MBTI Type: INTP

Nicodemus is a man of deep intellectual pondering to whom others turn for wisdom; as an important, high-ranking rabbi, he spends a great deal of his time taking apart and putting back together the scriptures, then teaching that knowledge to the lower priests. When his attempts to cast demons out of a woman fail, only for him to later hear she is cured, Nicodemus tracks her down to ask her how it happened, since he wants to fully understand it. His desire to know more leads him to visit John the Baptist in prison and bombard him with more questions; once able to meet with Jesus, he is delighted to receive answers (and more questions) from the Messiah. He favors this intellectual ‘searching’ far more than the pomposity that accompany his social life; his wife must often ‘bolster him’ before he socializes with other people, remind him not to “speak like a fool,” and actively promotes his wisdom to others. Nicodemus shows tremendous joy to discover new truths and is a warm and generous man, but not particularly emotional. He says some very profound things, which are directly against the law of the times; such as that he suspects they know very little of God, and what if His plan is something none of them have yet imagined? His wife scorns this as “heresy” and bids him to speak no more of it, yet his search for truth, questions, and more answers leads him out into the streets to talk to those who have met or seen the “Healer” that is causing such a stir in the region. Though greatly inspired by Jesus once he meets and has a philosophical, abstract conversation with him, Nicodemus finds himself unable to walk away from what he knows, what he has studied, and the comforts of “home” – much to his own shame and grief, he leaves the disciples money but does not abandon his rabbinic lifestyle to accompany them on the road, showing his attachment to past precedent and his own experiences (low Si).

Enneagram: 5w6 so/sp

Nicodemus would rather sit and study theology than be around other people; he shows up at their Sabbath dinners because his wife insists on it, but will stand alone staring at a tapestry in the corner instead of interacting among the guests. He struggles between self-trust (his confidence in his theories about faith) and self-doubt (he does not want to visit the Red District, and gives up when he cannot cast the Demon out of Mary Magdalene). Nichodemus uses his expertise to find ways to connect to other people (the drive of the social 5). He questions the established beliefs more than he clings to them, in his hope and prayer that God is doing something ‘unexpected.’ His 6 wing shows in his warm, approachable sense of humor. He often teases the priests to establish a camaraderie with them, and approaches others not with arrogance but a sense of equal footing despite his role as their teacher. Ultimately, he is too afraid to leave his home, his wife, and their high position in society, and travel along the road with Jesus, much to his shame and sorrow.