NICODEMUS (NcKbanaos.), a Pharisee and mem ber of the Sanhedrim, who was impressed by what he had heard concerning Jesus ; but being unwilling, on account of his station, to commit him self without greater surety than he possessed, re paired by night to-the house in which Christ dwelt, and held with him that important discourse which occupies the third chapter of John's Gospel. The effect which was then produced upon his mind may be collected from the fact that subsequently, at one of the sittings of the venerable body to which he belonged, he ventured to let fall a few words in favour of Jesus, whose proceedings were then in question (John vii. 5o) ; and that he took part with his colleague, Joseph of Arimathea, in rendering the last honours to the body of the crucified Re deemer (John xix. 39). Nothing further is known of Nicodemus from Scripture. Tradition, how ever, adds that after he had thus openly declared himself a follower of Jesus, and had been baptised by Peter, he was displaced from his office, and expelled from Jerusalem (Phot. Biblioth. Cod., p. 170. It is added that he found refuge in a country house of his cousin Gamalicl, and remained there till his death. Some have been disposed to identify Nicodemus with a rich and pious person of the same name (but originally called Bonai), mentioned in the Talmud, whose family eventually sank into great poverty (Otho, Lex. Rabbin., p. 459). All
this is, however, very uncertain, and what is stated in the Apocryphal Gospel of Nicodemus is unsafe, and in some parts manifestly untrue. Too strong an appreciation of the world's good opinion seems to have been the failing of Nicodemus, although Niemeyer (Charakt. i. 113) has lately made a strong effort to clear him from this imputation. We do not lay much stress upon what he ventured to say in the Sanbedrim ; for he suffered himself to be easily put down, and did not come forward with any bold avowal of his belief. Winer calls atten tion to the fact, that although he took part in the sepulchral rites of Jesus, he did not join Joseph in his application to Pilate for the body of his crucified Lord ; and justly remarks that such characters usu ally require a strong external impulse to bring them boldly forward, which impulse was probably in this case supplied by the resurrection of Jesus (Real W: B., s.v.)—J. K.