Nicodemus

Saint Nicodemus
Nicodemus helping to take down Jesus' body from the cross (The Deposition, by Michelangelo)
Defender of Jesus
Born	Galilee
Died	Judea
Venerated in	Anglicanism Catholicism Eastern Orthodoxy Lutheranism Oriental Orthodoxy
Canonized	Pre-Congregation
Feast	Various (see § Veneration): 3rd Sunday of Pascha, 2 August, 3 August, 31 August
Attributes	Pharisee
Patronage	Curiosity[1] Undertakers and pallbearers[2]

Nicodemus (/nɪkəˈdiːməs/; Greek: Νικόδημος, translit. Nikódēmos; Imperial Aramaic: 𐡍𐡒𐡃𐡉𐡌𐡅𐡍, romanized: Naqdīmūn; Hebrew: נַקְדִּימוֹן, romanized: Naqdīmōn) is a New Testament figure venerated as a saint in a number of Christian traditions. He is depicted as a Pharisee and a member of the Sanhedrin who is drawn to hear Jesus's teachings. As is the case with Lazarus, Nicodemus is not mentioned in the synoptic Gospels, and is mentioned only by John,^[3] who devotes more than half of Chapter 3 of his gospel and a few verses of Chapter 7 to Nicodemus, and lastly mentions him in Chapter 19.

Nicodemus is considered by both Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Church traditions to have secretly been a disciple of Jesus on the basis of the narrative in John 19; there is no explicit mention of his discipleship in the Gospel of John. Owing to his insistence on a hearing for Jesus according to Jewish law, Nicodemus is sometimes referred to as "defender of Jesus".^[4]

Some scholars have identified the Nicodemus of the New Testament with a 1st-century historic Nicodemus ben Gurion, while others consider the dates and the seeming age discrepancy between the two figures make this unlikely. An apocryphal work under his name – the Gospel of Nicodemus – was produced in the mid-4th century, and is mostly a reworking of the earlier Acts of Pilate, which recounts the Harrowing of Hell.^[5]