Nikodém v Janově evangeliu

In the Gospel of John, in addition to Jesus, the protagonist and main character of the gospel narrative, there are many minor characters. Of these lesser characters, the crucial role undoubtedly belongs to Jesus’ disciples. Having said that, however, there are a number of characters, who play an important role in the narrative, but who are not found in any other gospel. One such character is Nicodemus who appears three times (John 3:1–21; 7:45–52; 19:38–42). In recent decades, the figure of Nicodemus has received significant scholarly attention. Exegetes have, however, come to very different conclusions about the role and meaning of Nicodemus in the Gospel of John. For some, Nicodemus is an example of a man of insufficient faith who still does not understand Jesus, and whose act at the burial of Jesus is an expression of the misunderstanding of the meaning of Jesus’ death. Others claim that Nicodemus is deliberately introduced in the Gospel of John as an ambiguous character, because the gospel provides both positive and negative signals about him. Ultimately, many are convinced that in the figure of Nicodemus one sees an example of evolution from immature to full faith. This article, adopting this lastmentioned approach, on the basis of the examination of the various texts in the Gospel of John where Nicodemus appears, points to Nicodemus as an example of a believer, whose faith gradually emerges from shadows of ambiguity to become mature and be manifested publicly.