John 7:50
in John 7Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus earlier and who himself was one of them, asked,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Nicodemus saith unto them (he that came to him before, being one of them),
KJV
Nicodemus saith unto them, (he that came to Jesus by night, being one of them,)
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This verse in John 7
Commentary
16 notes on this verseOne of the rulers is Nicodemus, and he is numbered among those who had authority, yet not wholly unbelieving nor altogether vying with their folly, but already pricked, not indeed having his love to Christ yet free, yet to some degree feeling shame at the convictions of his conscience.
This site's exposition
who had gone to Jesus earlier
on John 7:50-51
Nicodemus speaks from inside the council he sits on. John reminds the reader that he had gone to Jesus earlier, by night, in chapter 3. His question is about procedure, whether the law convicts a man before it hears him, and Deuteronomy 1:16 puts that hearing on every judge in Israel.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers5 voices
"Nicodemus," however, "one of the Pharisees, who had come to the Lord by night,"-not indeed as being himself unbelieving, but timid; for therefore he came by night to the light, because he wished to be enlightened and feared to be known;-Nicodemus, I say, answered the Jews, "Doth our law judge a man before it hear him, and know what he doeth?" For they perversely wished to condemn before they examined. Nicodemus indeed knew, or rather believed, that if only they were willing to give Him a patient hearing, they would perhaps become like those who were sent to take Him, but preferred to believe.
He was not unbelieving, but fearful; and therefore came by night to the light, wishing to be enlightened, but afraid of being known to go.
A commentator
Cyril of AlexandriaCommentary on the Gospel of John, Book 5 · Written before 444.
proposed
For being still sick of an harmful shame, and not yet mingling boldness with his zeal, he permits the faith that is in him to be not seen uncovered, but casting about it dissimulation like a darksome cloak, he as yet conceals that he is on Christ's side; yet is he sick with a grievous sickness. For we ought to believe fearlessly, glorying rather than ashamed, practising a transparent openness, and refusing slave-befitting dissimulation, for therefore did the wise Paul declare that he that rightly divideth the word of truth ought to be a workman unashamed, and himself too shewing the virtue that shone forth in himself somewhere says, For I am not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth.
What then? Shall one blame God for this? Away with the thought. This blame is theirs. And what other proof can a man bring of your not knowing the Law than your not obeying it? For when they had said, "Hath any of the rulers believed on him?" and, "These who know not the Law," Nicodemus in fair consequence upbraids them, saying, "Doth our law judge any man before it hear him?" He showeth that they neither know the Law, nor do the Law; for if that Law commandeth to kill no man without first hearing him, and they before hearing were eager for this deed, they were transgressors of the Law. And because they said, "None of the rulers hath believed on him", therefore the Evangelist informs us that Nicodemus was "one of them," to show that even rulers believed on Him; for although they showed not yet fitting boldness, still they were becoming attached to Christ.
It is evident that not all the doctors approved what they were doing, since one of the doctors was Nicodemus, who replied against their words.
9 more voices on this verse
The Medieval Church3 voices
"Nicodemus said," namely that disciple who came to Jesus by night, "who was one of them," namely of the Pharisees; above in chapter 3: "There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus," etc. Here the refutation of the Pharisees is made by the authority …
Next, we see the dissension among the rulers. First, the advice of Nicodemus is given; secondly, the opposition of the rulers; and thirdly, the outcome of the whole affair. The Evangelist does two things about the first: first, he tells us something about Nicodemus; secondly, …
Why does the evangelist note about Nicodemus that he came to Jesus by night and that he was one of them? In order to expose their lie. They said that none of the rulers believed in Him, but he shows that they lie in this …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
12 And there was much murmuring among the people concerning him: for some said, He is a good man: others said, Nay; but he deceiveth the people. 13 Howbeit no man spake openly of him for fear of the Jews. The reason given why Christ spent more of his time in Galilee than in Judea (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
Nicodemus saith unto them,.... To the Jewish sanhedrim, who were running down Christ, and his followers, in great wrath and fury: he that came to Jesus by night; see Joh 3:1; being one of them; a member of the sanhedrim.
The Nineteenth Century4 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Nicodemus - See Joh 3:1. One of them - That is, one of the great council or Sanhedrin. God often places one or more pious men in legislative assemblies to vindicate his honor and his law; and he often gives a man grace on such occasions boldly to defend his cause; to put men upon their proof, and to confound the proud and the domineering. We see in this case, also, that a man, at one time timid and fearful (compare Joh 3:1), may on other occasions be bold, and fearlessly defend the truth as it is in Jesus.
A commentator
J.C. Ryle1816–1900
Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: John (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition) (1869)
These verses show us, for one thing, how useless is knowledge in religion, if it is not accompanied by grace in the heart. We are told that some of our Lord's hearers knew clearly where Christ was to be born. They referred to Scripture, like men familiar with its contents. "Has not the Scripture said that Christ comes of the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was?" And yet the eyes of their understanding were not enlightened. Their own Messiah stood before them, and they neither received, nor believed, nor obeyed Him.
A commentator
J.C. Ryle1816–1900
Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: John (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition) (1869)
proposed
These verses show us, for one thing, how useless is knowledge in religion, if it is not accompanied by grace in the heart. We are told that some of our Lord's hearers knew clearly where Christ was to be born. They referred to Scripture, like men familiar with its contents. "Has not the Scripture said that Christ comes of the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was?" And yet the eyes of their understanding were not enlightened. Their own Messiah stood before them, and they neither received, nor believed, nor obeyed Him. A certain degree of religious knowledge, beyond doubt, is of vast importance. Ignorance is certainly not the mother of true devotion, and helps nobody toward heaven. An "unknown God" can never be the object of a reasonable worship. Happy indeed would it be for Christians if they all knew the Scriptures as well as the Jews seem to have done, when our Lord was on earth! But while we value religious knowledge, we must take care that we do not overvalue it. We must not think it enough to know the facts and doctrines of our faith, unless our hearts and lives are thoroughly influenced by what we know. The very devils know the creed intellectually, and "believe and tremble," but remain devils still. (James 2:19.) It is quite possible to be familiar with the letter of Scripture, and to be able to quote texts appropriately, and reason about the theory of Christianity, and yet to remain dead in trespasses and sins. Like many of the generation to which our Lord preached, we may know the Bible well, and yet remain faithless and unconverted. Heart-knowledge, we must always remember, is the one thing needful. It is something which schools and universities cannot confer. It is the gift of God.
Nicodemus - being one of them - That is, a Pharisee, and a ruler of the Jews: see on Joh 3:1 (note).
How the passage was read
On John 7:1-53On John 7:1-53
The water ceremony He interrupted
“The Feast of Booths” is Tabernacles, in Hebrew Sukkot: the autumn week when Israel lived (and Jewish families still eat) in leafy shelters remembering the wilderness. In Temple times each morning of the feast a priest carried water in gold from the pool of Siloam up to the altar and poured it out, praying for the year's rain, while the crowds sang: the Mishnah calls it the Rejoicing at the Place of the Water-Drawing, and the Talmud says whoever never saw it “has never seen rejoicing in his life” (Sukkah 51a).
That is the scene on “the last day of the feast, the great day,” when Jesus stood and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink”: a claim staged inside the feast's own ceremony, at the moment all Jerusalem was thinking about water from God.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Sources: Mishnah Sukkah 4:9 (the water-drawing rite) · Sukkah 51a (“has never seen rejoicing”)
The words behind it
14 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| λέγει | legei | Says | G3004 → | 1325 times |
| Νικόδημος | nikodemos | Nicodemus | G3530 → | 5 times |
| πρὸς | pros | to | G4314 → | 700 times |
| αὐτούς, | autous | them, | G846 → | 5565 times |
| ὁ | ho | the [one] | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| ἐλθὼν | elthon | having come | G2064 → | 628 times |
| πρὸς | pros | to | G4314 → | 700 times |
| αὐτὸν | auton | Him | G846 → | 5565 times |
| τὸ | to | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| πρότερον, | proteron | former | G4387 → | 6 times |
| εἷς | heis | one | G1520 → | 343 times |
| ὢν | on | being | G1510 → | 2333 times |
| ἐξ | ex | of | G1537 → | 911 times |
| αὐτῶν· | auton | them; | G846 → | 5565 times |
λέγειSays
legeiG3004 →1325 times
ΝικόδημοςNicodemus
nikodemosG3530 →5 times
πρὸςto
prosG4314 →700 times
αὐτούς,them,
autousG846 →5565 times
ὁthe [one]
hoG3588 →19766 times
ἐλθὼνhaving come
elthonG2064 →628 times
πρὸςto
prosG4314 →700 times
αὐτὸνHim
autonG846 →5565 times
τὸthe
toG3588 →19766 times
πρότερον,former
proteronG4387 →6 times
εἷςone
heisG1520 →343 times
ὢνbeing
onG1510 →2333 times
ἐξof
exG1537 →911 times
αὐτῶν·them;
autonG846 →5565 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
5 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
John 19:39Nicodemus, who had previously come to Jesus at night, also brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds.
it leads to
- John 7:50–52
Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus earlier and who himself was one of them, asked,
- John 3:1–21
Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews.
- Song of Solomon 4:14
with nard and saffron, with calamus and cinnamon, with every kind of frankincense tree, with myrrh and aloes, with all the finest spices.
- Proverbs 7:17
I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, with aloes, and with cinnamon.
- Matthew 19:30
But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.
- John 7:50–52
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies6
About John
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on 15 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, Tractates on John 33; Augustine of Hippo, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Bonaventure, Commentary on John, Chapter 7; Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on the Gospel of John, Book 5; J. C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, John; J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: John (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Chrysostom, Homily on the Gospel of John 52; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Theodore of Mopsuestia, COMMENTARY ON JOHN 3.7.50-51; Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on John and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on John.