Pastor Jim’s blog: http://brushforkbanner.blogspot.com
As you know, we’ve been in this passage for three weeks now. There’s a reason for that. The reason is that I think this is one of the best passages on personal evangelism in the whole Bible. The Bible is filled with personal evangelism encounters. But this one is unique. It’s unique because it seems to be the most typical of a complete encounter. Many times in Scripture, the passage is just a clip of what happened during the encounter. But here, evangelism is the focus. And because it’s the focus of the passage, we seem to have one of the most complete encounters in the Bible. As we study the book of John, it’s important to keep in mind the reason why the Holy Spirit had him write the book in the first place. You remember he gives us that reason in John 20:30-31: “And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.” So, remember that this book isn’t the complete history of Jesus’ ministry here on earth. As a matter of fact, the last verse of the book speculates that all the books in the world couldn’t contain everything that Jesus did while He was here. So the book wasn’t written to give a complete history. The Holy Spirit carefully selected each event that’s recorded here for a purpose. Each event was carefully selected and recorded so that we might have a saving belief in the person and work of Jesus Christ. So when we see this event that’s been before us the past three weeks, we have to see it in that light. The only reason that it’s recorded in Scripture in the first place is for evangelism. The only reason we know anything at all about this woman’s encounter with Jesus is that we might believe in Him. And as believers, we study this passage and learn from it in order that we might apply it. And with this passage in particular, the way we apply it is by using the principles we see in it to tell people about Jesus. This passage is about one-on-one evangelism. It is about directly passing the good news of Jesus Christ from our mouths to another person’s ear. When we study this passage, it’s important to remember a couple of things. First, Jesus had certain advantages that we don’t have. Because Jesus is God, He was able to know the woman’s heart and her history before He even started talking to her. Obviously we can’t do that. So that’s why we have to build relationships with lost people. We have to build relationships with them so we can at least know a little bit about their heart and their history. But even though Jesus had that advantage over us, He didn’t use any other advantages He had. In other words, the only tool that He used with this woman was words. He didn’t do any miracles. He didn’t perform any signs or wonders. He didn’t heal her. He didn’t miraculously bring water out of the well. As a matter of fact, He didn’t do anything. He just talked to her. The only God-like thing He did with her was to read her heart. And that’s something that we can do to a certain extent just by talking to a person and building a relationship with them. Did you know that that’s why God has you where you are in the first place? God has divinely appointed you to be where you are in order that you might reach somebody. He brings lost people into your life in order that you might build relationships with them. And as you build relationships with them, you are to be constantly living the gospel before them. But not only are you to live the gospel in front of them, you are to tell the gospel to them. And do you know what? Those lost people that God has given you… they are uniquely your responsibility. He didn’t give you lost friends and family for someone else to reach. He surrounds you with them so that you will reach them. That’s why we call it personal evangelism. Not professional evangelism. God doesn’t call us to be a referral service. Inviting your lost friends and family members to church is great. But it is not a substitute for giving them the gospel. It doesn’t replace the need for the Gospel to come directly from your mouth into their ears. Evangelism is most effective when it’s done the way that God designed it to be done. He designed evangelism to be done one-on-one through relationships. The closer the relationship, the more effective it is. That’s why it’s so important to live the gospel and speak the gospel to your family. The Lord is responsible for the results. You’re responsible for the evangelism. Over the last couple of weeks we’ve seen some patterns in this passage. We saw the pattern of people as we compared Nicodemus with the woman at the well. We saw that even though they were completely different people with different backgrounds and different social standings… they both had the same need. They were both lost and needed Jesus. Then last week, we saw the pattern of evangelism. We saw how Jesus was intentional and determined and flexible and bold and focused and clear in His evangelism. This morning, we’re going to look at the same encounter… but we’re going to look at it from a different angle. Last week we looked at it from the perspective of Jesus’ presentation. This morning we’re going to look at it from the perspective of the woman’s response. Any time we start to think seriously about evangelism, that’s one of the first barriers to come up in our mind, isn’t it? Well, how are they going to respond? Are they going to get mad at me? Are they going to be offended? Are they going to laugh at me? Are they going to quit speaking to me? How is that lost person that God has placed in your life going to respond to you? That’s what makes us so uncomfortable, isn’t it? We can talk about the weather all day long. We can talk about cars or sports or food or our kids all day long. We can talk about those things because they are non-confrontational. They are personal, but they don’t expose us to eternal issues. But one of the reasons the Lord has given us this passage is to show us how people will react to personal evangelism. And at least when we know how they might react, we can be prepared for it. We can go into it with our eyes wide open. And once again, we trust Him with the results. So, since we’ve already looked at the pattern of evangelism, it’s time we looked at the pattern of response. And, just as there were six parts to the pattern of evangelism, there are six parts to the pattern of response. But here’s how it’s different. Last week, I tried to make it clear that we have to have all six parts of the pattern of evangelism. We have to be intentional. We have to be determined. We have to be flexible. We have to be bold. We have to be focused. And we have to be clear. If we leave out one of those, we risk giving people an incomplete gospel. And an incomplete gospel isn’t the gospel at all. But the pattern of response is different. Because people are different. And since people are different, they will respond in different ways. As the Holy Spirit works in a person’s life, they might be ripe for harvest. But while one person is completely ready, another person’s heart might be hard and cold. People respond differently to the gospel. The wonderful thing about this passage is that the woman responded six different ways. Her first response was defensive.
Sometimes people respond defensively to the gospel. We live in a skeptical world, don’t we? People have been lied to and hurt so many times, it makes it hard for people to trust, doesn’t it? That’s one of the reasons that sales pitch evangelism isn’t very effective. Because people are sales pitched to death in our commercial society. And at best, most of them are deceptive. And most of us have been burned by things that are promised to be more than they really are. So people are skeptical. They are defensive. But that’s not just a recent problem. It might be more widespread now, but it’s always been a problem. Look at this woman. She was defensive. She was skeptical. She had been hurt many times. Nobody goes through a divorce without being hurt—much less five of them. Men knew her reputation, so when they talked to her, they were looking for something. And you can bet that they weren’t looking for a pot of water. She had heard every pick up line in the book. So when she got to the well that day and saw a man sitting there, I’m sure she thought, “Here we go again.” And then He asked her for a drink. “Well, that doesn’t sound like a pick up line, but I’m sure it is.” “He’ll just come out with the punch line before you know it.” That’s why she responded the way she did. “OK buddy, I don’t know what your game is. But I know that you’re a Jew and I’m a Samaritan. So I know that you’re not even supposed to be talking to me. Why again are you asking me for water?” She reacted defensively. Just like when you’re witnessing to a person and they want to know why you’re doing it. They might accuse you of trying to do your good deed for the day. Or they might accuse you of trying to work your way to heaven. No matter how they phrase it, some people respond defensively to the gospel. But what did Jesus do? He turned her defensiveness back on her. He didn’t get offended and try to defend himself. That’s what we like to do. But He didn’t do that. Instead, He pressed forward telling her about Himself. He pressed forward telling her about Jesus. If someone reacts defensively to you, don’t try to defend yourself. Don’t get your back up. Press on talking about Jesus. And as you do, you might just break down their defenses. That’s what happened with the woman. She saw that the conversation wasn’t motivated by the witnesses’ selfishness. He wasn’t trying to get something out of her. She saw that He was just trying to tell her some really good news. Sometimes people respond defensively to the gospel. That was the woman’s first response. Her second response was that she responded materially.
Sometimes people respond materially to the gospel. This is where the focus immediately shifts. When people respond defensively, they think… “What is this person trying to get from me? What’s in it for them?” But when people respond materially, the tables turn. Instead of thinking, “What’s in it for them?” They begin to think, “What’s in it for me?” When the woman realized that Jesus wasn’t trying to scam her, she immediately moved to what she was going to get out of it. Now that she knew that Jesus wasn’t trying to take advantage of her, she wanted to know what she was going to get out of it. When Jesus started talking about giving her living water, He was talking about Himself. But that’s not what she heard. All she heard was, “This man says He can give me so much water that I won’t ever have to draw water again.” No more lonely trips to the town well. No more picking the right time when nobody would be there. No more hiding and skulking around. All the water she would ever need. That might sound like good news, but it isn’t. because if that’s all Jesus had left her with, she would have still been lost and on her way to Hell. Because that would have been an incomplete gospel. And an incomplete gospel is not the gospel at all. An incomplete gospel is, “Jesus loves you and wants to be your friend.” An incomplete gospel is, “Jesus will take all your cares and burdens away.” An incomplete gospel is, “Jesus will take all your guilt and shame away.” “He will meet all your needs.” “He will heal your infirmities.” Each one of those is an incomplete gospel. They are incomplete gospels because where is the focus? The focus is on you and your selfish wants. If Jesus had just left the conversation off with giving her living water, that would have been about her. But evangelism isn’t about the person. Evangelism is about Jesus. It’s about glorifying God. Are the benefits there? Of course they are. But telling only of the benefits is a sales job. It’s a sales job that will sell Jesus as a convenient add-on to your life. And Jesus isn’t an add-on. Jesus is Lord of all or He isn’t Lord at all. The gospel isn’t peddling a good benefits package. The gospel is the good news of Jesus and how He is glorified by having an eternal relationship with the people He created. Most of the time people don’t see that. Sometimes they respond materially to the gospel. They think, how’s this going to benefit me? That was the woman’s second response. Her third response was that she was convicted.
Sometimes people respond to the gospel with conviction. When you give someone the complete gospel, this can happen. But if you don’t, then all they want is something to make them feel better in the sinful life they’re already living. The gospel is about change. It is about identifying your old, sinful self with the cruel death of Christ on the cross. The nails were driven in because of your sin. Jesus showed the woman her sin. He didn’t wag His finger in her face. He didn’t do it as some holier-than-thou person. He did it in the most loving way possible. He spoke the truth in love. See, most people think that they are good people. You don’t have to give them a list of everything they’ve ever done wrong… but you can do what Jesus did. He asked the woman a question. You can and should ask the person you’re witnessing to questions. God’s standard for an eternal relationship with Him is absolute perfection? Are you that good? A short-form example of God’s requirements is the Ten Commandments. Have you ever broken one of them? Have you ever looked on a woman with lust? Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount that if you have, you have, that’s the same as committing adultery. And committing adultery is breaking the seventh commandment. Have you ever said something mean about someone in anger? Whether they heard it or not? If you have, Jesus said that’s the same as committing murder in your heart. That’s a pretty high standard. As a matter of fact, just a few verses later, in Matthew 5:48, Jesus says that the standard is absolute perfection. He says that we are to be perfect, just as our Father in heaven is perfect. Guess what? Everybody falls short of that standard. No loopholes. No amount of self-justification will get around that. That’s why Paul can say what he says in Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” We can’t see the woman’s reaction here. But by the tone of the Text, I think that when Jesus asked her a question about her relationships… I think she might have just shifted her eyes… she might have looked away from Jesus’ gaze… she might have looked down or away. That’s what conviction does. Conviction begins to melt away the defenses. It begins to look past the material reaction. Because it begins to expose the real problem. The real problem is sin. The woman’s third response was conviction. And then she began to squirm. That’s when she responded with diversion.
Sometimes people respond to the gospel with diversion. There are very few things in life that are worse than being under conviction. So, it’s a natural reaction to avoid it. Of course the best way to get rid of conviction is to confess our sin and repent. But we like to be stubborn. So we like to change the subject. That’s what the woman did starting in verse 19. She started talking about worship styles. It was actually deeper than that, because she was talking about worshipping in the temple like the Jews did… as opposed to worshipping like the Samaritans did. Now, according to Old Testament Law, the way the Samaritans worshipped was wrong. They had made up their own place to worship contrary to God’s law. They had appointed their own priests contrary to God’s law. Everything they did in the way they worshipped was wrong. And Jesus knew it. And if the truth be told, so did the woman. But she knew that if you wanted to get a Jewish rabbi riled up, just get him talking about temple worship. And many of us are like that today. We all have our hobby horses we like to ride. Some Christians rail about alcohol. Some rail about homosexuality. Some rail about abortion. Some like to go on and on about politics. Some like to bad-mouth other denominations. And all you have to do to get us off the gospel is bring up one of those subjects. I had an atheist friend at one time who loved to walk down the hall and talk to a coworker of ours. He would walk in that guy’s office and sit there until he would pull out a gospel tract and start a gospel presentation. Then he would let him get a few minutes into it and would start talking about evolution. The next thing you know, that was what the whole conversation was about. My atheist friend would have that guy so tied up in knots that he wouldn’t know what to do. On the other hand, the best conversations we ever had were the times where I refused to be distracted. Everywhere the conversation went, I did my best to direct it back to God’s glory, our sin and Christ’s sacrifice. I wish I could say that he repented and was saved. He wasn’t. But he stands before God without excuse. He knows the truth and one day I pray he will be transformed by the truth. Just like the woman at the well was. She responded with diversion, then she responded with transformation.
Sometimes people respond to the gospel with transformation. After Jesus refused to let the woman get away with her response of diversion, He made a point-blank gospel presentation in verse 26. He had fought through her defenses. He didn’t stop with a material, needs-based gospel. He had showed her her sin. He had kept the conversation on course. Now it was time to give her the solution. He told her who He is. From our perspective, He told her about Jesus. He presented her with a Savior. And I want you to notice what happened. Bells and whistles went off, didn’t they? They saw angels and lights, didn’t they? There was crying and hollering and all kinds of emotional thing happening, right? No, there was none of that. As a matter of fact, the text is silent about what it looked like when she was transformed. There’s a reason for that. That’s because you can’t tell by looking at a person when they get saved. Some people cry. Some people shout. Some people don’t do anything. But then again, some people that cry and shout are still lost. Emotions are funny things. You can’t judge anything by them—much less salvation. You see, we want a sign. We want something tangible so we can put a mark in our book that a person got saved. We like to look at the sinner’s prayer like that. We like to think that is the moment of salvation. Well, it’s not. Because for someone to sincerely pray that prayer, God has already done a work of salvation in their heart. The words of a prayer aren’t magic words that convey salvation. Salvation is a work of grace that God does in the heart. The prayer of faith is the first confession of God’s saving work. “For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” The reaction of transformation is internal. You can’t see it. You can see emotion, but you can’t trust emotion. That’s why, if a true transformation has happened, it will always be followed by the final reaction. And that is the reaction of confession.
When people are saved, they will respond to the gospel with confession. Notice what the woman did in verses 28-30. She left everything she came with. She got up, went into town and told people about Jesus. Do you think that might have been difficult? Do you think it might have been uncomfortable? Do you think there might have been some giggles when she went running into town talking about some man she met? “Oh, great, here she is talking about a new man of her dreams.” It was difficult. But she did it anyway. Why? Because she had to. It was even more than her just wanting to. She had to. She had to because, how did Jesus say that people will know who He has saved? In Matthew 7:16-20 says, “Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.” The Bible is very clear. Saved people bear fruit. And one kind of fruit that saved people bear is telling other people about Jesus. Notice that the woman didn’t go through any kind of a course. She didn’t have to go through Share Jesus Without Fear or Evangelism Explosion or anything like that. She didn’t have to have a stack of gospel tracts or a great sales presentation. She simply went to the people who knew her before and led them to Jesus. Come see a man. When was the last time you did that? When was the last time you sat down with someone and said, “I want to tell you who Jesus is and what He’s done in my life.” Now, let me ask you this: when is the next time you’re going to do that? If you don’t purpose in your heart right now to do it, you never will. You might invite somebody to church or tell them that Jesus loves them or tell them you’re going to pray for them. But if you don’t intentionally plan to tell someone about Jesus, you never will. So, right now, I’m going to ask you to do something. Right now, where you are sitting, I’m going to ask you to bow your heads and close your eyes. With every head bowed and every eye closed, who are you going to tell about Jesus? When are you going to tell them about Jesus? How are you going to tell them about Jesus? It probably won’t go smoothly. They might get defensive. They might only want the blessings of Jesus without committing to Him as Lord of their life. The Lord might use your conversation to bring them under conviction. And when He does, they might try to divert you and distract you away from your real purpose. You might not ever see a change in their life. But you might see them come to repentance and faith in Jesus. And if you do, you’ll be able to tell it by their fruit. So, before I pray, have your person picked out. Have the place and time you’re going to tell them picked out. And have how you’re going to do it picked out. And as I pray, commit your plans to the Lord. Proverbs 16:3 says, “Commit thy works unto the Lord and thy thoughts shall be established.”
