Moreover, he wasn't prepared to condemn Jesus without granting him a hearing. Just because others disapproved of Jesus didn't mean he had to. In short, he seemed to have had a fairly independent mind.
Do you?
Sometimes we go along with the flow. We only do what the crowd does. At root, many of us are mindless conformists. I should know as I have engaged in groupthink more often than I would like to admit. But Nicodemus had integrity. He was determined to get his questions answered. He was an honest inquirer, neither a blind follower of the crowd nor an upstart. He was an open-minded and open-hearted seeker of truth. And his search was rewarded, because later we find him numbered among Jesus' disciples.
Where today are the Nicodemuses? Where are the students who are prepared to lay aside their apathy and fears and seek the truth with an honest and humble spirit? Where are the young men and young women who are prepared to lay aside their prejudices and go where the facts lead them?
I hope you are one of them.