A Woman with a Tainted Past John 4

Three Unexpected Evangelists Part 1

A Woman with a Tainted Past John 4

Good morning, church! It is an honor to fill the pulpit once again while Pastor Brandon is away. I will be filling in for the next three weeks, so for that, I will be talking about three people in the Gospels who had an extraordinary encounter with Jesus and became unexpected evangelists.

When we lived in Massachusetts, Karry and I were members of the local Christian Motorcyclists Association chapter. Another member of that chapter was Dick May. Before he met Jesus, Dick led a life filled with drugs and crime. However, after a miraculous encounter with Jesus, he dedicated the rest of his life to telling people about Him. Dick would go on long motorcycle rides throughout the country, and every time he stopped, he found at least one person to engage in conversation and present the Gospel. Everywhere he went, he told people about Jesus and how he was freed from a lifestyle of sin. Dick did not let his past get in the way of his mission.

So the question is, how did Dick and the three people we will discuss become evangelists? The first and most important part of their ministry was that they all had an encounter with Jesus. The second is that, after this encounter transformed their lives, they went to tell others about the person who changed their lives. It's as simple as that.

Before we get into the passage, I want to review two other passages that will be the theme for this series. The first one should also be familiar to you. But with familiar passages, we sometimes glance through them. Instead, let's take a close look at what Matthew 28:18-20:

Jesus came near and said to them, "All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age. Mat 28:18-20 CSB.

The context of these three verses is that Jesus has been crucified and resurrected and is about to leave them so that he can send his Spirit. He says, "All authority has been given to me." We will get into that authority in a bit, but we need to remember that the authority that Jesus has is the authority we have through him. When we put our faith – trust and hope – into Jesus, we receive his Spirit to activate that authority in His name. Not in our power but in his.

Second, Jesus said, "Go and make disciples." Let's look at what Jesus did not say. He did not say to stay put and enjoy church. No, Jesus said GO! Next, he did not say go and make converts. He said to make disciples – followers. Conversion refers to an event, while discipleship is a lifelong activity. Lastly, Jesus did not say:

"Go if you have the gift of evangelism,"

"Go, if you have a talent for speaking to lots of people,"

"Go if you have led an exemplary life,"

"Go if you feel led,"

"Go if you have a Bible degree and quote scripture backward and forward,"

"Go if the mood seems right."

No, he told all of his followers to go and make disciples. Bringing the gospel, the good news about Jesus is a mandate for every believer. In your Bibles, whether analog or digital, I want you to highlight and underline this verse and write next to it (or create a note in your Bible app). This is my mandate.

Now, let's look at our second theme verse for this series. It comes from Luke 9. Jesus is about to send out the 12, and Luke tells us in verses 1 and 2:

Summoning the Twelve, he gave them power and authority over all the demons and to heal diseases. Then he sent them to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. Luke 9:1-2 CSB

Again, this verse should be pretty familiar. But I used to glance over it and say to myself that this was for the twelve, not me. I was wrong about that. Jesus is our model for living and ministry. He took twelve ordinary men and gave them extraordinary authority in his name. This verse pertains not just to the twelve but also to the seventy-two in a few chapters later. It also pertains to you and me. We are sent into this world that needs Jesus, under the power of his name and the Holy Spirit, to proclaim the truth and deliver healing and deliverance. Jesus modeled this for us throughout the gospels by teaching truth and then demonstrating what that truth looked like. It is no accident that after the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7, Jesus cleansed a leper and healed the centurion's servant. So, in your Bibles, highlight this verse and write next to it: This is my mandate.

This week and the next two weeks, we will look at three individuals who encountered Jesus and, as a result, had to tell others about that encounter. One was delivered from demons. Another had a physical healing. The person we will talk about today had an inner healing of her past and shame. I am referring to the woman at the well in John 4. So, if you would, please turn with me to that chapter, and let's look at how Jesus modeled for us how to engage with people to bring them the good news about his kingdom.

First, let's look at how Jesus engaged her. As you may recall, the scene is set at Jacob's well outside the city of Sychar. Jesus, a man, and a Jew were waiting for a woman to arrive at the well. When she did arrive, he asked her one thing – "Give me a drink." By asking this one question, Jesus busted wide open all the religious and cultural rules surrounding Samaritans and Jews.

First, he was a man talking to a woman. In ancient times, men did not talk to women in public. However, Jesus is not concerned with these social conventions. Second, he was a Jew talking to a Samaritan and asking for water. I want to clarify some of the language and our understanding of the complex relationships between Jews and Samaritans. The gospels refer to "The Jews" frequently. A better translation would be the Judeans. You see, there was a big difference between the fundamentalist Judean Judaism and the common Judaism of the rest of the nation. Galilean Jews had no problem with the Samaritans. They engaged in commerce and trade and had no issue entering Samaritan territory. The problem came when they wanted to travel to Judea. If they traveled through Samaria, the quickest way to Jerusalem, then they would be considered unclean by the Judean Jews.

The woman's response reflected these taboos, but Jesus wasn't concerned. He had a mission in mind, and instead of rebuking her, he offered her the "gospel:"

Jesus answered, "If you knew the gift of God, and who is saying to you, 'Give me a drink,' you would ask him, and he would give you living water."

"Sir," said the woman, "you don't even have a bucket, and the well is deep. So where do you get this 'living water'? You aren't greater than our father, Jacob, are you? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and livestock."

Jesus said, "Everyone who drinks from this water will get thirsty again. But whoever drinks from the water that I will give him will never get thirsty again. In fact, the water I will give him will become a well, of water springing up in him for eternal life." CSB Jn 4:10–14.

Notice that Jesus did not first tell her what her sins were – he started with the gospel – that life only has meaning and purpose through him. She has actual liquid in her mind when she asks for the "water" he is offering. But Jesus had something else in mind. It is at this point that Jesus, very gently and lovingly, exposes her sin:

"Go call your husband," he told her, "and come back here."

"I don't have a husband," she answered.

"You have correctly said, 'I don't have a husband,'" Jesus said. "For you've had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true." John 4:16– 18 CSB

Let's pause here and talk about Jesus' exposure of her life. Women in ancient times were dependent on men for their lives. A woman needed a husband, son, father, or brother to survive. Traditionally, the woman here has been treated as a person with a loose moral standard. However, may I suggest to you that she could very well have been a victim of sexual exploitation? Along with depending on men, husbands could also divorce their wives for any reason they wanted. It was also common for women to be widowed early in life. The ancient historian Josephus recounts a woman who was widowed four times before she reached the age of 25. So it may be that she had sinned in her life, but it also could be that she was a victim of a highly misogynistic culture. Or, it could have been a combination of both.

In any case, the woman was exposed. She was obviously startled by Jesus talking about sensitive areas of her life. What would you do if some dude rolled up on you and started telling you your sensitive past history? Like any person would do in this situation, she tried to change the subject. Notice her response:

"Sir," the woman replied, "I see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews say that the place to worship is in Jerusalem."

Jesus told her, "Believe me, woman, an hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know. We worship what we do know, because salvation is from the Jews. But an hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and in truth. Yes, the Father wants such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in Spirit and in truth." John 4:16–24 CSB

She objected that she, as a woman and as a Samaritan, was not good enough to be a part of God's salvific work. Jesus responds that the gospel is open to everyone – even a disgraced Samaritan woman. The following two verses are the kicker:

The woman said to him, "I know that the Messiah is coming" (who is called Christ). "When he comes, he will explain everything to us."

Jesus told her, "I, the one speaking to you, am he." John 4:25–26 CSB

So let's recap:

1. Jesus started a conversation with someone the culture told him he should never approach.

2. He first offered her the gospel – the good news.

3. He gently and lovingly exposed her hidden secrets when she didn't understand his metaphor of living water.

4. When she tried to change the subject, Jesus brought her back to the original conversation – the gospel.

5. He revealed that he was the Messiah – she was the first human on earth to hear this message.

There is much we can learn about evangelism from this encounter. First, Jesus calls us to speak to people we are uncomfortable with. I am very comfortable talking about Jesus with bikers. However, I tend to clam up when I talk to highly successful businesspeople. Jesus calls us out of our comfort and into relationships with people we would never otherwise engage. Second, we lead with the good news that God loves them and offers them hope. Let me repeat – we lead with that message. We don't lead with judgment or condemnation. "Let me tell you the good news – you're going to Hell" is not how to start evangelistic conversations! Third, Jesus does expose her past. But he does so in a way that does not repel her. Yes, she tries to change the subject but doesn't walk off offended and hurt. But the truth of her life has been exposed. This revelation will prove to be vitally important later. Finally, Jesus brings it back to the gospel and who he is. Our evangelistic conversations need to come back to Jesus. The person we are sharing with might try to distract the conversation from that but always come back to the core truth – Jesus is the Messiah.

So, what was the result? Jesus not only had a new follower, but he also had his first evangelist:

Then the woman left her water jar, went into town, and told the people, "Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?" They left the town and made their way to him. Jn 4:28–30 CSB

Now many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of what the woman said when she testified, "He told me everything I ever did." So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. Many more believed because of what he said. And they told the woman, "We no longer believe because of what you said, since we have heard for ourselves and know that this really is the Savior of the world." John 4:39–42 CSB

The word of God for the people of God.

Did you catch that? She led people to Jesus. She was so overwhelmed with this new life that she had been offered that she led others – fellow Samaritans – to an encounter with Jesus. She is an example of an unexpected evangelist. Through her testimony, the ground was laid for Phillip in Acts 8:4-25. This passage describes when the gospel of the crucified and resurrected Jesus reached Samaria and was confirmed by Peter and John with the baptism of the Holy Spirit. With the groundwork laid by this woman through her pain and sorrow, she led her community to an encounter with the Savior.

Your action points for this week:

1. Memorize Matthew 28:18-20

2. Memorize Luke 9:1-2

3. Get a 3x5 card and write down what might be holding you back from the mandates in these two passages.

4. Also, on that card, write down anything from your past that might be holding you back, things that you might need to be healed from.

5. Stick this card in your Bible and refer to it throughout the week.