• In John chapter 4 we see the fullness of the Gospel of Christ
• We see from beginning to end, the completeness of Jesus’ arrival on earth
• It is:
o To give salvation regardless of Race, Creed, Ethnic or religious background
o To encourage honesty and integrity before God
o To indicate to us the importance of worshiping God according to His desire’s not our own
• In this portion of the passage we see that Jesus has journeyed many days and in many places
• He is weary, tired, hungry and thirsty
• In the midst of His journey he stops at a common place known as ‘Jacob’s Well’
• It is recorded in the book of Genesis of the purchase of land by Jacob, one of Isaac’s children, in the land of Shechem
• The well is a holy place by multiple religions to include, Christians, Muslims and Jews
• In the first portion of the passage we see the barrier of ethnicity, culture, race and sex, having been dropped by Jesus
• It was the noon hour, Jesus needed a drink and the only available drink was from a woman, a Samaritan and someone of another belief
• Some of the unique circumstances of this encounter were:
o Jesus, a Jew, requesting assistance from a Samaritan
o This woman was at the well at the noon hour; a task usually reserved for morning and evening
o Jesus was speaking not only to a Samaritan, but a woman as well
1. DRINK (VS 1-15)
• Romans 2:11: “For there is no respect of persons with God.”
• Ephesians 6:9: “And, ye masters, do the same things unto them, forbearing threatening: knowing that your Master also is in heaven; neither is there respect of persons with him.”
• In the service of the Lord; we must understand that salvation and the goodness of God extends to all who are spiritually thirsty
• Jesus did not take into consideration who it was He asked for a drink; he was thirsty and simply called out (VS 7)
• Without hesitation, the woman immediately limited her ability to give and His ability to receive because of societal differences
• John 4:9: “Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.”
• She created barriers because:
a. She was Samaritan
b. He was a Jew
c. She was a woman
• The woman indicated her apprehension in the last part of her statement, “…for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.”
• Jesus immediately rebukes her attitude; as should we when it comes to ministry in this world
• John 4:10: “Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.”
• Jesus reversed the roles within the conversation; letting her know that if she understood what was truly going on, she would, in fact, be asking Him for water instead
• The late U.S. President, John F. Kennedy, in a famous inauguration speech made one of the most famous proclamations in history; He said; “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country”
• In serving God, we must take upon ourselves the same attitude, how can we serve him, not how can he serve us
• When we think of drinking from the water of life, as Jesus commented to this woman, we begin to understand the new tools for living we now possess
• The Samaritan Woman asked a profound question in verse 12; that question was, “Are you greater than our father Jacob?”
• Of course the answer is, yes!
• For the well of Jacob would dry up and be unavailable from time to time
• Jesus responded with an answer that would certainly be clear
• Whoever drank from His well would never thirst again
• VS 13 breaks down the cultural barrier when Jesus uses the word “Whoever”
• Romans 10:13: “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
• Jesus broke down all of the necessary barriers by simply seeing a need and being willing to meet them; with no strings attached
2. DELIGHT (VS 15-18)
• Psalms 37:4: “Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.”
• In becoming a Christian and following through in service; we must be honest, hold integrity and confess our faults to the Lord in order to see clearly the love of Christ
• Jesus told the woman to get her husband, in a test of honesty she said that she was not married
• Of course Jesus knew this already but she was honest with Him, even though He knew that she not only had been married 5 times but that she was currently living with a man
• When contemplating our service and call, we must fully understand that God already knows our hearts and thoughts
• Matthew 9:4: “And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts?”
• Jesus knew the heart’s desire of the Pharisee’s who were against Him
• Psalms 94:11: “The LORD knoweth the thoughts of man, that they are vanity.”
• God knows what we are thinking; we should, therefore, be willing to confess our sins and weaknesses before Him
• Christianity is complete confession of all sins before God
• James 4:8: “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.”
• It takes the understanding that we must first rid ourselves of the things of this world in order to see clearly what it is that God would have us to do
• “Four preachers met for a friendly gathering. During the conversation one preacher said, "Our people come to us and pour out their hears, confess certain sins and needs. Let’s do the same. Confession is good for the soul." In due time all agreed. One confessed he liked to go to movies and would sneak off when away from his church. The second confessed to liking to smoke cigars and the third one confessed to liking to play cards. When it came to the fourth one, he wouldn’t confess. The others pressed him saying, "Come now, we confessed ours. What is your secret or vice?" Finally he answered, "It is gossiping and I can hardly wait to get out of here."”
3. DESIRE
• When we become Christians; our desires change
• They should change from the things of the flesh to doing the things of the spirit
• Mark 11:24: “Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.”
• When we desire something, we seek to obtain to it, no matter what the cost
• Many things we desire take money, time and effort to achieve; just as we desire to achieve, accomplish or own certain things; we must also desire to accomplish work for the kingdom of heaven
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