John 4 Meeting at the Wateringhole
Secular:
- I can remember having to deal with a exam that I believe was unfairly marked by a prof. (1st year student)
- It was tough to get up the courage to challenge…
- I was able to check with some of my fellow students and was comfortable with the fact that I had not lost my mind
- But it was tough… I was challenging an established authority…
- Sometimes we have to tackle the established authority… the default position in our lives and within our community…
- Sometimes it will be easy… most of the time… it will take some effort… some intestinal fortitude…
- Ever see the boss make a mistake….
- The teacher…
- Our government….
- Challenging the established authority… the assumed position is tough… and can be really interesting when spirituality or religion are concerned…
- Jesus shows us his ability to deal with a few thorny issues in this chapter….
- John 4
Biblical:
John 4:1 Therefore when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John 2 (although Jesus Himself was not baptizing, but His disciples were), 3 He left Judea and went away again into Galilee. 4 And He had to pass through Samaria. 5 So He came to a city of Samaria called Sychar, near the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph; 6 and Jacob's well was there. So Jesus, being wearied from His journey, was sitting thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour. 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." 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." 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." 27 At this point His disciples came, and they were amazed that He had been speaking with a woman, yet no one said, "What do You seek?" or, "Why do You speak with her?" 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. 31 Meanwhile the disciples were urging Him, saying, "Rabbi, eat." 32 But He said to them, "I have food to eat that you do not know about." 33 So the disciples were saying to one another, "No one brought Him anything to eat, did he?" 34 Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work. 35 "Do you not say, 'There are yet four months, and then comes the harvest '? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest. 36 "Already he who reaps is receiving wages and is gathering fruit for life eternal; so that he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. 37 "For in this case the saying is true, 'One sows and another reaps.' 38 "I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored and you have entered into their labor." 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."
Personal:
Ever had someone come up and hammer their faith at you…
- Turn or burn
- Hit you hard with their theology
I am not talking about being confident… I am talking about being brutal…
Jesus demonstrates the unbending truth but relational sensitivity in today’s text…
Bridge:
We need to follow Christ’s example of dealing with respect and humility when dealing with fellow believers and with the community around us.
Body:
The Saviour at Sychar
a. Why he leaves….
John 4:1 Therefore when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John 2 (although Jesus Himself was not baptizing, but His disciples were), 3 He left Judea and went away again into Galilee.
· Jesus’ Ministry was successful focused
i. Making more disciples
· Jesus was good a delegating giving opportunities to serve
i. Not baptizing himself
· Why did he leave? Ministry is not a contest
i. When… he heard
- More effective (Matt 10:5-10)
- Faithful to the Mission
- Faithful to the Father’s will
b. Where He Stops…
3 He left Judea and went away again into Galilee. 4 And He had to pass through Samaria. 5 So He came to a city of Samaria called Sychar, near the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph; 6 and Jacob's well was there. So Jesus, being wearied from His journey, was sitting thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour.
· Heads out to a new area
Downtown Toronto (hard… but know)
Wrong turn in Buffalo (harder… unknown)
· bad neighbourhood
i. Some key info: 3 things
1. New People Group
o unfriendly
o uncomfortable
2. God’s Provision
o Joseph’s Well (given by Jacob)
o God will provide
o (opportunity, salvation)
3. Jesus’ Human Need
o Jesus fully human need
The Sinner at Sychar
- The Contact
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.)
- The Request and Response
- Woman alone… (normally women went together… woman of shame)
- Jesus breeched normal Jewish / Samaritan protocol… normal Male / Female… clean / unclean
- Out of the norm…
- Willing to break convention… tradition
- "How is it that You, being a Jew, ask me for a drink since I am a Samaritan woman?" Even the *Disciples… buying food in Samaria… showing an openness to locals #. The Contrast 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." 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."
Contrasts
1of 2 - Liquid Water vs. Living Water
- Water you must draw
- Water whose effect does not last… “you will thirst again”
- 'Give Me a drink,' you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water."… if only you knew what I offered
- Living water… is a well… with Christ as its source that will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life."
- And her response… "Sir, give me this water, so I will not be thirsty nor come all the way here to draw."
- She desires that kind of water… she doesn’t fully understand
- Look at Jesus approach…
- Comes into a practical situation
- Strikes up a conversation
- (one based on a common topic… the well and the water) (Relationship)
- didn’t beat her over the head with the Gospel message… instead weaves it into their conversation
- Introduces the idea and allows her to question
- Having to get water every day
- To have an eternal spring of water…
- ancient time saving device…
- K-tel of old?
- Notice Jesus didn’t overwhelm her… used the mundane to introduce the supernatural!
2 of 2 – Real Worship vs. Ritual Worship
Credibility again…
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.
- Jesus demonstrates his extra-ordinary nature
- Shows the depth of knowledge with this disassociated person… disassociated people group
- He explains that he knows her…
- 2 things
- 1) Demonstrates his “prophetic” knowledge…
- Jesus demonstrates his extra-ordinary nature
- Shows the depth of knowledge with this disassociated person… disassociated people group
- 2) Recognized her extensively sinful past… yet is still communicating
- It is like the command to pray for secular authority…
- 1 Timothy 2:3 This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
- Jesus is the Prophet for the people (gaining a right to Speak)
The Ritual Worship…
20 "Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship."
- Mount Gerizim… was where the Samaritans worshipped…
- Jerusalem was where the Jews worshipped…
- She was pointing out to this wise man or prophet that there are differences even in the way their people worship… (How are we to deal…)
- One in one temple… one in another…
- Jesus is going to set aside this ritual worship… this limiting of God to “a place” or to “a people”
- Jesus is dealing with the inclusive nature of faith…
- Not tied to a people or system
- Not tied to ritual worship
The Real 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."
- Faith from Jesus to ALL
- Part of the eschatology… the progression of the faith of the Jews… the dawning of the age of the Messiah… the Christ
- Jesus address salvation is from the Jews not for the Jews…
- Not all Jews are saved
- But that the Word of God… the truth of salvation has been a trust of the Jewish people and that the very Son of God has come from the Jews nation
- The true God revealed… for salvation is from the Jews
- But Jesus is talking about the broad scope of ministry…
- Offered to all
- Partaken of by those regenerated by the Spirit of God… (remember born again)
- It isn’t about Jerusalem or Mt Gerizim…
- It isn’t about a church building or program
- It is about recognizing the Truth of Christ and hope of salvation
- It is about worshipping the Father, in the name of the Son in the power of the Spirit
- And our Samaritan woman begins to connect the dots…
27 At this point His disciples came, and they were amazed that He had been speaking with a woman, yet no one said, "What do You seek?" or, "Why do You speak with her?"
- Amazed… yet did not speak
- Last time someone walked in and saw you do something radically different…
- This is crazy by traditional standards…
- Despite their Jewish heritage… they are beginning to see the difference
- In Serving Christ – disciples to Samaritan city
- In His Teaching – Reaching out… challenging Religious authorities
- In His Promises – temple destroyed in three days and resurrected to new hope
- In Who He is – the Messiah, the Christ
- Understanding – Jesus is the Messiah
- Understanding – A Love for all People
- Understanding – Real Worship
Soul-winning in Sychar
- Sharing the message shared…
- "Come, see a man who told me all the things that I have done; this is not the Christ, is it?"… believed even if hesitantly…
- Enough excitement to encourage others…
- No excuse… shared early
Jesus uses it as a model for soul-winning
- Meanwhile the disciples were urging Him, saying, "Rabbi, eat." 32 But He said to them, "I have food to eat that you do not know about."… , "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work.
- God’s work before human need!!
- The call to the mission field
- The call to give up in order to give
- GIVE IT UP FOR GOD…
- Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest. 36 "Already he who reaps is receiving wages and is gathering fruit for life eternal; so that he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together.
- Jesus understood rest… Jesus understood timing
- And the time is now…
- There is an urgency…
- Don’t’ wait... the fields are ripe
- and it spreads…
- 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
- God is the God of results…
- Spread the Word of God…
- Open the eyes…
- Plant the seeds…
- And allow the Spirit of God to Grow people…
- Conclusion:
… At The Waterhole…. John Chapter 4
- The Saviour at Sychar
- Why Jesus leaves Jerusalem… (3 reasons)
- Where he stops… (3 reasons)
- The Sinner at Sychar
- The Contact
- The Contrasts (2 contrasts)
- Liquid Water vs. Living Water
- Ritual Worship vs. Real Worship
- Soul Winning at Sychar
- The God First Mission
- The Urgent need for God
- The God of Results