Good News Club: John 4 and the Samaritan Woman

Introduction: 2 weeks ago, we considered that Jesus is Almighty Creator God since He did something no one else could: create wine from water! Last week, we learned that we all need Jesus through the Holy Spirit to give us new spiritual life, eternal life because no one can do enough good things or learn enough to be able to get to heaven since we’re all sinners who complain! Today, we find Jesus at an unusual place: a well. Here, Jesus is going to speak with a woman and has some important things for both she and us to learn.

John 4:7-10 “7 There came a woman of Samaria to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.” 8 For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. 9 Therefore the Samaritan woman said to Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask me for a drink since I am a Samaritan woman?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) 10 Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.””

What is it that Jesus asks for?

A drink of water.

Have you ever been thirsty before?

I know that I sure have.

When do you normally get thirsty?

After working or playing hard.

What we see here is that Jesus was tired and needed some refreshment.

Can you imagine? - Jesus, Almighty Creator God got tired?!

He has unlimited power to create and sustain all things and yet He got tired as a man.

How does the woman react to Jesus here?

Out of shock, she asks Jesus a question.

Why is the woman shocked?

Because the Jews have no dealings or interactions with Samaritans.

Another way to state this is that Jews avoided the Samaritan people.

Is it right to avoid people because they come from a different place than you do?

No.

But, even though Jesus was a Jew, is He concerned that Jews and Samaritans have no interaction with one another?

No, He’s not.

In fact, He chose to interact with her.

Jesus used the phrase “gift of God”.

Have we looked at anything from God’s Word that referred to God giving something?

We have!

John 3:16, Out of God’s love, He gave the world Jesus to die on the cross for our sins!

Why do you think that Jesus chose to interact with her?

Because God loves her too and wants her to go to heaven.

You see, Jesus chose to interact with this woman so that He could teach us and everyone that anyone can believe in the Lord Jesus as their Savior from their sins because God loves the world!

John 4:11-15 “11 She said to Him, “Sir, You have nothing to draw with and the well is deep; where then do You get that living water? 12 “You are not greater than our father Jacob, are You, who gave us the well, and drank of it himself and his sons and his cattle?” 13 Jesus answered and said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.” 15 The woman said to Him, “Sir, give me this water, so I will not be thirsty nor come all the way here to draw.””

What is the woman still focused on?

The Well!

She thinks that Jesus is talking about getting water from the well that they both have stopped at.

What does Jesus say about the difference between the water at the well and the living water that He offers?

With water here on earth, people become thirsty again.

But the water that Jesus offers, no one ever thirsts again.

What do we call it when you had enough water to drink and you’re no longer thirsty?

Satisfied!

You don’t need anymore to drink because what you’ve had to drink is enough; it’s sufficient.

What does Jesus say is the result of drinking the water that He gives?

It is enough to receive eternal life.

Remember from our lesson last week, only Jesus gives new life.

We don’t need anyone else but Jesus in order to have eternal life, new spiritual life to be able to go to heaven and be with God.

John 4:16-26 “16 He said to her, “Go, call your husband and come here.” 17 The woman answered and said, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You have correctly said, ‘I have no husband’; 18 for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; this you have said truly.” 19 The woman said to Him, “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. 20 “Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.” 21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. 22 “You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 “But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. 24 “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” 25 The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ); when that One comes, He will declare all things to us.” 26 Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am He.””

Why does Jesus talk about the woman and being married?

The woman understands that Jesus knows things about her that not everyone knows, which is why she refers to Him as a prophet.

However, Jesus is demonstrating to the woman that He’s more than a prophet.

Instead, Jesus wants to make it clear to her that He’s God.

You see, Jesus was able to tell to the woman things about her that only she knew.

What Jesus was doing was identifying to the woman that He has knowledge about her that no one else has.

If Jesus knows about the woman’s 5 husbands that she has had and the man that was currently with, then Jesus must know all about the woman.

Jesus has the same knowledge about us!

Jesus knows things about us that other people know (our grades in school, the things that we’re good at, etc.)

Jesus also knows that things about us that we may not want other people to know.

Things that we may want to cover up through lying.

Things that we would be embarrassed if other people knew.

Jesus knows all about every time that we have ever sinned.

Thus, we cannot hide from Jesus anything about us because He is God.

Since Jesus knows all about this woman and her past, how does He choose to respond?

By proclaiming that God wants all people to worship Him, regardless of their background.

God does not want to be worshipped by one people group alone in one place.

Instead, the Lord is so great that He deserves to be worshipped everywhere!

However, since not everyone worships God, it demonstrates that we need Someone to change us.

We talked about the change that we all need.

That change is new spiritual life, being born again, eternal life.

Only Jesus can give us that new life.

Jesus explains how it is that He can give new life.

By revealing His identity to transform anyone into a worshipper of God!

Who does the woman refer to that Jesus says that He is?

Messiah, the Christ.

You see, Jesus is identifying for the woman that He is the One that God promised long ago Who would do something that no one else could: live a perfect life, die on the cross for our sins, and rise from the dead.

John 4:28-30 28 So the woman left her waterpot, and went into the city and said to the men, 29 “Come, see a man who told me all the things that I have done; this is not the Christ, is it?” 30 They went out of the city, and were coming to Him.”

How does the woman respond?

She leaves her things behind.

She goes to tell others about Jesus!

Friends, the woman is so convinced about Who Jesus is that she goes and tells everyone in her town.

This should be our response to Jesus also.

When we believe in Jesus as our Savior, we should go and tell others about Jesus also.

John 4:39-42 “39 From that city many of the Samaritans believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, “He told me all the things that I have done.” 40 So when the Samaritans came to Jesus, they were asking Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days. 41 Many more believed because of His word; 42 and they were saying to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this One is indeed the Savior of the world.””

There’s a word that was repeated here that begins with a “b”.

“Believed”, that’s right!

Who was it that told the people about Jesus?

The Samaritan woman.

What was her testimony?

“He told me all the things that I have done”.

She testified that Jesus was the Christ, God Who knows all about us!

Friends, the Lord is inviting us to do the same today!

The Lord wants you to believe in Him as your only Savior from your sins.

He is the Christ Who lived a perfect life, died on the cross for our sins and rose from the dead to offer new spiritual life, eternal life to all who trust in Him.

He is God Who knows all about us and wants to forgive us of all the sins we have committed, even those that others might not know about.

The Lord also wants others to believe in Him as their only Savior from their sins.

Like the Samaritan woman who believed, we also should tell others about Jesus Christ, the Son of God so that they also might believe in Him.

Friends, if you have believed in the Lord Jesus as your only Savior from your sins, tell others about Jesus so that they might believe in Him also.