Albert Barnes Commentary John 3:1

"Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:" — John 3:1 (ASV)

A man of the Pharisees. A Pharisee.

Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. He was one of the Sanhedrin, the great council of the nation.

He is mentioned twice after this as being friendly to our Savior: in the first instance, advocating his cause and defending him against the unjust suspicion of the Jews (John 7:50), and in the second, as one who came to aid in embalming his body (John 19:39).

It should be remembered that the design of John in writing this Gospel was to show that Jesus was the Messiah.

To do this, he here presents the testimony of one of the rulers of the Jews, who early became convinced of this and retained this belief until the death of Jesus.