👉🏽👉🏽👉🏽What Did #Nicodemus Do?
Beloved in the Lord, faithful seekers of divine wisdom and partakers in the heavenly mysteries, peace be unto you from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and from His eternal throne of mercy. Today, we turn our gaze toward one of the quiet yet towering figures of the Gospel: Nicodemus, the Pharisee whose hidden faith and courageous deeds shine forth like a candle in the deep night of doubt and rejection.
In a time when the Son of God walked among men, performing miracles, proclaiming the Good News, and revealing the Kingdom of Heaven, not all hearts received Him. Though the multitudes beheld His works, their expectations were anchored in earthly thrones and temporal liberation. Yet among them rose one, a Pharisee, a ruler of the Jews—Nicodemus, whose heart burned with a hunger for truth.
Let us consider with reverent attention the threefold path of Nicodemus' devotion, as revealed in the sacred scriptures and preserved by the teachings of the Holy Orthodox Church.
1. The Revelation of the Mystery of Baptism(John 3:1–21)
Let us first ponder the sacred night when Nicodemus, under cover of darkness, approached the Light of the world. Why did he come by night? Was it fear? Was it prudence? We know not fully, but we know this: in that silent hour, Truth spoke to a soul that thirsted. The Lord, who reads the heart and discerns its depths, received Nicodemus not with condemnation but with divine instruction.
Nicodemus called Him “Rabbi,” acknowledging Him as a teacher sent from God. But our Lord revealed to him not merely lessons, but the mystery of the new birth. “Unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3). The learned Pharisee stumbled: “Can a man enter his mother’s womb a second time?” Oh, what a sign of the limitation of the fleshly mind!
But Christ, the divine Logos, opened the eyes of Nicodemus to behold what eye had not seen that to be born again is to be born of water and of the Spirit. The Lord, in His mercy, did not rebuke the ignorance, but like a master builder, laid the foundation of the Church’s first sacrament: Holy Baptism. Here, Nicodemus became the first to receive the teaching that makes sons of Adam into children of God.
This was no small revelation it was the unveiling of the heavenly ladder, upon which mortals ascend to immortality.
2. He Put to Shame Those Who Claimed to Be Wise (John 7:51)
Time passed, and the Lord continued to proclaim the Gospel. The scribes and the chief priests, filled with jealousy, hatred, and blindness, sought to ensnare Him. Their hearts were hardened, and their ears were closed to the wisdom that cried aloud in the streets.
But in the midst of their dark counsel, Nicodemus rose this time not by night, but in the assembly of the proud. With calm yet piercing wisdom, he questioned their judgment: “Does our law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he is doing?” (John 7:51)
O holy courage! See how one man, surrounded by wolves, held fast to righteousness. He did not shout. He did not condemn. He merely asked yet in that question, the hearts of the so-called wise were confounded. They, who quoted the law, were brought low by one who truly understood it. Thus Nicodemus, a silent lion, shamed the false wisdom of the age.
In that moment, he defended not merely a man, but Truth itself, clothed in the humility of Christ. The Lord was not yet crucified, yet Nicodemus bore His reproach. He risked his status, his reputation, and his very life but he did not remain silent in the face of injustice.
3. He Knew the Lord and Honored Him at the Cross (John 19:38–42)
When the final hour had come when the Lord of Glory, despised and rejected, breathed His last upon the Cross where were His disciples? Where were the multitudes who once followed Him? Scattered. Afraid. Silent.
Continues 👇🏽