From above

In John 3, we meet a man named Nicodemus who was highly educated and well-credentialed. He was one of the Pharisees, a strict religious and political group that carefully followed the Old Testament laws. The name Pharisee means “separated ones.” Nicodemus also served on the Jewish ruling council, called the Sanhedrin, an elite group of seventy men responsible for making religious and civil decisions under Roman rule.