Jesus: God of the Unacceptable! -John 4:1-41
Notes
Transcript
Intro:
Intro:
1 When Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard he was making and baptizing more disciples than John
2 (though Jesus himself was not baptizing, but his disciples were),
3 he left Judea and went again to Galilee.
4 He had to travel through Samaria;
5 so he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar near the property that Jacob had given his son Joseph.
6 Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, worn out from his journey, sat down at the well. It was about noon.
Point #1: In Preaching We Call This the Setting...
Point #1: In Preaching We Call This the Setting...
A. Jesus was gaining more disciples…
-Jesus knew the Pharisees (Religious Leaders) had heard that Jesus was baptizing and gaining more disciples than John (Jesus was a new threat to their power: This is why they cared!)
B. Jesus transitions from Judea to Galilee
He chose to travel through Samaria (He intentionally went into the bad neighborhood)...
Why was this considered a bad neighborhood? Because Samaritians were half-Jewish, the products of Israelites who married non- Israelites…(which was prohibited by the Law of Moses).
In Harry Potter they would be considered Mudblood’s!
He comes to Sychar, Jacob’s Well was famous to the Israelites… (This used to be family land).
C. Pay attention to this part: Jesus, was worn out by the journey...
Jesus was 100% God and 100% Human: We call this the Hypo-static Union!
Jesus is the Son of God; Jesus is God; But Jesus was also a man so he got tired.
D. Because Jesus was on a Mission from His Father He had a divine appointment to keep!
7 A woman of Samaria came to draw water. “Give me a drink,” Jesus said to her,
8 because his disciples had gone into town to buy food.
9 “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” she asked him. For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.
Point #2: Several Social Mores Are Being Broken by This Interaction That Jesus Initiates!
Point #2: Several Social Mores Are Being Broken by This Interaction That Jesus Initiates!
A. The 12 are on the job…they are on a mission to tell everyone about their New Found Messiah!
They travel into town at mid-day and the person with the most need (most likely) in town walks by them…and they don’t tell her about Jesus!
B. She comes at mid-day for water...
This is strange because when its hot you carry your water in the cool of morning and the cool of evening...
She comes at mid-day to avoid anyone else
She comes alone! (She has no community: No bestie: She is wholely unacceptable to the people of Sychar! She was the talk of the town!
C. She comes to draw water and Jesus asks her for a drink...
A Social more’ is defined: (pronounced moray) custom, convention, practice:
In Jewish culture...
Jews do not talk to, or interact with Samaritans (for fear of becoming Ceremonially unclean: Can’t go to synagogue).
Women do not talk to men who are not their Father, brother or husband)
She knows the social rules that Jesus just broke...“How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” she asked him. For Jews do not associate with[d] Samaritans.
10 Jesus answered, “If you knew the gift of God, and who is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would ask him, and he would give you living water.”
11 “Sir,” said the woman, “you don’t even have a bucket, and the well is deep. So where do you get this ‘living water’?
12 You aren’t greater than our father Jacob, are you? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and livestock.”
13 Jesus said, “Everyone who drinks from this water will get thirsty again.
14 But whoever drinks from the water that I will give him will never get thirsty again. In fact, the water I will give him will become a well of water springing up in him for eternal life.”
15 “Sir,” the woman said to him, “give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and come here to draw water.”
Point #3: Living Water…What Could Jesus Mean?!
Point #3: Living Water…What Could Jesus Mean?!
A. We see Jesus being Jesus!
*He answers a question with a question!
If You knew the gift of God...
If you knew who was speaking to you...
You would ask for living water!
LIVING WATER:
Have you ever been hot, dusty and super thirsty?
Have you ever been given a ice cold lemonade or beer?
Do you remember how satisfying it was?
Jesus satisfies just like that!!!
Psalm 145:16 tells us: “You open Your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing.”
Psalm 16:11 says: “You will make known to me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.”
TS: This women was trying to fill her life with things that would make her life okay...
Men; Love; Approval
16 “Go call your husband,” he told her, “and come back here.”
17 “I don’t have a husband,” she answered. “You have correctly said, ‘I don’t have a husband,’ ” Jesus said.
18 “For you’ve had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.”
19 “Sir,” the woman replied, “I see that you are a prophet.
20 Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews say that the place to worship is in Jerusalem.”
21 Jesus told her, “Believe me, woman, an hour 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, because salvation is from the Jews.
23 But an hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and in truth. Yes, the Father wants such people to worship him.
24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in Spirit and in truth.”
25 The woman said to him, “I know that the Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). “When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”
26 Jesus told her, “I, the one speaking to you, am he.”
Point #4: Jesus Jumps Right in the Middles of Her Mess, But She Evades!
Point #4: Jesus Jumps Right in the Middles of Her Mess, But She Evades!
A. Jesus gets to the heart of her circumstances...
He said, “go call your husband and come back...”
She though she had him… “I don’t have a husband.”
“You have correctly said, ‘I don’t have a husband,’” Jesus said. 18 “For you’ve had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.”
BTW: Everyone in town knew this, she just didn’t think Jesus would know this!
And we play the same game with Jesus!
So what is her defense? SHE CHANGES THE SUBJECT!
What do Rabbi’s like to talk about?
Theology! She asks him a Bible question...
“Sir,” the woman replied, “I see that you are a prophet. 20 Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews say that the place to worship is in Jerusalem.”
Jesus gives her the Bible answer, but then give her more!
21 Jesus told her, “Believe me, woman, an hour 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, because salvation is from the Jews.
Then Jesus tells us what is required to have a relationship with him!!!
23 But an hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and in truth.[g] Yes, the Father wants such people to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in Spirit and in truth.”
She has a great response: “I know that the Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). “When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”
26 Jesus told her, “I, the one speaking to you, am he.”
Jesus reveals himself to her because though she was unacceptable to the community she was acceptable to Him and the perfect person to tell everyone about Him!!!
27 Just then his disciples arrived, and they were amazed that he was talking with a woman. Yet no one said, “What do you want?” or “Why are you talking with her?”
28 Then the woman left her water jar, went into town, and told the people,
29 “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?”
30 They left the town and made their way to him.
31 In the meantime the disciples kept urging him, “Rabbi, eat something.”
32 But he said, “I have food to eat that you don’t know about.”
33 The disciples said to one another, “Could someone have brought him something to eat?”
34 “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work,” Jesus told them.
35 “Don’t you say, ‘There are still four more months, and then comes the harvest’? Listen to what I’m telling you: Open your eyes and look at the fields, because they are ready for harvest.
36 The reaper is already receiving pay and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that the sower and reaper can rejoice together.
37 For in this case the saying is true: ‘One sows and another reaps.’
38 I sent you to reap what you didn’t labor for; others have labored, and you have benefited from their labor.”
Point #5: Jesus’ Mission Was to Come Get You!!!
Point #5: Jesus’ Mission Was to Come Get You!!!
A. Jack, Mom and THE BELT - Don: GO GET HIM!
*You know what I got when I got home? GRACE!
B. God Sent Jesus to Come Get You!
*You know what you get when Jesus comes to get you? GRACE, MERCY AND UNCONDITIONAL LOVE!
C. Salvation is found in no other name than Jesus! (Acts 4:12)
39 Now many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of what the woman said when she testified, “He told me everything I ever did.”
40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days.
41 Many more believed because of what he said.
Point #6: Do You Believe? If You Need to Be Saved, Jesus Will Save You!
Point #6: Do You Believe? If You Need to Be Saved, Jesus Will Save You!
1. Let me tell you what Jesus did next...
a. He healed people
b. He loved people
c. He was opposed by the proud and arrogant, the self righteous and the religious leaders seeking power.
d. He fought for the oppressed and down trodden
e. He stood against injustice, refused to condemn and punish the guilty.
f. He proclaimed Himself as Israel’s Messiah and the Savior of the World
g. He proved it by dying of a cross for our sins and rising again on the third day.
h. He appeared to the disciples and many that believed who touched him, ate with him, and learning from him for 40 days...
I. He ascended to the right hand of the Heavenly Father in Heaven and before He left he promised that He would come again to get us who believe and follow Him!!!
2. THESE SAMARITANS HEARD THE TRUTH AND BELIEVED! YOU HAVE HEARD THE TRUTH THIS MORNING, DO YOU BELIEVE?