analysis of his various appearances in the Johannine context is a possible option to understand his personal process, and at the same time, allow the reader to identify with him.
Nicodemus is a Pharisee who becomes a disciple of Jesus. A process that requires, in him and in the reader, more than one movement: leaving his own clear and safe discourses behind to launch into daring and challenging action. The dynamism of the nocturnal Pharisee invites you to leave your own securities. Only in this way, the reader can become a true disciple.

Keywords: Gospel of John. Nicodemus. Reader. Process of faith. Dynamism. Context. Narrative analysis.