Do We Have Eyes To See

John 4: 4 Now he had to go through Samaria. 5 So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour. 7 When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” 8 (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.) 9 The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.) 10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.” 11 “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his flocks and herds?” 13 Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” 15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.” 16 He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.” 17 “I have no husband,” she replied. Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. 18 The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.” 19 “Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.” 21 Jesus declared, “Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.” 25 The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.” 26 Then Jesus declared, “I who speak to you am he.” 27 Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no one asked, “What do you want?” or “Why are you talking with her?” NIV

Jesus was amazing; his example of love and compassion is beyond our understanding. But one of the things that amaze me the most in this passage of scripture is Jesus’ ability to see things that no one else could see. I believe that Jesus wants us to learn to see as he sees. Today we want to take a look at this scripture in detail. Without being able to see people with the eyes of God we will not be able to see how much people need him. We can be deceived into thinking that the people around us have no needs.

Have you ever been approached by your wife or someone else with the complaint that you did not help with something and you said “I did not see it”? There is a way to train our eyes to see better.

The greatest key is to have eyes of compassion; love looks deeper than anything else.

WE MUST SEE PAST our own comfort, our own lives, walls and needs.

Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well.

He had needs; he was tired, and thirsty.

Be vulnerable, admit you are normal, have needs, not superman or perfect (no superiority complex)

WE MUST SEE PAST THE Walls of society: We have to get past our prejudices and fears of people. Cross borders.

Samaritans were hated by the Jews and visa versa. They had the worst kind of hatred, religious hatred.
“You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)
What group of people would we be ashamed to talk with? Be looked down upon if we talked with them?

WE MUST SEE THE TRUE ANSWER FOR MAN’S NEED: Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”

If you knew…
You would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”

They are not asking because they do not know!

“Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

No matter what people are drinking they will thirst again.
Only the well of God will satisfy us.
Too often this is why people come to God, natural relief, not spiritual water.

15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.”

Jesus could see that she could only see the natural things, natural needs. * But this is the opportunity that he used.

She needed natural water, he offered eternal water
We can begin to see what temporary water people are dinking and offer eternal water.

Temporary Love, joy, peace, possessions, relationships, etc… for eternal ones.

WE MUST SEE PAST THE TEMPORARY NEEDS: Jesus moves past the temporary need to the deeper thirst that she has.

V:16 …“Go, call your husband and come back.”

V:17 “I have no husband,” (I have not found what I am looking for)
We may not be prophetic (we can be) but there is one question that we can ask today that will reveal much “Are you happy?

WE MUST SEE PAST THE RELIGIOUS AVOIDANCE: We cannot offer a religious solution, an external change of activities as the answer. V:20-22

You say…(which is the right way to do it?)
V:23-24 a relationship based on spirit and truth that’s what God is seeking not external conformity.

WE MUST SEE PAST THE PROCRASTINATION ATTEMPTS: Look past the attempt to push things off to the future. One day I will do something about this.

Today Jesus is here for you.

WARNING: A DANGER FOR CHRISTIANS: Sometimes we can be so wrapped up serving Jesus that we don’t see the real needs of people.

8 (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.)
27 Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman.