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
Posts
