Excuses, Excuses

Book Context: John has written this book so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, and by believing that you may have life in his name.

Prior Context: Jesus was with his disciples and they were baptizing more people than John the Baptist. People begin to question John asking if he cares and he says, “He must increase, but I must decrease”. The Son (Jesus) is from heaven, and ANYONE who believes has eternal life, but those who reject him have God’s wrath on themselves.

M.O.T: Evangelistic

C.I.T: Jesus is the savior of the world; therefore, we should share the good news so that the harvest might be plentiful.

Thesis: There are many “saviors” in our world, but the only true savior is Jesus, so tell someone about him.

“Excuses, Excuses”

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Introduction: People love to make excuses; we are a natural at doing so. The most common time to make excuses is when you want to miss work. You can call in sick or you use one of these bad boys. This was on a website and the article was titled “8 funny excuses people have used to get out of work”. These are real excuses people have used that were recorded by their boss. I only used 6 because two of them weren’t good.

1. I broke my arm reaching for a sandwich.

2. My refrigerator fell on me.

3. My convertible is full of flour.

4. I just put my casserole in the oven.

5. I poked myself in the eye with a hairbrush.

6. I broke my foot after I got up from the toilet.

You see people make up some crazy excuses in order to get out of something, especially work. And as funny as those are, I think that we can fall into traps of excuses when it comes to sharing the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. The disciples here in John chapter 4 gives us a good example of what not to follow. Sadly, I think their reaction is the same reaction that we can have as Christians today, reactions that I know I have had. There are three excuses that I see the disciples live out in this passage as Jesus teaches them about the ripened harvest.

Excuse #1 The Gospel is for Certain People Only

1. At this point the disciples show up on the scene and interrupt Jesus’ conversation with the woman at the well. Jesus had just finished telling this woman that he is the Christ, the savior, the deliverer. And when the disciples show up, they are shocked to see Jesus talking with a woman, a Samaritan woman, nonetheless. We talked last Sunday about why the Samaritans and Jews really didn’t like each other. The Jews looked at them as half-breeds because hundreds of years earlier back in 722 BC the Assyrians had intermarried with the Jews and those that were born from those marriages were called Samaritan’s. This was a disgrace to the Jews and so the Jews hated them. Both had different ideas of worship and theology. I also mentioned last week that Jews didn’t even talk to their wives in public especially about theology. They considered teaching their daughters the scriptures was as vile as teaching them to be a prostitute. This helps paint the picture of why the disciples were shocked and revolted by Jesus talking to this Samaritan woman. Now they arrive probably with food in baskets or carrying it by hand, and then get over to the well and see both this woman and Jesus. The scripture doesn’t say this but I can picture them dropping their bread in shock, a couple of them look at each other like “are you seeing this too”. The word “amazed” there in verse 27 means to be extraordinarily disturbed. They are absolutely blown away and astonished in a negative way that Jesus was talking with this woman. The scripture does tell us though what they were thinking about saying but didn’t. They’re wondering what Jesus could want with her. Why is he talking to her, she’s a Samaritan Woman, and He is a Jewish Rabbi, this isn’t right? The disciples fell into a lie, believing that Jesus was only for certain people. Jesus should only talk to certain people; He should only offer the Words of eternal life to certain people. But that is not what the Bible says, the Bible says, “whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved”. You see the Gospel message of repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is not for certain classes of people, but for anyone who looks at Jesus. Anyone who is a sinner is eligible for salvation through Jesus Christ alone, and last time I read the Bible it still says, “for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God”. Therefore, all people can believe on the Lord Jesus and be saved, forgiven of their sin and granted everlasting life with the Father. But the disciples aren’t getting the picture yet, and sometimes you and I don’t get the picture. We see the guy with tattoos that drives a motorcycle and has a beard as not being worthy of the Gospel. We see the homeless person outside begging for food as not being worthy of the Gospel. Maybe we don’t witness to our family members that we have bad blood with because they really hurt us and cut us deep and so now, we see them as not being worthy of the Gospel. I can’t illustrate every example that you and I go through, but I know speaking for myself that I have not witnessed to some people because of their appearance. Or because of some cultural stereotype. Because I thought consciously or subconsciously, that they weren’t worthy of the Gospel. News flash, nobody is worthy of the Gospel and that’s including me and you. We must remember that the good news about Jesus death, burial, and resurrection is for sinners of which all people are and be careful not to make the excuse that the Gospel is for certain people only.

2. While I was going to Bible College in Missouri, I worked security for the school. BBC or Baptist Bible College isn’t located in the safest area. As a matter of fact, according to many sources Springfield MO is within the top 10 most dangerous cities in America, some rank as number one depending on who you get your information from. During anytime of the day I would see people on drugs trying to find refuge on our campus, thieves trying to break into cars, homeless, people running from police, fights, especially violent acts between couples driving by or walking through campus. I saw a woman get headbutted by her boyfriend, and another get punched by her boyfriend while she was driving and he was in the passenger seat. I got one gun pulled on me which was the only violent thing that happened to me while working their praise God for that. I saw people shoot up drugs, I saw people hurt themselves because of drugs or they hated their life. I even caught a couple, man and woman living in our dumpster. Our friend at school was the one who called me and said she threw away trash and heard people talking in the dumpster. I had many opportunities to share Jesus with people, and most of the time I didn’t, because I took the excuse that they weren’t worth the time. Which is the same as saying Jesus is only for certain people, and it wasn’t them. I pray for myself, this Church, and the youth that we will be Christians that know and live out the truth that Jesus died for everyone.

Excuse #2 Evangelism is Second to Our Desires

1. In verse 28 the woman leaves the well along with her water jug there, and proceeds to go and tell the people in the local town about Jesus. This woman came for physical water and found living water. Jesus had affected her so much that she left her water jug there. The sole reason she came to the well was not important anymore, for she has found something better than water, she had found Jesus Christ. John makes it clear that there is a significance to her leaving her water jug there. Some people speculate why because John isn’t that clear as to why, but whatever the reason we know that telling the town about the man she just met was more important to her! Telling others about Jesus the man who knew all things about her was more important and more of a priority than drawing water for herself. You see when you encounter Jesus Christ, he becomes the most important thing to you. He becomes your priority; he becomes your heart’s desire that leads to your tongues choir singing and telling others about Jesus. I got told recently that I am a walking Bible, and it wasn’t meant for a compliment. I thought after I heard that “praise God”, because before he saved me, I was a dead man walking, talking about myself or that sport, or my sin, or cussing or the latest video game. But then he reached down and snatched me up and put a song in my heart and words on my lips that want to talk about Jesus. Not because I am spiritual, but because I was spiritually dead and then he put his spirit within me to now live for him and not for myself anymore. And many of you in here know what I’m talking about, one moment the world is your focus, the next moment Jesus is your focus. And people need to hear this message about Jesus, but we tend to make excuses and put our desires before souls. In verse 31 the disciples begin to urge him to eat some food. You see they had forgotten about the woman, and they didn’t pay any attention to what she was doing. They were concerned with physical needs and wanted Jesus to eat some food. Jesus responds to them in verse 32 and said, “he had food to eat that they didn’t know about”. What was this food? Jesus gives us the answer in verse 34, the food that kept Jesus going, that kept him healing people, that kept him witnessing, that kept him traveling long distances, that kept him from quitting, that kept him going always towards the cross as he got closer to the day he would die. That food was God’s will. The desire to finish the work that the Father had for him was the food that provided him the strength to keep on going. This is what Jesus consumed spiritually, the will of the Father. This is what he lived for, this is why he came to accomplish the Fathers will, to seek and save the lost. And the will of God has always been since the foundations of the world to send his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. To be the substitute in our place, the innocent righteous one for the guilty sinners.

2. What is the food that keeps you going? What is the will of God that keeps you going? If you are lost here today, you do not know Jesus Christ, then what is his will for you? His will for you is to believe on him like this woman did in this passage. it says, “Now this is his command: that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ”. You need to repent from your sins, turn from them, and call out to God in faith for mercy in his Son Jesus. This is God’s will for you. Believer! What is God’s will for you? I will repeat that verse and add the rest in , “Now this is his command: that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another as he commanded us”. You are to believe on Jesus Christ, you say “I have believed on Jesus Christ”, are you still believing on Jesus Christ? Are you still trusting in him as your only hope for the remission of your sins? What is the will of God for you Christian? , “Jesus said, whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me”. You and I are to deny ourselves and live for Jesus, carry the identity of the cross and follow Jesus. In , “It is Gods will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality”. , “give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus”. And , “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”. This is God’s will for us as believers, as we look at Jesus for our strength, and then obey the Word of God. We to be thankful towards God for what he has done for us in Jesus. Then flee all immorality and proclaim the Word of God to others. But the disciples were looking towards their flesh. Their flesh desired something contrary to the will of God. Your flesh will always desire something else over sharing the Gospel. That is why we cannot listen to ourselves but rather preach to ourselves, walking in the Spirit which is the Word of God as Paul said in Galatians. We cannot live our Christian life especially when it comes to evangelism by feelings! Because you almost never feel like obeying the great commission and making disciples, or talking about Jesus to an unbeliever. Think about the excuses we make; we feel the Holy Spirit leading us to witness to someone and we know we should. Then what comes to our minds is something like this, “they won’t listen so there is no point”. Or “It’s just really awkward and I don’t want to make those around me feel uncomfortable”. How about, “I’ve got to be somewhere, and this conversation might take a while”. Or, “I’ve got to get home and eat it’s almost dinner time”. Here is one I have used a lot, “I know if they are supposed to be saved then God will send them someone else”. It is easy to listen to those excuses that pop into our minds and our flesh. Pray to God that you can silence those excuses by preaching to yourself the Word of God and the urgency of the Gospel Message.

Excuse # 3 There Will Always be Time

1. In verse 34-38 Jesus begins to teach the disciples about the ripe harvest that is lost souls. When he says, “listen to what I am telling you: Open your eyes and look at the fields, because they are ready for harvest”. That word he uses in my translation open your eyes (CSB), in yours in may be look or lift. It means to raise up your eyes and look, to lift up you face and look out. What would Jesus be wanting them to look out and see? The people that are coming over to see Jesus. The woman at the well while the disciples were worrying about food, she was going into the town and telling people to come see Jesus, and they were making their way towards him it says back in verse 30. Jesus times this spiritual lesson perfectly and tells the disciples to look as the crowds of people are walking towards them to see Jesus at the well. Can you imagine being the disciples. Your filled with disgust at seeing your master talk to a Samaritan woman, and after she leaves you begin to try and give him food while he is talking about a harvest. You might be thinking Jesus now it not the time, you need to eat. And He tells you to look. You reluctantly look to where he is pointing, and you see people walking towards you, people with life stories and families. People with jobs, sins and struggles. People who have laughed in happiness and cried in sorrow. Real people with real faces, with real sins that must be paid for. Real people with eternal souls that will either believe on Jesus and be forgiven or perish in Hell. There were probably fathers holding their boys’ hand or little girls’ hand as they walked towards Jesus. And Jesus’ disciples are missing it. Jesus says, “don’t you say there are still four more months until the harvest”. But in all reality, he corrects them and says the harvest is now, and Jesus was in the middle of it. Therefore, in essence he is telling them to go forth and begin to reap the harvest by sharing the Gospel about himself, Jesus. The point Jesus is making, is that you might think the harvest is still a ways out, because they were thinking about a physical season where they would gather food. But Jesus is demonstrating through talking to the woman and the people gathering towards him, that the time to harvest souls for eternal life, those who believe on his name is now. And today I am here to tell you the time to share the good news and reap a harvest of souls is now! It is today. Like the trap the disciples fell into, we can begin to think that there will always be time to share the good news. And therefore, put it off to a later day. Which inevitably means we don’t share the good news. We might think as the disciples, I can talk to them the next family gathering, I can witness to them next time we hangout. I’ve still got time. We think that because the Lord has tarried that we will always have time to talk about Jesus with our friends, our families, our coworkers, our neighbors, our cities. But the truth is, we don’t know how much time we have. 151,600 people die every day in the world on average. About 7,500 die per day in the US alone. That’s 2.7 million people a year dead in the us per year. That’s more than the entire Columbus region every year. 55.3 million people die each year in the world. That is 55.3 million souls that are most likely lost and sent to Hell. Not because God is mean to good people, but because He is Holy, and people are not good. We are sinners who rebel against God every day, therefore we must be punished. But God sent his Son to be punished instead for us so we could be forgiven. God is the one who is GOOD. And we ought to be Christians that do not make excuses but realize the urgency and share the Gospel with people.

2. We won’t always have time, I am not saying that means every person you see you must track down and witness to. But when the Holy Spirit leads you, don’t silence him. Witness to those in your circle of life, your family, your friends, coworkers, and neighbors. Start in your circle, and witness to the lost for Jesus.

Quick Encouragements

1. It doesn’t matter what you know or don’t know, God can use your testimony Vv 29-30

a. This entire passage about the Woman at the well is about Jesus, just as the entire book of the Gospel of John is about Jesus. In John gives us the entire point of the book which helps us understand ever passage. It says, “These are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name”. The whole reason John put this story about the woman at the well was to cause those who heard it to believe that Jesus is the Son of God, the Savior of the world, and that through believing they would be forgiven and saved! I hope today your faith in Jesus has increased, that you love him more, and that you believe on him. Jesus witnesses to this woman and it caused a ripple effect. Be encouraged God can use your testimony. This woman after meeting Jesus says 16 words to the town people, and many of them believed on the Lord Jesus because of that. How simple was her testimony? She said to them, “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah”, that’s it. And God used that and lead people to His Son Jesus. Your testimony can be used by God to point a sinner towards Jesus. It doesn’t take much, just be willing to break out of your comfort zone and talk about Jesus. What are your 16 words? Something as simple as, “I’m a sinner who deserves eternal punishment, but thank God that Jesus died to save me”.

2. Others have prepared the way Vv 38

a. Jesus said in verse 38 that he sent the disciples to reap what they hadn’t labored for. In other words somebody had prepared the fields and the way before them. Who prepared the way for the disciples? Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Kind David, Solomon, Isaiah, all the prophets, John the Baptist, and Jesus himself along with many others. We need to remember who has set the stage and gone before us, and that will encourage us to keep going and set the tone for the next generation. Countless Christians that have gone before us and have died for their faith in Jesus, they are a source of strength for us to keep going and keep witnessing or start witnessing. Who was the person who witnessed to you? Who was the person who invested in you? Aren’t you glad that God sent them to you and they obeyed?! So, take heart and remember the others who have labored, and how you have benefitted from their labor. Then look to labor for someone else.

3. Jesus is the savior, not YOU Vv 42

a. In verse 39 we begin to see the response that the Samaritans had from the woman’s report about Jesus. Read . We sometimes think that we have to save the person. “I’ve got to say the right sentence, bring forth the best argument and make them accept Jesus”. You can’t make anyone believe on the Lord Jesus and neither can I. So, rather than letting that crush you under a huge burden of thinking you have to save people (it’s not biblical by the way), take comfort in knowing that Jesus is the one who saves. The burden of saving is on Jesus, so don’t worry it’s in good hands. Keep praying, keep witnessing, keep teaching that Sunday school lesson, keep studying your bible, and leave the rest to God. At the end of this passage the people declare to the woman in verse 42 “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”. You see they came to Jesus because of this woman’s testimony, but they believed on the Lord Jesus when they looked to Jesus. Nobody is going to get saved looking at you or me, but you can tell them “look” and point them towards the cross where they can look at Jesus and be saved.

b. Are you saved today? Have you come to the same conclusion that these Samaritans came to, declaring that Jesus really is the Savior of the World? Only a helpless person needs rescue. Do you know that you’re helpless today when it comes to your salvation and eternity? Do you know that Jesus is the only way? If you don’t, would you call out to him this morning and trust in him as savior? And if you are saved today, let’s not make excuses when it comes to sharing the Gospel to the lost. Let us put aside our desires and boldly declare that Jesus’ salvation invitation is for all people, that the time for salvation is now, and let’s get ready for the harvest.