The Foundation of Evangelism- John 4:1-9

Introduction

Prayer

Go ahead and have a seat for me. Good morning. Actually great morning.

Today confirms it, Baptism Sunday at CBC is my favorite Sunday of the year.

If you’re new with us my name is Andrew McClure and I’m one of the Pastor’s here, and if you wouldn’t mind turning with me to John chapter 4.

But as you turn there, let me tell you really quickly of an experience I had in 2008 that has forever marked me.

In the winter of 2008, a spiritual mentor of mine took me to The Cove, which is the retreat center for the Billy Graham Evangelism Association. We were there to meet with Billy’s grandson Will, and while there we got a tour.

Now I was 19 years old, and had just experienced a call into ministry and as we are touring the building, I’m standing in awe in front of picture after picture of Billy Graham’s crusades.

I’d see his crusade in New York City with 250,000 people in attendance.

Or his time in Los Angelas with 350,000 people.

I even saw a picture of his time in Seoul Korea, where he shared the Gospel with 1.1 million people.

And as I’m watching, my mind begins filling with the great ambitions to preach the Gospel to as many if not more than Billy Graham.

Well, Will, his grandson noticed my ambition and from behind me says

“Don’t try to be the next Billy Graham Boy...”

He goes on to tell me that they are aware of 11.1million recorded salvations under his teaching.

But then asks, “But do you know who led my grandaddy to the Lord?”

A popular evangelist by the name of Mordecai Ham.

You know who led Mordecai Ham to the Lord? A Professional Baseball player turned preacher named Billy Sunday.

You know who led Billy Sunday to the Lord? An evangelist who preached to thousands named Wilbur Chapman?

And you know who led Wilbur Chapman? None other than D.L. Moody!

But do you know who led D.L. Moody to the Lord--- a sunday school teacher, in a shoe store, by the name of Edward Kimball.

Don’t try and be Billy Graham--- instead be faithful like Edward Kimball.

You see we are so often convinced that effective evangelism, or leading others to Christ, is done primarily through the Pulpit ministry. But the statistics and expeirence shows that the most effective evangelism takes place in one on one relationship.

Not like that of Billy Graham, but more like that of Edward Kimball in a shoe store.

So evangelism, effective evangelism isn’t simply for the pulpit or the pastor, but for all of you as well.

And most of you are probably aware of the biblical responsibility of the Christian to share their faith, and evangelize, but how many of you would admit you’re confused as to what it actually entails or how to actully do it?

Well my prayer is that over the next 3 weeks, the Word of God, and the example of Christ will make all of us effective evangelists.

Because for the next 3 weeks, we’re going to unpack the story of the Woman at the Well.

But this morning, in light of our baptisms, I’m going to be brief and simply share with you the Foundation of Evangelism.

So let’s read our text, and then we’ll unapck this morning.

John 4:1–9 ESV

Now when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John (although Jesus himself did not baptize, but only his disciples), he left Judea and departed again for Galilee. And he had to pass through Samaria. So he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there; so Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well. It was about the sixth hour. A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” (For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.)

The Woman at the Well, that’s the story we’ll unpack for the next 3 sundays, but today’s let’s simply lay the foundation of Evangelism.

And there’s 2 Points I’ll be making.

Evangelism is Universal

& Evangelism is Personal

Evangelism is Universal

As a quick reminder, John wrote this book, His Gospel, with a specific purpose.

John 20:30–31 “Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”

So what’s his purpose: He wants us to see Jesus, and believe in Jesus, and find the eternal life that is only found in Jesus.

And wht he tells us here is that he has been selective.

Of all the experiences he had with Jesus, and all the teachings he heard from Jesus he has only selected the ones that are most profitable for his purpose. To help us see and believe Jesus.

And I bring that up because we need to realize how intentional John is. Not just in what he chooses to share, but when and how he shares them.

And this story of the Woman on the Well comes immediately after the story of Nicodemus.

In John 3, we get to eavesdrop, or be a fly on the wall of Jesus’ sharing the Good News of Himself with Nicodemus.

And then in John 4, we get to eavesdrop on Jesus’ sharing the good news of Himself with this Woman.

And this is intentional, and the point I want ot make is that putting these 2 experiences back to back, shows us that Evangelism is Universal.

Evangelism is Universal.

Meaning, the Good News of Jesus Christ is meant for ALL people. Everyone.

Because these 2 people couldn’t be any more different from one another.

Right?

First, you have Nicodemus.

Nicodemus was a Jew.

A strict Jew, of the order of Pharisees, who sought righteousness so zealously that he along with his pharisee sect actually developed a system of 613 additional laws and commands that could put an extra layer of protection between them and sin.

Nicodemus was also a Man.

A Powerful man. A member of the Sanhedrin, highly learned.

Nicodumus was also Reputable.

He was respected. He held public authority. When he spoke people listened.

But then in Chapter 4, we have this Samaritan Woman.

She was a Samaritan.

Now we’ve got to slow down and understand this.

The history of the Samaritans can be traced to the division of the Kingdom of Israel back in your Bibles in the book of Kings.

After the reign of Solomon, due to sin and rejection of God the Kingdom of Israel was divided into 2.

The Northern Kingdom became known as Israel. And the Southern called Judah.

Judah had Jerusalem as its capital, and the Israel made the city of Samaria their capital.

Well in 722 B.C., as prophecied by Isaiah, the Northern Kingdom was conquered by Assyria, and many of the Jews there were deported, and the Assyrians replaced them with many pagan peoples from surrounding nations.

So what happend in Samaria and the surrounding areas was a racial, and religious mixing of Jews and Gentiles come to be known as “Samaritans”

And their religion became syncretistic. Meaning it mixed with all these other nations religions.

To the point where they even built their own Temple for sacrificial worship on Mount Gerizim, in Samaria, not in Jerusalem.

So because of this, the Jews were very hostile toward them.

They were half-breeds, and religious degenerates.

And listen, the hostility was so deep, that the Jews, if they wanted to travel from Jerusalem to Galilee, would refuse to pass through Samaria.

MAP

Instead they would take an indirect route, to avoid the Samaritans.

Becuase to interact with a Samaritan could lead them to be unclean religiously.

So this woman, was one of those dreaded Samaritans.

She was also a Woman.

One Jewish Rabbi was recorded saying, “The daughters of the Samaritans are Menstruants from their cradle.”

Ohhh Burn.

And if you didn’t get that roast, it means that they believed Samaritan women to live in a perpetual state of religious uncleanness.

But she wasn’t just any woman… she was a woman of ill repute.

A moral outcast. Sexually deviant. Burning through men, faster than flame through string.

And yet… Jesus demonstrates in these 2 chapters the Universal need of Evangelism.

Nicodemus the Religious Jew of High Repute NEEDED JESUS.

The Samaritan Woman, the irrelgious woman of illrepute… NEEDED JESUS.

Church this is the foundation of Evangelism, that its Universal.. Meaning it is needed for All.

Martyn Lloyd Jones once said, “The Gospel reduces us to the same level, every one of us.”

The Need for Salvation is no respecter of affluence, social status or ethnicity.

Our need for the Gospel is indifferent to age, gender, or education.

Your family needs the Good News of Christ, your friends, your co-workers, those you report to, those that report to you. The poor, the rich, the young and the old. The educated, and the illiterate, the powerful and the oppressed.

There is no distinction, we have ALL sinned and fallend short of God’s standard.

And even more, by works of the law or good deeds NO HUMAN BEING will be justified in God’s sight according to Rom 3:20.

Nicodemus was in need of God’s Grace and salvation

So was the Samaritan Woman.

Evangelism is Universal--- the need of Good News for Jesus is the need of All.

Yet, Evangelism is also Personal.

Evangelism is Personal

They both needed the same Good News, but what brought them to Jesus was totally different.

In fact it was very Personal to them.

There’s no formula or prescription, because everybody’s story, context, and cirumstances are personal.

The Message is Universal. It never changes. Not a respecter of persons.

But the pathway to hearing and receiving that messages is highly individiualized, or personal.

First off, Nicodemus sought Jesus out by the cover of night… yet, this young woman was sought out by Christ in a divine appointment.

Look at vs. 4.

John 4:4 “And he had to pass through Samaria.”

I already made the case that most Jews would go out of their way to avoid Samaria.

But not Jesus… he had to pass through Samaria.

Why!? Well it’s not becuase he was in a hurry. No he was on divine time.

Instead, it’s because God had a sheep that was not part of his fold that he was prepared to leave the 99 for in order to find the one.

This woman was on the Heart and Mind of God, and consequently Jesus broke cultural norms and taboos to seek her out.

Personally.

Second, Nicodemus came to Jesus wanting confirmation that he was good enough to be saved. In contrast, this woman was intimately aware that she wasn’t good enough.

Look at vs. 7

John 4:7 “A woman from Samaria came to draw water.”

Now what immediatley strikes us here, is that she’s all alone.

This wasn’t normal.

It was cutomary for the women of the village to come as a group to draw water.

Not only that but look back at verse 6,

John 4:6 “Jacob’s well was there; so Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well. It was about the sixth hour.”

This would have been high noon.

And that’s not normal either, because women would come to draw water either early in teh morning or after sunset to avoid the heat of the day.

So that she’s alone, and coming at noon tells us a lot about her social status and how she was perceived by her community.

She was ostraczed.

A loner.

An adultress with a Scarlett A.

And everyday she ascends that hill, to draw some water, she is reminded of her loneliness, her bitterness, her sadness, and her inherent sinfulness.

And later in the narrative we learn why:--- she’s sexually immoral.

And yet… Jesus acknowledges her, actually intentionally moves toward her, and as we’ll see over the next several weeks, Evangelizes her in a personal way, that meets her personal needs, and changes her personal life.

Conclusion

ANd here in lies the Foundation of Evangelism.

It’s Universal--- everyone of us needs the Good News of the Gospel.

The news that because of our sin, we are seperated from God. Spiritually, physically, and eternally dead.

And there’s nothing you or I can do about it.

But God so loves you, that he revived you.

He died the death you and I deserve, and offers us a life we don’t deserve.

All of us. Rather we’re full of our self-righteousness like Nicodemus, or full of our own sin and shame like this woman at the well.

It’s Universal. The need is universal, and the message never changes.

yet, Jesus also shows us that Evangelism is Personal.

Everybody has their story, their hang ups, their obstacles to coming to Christ.

Yet in Evangelism, we can make what is universal highly personal.

and that’s the foundation of Evangelism.

Let’s Pray.