JESUS: YOUNG REBEL WITH A CAUSE -- AND THE SAMARITAN WOMAN AT JACOB’S WELL

The Samaritan Woman at the Well by Annibale Carracci, date unknown

(Matthew 4:12, Mark 1:14a and John 4:1-43)

 Now after that John was put in prison when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he departed and came into Galilee; preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God.

When therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John (though Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples), he left Judaea, and departed again into Galilee.

Remember, not long after Jesus had cleansed the Temple in Jerusalem at Passover, he “did not commit himself to” the people there because he knew men’s hearts. In other words, even though there were those in Jerusalem who had believed on him because of some miracles he performed in the city, there were possible threats to his person because of the ruckus he had caused. What we see from this point on is Jesus constantly on the move. He left Jerusalem and went into the wilderness of Judea where for a brief time his disciples were baptizing people much in the manner of John. “After these things came Jesus and his disciples into the land of Judaea and there he tarried with them, and baptized.” John 3:22. 

 John had also moved somewhere in the same general area continuing his own ministry, but

Herod imprisoned John and Jesus knew the Pharisees had heard his group was baptizing more that John. It may be that the Pharisees had gotten this information from John. They knew where Jesus was and perhaps they were seeing him as a growing threat. They certainly were unhappy with him back in Jerusalem after the Temple cleansing. Jesus was also aware that John had been arrested. In a sense, things were heating up and he moved again, this time deciding to put more distance between himself and those in Jerusalem by going to Galilee.

And he must needs go through Samaria.

Then came he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar [meaning Drunkard or Falsehood], near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well and it was about the sixth hour [12:00 noon].

It says he needed to go through Samaria.

Curious, because not only didn’t he have to go through Samaria, normally as a Jew he wouldn’t. Jews and Samaritans had a long history of dislike and distrust and they did not associate with each other. Even though it was the shorter route from Jerusalem to Galilee through Samaria, the Jew would usually travel to the east into Perea and then turn north. Look on the map and find the green line and arrow pointing at Jericho. This was the usual route up and down between Judea and Galilee.

But Jesus did not go this way. From wherever he was in the wilderness, he headed straight into Samaria and stopped at Sychar to rest. It is difficult to know where they had been Baptizing, but he may have come 10 or 15 miles in a morning if he set out early. He arrived at Jacob’s Well about noon. It says he was wearied, so that would indicate he had been walking a good distance that day already. People used to traveling place to place by foot are not going to be “wearied” after an hour or two of walking; he may have been on the road five or six hours.

Jacob’s Well (aka bir Ya’qub or Ya’kub) is venerated by four religious groups: Jewish, Samaritan, Christian and Muslim. It is currently found in Nablus, a Palestinian city in the West Bank of Israel at Jacob’s Well Eastern Orthodox Monastery (some have laid claim to other nearby wells in the region as being the real one). It has suffered damage over the years, especially as a result of being venerated and open to tourists. 

Outside of John’s Gospel, the well isn’t specifically named in the Bible, but no one doubts its authenticity or existence in history. The area where it sits is not in dispute either. This is the parcel of land Jacob bought from Hamor after he had met safely with his brother Esau.

So Esau returned that day on his way unto Seir.

And Jacob journeyed to Succoth, and built him an house, and made booths for his cattle: therefore the name of the place is called Succoth.

And Jacob came to Shalem, a city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Padanaram; and pitched his tent before the city. And he bought a parcel of a field, where he had spread his tent, at the hand of the children of Hamor, Shechem's father, for an hundred pieces of money. And he erected there an altar, and called it El Elohe Israel [Mighty is the God of Israel].Genesis 33:16-20

Now we come to an interesting question. Why was Jesus there? John 4 Verse 4 says, “And he must needs go through Samaria”. (“Now he had to go through Samaria” in the NIV.)

Why?

We have already stated a Jew would take the long way north along the border of Perea rather than set foot in Samaria. After the imprisonment of John, perhaps Jesus felt some threat of arrest and went into Samaria both because it was the shorter route and because the Pharisees might hesitate to pursue him there, but I don’t believe that was the reason.

Jesus had a date with a woman, not that she knew it or the Disciples knew it, but Jesus knew it.

There came a woman of Samaria to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me to drink.” (For his disciples were gone away to the city to buy meat.)

Then said the woman of Samaria to him, “How is it that you, being a Jew, ask drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria?” For the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.

Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that say to you, ‘Give me to drink’; you would have asked of him, and he would have given you living water.”

The woman said to him,” Sir, you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep, from whence then have you that living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle?”

Jesus answered and said to her, “Whosoever drinks of this water shall thirst again, but whosoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst, but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.”

The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.”

There is an act of intolerance here, which may not be obvious. It is not altogether in the question, “How can you a Jew ask me a Samaritan for a drink”, even though we are informed that “Jews do not associate with Samaritans”.

No, it is in the statement, “Sir, you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get living water?”

This woman must have been eyeing this strange man carefully. First she probably hadn’t expected or wanted to meet anybody when she came to the well. She didn’t come at the usual hour, which would have been early in the day before it got too hot and when one would normally get the supply of water for their daily need. She came at the sixth hour, around noon since hours were counted from sunrise.

She certainly didn’t expect to find a Jewish man nor did she expect him to speak to her. Generally Jews would not enter Samaria and even if a Jew did he would avoid as much contact with the people there as possible. Speaking to a lone woman would be suspect and might even be dangerous. 

Yet this Jewish man not only has the audacity to speak to this woman, he asks her for a drink when he has no vessel to get the water or to drink from. It may seem a simple request and a simple act of kindness to hand a thirsty person your vessel, but it would not have been for this woman. It would have been intolerable to consider it. If a Jew touched her vessel it would have been considered unclean and she would have to destroy it. (Probably if a Samaritan touched anything belonging to a Jew it would have suffered the same fate.)

This Jew had to know that and certainly if the roles had been reversed would have viewed it the same way. She must have been surprised he would not only ask her for a drink, but also then offer one to her.

What did she think? If he could give her a drink, why was he asking her for one? And where would he get it, did he know of another well nearby. Perhaps he thought he could draw it somehow from Jacob’s Well?

His term “living water” wouldn’t have seemed unusual to her.

Wells had two water supply sources. (Collecting rainwater would have been done with a cistern.) Well water would come from an underground spring or an underground stream. A stream fed Jacob’s Well. Wells of this nature, because the stream is moving, were referred to as “living water”. Therefore the woman did not see anything unusual in the use of this term. She asks him to give her this water not just because she won’t get physically thirsty again, but so she doesn’t have to trudge to the well and carry the water home again. She does not understand he is talking about something beyond physical water until later in the conversation.

It is an interesting and instructive dialogue.

Jesus said to her, ”Go, call your husband, and come hither.”

The woman answered and said, “I have no husband.”

Jesus said to her, “You have well said,’ I have no husband’ for you have had five husband, and he whom you now have is not your husband, in that said you truly.”

The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshipped in this mountain and you say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.”

Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour comes when you shall neither in this mountain nor yet at Jerusalem worship the Father. You worship you know not what; we know what we worship for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour comes, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth for the Father seeks such to worship him. God is a Spirit and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”

The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah comes, which is called Christ. When he is come, he will tell us all things.”

Jesus said to her, “I that speak to you am he.”

She asks for this “living water” and he tells her to go get her husband, somewhat of a non sequitur. Perhaps she wasn’t surprised by this given women’s second-class status of those times. But she has no husband, at least not a legal one. 

“I have no husband.” She doesn’t qualify it. If it were any other stranger they might assume she is a widow or perhaps her husband has abandoned her. Perhaps she had never married.

Keep in mind Jesus never met her before. She is a stranger in a country that is anathema to Jews. Can you imagine the shock this woman must have felt when he answered she was living with a man who she wasn’t married to and had had five husbands. No wonder she perceived him to be a prophet.

According to Josephus and 2 Kings 17 Samaritans are descendants of the Israelites who mixed with people deported to their country by Assyria. This fits with the Assyrian pattern of conquest. The Samaritans also claim to be descendants of Israelites who remained in the Northern Kingdom, that is Israel, during the Babylonian Captivity. Their exact history is still disputed, but modern DNA testing in 2004 does support they are descended from Israelites with Assyrians and other nationalities as well.

There was a split between the Jews and Samaritans, possibly at the time the Second Temple was constructed after 538 BC. At any rate, the Samaritan and Jewish religions are very similar, but do have some differences. They both believe in one God and in the Law of Moses as a covenant made by God with the Israelites. They call their version of the Torah the Memar Markah and it does differ in places from the Jewish Torah. They do not accept the other Old Testament books. They keep the Sabbath, circumcise and practice the main Jewish holidays, such as Passover, Pentecost, Yom Kippur, etc. (But not Hannukkah nor Purim.)

The Samaritans believe in a Messiah, called Taheb. This restorer would come and rule his kingdom from Mount Gerizim and eventually reunite Judah and Israel, plus restore the true religion of Moses. Mount Gerizim was the site where Abraham offered up Isaac in sacrifice. If you refer back to the previous map you will see Sychar, Jacob’s Well and Mount Gerizim not far from each other, perhaps a couple miles.

This is why the woman says our fathers worshipped in this mountain and you say Jerusalem is where men should worship. 

Jesus then tells her a time is coming when people will worship in spirit and truth rather in some particular place and this is the manner people should worship God. He also said, “You worship you know not what; we know what we worship for salvation is of the Jews.”

She responses, perhaps defensively, that she knows a Messiah is to come and he will explain all things.

Notice Jesus whole approach to this woman. He asked her for something. When she declined, he did not get angry or upset with her, but offered her something instead and in such a way it raised her curiosity.

Instead of addressing her question about his offer directly he asked her to do something, which caused her to revel and face her own sin. But never in this conversation did he accuse her or berate her about what she had done. He doesn’t engage in attacking her religious belief or get into any argument, but gives her new information that raised her curiosity even more and led her to continue talking. After she admits to a belief in a Messiah, she says this Christ will tell us all things.

Jesus says, “I am he,” and it probably hit her at that moment that he had indeed told her things he could not have known about her. Jesus had found this woman, had drawn her to him and at last reveled who he was and she believed.

And upon this came his disciples and marveled that he talked with the woman, yet no man said, “What seek you?” or “Why talk you with her?”

The woman then left her water pot and went her way…In the meanwhile his disciples prayed him, saying, “Master, eat.”

But he said to them, “I have meat to eat that you know not of.”

Therefore said the disciples one to another, “Has any man brought him ought to eat?”

Jesus said to them, “My meat is to do the will of him that sent me and to finish his work. Say not ye, There are yet four months and then come harvest? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields for they are white already to harvest. And he that reaps receives wages and gathers fruit to life eternal that both he that sows and he that reaps may rejoice together. And herein is that saying true, ‘One sows and another reaps. I sent you to reap that whereon you bestowed no labor, other men labored, and you are entered into their labors.”

The Disciples arrived at the tail end of Jesus’ conversation with this woman. They didn’t interrupt or question, but were obviously amazed to see this. Jews did not associate with Samaritans.

Now we were told when Jesus first arrived at the well, he was alone because the Disciples had gone into town to buy food. We may wonder if Jews and Samaritans would deal with each other. Where would they buy food? It may be that even in Sychar there were merchants who would deal with anyone. It is also quite possible they went to a Jewish town to purchase their food. If you look at the map, you can see Sychar is not far over the border from Judea. 

Just after they arrive at the Well, the woman hastens off. She had come to fetch water, but she leaves her water jar behind. She isn’t concerned with physical water now; she has found the Living Water and can’t wait to tell others.

The disciples never ask what this was all about. They had gone to fetch food and now their only concern is eating. They have probably sat down and opened some of the provision and began to have their lunch. They urge Jesus to join them and eat.

He gives them another one of those strange answers of his, “I have meat to eat that you know not of.”

What do you see, fellows? Do you look for the harvest elsewhere in familiar fields not yet ready? Or do you see the harvest is ready before you? Do you see this woman, who you looked through with distain, had been sown with seeds of hope ready for the reaping? Someone sowed in these people this hope, but it wasn’t you, but here is the opportunity to reap what has been sowed and you should rejoice in it. Open your eyes and see what is before you, not what is far away. Now is the time to gather fruit to salvation. 

The woman then left her water pot and went her way…into the city and said to the men, “Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did. Is not this the Christ?”

Then they went out of the city and came to him.

And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him for the saying of the woman, which testified, “He told me all that ever I did.”

 So when the Samaritans were come to him, they besought him that he would tarry with them and he abode there two days. And many more believed because of his own word and said to the woman, “Now we believe, not because of your saying for we have heard him ourselves and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world.”

The woman had come to belief and hurried to tell those in town of this. She urged them to come to Christ, to see what she had seen. And they went out to the well to Jesus. Here we have the first recorded act of witnessing by a new Christian. These people knew this woman and they knew her past. They sensed something had changed about her, in her demeanor, in her enthusiasm perhaps. As a result many came to believe in Jesus as the Messiah and they asked him to remain. Remember, these are Samaritans and Jesus and his Disciples are Jews, in a sense they are enemies. 

He stayed two days talking with these people and they accepted him as the Christ. Note what they said: “Now we believe, not because of your saying for we have heard him ourselves and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world.”  The woman did not save these Samaritans. She simply brought them the message. 

The woman became the sower and Jesus reaped the harvest. He is again setting an example to his Disciples (then and now) to make haste and sow the word. Do not concern yourself with the reaping. The Holy Spirit will take care of that. You just remember what is presaged in John 4 and said in Romans 10:11-15.

For the scripture says, Whosoever believes on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich to all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?

And how shall they preach, except they be sent?

The Will of God sent Jesus through Samaria and he preached to this woman of whom he was. The Holy Spirit sent the lady to her neighbors and towns folk, where she confessed the Christ and preached to them. Because they heard they came to Christ and believed in him as the Savior.

To God there was no difference between Jew and Greek, or in this case, Jew and Samaritan. God was God of them all and any that called on Jesus were saved.  

 Now after two days he departed thence, and went into Galilee.

JESUS: YOUNG REBEL WITH A CAUSE -- IMPRISONING OF JOHN THE BAPTIST

St. John the Baptist in the Prison by Juan Fernández de Navarrete, 1565-70

Machaerus in the Autumn of 27 A.D.

(Matthew 14:3-5, Mark 6:17-20 and Luke 3:19-20)

But Herod the tetrarch, being reproved by him [John the Baptist] for Herodias his brother Philip's wife, and for all the evils which Herod had done, for Herod himself had sent forth and laid hold upon John and bound him and put him in prison for Herodias' sake, his brother Philip's wife for he had married her.

This gets very convoluted. The Herod being spoken of here was Herod Antipas. He was the son of Herod the Great. His wife, Herodias, was the daughter of Herod Antipas’ stepbrother, Aristobulus. To even further complicate the matter, Herodias had been married to Philip (or Herod-Philip), who was another stepbrother of Herod Antipas and who was the father of Salome, the dancer here, not John and James mother. To even add more to this alphabet soup, Herod the Great had yet another son, by Cleopatra, named Heroal-Philip, who was the husband of Salome. Whew! (Source: International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, 1915)

Whatever the actual tangle of links in this mess of a family, John the Baptist had been taking Herod to task for marrying Herodias and committing adultery. This didn’t sit well with Herodias and she nagged Herod into having John arrested.

Added yet this above all, that he shut up John in prison for John had said to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife.”

Therefore Herodias had a quarrel against him, and would have killed him but she could not for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just man and a holy, and observed him and when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly. And when he would have put him to death, he feared the multitude, because they counted him as a prophet.

Herodias wanted to go even further and have John executed, but Herod still believed John was a holy man and feared doing anything to him. When Herod finally reached the place where he would have agreed to kill John, he hesitated now because he was afraid what the people might do. 

In the meantime, John languished in prison.

 This is rather in conflict with the portrayal of John’s imprisonment in “The History Channel Series The Bible,” where John is depicted being slapped around by Herod and his prison guards. 

The Scripture tells us Herod actually visited John and listened to him. Herodias, however, would have John killed; yet Herod was not willing to do this. Although Herod Antipas ruled over Judea and Perea, he was not really of Jewish heritage. He was aware of Jewish tradition and beliefs and may have been curious, just as others were whether John was the Messiah. He was certainly curious about John and wanted to learn more. We will see this same type of curiosity and interest shown in the future when Jesus is arrested and brought before him.

At any rate, Herod resisted his wife’s will to have John killed and it took an act of opportunity on Herodias’ part to trick him into the act. 

Meanwhile…Jesus is about to move on through Samaria.

JESUS: YOUNG REBEL WITH A CAUSE -- JOHN THE BAPTIST'S TESTIMONY

Ecce Agnus Dei by Dieric Bouts the Elder, 1464

John 3: 22-36

After these things came Jesus and his disciples into the land of Judaea and there he tarried with them, and baptized. And John also was baptizing in Aenon near to Salim, because there was much water there and they came, and were baptized. For John was not yet cast into prison.

Here are two more location that no one any longer knows where they were, Aenon and Salim. Since it says Aenon near to Salim, Salim was probably the better-known town. Despite the similarity in spelling, this most likely isn’t the Salem over which Melchizedak ruled (See Genesis 14 and Hebrews 7). That Salem is almost universally agreed to be Jerusalem. A small minority, following the opinion of St. Jerome, a priest and early Christian apologist (circa 347 to 420 AD), disagree and places Salem eight miles from Scythopolis, part of the Decapolis, and the only part located in Israel. On some maps of Israel, conjectured to be at this time, Aenon is pictured as near the northern border of Samaria, which seems unlikely.  Still, all these locations are only speculative and there has been so much speculation about where Salim actually was that it isn’t worth reviewing the theories. What we can know is this, John moved there because there was a lot of water. 

We aren’t told why he chose to move. It is quite possible, even logical, that John moved around to different places over the course of his ministry to reach more people, so maybe this was just one more time.

At this time Jesus has left Jerusalem for elsewhere in Judea, so both men have moved from their previous location. We aren’t certain who made the move first. It says John also was baptizing in Aenon near to Salim, so perhaps they were not far apart. Why else would it say “also”? John has been baptizing all along, but Jesus wasn’t. The way it is put sounds as if John had moved to Aenon and Jesus came later and was baptizing in the same general region. This seems even more plausible because the next part is a discussion about who’s baptizing is to be accepted.

Then there arose a question between some of John's disciples and the Jews about purifying and they came to John, and said to him, “Rabbi, he that was with you beyond Jordan, to whom you bore witness, behold, the same baptizes, and all men come to him.”

John answered and said, “A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven. You yourselves bear me witness that I said; I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him. He that has the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice, this my joy therefore is fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease.”

It would seem John and Jesus are baptizing not too distant from each other. A question arose about this from the Jews, who I take to mean the usual Jewish religious leaders. Notice how it’s John’s disciples who come to John, not these Jews. This sounds like a kind of rivalry or jealously developing with these disciples, especially when they say “all men come to him”.  

This does not perturb John. He explained he had already told them this was going to happen. He was to prepare the way for Messiah and then was to get out of the way. We have an allusion to the Best man at a wedding, part of a recurring theme of Christ as the bridegroom we will see throughout the Gospels. 

“He that comes from above is above all; he that is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth. He that comes from heaven is above all. And what he has seen and heard, that he testifies; and no man receives his testimony. He that has received his testimony has set to his seal that God is true. For he whom God has sent speaks the words of God: for God gives not the Spirit by measure to him.”

This statement by John is a bit difficult to follow. Essentially, John starts off by comparing the Messiah [he that comes from above) to ordinary men (he that is of the earth). The man from heaven is far superior (is above all) to anyone on earth and he tells the truth about God’s kingdom because he is from it (what he has seen and heard). He has come to tell mankind about the Kingdom (that he testifies), but people don’t want to hear it or believe it (no man receives his testimony). Yet, some people do listen and believe (he that has received his testimony…sets his seal that God is true). The man from Heaven speaks for God (whom God sent speaks the words of God) and God hasn’t limited him (God gives not the Spirit by measure), Jesus is filled with the Spirit.

“The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand. He that believes on the Son has everlasting life and he that believes not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abides on him.”

Finally, John the Baptist reaffirms that Jesus is the only way to God and Salvation. There is no way to everlasting life with God except through belief in the Son, Jesus Christ. 

JESUS: YOUNG REBEL WITH A CAUSE -- TEACHING NICODEMUS

Visit of Nicodemus to Christ by John La Farge, 1880

We have been following this young man, somewhere around the age of 30, who went from his home in Galilee to be Baptized by John the Baptist in Bethany beyond the Jordan. After being baptized, he wandered out in the wilderness for 40 days where he was tempted by Satan. We picked up his story after this sojourn as he walked by John the Baptist and two of John’s disciples. John the Baptist, who by this time was fairly well-known and a bit controversial, pointed the young man out and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God,” sort of an odd thing to say. 

Nonetheless, the two disciples seemed to catch his drift and they began to follow behind this stranger. The stranger was Jesus of Nazareth, basically a nobody, the son of a carpenter in a small town far from the seat of power in Judea. This guy Jesus spent the day with these disciples of John the Baptist, who turned out to be three men from near the Sea of Galilee. There was John and Andrew, the first two, then Simon Peter, Andrew's brother.

They then set off to return to Galilee, picking up a fellow named Phillip along the way and then a friend of Phillip’s named Nathanial. Eventually they all ended up at a wedding in another small Galilean town called Cana. Here a mysterious thing happened, water was turned to wine, but it was kept pretty hush-hush. There was no big “wow” about it. Then Jesus, his family and his new friends traveled down to Capernaum. Jesus sort of disappeared back into obscurity for a while, until the Passover came and Jesus made the trip up to Jerusalem for the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Passover).

Here his obscurity ended. He strode into the Temple and caused a ruckus, chasing the livestock and the moneychangers out of the place. This action was not met with approval by the authorities. So, who were the authorities?

The people of Israel were ruled by Rome. They didn’t much like this, but they couldn’t do much about it. Roman legions were not to be trifled with. The head of Rome at this time, was Caesar Tiberius, also known as Tiberius Caesar Augustus. His birth name was Tiberius Claudius Nero. He was the adopted son of Augustus. You remember Augustus, “A degree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world be taxed." Augustus was the ruler of Rome when Jesus was born. Tiberius became Caesar after Augustus died in 14 A.D. He ruled until his own death in 37 A.D., so he was the emperor when Jesus was crucified.

Rome gave the countries it had conquested a false sense of autonomy. It allowed them to have their own customs and religions and even their own leaders, so to speak. One of these rulers was Herod Antipas, a son of Herod the Great. Augustus named Herod Antipas the Tetrarch of Galilee and Perea. He was never given the title King. The reason Jesus was sent to him during his trials was because Antipas ruled over the area Jesus had spent most of his time in. Antipas held this post during most of Jesus’ life.

The other ruler with a great deal of power during 26 to 36 A.D. was Pontius Pilate, who was the Roman Prefect of Judea. Essentially, Pilate was the Governor of the the main providence of Israel.

There was a Sanhedrin in every town consisting of at least 23 members. Think of this as the court system. The Great Sanhedrin consisted of 71 members and met daily in Jerusalem. It was the top authority on religious matters, the Supreme Court so to speak. They met in the Chamber of Hewn Stones in the Temple. They dealt with religious, ritual, criminal and also things like adulterous wives and false prophets. They could inflict capital punishment up until 30 A. D., when that was taken away from them. The members were usually from the Pharisees or the Sadducees.  The Sadducees were the wealthy aristocrats. They comprised the majority of the Sanhedrin and were more political than religious. They generally lined up with the wishes of Rome. The Pharisees were more middle-class businessmen and were more respected by the common man. Both opposed Jesus.

It was most likely members of this body wo came out to challenge Jesus’ authority to clean out the Temple. It should have been their duty to do this deed, but they didn’t, probably because they received some gain from the practice. 

I want to point out something that stands out between Jesus at the Cana Wedding and his chasing the merchants and moneychangers from the Temple. It addresses a pet peeve of mine. I often hear people who only look to Jesus superficially, saying he is all love and kindness. They don’t like the “God” of the old testament because he is vengeful and angry all the time, always beating down on somebody. They like Jesus because he is so forgiving and kind. Well, people it is the same God. There is no Old Testament God verses a New Testament God. Here early on we see Jesus as merciful and condemning. If you can’t see that God in the Old Testament is full of grace and forgiveness, then you’re missing something. If you can’t see that Jesus could be angry and talk tough to people, you are ignoring reality.

Anyway, if the Pharisees and Sadducees were quick to confront Jesus about his authority. This wasn’t 100%

John 3: 1-21

There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. The same came to Jesus by night, and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that you do, except God be with him.”

This is almost the full extent of what we know of Nicodemus. We can conclude he was a man of wealth from the information in John 19:39-40 when he brings 75 pounds of myrrh mixed with aloes to prepare Christ’s body for burial. Myrrh was an expensive spice.

We can also infer from his aiding Joseph of Arimathea in caring for Christ’s body and from his stance against the Pharisees in John 7: 50-51 that he was a follower of Jesus, and from the reaction to his statements this was probably secretly. 

John 7:40 When they heard these words, some of the people said, “This really is the Prophet.” 41 Others said, “This is the Christ.” But some said, “Is the Christ to come from Galilee? 42 Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the offspring of David, and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David was?” 43 So there was a division among the people over him. 44 Some of them wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him.

45 The officers then came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, “Why did you not bring him?” 46 The officers answered, “No one ever spoke like this man!” 47 The Pharisees answered them, “Have you also been deceived? 48 Have any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in him? 49 But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed.” 50 Nicodemus, who had gone to him before, and who was one of them, said to them, 51 “Does our law judge a man without first giving him a hearing and learning what he does?” 52 They replied, “Are you from Galilee too? Search and see that no prophet arises from Galilee.” (ESV)

The passage in John 7 also indicates that the events described in John 3 took place well before the Passion month, another indicator that there were two separate cleansings of the Temple.

We really don’t have any information outside of scripture on the man. I really don’t like turning to extra-scriptural sources anyway, unless there is good evidence for them. There are some such about Nicodemus, but we can’t be certain it is this same Nicodemus.

There was a Nicodemus (or Naqdimon) written about in the Babylonian Talmud, a rich man of Jerusalem who was living in the late 60 ADs during the time of the war with Rome. Some scholars have claimed this was the same Nicodemus, but more likely he was a nephew or other member of the same family.

This man was of the ben Gurion family, and probably our Nicodemus was a member of it as well. The ben Gurions were rich, with a long history as Pharisees, teachers of the law and members of the ruling class. Members of the family carried the name Nicodemus at least as far back as 64 BC with a Nicodemus ben Gurion written about in Josephus’s Antiquities (14:37). We’ve already mentioned that the Nicodemus ben Gurion of the Babylonia Talmud lived in the 60s AD. The Nicodemus, who met with Jesus, fits with this family in social status and time period.

Why did he come to Jesus at night? 

Perhaps his duties kept him busy during the day, but more likely he came secretly. Jesus was not exactly making friends with the Pharisees and Sanhedrin, both of which Nicodemas was a member. (There was another member of the Sanhedrin, who was a secret follower of Jesus and who Nicodemus apparently had a friendship with, Joseph of Arimathea.)

Where they met we don’t know either. It is doubtful this meeting took place in Nicodemus’ Temple office. Perhaps they met in the Garden of Olives. Doesn’t matter, we just know they managed to get together.

Nicodemus shows respect toward Jesus by calling him Rabbi and says the miracles he has done show that God must be with him.

Jesus replies by answering a question never asked. Obviously Jesus knows what is weighing on Nicodemus’ mind. The question is, “How can I know the Kingdom of God”. The answer, and the only answer, is one must be born from above.

Jesus answered and said to him, “Verily, verily, I say to you, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter the second time into his mother's womb and be born?”

Jesus answered, “Verily, verily, I say to you, except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said to you, you must be born again. The wind blows where it lists, and you hear the sound thereof, but cannot tell whence it comes, and whither it goes. So is every one that is born of the Spirit.”

Jesus’ reply rocked Nicodemus back on his heels. He couldn’t understand it for it made no sense o him.

In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again. John 3:3 (NIV)

“Verily, verily, I say to you, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” John 3:3 (KJV)

I use both translations here because the NIV misses some of the emphasis of the import shown by the King James. The NIV says, “I tell you the truth…” The double “Verily, verily” of the KJV means “I tell you the truth of truths.”

Jesus uses the double “verily”; this is the truth of truths, the absolute, “Verily, verily, I say to thee, if any one may not be born from above, he is not able to see the reign of God” (Young Literal Translation).  This is the source of the oft-used phrase, “born again.” We find it confirmed in 1 Peter 1:23: “For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.” The literal translation of 1 Peter is “being begotten again”, or in modern English, “born again”. (Perhaps it could be interpreted as reconceived as well.)

Nicodemus may have been surprised by this reply. We don’t know that, but we know it confused him. Oh, he took it as meaning born again all right; he just didn’t understand how that was possible because he was thinking of physical birth. He may have been thinking that  he made a mistake in coming to Jesus. It was ridiculous, re-entering the womb and being reborn? 

Jesus, with another “verily, verily,” strongly reiterates this fact. There is no way around this truth; a person must be born again to see the Kingdom of God.

Nicodemus answered and said to him, “How can these things be?”

Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you a master of Israel and know not these things? Verily, verily, I say to you, we speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and you receive not our witness. If I have told you earthly things, and you believe not, how shall you believe if I tell you of heavenly things? And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man, which is in heaven. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

Jesus gently admonishes Nicodemus for not understanding. Nicodemus is a teacher and a leader, yet he missed it. What kinds of things did he miss? Such things as these among many others:

"The time is coming," declares the LORD, "when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them, " declares the LORD. This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time," declares the LORD. "I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. Jeremiah 31:31-33

"Therefore, O house of Israel, I will judge you, each one according to his ways, declares the Sovereign LORD. Repent! Turn away from all your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall. Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, O house of Israel? For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign LORD. Repent and live! Ezekiel 18:30-32

Then Jesus makes reference to an event Nicodemus would have known well when he says, “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.”

Then the LORD sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died. The people came to Moses and said, "We sinned when we spoke against the LORD and against you. Pray that the LORD will take the snakes away from us." So Moses prayed for the people. The LORD said to Moses, "Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live." So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, he lived. Numbers 21:6-9

Nicodemus probably did not understand what Jesus was talking about. He couldn’t see the cross for that was in the future. When he came and helped bury Christ’s body that reference to Numbers 21 probably came back to him in total clarity.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved. He that believes on him is not condemned, but he that believes not is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that does evil hates the light, neither comes to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that does truth comes to the light that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.”

Nicodemus may have left that night still confused and in wonder. He probably hit the scrolls and over the course of time came to understand and believe in Jesus as the Messiah. He probably came to understand that no man was capable of following the Law completely and that a study of the men of God in the Old Testament clearly shows their relationship with God was not one of perfection in deed, but in faith in the Lord.

This passage, early on in Christ’s ministry, leaves no doubt that Jesus declared there is but one way to Heaven and that is through belief in Him.

It is also important to take note Jesus came to save the world, not condemn it.