John 4:1-42 Sharing Jesus Is Worth It

Pray

Father, thank you for the opportunity to learn more about you and your Son, Jesus, in your Word.

I pray that you would speak to all of us right now.

Change us all into the likeness of your Son.

Change our hearts, Lord.

I cannot change my own heart, and I cannot change the hearts of those you have brought here today.

Only you can do that through your Word and the power of your Holy Spirit.

I ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Intro

We are going to be in John chapter 4 today.

John 4:1-42 is the account of Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well.

And in this account Jesus shares himself with this woman and really with the entire town of Sychar.

And by doing this he shows us why we should also share him with others.

But, if we are honest, we all have a tendency to not share Jesus with people.

Wayne Gretzke, the famous hockey player, once said, “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.”

Shooting a goal in hockey and sharing Jesus are very different, but the principle is the same.

We will see failure 100% of the time when we refuse to share Jesus.

We will have a zero percent success rate at bringing people to Jesus if we never share him in the first place.

Paul picks up on this same principle in Romans 10:14–15 “How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!””

In order for people to believe in Jesus for eternal life, they have to hear about him.

And that means we need to share him… we need to take the shot.

But so often we don’t take the shot for all kinds of reasons.

We might think that it’s too awkward to bring up in normal conversation.

Or we think that they won’t believe it anyway.

Or we’re worried that we’ll be made fun of or thought less of.

And some people in countries that are hostile to the gospel are worried that they will be imprisoned or killed for sharing Jesus.

We tend to think that the risk isn’t worth the reward.

You see, these are all valid concerns about the risks of sharing Jesus.

BUT they ignore or downplay the value of the reward.

When we truly understand the value of sharing Jesus, the risks become less important… the risks become worth it.

So, what is the value of sharing Jesus?

And how does that value overcome our tendency to not take the shot?

In John 4:1-42 Jesus shows us the value of sharing the good news of the New Covenant, the value of sharing him:

(1) Jesus gives life, (2) Jesus offers freedom, and (3) it is satisfying.

But before we start walking through this story, let’s get a bit of the context in verses 1-6.

John 4:1–6 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.

Introduction (1-6)

In the previous chapter Jesus cleared out the temple and spoke with Nicodemus in Jerusalem, and began his baptism ministry in the Judean countryside.

Now, Jesus knows that he’s generating a bit more attention from the religious leaders than he wants.

So, he leaves Judea to go back home to Galilee.

And the normal route for a Jew heading that direction was not a straight path.

They would cross the Jordan river and head up to Galilee on the eastern side of the river, and then cross back over the river once they got passed the region of Samaria.

They went way out of their way just to avoid going through Samaria.

They did this because they hated the Samaritans, and the Samaritans hated them.

This was a blood feud like the Hatfield’s and McCoy’s in American history, or the Capulet’s and Montague’s from Romeo and Juliet.

The Samaritans were the remnant of the northern kingdom of Israel.

They were left in the land when Assyria captured Israel, and they intermingled with the Assyrians in both blood, and religion.

And the Jews were the remnant of the southern kingdom of Judah.

They were exiled to Babylon but returned after their exile to pick up the broken pieces of their culture.

The northern and southern kingdoms already had their differences and prejudices against each other.

But the Samaritans were double traitors.

Not only did they abandon their people to join with the Assyrians…

but they also abandoned God by choosing to worship on their own terms rather than his.

But the Jews were no better

Not only did they refuse to forgive the Samaritans…

but they practically forced them to go against proper worship of God by refusing to allow them to worship at Jerusalem.

So, when our text says that Jesus “had to pass through Samaria,”

It’s not because there was no other way for him to go…

It’s because he had a divine appointment to keep to show us what he was on earth to accomplish.

It was necessary for him to go through Samaria.

So, Jesus comes to the town of Sychar near the field that Jacob gave to his son, Joseph, which had a well about a half-mile from town.

And Jesus goes to the well and sits down at about lunch time, super tired from his journey.

Yes, Jesus got tired from walking… he was just as human as you and me.

So, the stage is set for Jesus’ divine appointment.

Let’s see what happens, and how Jesus shows us the value of sharing him with others.

First, we are going to see how sharing Jesus is worth it because he gives life in verses 7-15.

John 4:7–10 ESV

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.) Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.”

John 4:11–15 ESV

The woman said to him, “Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.” Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.”

Sharing Jesus is worth it because…

I. He gives life (7-15)

People need water for life.

It’s a very basic human need.

I mean, that’s why the well was there in the first place.

The human body can only survive a few days without water.

It’s a necessary component to keep on living.

Well, Jesus has just been walking for the entire morning, it’s super hot, and he needs a drink.

And this Samaritan woman shows up at the well at the wrong time of day to get water.

This was the hottest time of day.

This was the time you relaxed in the shade and drank the water you got earlier when it was cooler…

not the time to go and work up a sweat in the heat getting that water.

Jesus’ disciples had gone into the city to buy lunch,

So, Jesus and this Samaritan woman were alone for the time being.

And Jesus asks her for a drink of water.

This is shocking… remember the feud?

This woman is certainly shocked.

She probably looked around to see if Jesus was talking to someone else.

But who else would be there at that time of day?

So, she hesitates and asks this strange Jew what kind of trick he’s trying to pull on her.

This is no trick…

It’s a divine appointment to show her and all of us that Jesus gives life.

He uses the physical need that water meets for physical life…

to show her the spiritual need that Jesus meets to have eternal life.

Just like people need water for life…People need Jesus for eternal life.

Now, Jesus is the one who asked her for a drink first, but he turns the conversation around and implies that she’s the one in need of his water.

Jesus appeals to his identity, but he keeps it hidden for now.

He says something like, “If you only knew who was speaking to you right now…”

Well, she is pretty confused by this conversational turn, so she doubts and questions him.

How are you going to get water without the proper tools to get it from this deep well?

And if the water is not from this well, then where’d you get it from?

There’s no other source of water for miles, so if you found another source of water so near, that means that you did what our great ancestor Jacob couldn’t do.

You see, she doubts Jesus’ claim because, just like Nicodemus, she is thinking in an earthly way rather than in a spiritual way.

So, Jesus clarifies that he is not talking about physical water.

Physical water quenches your thirst for a while, but you always have to come back for more.

But spiritual water quenches your thirst forever.

Wow! A way to stay forever hydrated without having to come back for more and more water.

That sounds like a pretty good invention.

At least that’s what the Samaritan woman thought.

She still hasn’t picked up that Jesus is speaking about spiritual things.

So, the first half of this conversation showed us that sharing Jesus is worth it because he gives life.

Now, in the second half of the conversation, in verses 16-30, we are going to see that sharing Jesus is worth it because he offers freedom.

John 4:16–20 ESV

Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.” The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.” The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.”

John 4:21–24 ESV

Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”

John 4:25–30 ESV

The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things.” Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he.” Just then his disciples came back. They marveled that he was talking with a woman, but no one said, “What do you seek?” or, “Why are you talking with her?” So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people, “Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?” They went out of the town and were coming to him.

Sharing Jesus is worth it because…

II. He offers freedom (16-30)

Jesus offers many different aspects of freedom.

In this conversation, though, the first aspect of the freedom he offers is a freedom from ignorance.

Jesus reveals the Samaritan woman’s ignorance of the law.

He tells her to bring her husband to him…

fully knowing that she’s had five husbands in the past…

and the guy she’s with now isn’t even her husband.

She tries to hide her situation by simply saying that she has no husband.

But Jesus knows her, and he tells her about her own life… what nobody else should know.

He does this to steer the conversation toward the climax of revealing his true identity as the Christ.

Well, Jesus’ perception makes this woman think that he is a prophet.

And she’s had a question that a prophet might know the answer to…

a question about the proper place to worship God.

Remember the feud between the Samaritans and the Jews?

Because the Jews refused to let the Samaritans worship God at Jerusalem, they built their own temple on Mt. Gerazim to worship God.

At first that sounds fine… I mean they just wanted to worship God.

But God was very specific in his Word about how and where to worship him.

And the Samaritans decided to worship him on their own terms.

They had become ignorant of legitimate worship of God in the Old Covenant.

Jesus’ answer reveals that ignorance, but he gives hope in the freedom the New Covenant brings.

The second aspect of freedom that Jesus offers is freedom to worship God properly.

Jesus asserts that there is coming a time when the physical location of worship will be irrelevant.

Then he reveals the Samaritan ignorance of proper Old Covenant worship.

Samaritans worship what they don’t know, Jews worship what they know.

The Jews held onto the covenant and the promises where the Samaritans had been doing their own thing for a long time.

And salvation is from the Jews because the covenant and promises that the Jews held on to…

they all point to the Messiah who would be a Jew and who would bring salvation from sin and death.

Well, then Jesus makes a very theologically rich statement about the nature of worship and the nature of God.

He says that proper worship is in spirit and in truth because God is spirit.

Worshipping in spirit and in truth means heart-felt adoration of God (worshipping in spirit) expressed in the way that God has determined in His Word (worshipping in truth).

I’ll say that again…

Worshipping in spirit and in truth means heart-felt adoration of God (spirit) expressed in the way that God has determined in His Word (truth).

Many of the Jews were worshipping by simply going through the motions, not heart-felt adoration, not worshipping in spirit.

Sometimes we can find ourselves doing the same, can’t we.

We come to church because it’s what we’ve always done, or what’s expected of us.

We read our Bible because that’s what we’ve always done, and that’s what’s expected of us.

We pray before meals, but rarely any other time because we get so busy or preoccupied with life.

We need to wake up to the truth of the gospel, the truth of who Jesus is and what he has done.

Worshipping in spirit is letting the truth of the gospel hit you every day so that praise and thankfulness can’t help but flow out of you!

On the flip-side, many of the Samaritans were worshipping their own way, not worshipping properly as God has determined in His Word, not worshipping in truth.

Again, we can also find ourselves here, worshipping on our own terms.

In our age of social media, and instant gratification, it is easy to find people who will tell us what we want to hear rather than what we need to hear.

Paul knew that this was coming, and he said as much to Timothy in…

2 Timothy 4:3–4 “For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.”

When we set our priorities and perceptions above God’s priorities and the objective truth in his Word, it’s easy to twist his truth into lies.

And we end up worshipping a god made in our image rather than worshipping the only true God who made us in his image.

We have to humbly come to God’s Word and let him conform our perceptions and priorities to his.

We have to submit to him and worship in truth.

True spiritual worship happens in God’s presence, and in the New Covenant he dwells inside all who have been saved.

In the New Covenant, we are free to worship God properly, in spirit and in truth…

because of a third aspect to the freedom Jesus offers.

Jesus offers freedom from sin and death.

The Samaritan woman is confused by Jesus’ statement, so she says that the Messiah is going to come and explain all this confusing stuff.

And then Jesus says something remarkable, “I who speak to you am he.” (PAUSE)

“I who speak to you am he.”

WHAT!?!?!?!

“I who speak to you am he.”

This gives me chills every time I read it.

Jesus very clearly and boldly claims to be the Messiah, the Christ.

“oh, yeah, that Messiah you are looking forward to… yeah, that’s me.”

And this is not some metaphorical statement.

He says, “I… the guy who is speaking to you right now…  I am the Messiah you are looking for.”

This is earth-shattering news!

I imagine that the woman stood there for a second letting the truth of that simple statement hit her like a ton of bricks.

And right when Jesus said this, his disciples returned from getting lunch.

They were probably chatting together and came up to the well hearing the last couple of statements between Jesus and this woman.

They would have heard the woman saying that she is looking forward to the coming of the Messiah, and then Jesus saying…

“I, who speak to you, am he.”

Their chatting was probably brought to an abrupt halt…

and the silence around the well palpable as the reality of Jesus’ statement comes crashing in.

… woah…

They were so stunned that they didn’t ask the woman or Jesus any of the normal questions one would expect…

They didn’t ask her what she was looking for.

And they didn’t ask him why he was talking with a Samaritan woman… of all people.

They didn’t ask anything… they were stunned silent.

So, the woman picks her jaw up off the floor but leaves her water jar and goes into town, where the disciples had just come from.

And she tells everyone she sees about Jesus.

She gives them the punch line of her conversation, Jesus’ identity as the Christ.

And she also invites them to come and find out for themselves who Jesus is.

That Jesus is the Christ who offers living water and spiritual freedom.

So, we saw through this conversation that Jesus gives life and offers freedom.

Now, we will see in his conversation with his disciples in verses 31-38 that sharing Jesus is worth it because it is satisfying.

John 4:31–34 ESV

Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.” But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” So the disciples said to one another, “Has anyone brought him something to eat?” Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.

John 4:35–38 ESV

Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest. Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.”

Sharing Jesus is worth it because…

III. It is satisfying (31-38)

God gives us a hunger to do his will.

The disciples didn’t really get this at first… again thinking earthly rather than spiritually.

They offered Jesus some lunch and he used the food to illustrate the importance of what was occurring in this Samaritan town.

Food is important, arguably just as important as water to live.

But the new spiritual life that was happening in Sychar was more important, more satisfying to Jesus than the best meal.

Jesus says, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.”

The thing that was the most satisfying for Jesus, the thing that compelled him like a hunger was to work toward the salvation of lost souls.

The whole reason Jesus was sent…

the will of the Father…

was to go to the cross to pay the penalty for our sin and reconcile us back to God.

To bring in the New Covenant so that we could have eternal life in him and worship in spirit and truth.

And we also have this God-given hunger to do his will because we have the Holy Spirit dwelling inside of us.

God gives us satisfaction together as we strive to do his will.

Jesus extends his metaphor of food to that of sowing and reaping a harvest for food.

He says, “Look, lift up your eyes!” probably pointing to the people who had just started to show up at the well from the city.

“The fields are white for the harvest.”

Sychar had been sown, and now it was time to reap new life in Christ.

As we share Jesus with others, we are either sowing the seed of the gospel, or we are reaping the harvest as people find salvation in Christ.

Then Jesus says that the sower and the reaper rejoice together over the harvest…

because it doesn’t matter which role you have, the result is the same satisfaction.

Both the sower and the reaper do their job because they want food.

They both have a hunger that needs to be satisfied.

And both are satisfied by the end result of their combined effort.

Jesus says that the disciples have entered into someone else’s labor.

They were the reapers to Jesus and the Samaritan woman’s sowing.

And God was satisfying their hunger to do his will, just like he will satisfy you too.

So, we saw that Jesus gives life and offers freedom, and we also saw that sharing Jesus satisfies a God-given hunger to do his will.

Sharing Jesus is worth it for the recipients because by receiving Jesus, they receive life and freedom.

And sharing Jesus is worth it for the sharers because it is satisfying to do so…

It satisfies our God-given hunger to do his will.

But what happened with the people of Sychar?

What’s the conclusion of this story?

We find that out in verses 39-42.

John 4:39–42 ESV

Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me all that I ever did.” So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. And many more believed because of his word. They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.”

Conclusion (39-42)

So, what happened?

They truly believed!!!

They believed the woman’s testimony

But then, as they personally interacted with Jesus, the truth of her testimony was solidified.

And they believed because of their own encounter with Jesus.

This Jesus really is the Messiah, the Christ, the anointed one promised in Scripture…

The one who would save his people from sin and death and give them eternal life and freedom from sin.

These Samaritans believed Jesus’ true identity as the Christ, the savior of the world.

But the Jews back at the temple only believed what they wanted to believe, that Jesus was only a teacher come from God.

So, then, what should we do?

Well, if you have not yet put your faith in Christ then…

look to the truth of Scripture, not just my testimony…

Experience it for yourself and see that Jesus really is the savior of the world who can save you from sin and death.

Believe that Jesus is the promised one who came to die in your place so that you could be reconciled to God.

Believe and submit to him as lord of your life so that you can have eternal life and freedom from sin.

Now, for those of us who are already believers…

Share Jesus with everyone in your context.

Share him with your friends and family.

Share him with your co-workers and your boss.

Share him with your landlord and your neighbors.

Share him with your cashier and your bagger.

Share him with anyone who will listen to you.

Share Jesus because he gives eternal life, and he grants freedom from sin… and share him because it is satisfying to do so.

Take the shot every chance you get…

It… is… worth it.

Pray

Father, thank you for these truths.

Thank you for saving us by sending your Son to die for us and rise again to secure our place in your family forever.

Thank you that we have eternal life in Christ.

Thank you that we have freedom in Christ.

Freedom from ignorance.

Freedom to worship you in spirit and in truth.

Freedom from sin and death.

Thank you that you satisfy our hunger to do your will in sharing Jesus with others.

You have given us a hunger to share him, and you satisfy that hunger by allowing us to be a part of your plan to save people.

I pray that you would satisfy our hunger here in Eureka, and in all of Humboldt county, that we would see people come to faith in Jesus.

Father, do a work among us so we can rejoice all the more in your saving grace.

We thank you and praise you in Jesus’ name, Amen.