Chapter
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21
Verse
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36

John 3:1
ESV Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.
NIV Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council.
NASB Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews;
CSB There was a man from the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.
NLT There was a man named Nicodemus, a Jewish religious leader who was a Pharisee.
KJV There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:
NKJV There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.

What does John 3:1 mean?

Pharisees were a legalistic, extremely moral sect of Judaism. Their commitment to purity led them to add hundreds of laws to those of Moses, covering all possible situations. They hoped to ensure the commandments would not be broken, and so God would not again send Israel into exile (Deuteronomy 28:25; Jeremiah 25:7–11). In their era Pharisees were honored for their religious commitment. They were also scholars of the Law, well-educated in religious concepts.

Nicodemus was not just any Pharisee. He was a member of the Sanhedrin, a seventy-man local court. This made Nicodemus the modern equivalent of a politician, cleric, and professor all rolled into one. Most people would have addressed him as "Rabbi," a respect he will show Jesus (John 3:2). Despite negative use of the term "Pharisee" today, they were not all hard-hearted or unreachable. Nicodemus is direct proof of this. He recognizes the divine origin of Jesus' power (John 3:2). He will go on to defend Jesus in front of the other Pharisees (John 7:50–51) and donate embalming materials for His burial (John 19:39–42).

Joseph of Arimathea is another example disproving the thought that all Pharisees were hard-headed and spiritually numb. He is seen several times in the Gospels and helps with the burial of Jesus (Matthew 27:57; Mark 15:43; Luke 23:50–51).
Expand
Expand
Expand
What is the Gospel?
Download the app:
BibleRef.com is part of Got Questions Ministries

For answers to your Bible questions, please visit