Hope Is Here (Part 4)

Woman at the well

Two strangers met beside a well on a hot afternoon in Samaria. One was a woman. The other was a man. We don’t know the woman’s name. The man was Jesus. Their brief conversation changed her life.

Today we are continuing a series called “Hope is Here.” This week we will meet someone who met Jesus face to face. . These ancient encounters are valuable for what they reveal about Jesus and what they teach us about the common problems of life. Although 2000 years have passed since Jesus walked on the earth, his words remain incredibly relevant. Times change but the human heart remains the same. We have the same hopes and fears and dreams and doubts. And we struggle with the same problems: uncontrolled anger, foolish choices, misplaced priorities, hypocrisy, guilt, indifference, frivolous curiosity, misguided ambition, limited faith, convenient excuses, nagging doubt, compulsive busyness, broken dreams, and personal failure. Looking at those it is clear that we need Jesus and todays message will help us see that, “Jesus is who we are looking for”

4 Now when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John 2 (although Jesus himself did not baptize, but only his disciples), 3 he left Judea and departed again for Galilee. 4 And he had to pass through Samaria. 5 So he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 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.[a]

7 A woman from Samaria came 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 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.) 10 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.” 11 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? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.” 13 Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again.[b] The water that I will 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 will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.”

The story of Jesus and the woman at the well is very familiar. As I have studied it this week, I have been struck by how simple and profound it is. A man meets a woman in a seemingly chance encounter. In a few brief moments her life is changed forever. There are many lessons to draw from here about racial prejudice, religious hatred, and dealing with moral outcasts. This story also conveys valuable truth about how to do evangelism.

As we begin, I should note that this is the longest recorded conversation anyone ever had with Jesus. It is longer than any recorded conversation with any of his disciples.

It was a hot day and the sun beat down on the man’s head. The sweat poured off his brow as he walked along the dusty road. It was probably mid- to late-July when the temperature can top out at over 105 degrees. To make matters worse, he had been traveling with his friends since sunrise. Now the sun was directly overhead. They were hurrying to make their way through this part of the country as quickly as possible.

He came to a well with a rock ledge built up above the ground in the typical manner of the Middle East. He sat on the lip and thought to himself, “O, if only I could have a drink of water.” At precisely that moment, the woman came along. It wasn’t the normal time, and it was unusual for a woman to come to a well alone. But this woman was different. The Bible says she came from the tiny village of Sychar. We know basically where Sychar was. It was in Samaritan territory, nestled between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim. Sychar was built at the confluence of two trade routes, one that came up from Jerusalem on its way to Capernaum, and one that came west from the Jericho region toward the Mediterranean Sea. Sychar was thus located at a very strategic point in central Palestine.

The well was about one-half mile outside the village near the point where the two trade routes came together. It was called Jacob’s Well, after the patriarch who had first dug it some 2000 years earlier. Weary travelers from throughout Israel knew it as a place where they might drink from the spring flowing some 150 feet below the surface.

As the woman looks at Jesus and he at her, four invisible walls stand between them. There is a religious wall, a gender wall, a racial wall, and a moral wall. Yet our Lord found a way through all of them. He found her … and then she found him!

I. Contact 4:1-8

The Pharisees heard that Jesus was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John, although in fact it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples. When the Lord learned of this, he left Judea and went back once more to Galilee. Now he had to go through Samaria. So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 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. When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.) (John 4:1-8)

Geography is all-important in understanding this story. In Jesus’ day there were three regions stacked on top of one another. There was Galilee in the north, Samaria in the middle, and Judea in the south. The easiest and quickest way to get to Galilee from Judea was to go due north right through Samaria. Verse 3 says that Jesus “had to” go through Samaria. Now why did he have to do that? The answer is, he didn’t. There was another route he could have taken. Some pious Jews would go east, cross the Jordan River, enter the region of Perea, then go north, re-cross the Jordan River, and they would be in Galilee. This was out of the way but it meant they wouldn’t have to go through Samaritan territory.

A little history will help us at this point. The Jews and the Samaritans disliked each other. It all went back to 722 B.C. when the Assyrians conquered Israel and took the northern ten tribes into captivity. They brought in Gentiles from other areas to settle in that same region. Eventually those Gentiles with their pagan ways intermarried with the Jews who had been left behind. Over the generations those people were called the Samaritans, and they developed their own religion that was partly based on pagan ideas and partly based on Judaism. Eventually they built their own temple at a place called Mount Gerizim. And they developed their own language and their own version of the Old Testament (which contained only the first five books).

The Jews looked down on the Samaritans as religious and racial half-breed heretics. It’s hard for us to understand the animosity that existed between these two groups. Thinking about the Palestinians and the Israelis, you’ve got the right idea.

Now that brings us back to verse 3. Why did Jesus “have to” go through Samaria when the Jews either didn’t go there at all or passed through as quickly as possible? The answer is simple and profound: Jesus went because he intended to meet this woman. He knew she would be coming to the well at precisely the moment he was sitting there weary from his journey. Nothing happens by chance in this story. Every detail is part of the outworking of God’s will. And that, I think, is a hugely important point. The woman isn’t looking for Jesus. All she wants is water. But Jesus is looking for her. You have to go to Samaria if you want to reach Samaritans. He doesn’t avoid Samaria and he doesn’t hurry through it. Though she does not know it, this woman has a “divine appointment” with the Son of God.

From this we can take a very important principle for evangelism. Reaching people for Christ is not always comfortable and may at times be difficult. But you have to go where people are if you want to reach them at all. Comfort is not the issue. The firefighter goes into the burning house to rescue those inside. He can’t stand outside and say, “Come on out before the house burns down.” Jesus intended to save this woman so he went where she was.

She came alone to the well at noontime. This was potentially dangerous and somewhat unusual. Women normally came together to the well in the morning or the evening. It was something of a social event. The fact that this woman comes alone may mean that her checkered past was well known to the villagers. Perhaps she had been ostracized by the other women of Sychar.

The conversation begins with a simple question from Jesus: “Will you give me a drink?” He is tired and thirsty and she has the water he needs. But he has the water she needs. He was thirsty and knew it. She was thirsty and didn’t know it. The woman did not come to the well seeking Christ, but he came to the well seeking her. In his approach we see the great heart of our Lord Jesus is without prejudice. It matters not to him that others would not go to Samaria and others would not speak to this woman. He welcomes all and shuns none.

Luke 19:10 tells us that the Lord Jesus came to seek and to save the lost. This story tells us what that means. John 4 is all about sovereign grace. He found her. She didn’t find him. The same is true for all of us. You will never come to Christ until Christ first comes to you. What happens in this chapter looks like a chance encounter but it was nothing of the kind. The time and place and all the circumstances had been arranged by God before the world began.

1.) God is seeking you when you are not seeking him. Because he knows what we need when we think we have what we need.

II. Challenge 4:9-15

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.) 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.” “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? 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?” Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 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.” 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” (John 4:9-15).

There is a triple surprise in these verses. First, that a Jew would speak to a Samaritan. Second, that a man would speak to a woman he didn’t know in public. Third, that a Jew would drink from a Samaritan’s cup. When the woman saw Jesus, she knew he was a Jew by his dress and probably also by his accent. She knew he was a stranger just passing through. In the first century it was almost unheard of for a man to speak to a woman in public in those circumstances. And to ask for a drink of water was even more unusual since the Rabbis taught that it was a sin to touch a utensil that a Samaritan had touched.

When Jesus offers her “living water,” he is purposfully being ambiguous because the phrase could also mean running water. He is trying to incite her curiosity without making her suspicious. “You came here for water. I’ve got water you’ve never dreamed of before.” He is leading her step by step to saving faith. First, he leads her to see her need, then he reveals who he is, then he offers her something that could change her life. He is offering not to quench her thirst but to banish it once and for all. This is what is called a “teachable moment.” I am struck by the fact that Jesus returns again and again to the central issue: “Do you know who I am? If you knew my true identity, you could ask and I would give you water that leads to eternal life. And not just a drink of water but a gushing spring that will well up within your heart.”

Meaning for us in point #2 - Do you know who Jesus truly is and do you truly believe he has the ability to fullfill our every need where we can stop trying to search this world for a temporary bandaid.

Behold in these verses the simplicity of salvation. In verse 10 Jesus says, “You would have asked and I would have given you living water.” That’s all salvation is. It’s asking God to save you and receiving salvation in return. Think about that. Heaven itself is yours for the asking. Just ask for it! That’s all. Just ask Jesus with a humble heart to save you. Salvation is yours for the asking.

And there is a reminder of the vanity of all earthly things. Anyone who drinks of the water of this world will thirst again. We all know what it is to be thirsty and we know that the body can live for weeks without food but only a few days without water.

I think that can corelate with all of our lives. What water have you been drinking lately that hasn’t fully satisfied you?

In verse 15 the woman even says, “Give me this water!” She didn’t understand what he meant but she wanted what he had.

III. Confrontation 4:16-18

He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.” “I have no husband,” she replied. Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. 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” (John 4:16-18).

On one level it appears that Jesus is being insensitive. Why bring up anything about her past? Is Jesus trying to embarrass her? The answer is no. But his instruction to call her husband made her very uncomfortable. She doesn’t want to go into detail so she simply replies, “I have no husband.” Now that was true but it wasn’t the whole story. She knew she was hiding the truth but what she doesn’t know is that Jesus knows it, too. And so he proceeds to reveal the rest of the story. This woman has had five husbands and the man she is living with currently is not her husband. In a sense this is the ultimate reality check. How could a woman in that day have had five husbands? Even today that would be very unusual. Did they all die? That’s unlikely. Had she been divorced five times? Probably. Was there promiscuity involved? Most likely. Certainly she is currently living in a sinful relationship with a man outside of marriage.

The words of Jesus were the most loving thing he could have done for her. There is an important spiritual principle at work here. Without conviction of sin there can be no conversion. God sees behind the mask to the reality within.

Is Jesus being cruel? No more than the doctor who prescribes surgery to save your life. Unless he removes the tumor, you are certain to die. Will the operation be painful? No doubt, but weighed against death the pain is part of the healing process. In another place Jesus described his mission this way: “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners” (Mark 2:17).

By asking about her husband, he exposes this woman’s lifelong pursuit of happiness. Evidently she has entered one failed relationship after another. And each time she said, “This is the man. This time I’ll be happy.” And each time she was disappointed. Now she won’t even risk marriage. But the words of Jesus reveal a deep-seated loneliness, a hole in her heart that no man could fill. Far from being irrelevant, these words of Jesus go to the core of her problem—and of ours. We’ve been raised to believe that if you only find the right man or the right woman, you’ll be happy. So we jump from one relationship to another, or we take a quick trip to Temptation Island, desperately hoping against hope that this time things will be different, this time we’ll make it, this time we’ll be happy. Yet no human relationship can satisfy our needs. We are spiritual beings made for a relationship with God. There is a “God-shaped vacuum” inside the human heart that no man or woman can ever fill. We were made to know God, and until we know him through Jesus Christ, we are doomed to restlessness and despair.

So what we take from this is the woman lived in shame because of her life. She was lonley and needed a savior and didnt even know it! I believe there are times in all of our lives where we think we have it all figured out and then make mistakes and then try to mask it from the world and even worst, mask it from God.

Let me pause to ask a question at this point. Does Jesus love this woman? Yes, he does. He knows the truth and still offers her eternal life. Here is the wonder of God’s grace. Only someone who loves you can look at your past without blinking. Real love means knowing the truth about someone else and reaching out to them anyway. He’s not ashamed of her past but he cannot help her until she gets beyond the shame and admits the truth.

So it goes on and she goes into a quick religious debate and Jesus doesn't even get into that with her at all!

One of the great truths to come out of this story is that God is greater than geography, race, class, sex, and religious tradition. True worship is not about where or how or even when. It’s about who you are and who God is. God wants worship that is based on truth and a wholehearted personal commitment to him. There is good news and bad news in that statement. The bad news is that religious activity doesn’t really count. Going to church, being baptized, giving money, praying six times a day, following the Ten Commandments, having a Quiet Time every day, those things, as good as they are (and they are truly good things) don’t count with God when it comes to salvation. The reason they don’t count is because anyone can go through the motions and still have a heart filled with anger, bitterness, profanity, hatred, lust, greed, envy, and pride. The worship God accepts must be based on the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ and offered to him from a humble heart of faith. But there is equally good news in that statement. If what God wants is spirit and truth, any one can qualify. Salvation is not limited to the Jews. The Good News is meant for everyone. This is God’s “Equal Access” provision. Salvation is not about going to the right mountain. It’s about going to Jesus for salvation. And anyone can do that anywhere at any time!

V. Changed Life 4:27-30

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?” Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?” They came out of the town and made their way toward him (John 4:27-30).

The woman is converted between verses 26 and 27. How do we know? Because she leaves her water pot and goes to tell the others in town. As I read these verses I am struck by how little the woman understands. All she says is, “He knows me.” That’s not exactly the Apostles Creed. And “I think he is the Messiah.” That’s not exactly the Four Spiritual Laws. In point of fact, she’s not a very likely witness at all. Most of us would want our new converts a bit better trained than that. But God uses those who are willing to be used. Notice her invitation to the people of Sychar. She doesn’t say, “You must be born again,” but a much gentler, “Come and see.” That’s what Philip said to Nathanael in John 1:46. No threats, no promises, just come and see for yourself. Her invitation is sincere, non-threatening, and open to everyone. When Jesus gives you living water, you want to share it with someone else.

SO as we draw to a close, what do we see and take away?

1.) That there is an appointment between you and God. Maybe you have felt it, maybe not. Maybe you know that you need to come to him for help and comfort and just like this woman didn’t realize it, it changed her life. I won;t tell you what God has in store for you because those are between you and God but I do know that God wants to impact and change your life, jut as he did for this woman.

2.) What is the temporary hole in your life that you keep filling with earthly things? What or who is it that you are seeking? And to realize today that Jesus needs to be the center of my life. Jesus is the only one who can fill this void in my life.

3.) Stop hiding. God knows. For years I ran from my calling as a pastor because I was scared and tried to hide from my calling. Then when I did step into it, I kept telling myself “You arent good enough.” But it took some time and lots of prayer to fully understand that none of us are good enough but that what makes the beauty of Jesus’ sacrifice so much better that while to this world you were not good enough. There is a God who says I still love you anyways! So stop hiding. stop running. God knows your pain. He knows your suffering. He knows your secrets. But he loves you anyways. and because of that, he shpuld be the on that we are alway seeking,

lets pray