RELIGST 3N03 Study Guide - Pharisees, First Epistle Of Peter, Early Christianity

• School: McMaster University
• Department: Religious Studies
• Course: RELIGST 3N03
• Professor: Stephen Westerholm

Document Summary

Headings in john 3 may be misleading. End of ch 2 leads into ch 3. Nicodemus was more of a representative figure of a jewish leader / pharisee who is sympathetic towards jesus, which is atypical for the pharisees pharisees are always in opposition with jesus. Nicodemus is not only a ruler of the jews (member of the jewish sanhedrin) and a teacher in israel and a pharisee (most respected group of the jews), but also one sympathetic towards jesus. John"s gospel tends to divide people in one or two categories: eg. Proverbs - wise or foolish, righteous or wicked: eg. John a believer in jesus or not but it actually shows a whole spectrum. There are those who have a belief, temporary belief, sympathetic towards him, fully faithful, fully against: some individuals are impressed by signs and wonders but jesus says they don"t have any lasting faith.