This reading from John's gospel introduces one of his most intriguing, enigmatic figures Nicodemus. At first glance it appears that Nicodemus will be one of the more well-defined figures of John's text. Elsewhere many anonymous individuals appear and disappear before Jesus without revealing any of their personal biography. But here, John cites Nicodemus' history immediately. His name is clearly stated, and his religious authority is clearly defined: a Pharisee, a "leader of the Jews."

But after this straightforward beginning, our vision of Nicodemus begins to cloud over. All his words and actions from this point on including his two later appearances in John's gospel (7:45-52 and 19:38-42) are surrounded with a haze of ambiguity. Despite the fact that Nicodemus keeps showing up on the scen…