On a Scale of Nicodemus to the Woman at the Well

It Doesn’t Matter Where We Are

In John, chapters 3 and 4 offer a juxtaposition of two conversion stories. The first is about a rich man. John 3:1 “There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:” and the second is about a Samaritan woman. In the course of these two stories, we see that these people come from polar opposite places in society. Nicodemus is at the top of his society while the Samaritan woman is at the bottom, yet Jesus treats them the same. It is also interesting to note that the conversion of the Samaritan woman is much quicker than that of Nicodemus. You can see this in how she addresses Christ through their conversation, first she calls him Jew, then sir, then prophet, and then as soon as she learns he is the Messiah, she leaves her waterpot and tells everyone in her town.

The woman at the well strikes a chord with me, because I’ve sometimes felt as wretched and unclean as she is.  

John 4:27 And upon this came his disciples, and marvelled that he talked with the woman: yet no man said, What seekest thou? or, Why talkest thou with her?

These internal judgements aren’t unwarranted, she’s had five husbands and the man she is with isn’t even her husband. She is such an outcast that she comes to the well a noon, while the other women go at the cooler times of dawn and dusk. Christ knows of her sins, but he does not revile against her.

So, it doesn’t matter where we are on the scale of Nicodemus to the Woman at the Well. We even change which role we identify more with as we go through life, but Christ teaches the same Truth to everyone and offers us all that Living Water, or Eternal Life, through his Atonement.