Nicodemus

This article by Olivier Clément offers a theological meditation on the nocturnal conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus (Jn 3), read as a figure of the encounter between the Christian faith and modernity. Starting from the portrait of Nicodemus — a man of knowledge, both attracted and resistant — Clément develops a reflection on the condition of contemporary man faced with the Gospel: unable to declare himself openly, locked within his certainties, yet seeking salvation. The article analyzes the Johannine notions of birth from above, of water and Spirit, of flesh and Spirit, freeing them from any Platonic dualism. The theological contribution lies in the articulation between biblical anthropology, pneumatology and Christology: the absolute newness of Christ's resurrection makes possible a rebirth of man, not through regression but through interior transformation wrought by the Spirit.