It’s not difficult to notice that the Gospels have a whole lot of men in them, and many of them are fairly powerful. What are the gospel writers up to with their characterization of guys like Jairus, Nicodemus, and the know-it-all lawyer? Building on our previous seasons about The Woman with the Issue of Blood, The Woman at the Well, and Mary and Martha, we’ll delve deeper into the roles these men play to get to the bottom of Jesus’ views of power, privilege, and marginalization.

Setting: “The Bible and the English Major” Headquarters

I begin today with urgent news.  The Samaritan woman at the well stopped by the Bible and The English Major headquarters this morning to report that her friends, the hemorrhaging woman, Mary and Martha, and the “good” Samaritan all have privileged male counterparts who represent the religious establishment.  She therefore asked that we begin searching diligently for her counterpart who seems to be temporarily missing.  I assured her the literary investigators were on the case. Let’s review our files.

The Bleeding Woman, Privileged Counterpart: Jairus 

• Alias: Synagogue leader

• Address: Mark 5:21-43

• Status: wealthy, connected, desperate 

• Motive: Healing his daughter, even if it means sacrificing his status.

• Character Counterpart: unclean, poverty-stricken, desperate hemorrhaging woman

Martha’s Privileged Counterpart: Lawyer

• Alias: Lawyer

• Address: Luke 10:25-36

• Status: educated expert of the law, knows all the answers to Jesus' questions, is eager to justify himself.

• Motive: testing Jesus

• Character counterparts: The “Good” Samaritan man in Jesus’ parable and Mary and Martha, female disciples of Jesus

Although it cannot yet be confirmed that all marginalized biblical characters have privileged counterparts, we have removed all reasonable doubt that Ms. Samaritan Well Woman does indeed have such a literary partner.  We have discovered a person of interest who may be our missing person.  Further analysis is required, but here are his immediate statistics.

The Samaritan Woman at the Well, Possible Privileged Counterpart: Nicodemus

• Alias: Pharisee, leader of the Jews

• Address: John 3:1-21, a mere chapter before Ms. Well Woman’s story

• Status: Powerful, highly concerned with the purity laws

• Motive: Ambiguous. Possibly sent by fellow Pharisees to ensnare Jesus.  

If this person is in fact the Samaritan woman’s counterpart, we will find that John has juxtaposed Nicodemus’ story with hers using characterization, plot, and mood.  Literary investigators,  we are looking for signs of close placement with a contrasting effect.  A quick read of John 4:1-42 will remind you of her story.

 Our first analysis category is characterization. 

As a Samaritan, the woman’s enmity with the Jewish people goes back centuries. Her gender makes her conversation with Jesus even more shocking, as evidenced by the disciples’ astonishment in John 4:7. She has been disparaged by commentators throughout the years for her multiple husbands, but it is important to note that Jesus provides no rebuke. As a woman, she is unlikely to have had any formal education, yet possesses impressive wit and theological knowledge.  

As a Pharisee, Nicodemus is especially concerned with Jewish purity laws.  He’s the kind of Jew who wouldn’t dream of traveling through Samaria or sharing a cup with the Samaritan woman. He’s also a leader of the Jews, perhaps a powerful member of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish high council (Coogan et al, p. 152).  His high-level connections contrast with his limited theological understanding.  

The second analysis category is plot. 

The plot of Ms. Samaritan Well Woman’s story is all about identity. Initially, the woman names herself “Woman of Samaria,” while calling Jesus, “Jew.”  The narrative progresses quickly from there to her eventual recognition and confirmation of Jesus as Messiah.  She leaves the well filled with the Living Water of the Holy Spirit, and many in her town believe in Jesus because of her astonished, joy-filled testimony.

The plot of Nicodemus’ story is also about identity.  Nicodemus begins the conversation, claiming to know that Jesus is a teacher who has come from God because of the signs he performs (vs 2).  Certainly, Nicodemus could be farther off from the truth, but in contrast to the woman at the well whose knowledge of Jesus grows throughout their conversation, this initial statement is the closest Nicodemus gets to identifying Jesus.  Despite Jesus’ sincere efforts to help Nicodemus understand his need to be born from above or in other words, filled by the Holy Spirit breath of God, nothing he says helps Nicodemus understand any better, even though he’s a “teacher of Israel” (vs 10).  Side Note: If you’d like to read stories that shed light on the concept of life in two stages, check out Ezekiel 37:1-15 and Genesis 2:7.  Suffice it to say, if Nicodemus could see the way the Samaritan woman sees, he would leave so full of Holy Spirit wind that he’d never need to fill his lungs again.  He’d run to his Pharisee friends and tell them to come meet Jesus, the Messiah the people of Israel have been waiting for. 

The third analysis category is mood.

 This complicated literary device is the general feeling evoked within a reader by a particular piece of literature.  Though the details that determine mood can be subtle, good authors are intentional about them because a reader’s emotional response aids in their comprehension of the plot and the piece’s larger themes.  Warning: mood-building details can also be reciprocal.  While a piece’s mood helps us understand its themes, for instance, its themes also help us understand its mood.  Don’t you just love it when analysis gets fuzzy?  Other mood-shaping details include tone, setting, and diction. 

Speaking of tone, we’d better examine that device a bit, too. The simplest way to say it is, while mood is all about what the reader is feeling, tone is all about what the author is feeling.  Tone helps to shape the mood, but it, too, can be subtle.  The mood of the story of Ms. Samaritan Well Woman is light and playful, while the mood of Nicodemus’ story is dark and cautious.

Mood-building device 1: theme

As discussed in Season 2, John masterfully alludes to stories from the Hebrew bible to layer many themes onto the Samaritan woman’s story.  Like Hagar, the Samaritan woman is an outsider who surprisingly sees and names a God who also sees her.  Like the betrothal narratives of the Hebrew Bible, the meeting of Jesus and Ms. Samaritan Well Woman reflect the joy of two families coming together and present Jesus as the bride-groom for his beloved church.  The Holy Spirit living water that flows in the Samaritan woman at the end of her story brings life wherever she goes.  Each of these themes reflects life-giving joy. 

As for Nicodemus, the cautious mood of his story is built by John’s pervasive theme of the religious authorities as bad guys. An important question circulates while John writes his gospel.  Are Jewish believers in Jesus still Jewish? Some Jewish religious authorities have said, “no way” and have expelled believers from the synagogues. (John 9:22, 12:42)  John wishes to discredit these authorities, so in his gospel, he portrays them as more interested in power than in the preservation of Judaism (Coogan et al, p.146).  These religious authorities constantly question Jesus’ authority because it threatens theirs.  They are not to be trusted, so when Nicodemus shows up, the reader knows Jesus needs to beware. 

Mood-building device 2: tone

In both stories, John uses Jesus to communicate his tone.  At the end of Ms. Samaritan Well Woman’s story, Jesus is excited about doing his father’s will and about the Samaritans who will believe in him because of the woman’s testimony.

In contrast, John sets the tone for Nicodemus’ story before it starts. John provides a bit of foreshadowing, a hint of what’s coming, at the end of chapter 2.  Verse 23 says, “Many believed in his name (Jesus) because they saw the signs that he was doing.”  This should evoke the same positive reaction in Jesus as the Samaritan woman’s successful evangelism, but it doesn’t.  The following verses say, “But Jesus on his part would not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people and needed no one to testify about anyone; for he himself knew what was in everyone.”  This is ominous, investigators.  John says Jesus knows some of the Jerusalem believers aren’t trustworthy, but this is also a glimpse of how John feels, a tone he sets that builds the story’s cautious mood. 

Mood-building device 3: setting  

The Samaritan woman’s story is set in the middle of the day at a public well outside a Samaritan village.  Jesus is peacefully alone and at rest.  Ms. Samaritan Well Woman’s enlightened understanding is reflected by the story’s daytime setting and playful mood.  It is truly a bright sunshiney day.

In contrast, Nicodemus’ story takes place in Jerusalem, the center of Judaism.  Nicodemus shows up at night, and though we don’t know where Nicodemus and Jesus are, we know they’re alone. The darkness both adds to the cautious mood and reflects Nicodemus’ lack of enlightenment. 

Mood-building device 4: diction

A conversation that begins with the Samaritan woman sizing Jesus up according to his religion, ethnicity, and gender quickly turns to banter.  Jesus throws out a riddle about his identity and ability to bestow living water, and she tosses back a pun regarding their shared ancestry. Even as the conversation ramps up theologically, they keep pace with one another and both enjoy their conversation.

There’s no joy in Nicodemus’ story, though.  Nicodemus speaks first: “we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God” (vs 2).  Presumably, the “we” he mentions here includes his fellow Jewish leaders who may have sent him on this errand.  His words could sound like faith, but if we’re paying attention to the mood details we’ve uncovered, they sound more like flattery.  We can’t trust this statement the way we can the Samaritan woman’s direct observations.  The ambiguity plays into the wary mood, and so does Jesus’ response.  He replies, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above,” (vs 3).   In other words, despite his claim, Nicodemus doesn’t yet have the eyes to see who Jesus is.  Notice that Jesus uses the phrase “Very truly” three times in this conversation.  A good translation of “very truly” is  “Amen, amen.” (Just)  We’re used to seeing those words at the end of prayers, in places where amen means, “Yes! I agree!”  According to Felix Just, Jesus is the only one to use this phrase in the gospels, and only at the beginning of his own statements.  It’s a literary device that emphasizes his authority and the importance of his words. Jesus repeats “very truly” trying to get Nicodemus to listen up.  His sincere and intense diction set a serious mood.  In contrast to the events at the well, nobody’s playing. 

Well investigators, the mission is complete.  We’ve analyzed the person of interest in the categories of characterization, plot, and mood.  What’s your conclusion? Is Nicodemus Ms. Samaritan Well Woman’s privileged Jewish male counterpart?  Have their stories been intentionally juxtaposed?  After reviewing the evidence, I stamp Nicodemus’ identity confirmed.  Ms. Samaritan Well Woman, you have your privileged Jewish male counterpart.

One question remains.  Why did John go through all this effort to connect Nicodemus and Ms. Samaritan Well Woman?  Why does the hemorrhaging woman have a Jairus? Why do we need a lawyer in Luke 10? All of these stories could easily happen without the men. Next time, we’ll talk about what I’ve learned from the existence of these male characters.  They’ve shifted the way I read these stories, even more than what I’ve learned about the women.  I’ll let you in on my aha moment next time.

Works Cited

Coogan, Michael D., et al., editors. The New Oxford Annotated Bible Third Edition. New York: Oxford University Press, 2001

Just, Felix “‘Amen, Amen’ Sayings in the Fourth Gospel,” catholic-resources.org, January 24, 2022.