Sermon
#1375 Miscellaneous
Notes
Title: TWO
GREAT SINNERS AND
A GREAT
SAVIOR
Texts: John 3:1-3 and 4:4-7
Subject: The Pharisee, The Adulteress, and The Savior
Date: Sunday Morning –
Tape # V-50b
Introduction:
Standing as I do to preach the gospel of Christ to eternity bound sinners, I am constantly aware of my utter insufficiency for the task before me. What great wisdom is needed to minister to the souls of men!
We
have all come here today with different needs, from different backgrounds,
different experiences, and different circumstances. Yet, we all need the same
thing spiritually. We all need…
·
Grace.
·
Forgiveness.
·
Righteousness.
·
Salvation.
Today, I want to show you two people who could not have been more different, who were saved by the marvelous, free grace of God in Christ. The title of my message is TWO GREAT SINNERS AND THE GREAT SAVIOR. These two great sinners and Christ our great Savior are set before us John chapters three and four in a most remarkable way.
1. There was a man of the
Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:
2. The same came to Jesus by
night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God:
for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.
3. Jesus answered and said unto
him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be
born again, he cannot see the
4. And he must
needs go through
5. Then cometh he to a city of
6. 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.
7. There cometh a woman of
It is always a mistake to interpret any portion of Scripture without considering the context in which it is found. In fact, it is impossible to interpret the Word of God correctly, if we do not interpret it contextually. Not only did the Holy Spirit inspire the words of this Book, he also inspired and fixed the order in which we are given things in the Inspired Volume. It is no accident that the two stories of Nicodemus and the Samaritan woman are set before us in the same context.
Proposition: Together
Nicodemus and the Samaritan woman show us that none are beyond the reach of
God’s saving grace in Christ.
Nicodemus
shows us that none can rise too high, and the Samaritan woman shows us that
none can sink too low, to be saved by the grace of God. At the end of these two
stories of grace, we have this great declaration in John 4:42 – “This
is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world!”
1. The Lord Jesus Christ is the only Savior
there is. He is the Savior of Jews and Gentiles, men and women, out of
every nation, tongue, and position in the world.
Neither is there salvation in any other: for
there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be
saved. (Acts
2. All who are
saved are saved in the same way.
·
By Grace
·
Through Righteousness -- (The Obedience and Blood of Christ
·
By
·
By The Revelation of Christ
3. We all experience grace in a distinct, personal way. No two
sinners experience grace in exactly the same way. This is clearly set before us
in these two people. Let’s look at the way our Lord dealt with Nicodemus and
the Samaritan woman, and see what we can learn from their experience of grace.
Divisions: I
want to show you three things in this message.
1. A Great Separation
2. A Great Sameness
3. A Great Savior
I.
First, we see that there is A GREAT SEPARATION, between
Nicodemus and the Samaritan woman.
Both were chosen of God and saved by his grace. We see this fact with regard to the Samaritan woman in the immediate context. Once the Lord revealed himself to her, she immediately left her water pots and said to the men of the city, “Come, see a man, that told me all things that ever I did. Is not this the Christ?” (v. 29). Many believed because of her word.
Nicodemus was one of those disciples who, in John 19, came to bury the Lord Jesus. He was not converted immediately upon hearing the gospel. But he was converted. The Master said to him, “Ye must be born again;” and he was, at the appointed hour.
Here are two sinners, chosen, redeemed, and called by grace; but it would be impossible to imagine two people more distinct and separate from one another. The contrast between Nicodemus and the Samaritan woman is obvious to the most casual reader.
A. Nicodemus was a recognized, important, sophisticated ruler of the Jews, a man of name, rank, and reputation. She was an unnamed, insignificant nobody.
B. Nicodemus was a proud Jew. She was a despised Samaritan.
C. Nicodemus was a wealthy, well-educated scholar. The woman was poor and uneducated.
D. Nicodemus was a man. The Samaritan was a woman.
E. Nicodemus was a man known and respected for his great morality. She was an adulteress.
F. Nicodemus
came to the Savior by night, to protect his reputation. This woman came to
Jacob’s well at
G. Nicodemus
sought the Lord Jesus. The Lord Jesus came to
H. The Samaritan woman was converted immediately upon hearing the message of Christ. Nicodemus was converted a good while after he first heard.
Colossians
12. That at that time ye were without Christ,
being aliens from the
13. But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
14. For he is our peace, who hath made both
one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition [between us];
15. Having abolished in his flesh the enmity,
[even] the law of commandments [contained] in ordinances; for to make in
himself of twain one new man, [so] making peace;
16.And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:
17. And came and preached peace to you which
were afar off, and to them that were nigh.
18. For through him we both have access by
one Spirit unto the Father.
19. Now therefore ye are no more strangers
and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of
God;
20. And are built upon the foundation of the
apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner
[stone];
21. In whom all the building fitly framed
together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:
22. In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.
Grace
reconciles sinners to God; and grace reconciles sinners to one another.
II.
Second, though much separated and
distinguished Nicodemus and the Samaritan woman from one another, still there
was A GREAT SAMENESS about
them.
A. Self-righteousness!
They both thought they were
right spiritually, right before God. Without question, neither of them were at peace in their hearts. Their souls were troubled.
Their consciences were uneasy. But they had both made a refuge of lies in which
they hid themselves in self-righteousness[1].
Both had a religious refuge, which had to be destroyed before they would flee
to Christ for refuge. So do you!
14. Wherefore hear the word of the LORD, ye
scornful men, that rule this people which [is] in
15. Because ye have said, We
have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the
overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have
made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves:
16. Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD,
Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious
corner [stone], a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.
17. Judgment also will
I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep
away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.
18. And your covenant with death shall be
disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing
scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it.
19. From the time
that it goeth forth it shall take you: for morning by morning shall it pass
over, by day and by night: and it shall be a vexation only [to] understand the
report.
20. For the bed is shorter than that [a man]
can stretch himself [on it]: and the covering narrower than that he can wrap
himself [in it]. (Isaiah 28:14-20)
B. Spiritual
blindness!
Neither Nicomdemus nor the woman had even the slightest spiritual understanding or discernment. Neither could see the kingdom of heaven.
But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know [them], because they are spiritually discerned. (1 Corinthians 2:14)
C. Rebellion!
Nicodemus saith unto 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? (John 3:4)
When
the Lord Jesus spoke to the Samaritan woman about living water, because she
could not understand his words, she did the same thing (John
The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast
nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that
living water? Art thou greater than
our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his
children, and his cattle? (John 4:11-12)
The
fact is this woman and Nicodemus, like all men and
women by nature, like all of you who are yet without Christ, were lost rebels.
As it is written, “All we, like sheep, have go astray. We have
turned, every one, to his own way” (Isa. 53:6).
They are all gone out of the way, they are
together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. (Romans 3:12)
If
you are lost, it is because you are an obstinate, stubborn, implacable rebel.
If you go to hell, it will be because you have broken God’s law, despised God’s
gospel, rejected God’s counsel, laughed at God’s reproof, refused to bow to
God’s Son, and hated God in the very core of your being.
D. EMPTINESS!
Both Nicodemus and the Samaritan woman tried hard, just like you are doing, to cover it up; but they had an emptiness in their souls, just like you do, which could not be filled with the water pots of their religions, or their accomplishments, or their lusts.
Augustine
said, “Thou hast made us for Thyself; and our hearts
are restless until they find their rest in Thee.”
For a draught from some
clear spring,
That I hoped would quench
the burning
Of the thirst I felt within.
Feeding on the husks around
me,
Till my strength was almost
gone,
Longed my soul for something
better,
Only still to hunger on.
Poor was I, and sought for
riches,
Something that would
satisfy,
But the dust I gathered
round me
Only mocked my soul’s sad
cry!”
Have
I described you? Has God exposed your self-righteousness? Has the Holy Spirit
made you to see and know the rebellion that rules your heart? Have you begun to
know and acknowledge your emptiness? If so, hear me another minute or two,
while I show you…
III.
A GREAT SAVIOR!
Oh, what a great Savior our Lord Jesus Christ is! Let me show you what he did for these to great sinners. The Lord Jesus did not deal with Nicodemus and the Samaritan woman the same way. Yet, in a very real sense he did. This is always what Christ does when he comes to save a sinner. This is what he will do with you, if ever he saves you by his grace.
A. He destroyed the refuge of
lies in which they hid themselves.
B. He exposed their rebellion,
unbelief, and sin.
C. He made himself known to
them
D. He crossed them at their
point of rebellion.
Illustration: “Yuh gots tuh git into dat hog pen.”
E. He conquered them by his
grace.
Application:
Blessed [is
the man whom] thou choosest, and causest to approach [unto thee, that] he may
dwell in thy courts: we shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house,
[even] of thy holy temple. (Psalms
65:4)
Thy people
[shall be] willing in the day of thy power, in the beauties of holiness from
the womb of the morning: thou hast the dew of thy youth. (Psalms 110:3)
AMEN.
[1] Self-righteousness flourishes in human flesh, just as fully among adulterers and adulteresses as among Pharisees and Sadducees, just as well in the hearts of criminals as in the hearts of cardinals. – Just as Nicodemus argued theology with the Master, defending himself and his religion, so did this adulteress!