In a small but evocative detail, John tells us that Nicodemus comes to Jesus by night.
This description invites us to imagine his approach to the teacher as covert, to envision him moving down a quiet street from which people have retreated, perhaps softening his footfalls and keeping to the concealing shadows. There is a furtive mood captured by this setting. If not outright secretive, Nicodemus’s approach in the dark at least suggests the desire to avoid the attention he would draw in the day.
This setting might also be seen as foreshadowing Nicodemus’s hesitancy to commit to a response to Jesus. In the preceding chapter, the responses to Jesus present two extremes, both definitive. When Jesus disrupts the temple marketplace, the people there angrily demand a sign to establish his authority, and they scoff at his claim to be able to raise the temple in three days. At the same time, John reports that many people do believe and that they are convinced by the signs Jesus is performing.
