Nicodemus and the Woman at the Well -- John 3 and John 4

 

John 3:1 There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 2 This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, "Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him."

Nicodemus has always been one of my favorite characters. He was in Jerusalem when he came to Jesus by night, surreptitiously as it were. He thought Jesus had something--witness the miracles--but he just wasn't sure who Jesus was or what it might be that Jesus had. He didn't want to commit himself publicly to what he didn't know and didn't understand, so he went to Jesus by night.

3 Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." 4 Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?" 

I also identify with Nicodemus because he is so obtuse--he just doesn't get it!! He is a man of great intellect as a Pharisee and a ruler of the Jews, but in this passage his intellect is unable to grasp the most basic, simple truth that Jesus is telling him.

5 Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 "Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.' 8 "The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit." 

"Huh?"

9 Nicodemus answered and said to Him, "How can these things be?"

10 Jesus answered and said to him, "Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things?"

Jesus goes on to explain that what Nicodemus and others like him are lacking is faith and belief in the only true salvation, which is Jesus Himself, the only begotten Son of God. Like the serpent in the wilderness which Moses lifted up upon a pole, Jesus was about to be lifted up upon a cross, sacrificially, for the sins of all who would believe. To believe in Jesus this way is everlasting life.

Shortly after Jesus' encounter with Nicodemus, we see Him again, this time in Samaria, at a well. A Samaritan woman came to the well to draw water, and there she met Jesus. Jesus was alone with her, as His disciples had gone into town to buy food.

Jesus immediately began to evangelize this woman. He offered her the gift of Himself and eternal life. (Obviously, His disciples would be thinking later when they returned, He didn't know who this woman was).

For she was not only a woman, not only a Samaritan woman, but she was also an immoral Samaritan woman. Jesus told her by means of divine knowledge that she had had five husbands and the man she was living with now was not her husband.

What happens next should be of great interest to all sinners. The woman launched out into a discussion of theology. Come again? An immoral, no-count, sinful, filthy, dirty, lascivious woman engaging the Holy of Holies in a theological discussion?

John 4:19 The woman said to Him, "Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. 20 "Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship." 

But Jesus would not be deflected, right? He persisted in pointing out to this foolish woman her sin, until she would recognize and admit it and repent with tears right there before Him, right?

No. Wrong. Jesus accepted her recognition that He was at least a prophet, in which she thereby acknowledged that yes, indeed, He had answered her rightly concerning all her husbands. But Jesus did not press the issue further, as I have heard so many preachers do. Jesus moved forward with the woman. He did not even act as though He had been slighted by her when she called Him a prophet. Indeed He was a prophet, but He was also so much more. He would get to that part in just a little while, as He continued to evangelize her.

But for now, He answered her question on its own terms.

John 4:21 Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. 22 "You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. 23 "But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. 24 "God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." 

Please notice in particular verses 23 and 24,

23 "But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. 24 "God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."

How is this any different from the conversation that Jesus had a short while ago with Nicodemus, a man, a Pharisee, the teacher of the Jews? 

5Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

Jesus is preaching to this sinful woman exactly the same message of salvation by belief in the truth that He preached to Nicodemus just a short while ago. He did not despise the immoral woman, but rather He respected her intellect and the concerns of her heart and mind.

And what is the truth Jesus is asking this woman to believe? It is the truth about Himself.

25 The woman said to Him, "I know that Messiah is coming" (who is called Christ). "When He comes, He will tell us all things." 26 Jesus said to her, "I who speak to you am He." 

Search the scriptures, and see if you can find a more direct statement by Jesus of who He is. And He made this astoundingly direct self-revelation to a woman, an outsider woman, a sinful woman. He is a God worthy of our love, gratitude, admiration, and respect.

Conclusion and Application

What do we learn from these two passages, considered as a whole, their having been placed side by side in scripture by the Holy Spirit?

We learn two things. We learn the width, the breadth, the extent of the salvation God gives us in Jesus Christ. And we learn that salvation is of the Lord's will, not our own.

First, the breadth. For all of Nicodemus' great learning and knowledge of scripture, he fell short. In fact, he completely missed the mark. He was as a beginner beginner before Jesus. He didn't understand a word of what Jesus was saying to him. In this we learn that Nicodemus' virtue and intellect were of no help whatsoever to him in the all important matter of obtaining eternal life.

On the other end, we see that for all the woman's sinful character, she did find salvation. As great as her sin was, it was not so great that Jesus would not love and save her.

Secondly, we learn that salvation is of the Lord's will, not our own. Later in John we see another man going to Pilot to request permission to remove Jesus' body from the cross. Nicodemus and this other man applied burial spices and laid Jesus' body in a tomb. This to me speaks of Nicodemus' belief and salvation. (John 19:38-41)

But this was by God's grace, not Nicodemus' own knowledge and virtue.

As for the woman, the conversation at the well was pre-ordained and led by Jesus all the way. The woman, because of her sin, was totally unable to save herself. She did not first speak to Jesus; it was Jesus who spoke to her and graciously brought her into His saving faith.

In short, there is no knowledge or virtue any of us may have that is great enough to save, and there is no sin so great as to prevent our being saved.

Those are the two extremes, Nicodemus on one end, the woman at the well on the other. Most of us fall somewhere in between. What was true for them is true for us.

If you have not yet encountered Jesus, why don't you go to Him right now and see what He might have to say to you? Ask Him to give you saving faith. Ask Him to save you by His grace.

------------------
------------------

Heavenly Father, thank You for including in scripture the two stories of Nicodemus and the Samaritan woman. I see myself in both of them. I am glad, Lord, that Jesus died on the cross for my sins, and I believe that You resurrected Him from the dead, that in Him You have forgiven me. Help me now to go out and, like the woman at the well, to share the good news of eternal life in Christ Jesus with others. In His name I pray, Amen.




auntpreble_blog@yahoo.com

"I have gone astray" -- Psalm 119:176

Psalm 119:176 I have gone astray like a lost sheep; Seek Your servant, For I do not forget Your commandments.

This verse from the longest book in the Bible is most remarkable. Psalm 119 itself is a remarkable psalm, in that each and every verse in the entire Psalm mentions in some form the Word of God.

Psalm 119 can be looked upon as the spiritual life history of a certain man. It begins with pre-salvation in the first stanza, as the writer observes and receives the witness of believers. It moves through young growth and the beginnings of wisdom in stanzas two and three; then jumps right into the trials of the Way in stanza four, Daleth, where the Psalmist remains until the end.

He experiences persecutions from the hands of the proudly wicked in Zayin and Lamedh, unnamed afflictions from the hand of God in Teth and Yodh, and extreme spiritual low points in Daleth, Kaph (verse 83), and Nun.

Yet there is a backdrop of constant joy in the Lord and His Word throughout the psalm, but specifically in verses 14 and 111.

What then is different and special about Verse 176? Just this--this is the only verse in the entire psalm where the psalmist ever recognizes a condition of "lostness" in himself-- "I have gone astray like a lost sheep; Seek Your servant,".

In every other verse, he is hard after the Word, clinging to the Lord, following closely the Way, through every difficulty and trial. Consider the following--

:51 ...I do not turn aside from Your law.

  :59 I ... turned my feet to Your testimonies.

:67 Before I was afflicted I went astray, But now I keep Your word.

:87 They almost made an end of me on earth, But I did not forsake Your precepts.

:102 I have not departed from Your judgments...

:110 The wicked have laid a snare for me, Yet I have not strayed from Your precepts.

:167 My soul keeps Your testimonies, And I love them exceedingly.

So what happened in the psalmist's heart in verse 176, the closing verse of this magnificent psalm, that caused the psalmist's feet to stray like a lost sheep?

I propose that the psalmist did not wake up one morning and say, "Today I am going to quit following the Lord and His Word. I am going to leave the path of life; I choose to go my own way."

No, unbelief and apostasy were not in his heart. The second half of the verse says, "Seek Your servant, For I do not forget Your commandments." He is still the Lord's servant; he is still a sheep, one of the flock; he still has God's commandments in his heart. But he has cooled, he has ceased to hear the shepherd's horn; he has wandered away from the flock; he is lost.

How does this happen in an ardent believer's life?

I think that the saved human heart does not follow the Lord as closely in times of peace as in times of war. When under severe trials, pressures, afflictions, persecutions, pain, and suffering, the saved heart cries out to the Lord with all the passion of a drowning child. In times of spiritual peace and prosperity, let's face it, a certain kind of restless boredom often sets in, and the "cares, riches and pleasures of life" tend to drown out the craving for God and His Word.

Pursuit of other projects creeps in and consumes time and energy that used to be devoted wholly to the Lord. Perhaps for one or two mornings in a row, these other "loves" crowd out quiet time with the Lord.

Then, too, pursuit of self glory will lead a sheep astray as surely as the devil exists. This is a temptation peculiar to the spiritually mature. It follows that after great battles won, a mature Christian enters into a season of peaceful prosperity and joy which is eventually noticed by others. These others then dangle opportunities for "promotion" in the church or secular arenas which can be very appealing to the fallen nature still residing in the heart of all believers.

Perhaps like Saul and so many of the Old Testament kings, the believer finds the Lord too slow, or the demands of the day too immediate, and he or she rushes in without waiting for the Lord. Not everyone has been chosen for "greatness". The Lord prefers to keep many in His garden of flowers small and quiet. Not knowing this, the spiritually prosperous believer might rush off into projects and plans never intended by the Lord.

What then is the resolution of having gone astray? First, the psalmist recognized his condition early enough to cry out for help, before the enemy attacked and destroyed him. He came to his senses and recognized that he no longer heard the shepherd's voice close by his ear. His stomach probably began to ache with hunger pains, and he realized that he had not been in to the Lord's chamber to fellowship with Him in close intimacy for some time.

A second and even stronger point of comfort is that the Lord is still the shepherd. It is the shepherd's job to guard the sheep, and He will do so.

John 10:11 "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.

John 10:27 "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. 28 "And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. 29 "My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand..."

The shepherd knows when even one of His sheep has strayed, and He sounds the alarm in the believer's heart to call the believer back.

Revelation 2:4 "Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. 5 "Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place -- unless you repent..."

 -------------------------------------
-------------------------------------

Father, may Your Holy Spirit, who resides in the heart of every believer, always keep our hearts soft and pliable unto Jesus. Help us to remember at what great cost to Yourself You purchased us from the claws of death. Help us to remember the love songs You sang to us in the dark night, when You first washed and cleansed us from the foul stains and wounds of sin in our hearts. Help us to recognize, like the psalmist in this verse, when we have strayed and are no longer hearing Your voice on a daily basis. Help us to repent and wait on You. Keep us, dear Lord, for just like sheep, we cannot keep ourselves. In Jesus' name, Amen.

auntpreble_blog@yahoo.com