Did Nicodemus ever accept Jesus?

[ewq1938]

Well, we know from the scriptures that Nicodemus was a Pharisee and a ruler of the Jews, that he did not understand the concept of being born again despite being a Master of Israel, and did bring a mixture of myrrh and aloes which the Jews used to prepare a body for burial. He brought a hundred pounds of these things so IMO that's way too much for one body. Perhaps it was his responsibility or personal choice that dead Jews were treated with these things so all Jews had a proper burial? If this is the case, he is showing faith in Jewish traditions not faith in Christ as the Messiah.

 

[timewerx]

The fruits Nicodemus manifested, per the scriptures, is indicative of his faith.

That's all we have to go on ...

The fruits of faith is according to John 14:12 per the scriptures.

What Apostle James and Apostle Paul is talking about Faith all goes back to John 14:12. There's really nothing beyond it but more list of verses that support the context of John 14:12.

And there's just not enough info in the Bible about the life of Nicodemus to conclude he got saved or not. Some of the things he must do to be saved is probably abandon his Pharisee sect, use his wealth or ability to earn money to help support the early Christian movement (as some of the wealthy Christians of Acts did), abandon vanity, seek the truth and then preach the truth, expose evil deeds of others, live life as Jesus would...

Those things concerning John 14:12. There's really not enough in the Bible to conclude Nicodemus manifested these fruits or not.

 

[A_Thinker]

There's really not enough in the Bible to conclude Nicodemus manifested these fruits or not.

Nicodemus broke ranks with his Pharisaical/Sanhedrin colleagues to give audience to and then, to minister to Jesus.

Nicodemus' devotion to Jesus is as evident as the woman who broke the vial of perfume on His feet prior to His Passion ...

 

[timewerx]

Nicodemus broke ranks with his Pharisaical/Sanhedrin colleagues to give audience to and then, to minister to Jesus.

Nicodemus' devotion to Jesus is as evident as the woman who broke the vial of perfume on His feet prior to His Passion ...

Jesus did not give Nicodemus as much praise as the woman who gave the bottle of perfume.

Nicodemus is a rich man. The rich giving out of their abundance is not the same as the poor giving their few things which is most they own (the parable of the poor widow).

There's another rich man which Jesus gave lots of praises and declared salvation and that is Zacchaeus. And Zacchaeus gave a considerable portion of his wealth away to the poor, probably most of his wealth.

We do not have an account of Nicodemus doing the same thing in the Bible. So we don't know. What would often redeem or condemn the rich is how they managed their material wealth and their means to produce wealth. The great temptation of material wealth is why it's nearly impossible for the rich to be saved.

 

[A_Thinker]

Nicodemus is a rich man. The rich giving out of their abundance is not the same as the poor giving their few things which is most they own (the parable of the poor widow).

Why do you assume that Nicodemus was rich ?

 

[timewerx]

Why do you assume that Nicodemus was rich ?

The amount of materials he brought for Christ's burial, only a rich man can afford.

Likely to be the same Nicodemus in the Jewish Talmud which places him as one of the richest Jews in those times.

 

[Presbyterian Continuist]

The closest the Bible comes to answering this question is in John 19:40 Nicodemus plays a role in burying the body of Jesus Christ. But nowhere in the Bible does it actually say that Nicodemus believed in Jesus or ever took Jesus's words in John 3 to heart. Or even that Nicodemus ever recognized his words as legitimate. But this has been haunting me lately. Did Nicodemus ever accept Jesus? Nicodemus at the very least respected Jesus enough to give him a proper Jewish burial but maybe the fact that Nicodemus even bothered burying the body of Jesus at all meant that he believed in him. I mean after all he recognized that Jesus had to be sent from God to do all of the miracles and signs that he did. So maybe he went to Jesus for salvation? Idk... I wish I knew...

It would be interesting to know if Nicodemus was one of the 120 in the upper room when the Holy Spirit fell on them.

 

[Neostarwcc]

Thank you for your replies guys. I'm sorry I haven't been keeping up with this thread (I've been offline) but I've read all of your replies and have come to the conclusion that he must have accepted Jesus because as post #29 says we celebrate Nicodemus as a saint twice a year. Just because the Bible doesn't explicitly say "And Nicodemus accepted Jesus" and people didn't directly say over the years that Nicodemus did in fact accept Jesus doesn't mean that he didn't. I mean after all Nicodemus went to Christ, Christ didn't go to Nicodemus and Nicodemus believed that Jesus had to have been somebody sent by God because of all the signs that he performed. So It's only logical to say that Nicodemus believed in Jesus even if it was secretly.

 

[He-rat of the Circus-mice]

Thank you for your replies guys. I'm sorry I haven't been keeping up with this thread (I've been offline) but I've read all of your replies and have come to the conclusion that he must have accepted Jesus because as post #29 says we celebrate Nicodemus as a saint twice a year. Just because the Bible doesn't explicitly say "And Nicodemus accepted Jesus" and people didn't directly say over the years that Nicodemus did in fact accept Jesus doesn't mean that he didn't. I mean after all Nicodemus went to Christ, Christ didn't go to Nicodemus and Nicodemus believed that Jesus had to have been somebody sent by God because of all the signs that he performed. So It's only logical to say that Nicodemus believed in Jesus even if it was secretly.

If you took part in burying a man whom you believed to be righteous, and then, three days later, the rumour spreads that the guy has risen from the dead as he said he would, and the grave is demonstrably empty, what would you do and think?

I don't think there's any way Nicodemus could not have not become a believer at Jesus' resurrection, if he was not already a believer at Jesus' death. I also think the Jewish leaders must have been all but demon possessed when they learned of Jesus' resurrection, and instead of repenting in sack cloth and ashes, bribed the guards to say the disciples stole the body.