Saint Nicodemos the Myrrhbearer and Nighttime Disciple of the Lord

Saint Nicodemos the Myrrhbearer and Nighttime Disciple of the Lord

(An Example of Boldness and Virtue)

By Petros Rigatos,
Lawyer Before the Supreme Court
Legal Advisor to the Sacred Metropolis of Patras

Saint Nicodemos was a Pharisee, a ruler of the Jews, a teacher of Israel, a member of the Sanhedrin (Council), rich and noble, a model of morality and virtue. The above reliable evidence is deduced from the Gospel of John. The Evangelist John reports:

“Now there was a man of the Pharisees, Nicodemos by name, a ruler of the Jews. He came to him by night and said to him: 'Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God. For no one can do these signs that you do, unless God is with him.' Jesus answered and said to him: 'Amen, amen, I say to you, unless one is born from above, he cannot see the kingdom of God.' Nicodemos said to him: 'How can a man be born again? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?' Jesus answered, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God'” (John 3:1-5).

We see that Nicodemos had intense spiritual pursuits, that is, he was a spiritual man and He closely followed the teaching of the Divine Teacher.

The Evangelist John also presents the clear position of Saint Nicodemos in the Jewish Sanhedrin for our Christ, writing: “Nicodemos (he who came to Jesus by night, being one of them) said to them, 'Does our law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he is doing?' They answered and said to him, 'Are you also from Galilee? Search and look, for no prophet has arisen out of Galilee'” (John 7:50-52).

For this reason, it is rightly stated in the Saint’s Apolytikion: “He openly opposed the Pharisees and scribes, who were persecuting the Savior.”

The stance of the Saint towards the dead Teacher is also a shining example of courage and boldness. From a secret disciple, he appears and passes into active action. Together with the Myrrhbearing Women and the noble Councilor Joseph, they become the undertakers of the Savior Christ and their names are recorded in the Tablets of Heaven in large letters because of their boldness. The two rulers of Israel did not hesitate to follow Jesus, persecuted by the all-powerful secular power of that time, to His burial. As the hymnographer chants in the Doxastikon, “with burning love, wondrous sacrifice and true boldness, he took down the all-unblemished Body of the Lord with Joseph and buried Him in a manner fit for God.” Our Saint was worthy to carry in his hands the All-Holy Body of our Lord. For this reason he eternally rejoices in heaven and is honored by the Church with chants in the Lamentations of the Epitaphios: “Joseph with Nicodemos, bury the Creator in a manner fit for the dead.”

But our Saint does not limit his action to this historical act of boldness and exemplary courage. He is transformed from then on into a fervent preacher of the Divine Word, into an Apostle and finally into a Martyr for the Love of the God-man.

Saint Nikodemos the Hagiorite writes about the martyrdom of Saint Nicodemos: "Then Nicodemos, the nephew of Gamaliel, who went to Jesus at night and was taught by Him the things of salvation, having been devout at the burial of Saint Stephen, begged the Foremost Peter and he baptized him. Learning of this, the Jews cursed Nicodemos and beat him with many and bitter wounds and plundered his belongings. And Gamaliel, the uncle of Nicodemos, took him into his house, but Nicodemos died in those wounds and became a martyr of Jesus, and Gamaliel buried his remains near the remains of Saint Stephen.”  

The boldness of the noble Councilor and nighttime disciple Nicodemos must be followed by our political leaders and be adorned by his ethos. And this since, as is known, the two saints Joseph and Nicodemos, the noble Councilors, have been designated patrons of the Greek Parliament for years. The restoration of values, social justice, selflessness, the service of offices in the name of citizens, ethos, spiritual nobility and above all faith in Orthodoxy and the Hellenic Christian Traditions should inspire the lives of our leaders, so that their example may inspire citizens and especially our youth on the uphill path of the restoration of Timeless Principles and Humanism in modern society. First and foremost, however, the laws that our members of parliament are called upon to vote on must be in accordance with the Divine Law of the Gospel and the Holy Canons, since after all, we live in Orthodox Greece and not in a neutral Christian country.

Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.