How To Have A Spiritual Conversation
Aug 14, 2011 John 4:1-42
Intro:
This morning I want to dive right in to John 4. Go ahead, grab your Bible and look it up and keep it open, it’s a long story and I want you to have it open so you can follow along and then look back as we walk through it. We’ve been studying Jesus in the Gospel of John together through the summer, seeing Him as far more than a “nice guy” who is tame and polite and safe; certainly someone who does not fit the somewhat pathetic image that many people have of a person of love as someone who is inoffensive and quiet and a doormat.
Today we are going to see Jesus in a rather remarkable conversation. In John 3, which Pastor Sue preached out of two Sundays ago, we saw Jesus in a remarkable conversation with Nicodemus – a Jew, a man, a religious leader, a man of strict morality, a person of wealth and power. In John 4, Jesus is in another remarkable conversation with someone just about the complete opposite of Nicodemus – a Samaritan, a woman, with dubious morality, a person without wealth and power. It is a conversation I love…
John 4:1-42 (NLT):
Jesus knew the Pharisees had heard that he was baptizing and making more disciples than John 2 (though Jesus himself didn’t baptize them—his disciples did). 3 So he left Judea and returned to Galilee.
4 He had to go through Samaria on the way. 5 Eventually he came to the Samaritan village of Sychar, near the field that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there; and Jesus, tired from the long walk, sat wearily beside the well about noontime. 7 Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, Please give me a drink. 8 He was alone at the time because his disciples had gone into the village to buy some food.
9 The woman was surprised, for Jews refuse to have anything to do with Samaritans. She said to Jesus, You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. Why are you asking me for a drink?
10 Jesus replied, If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water.
11 But sir, you don’t have a rope or a bucket, she said, and this well is very deep. Where would you get this living water? 12 And besides, do you think you’re greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us this well? How can you offer better water than he and his sons and his animals enjoyed?
13 Jesus replied, Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. 14 But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.
15 Please, sir, the woman said, give me this water! Then I’ll never be thirsty again, and I won’t have to come here to get water.
16 Go and get your husband, Jesus told her.
17 I don’t have a husband, the woman replied.
Jesus said, You’re right! You don’t have a husband—18 for you have had five husbands, and you aren’t even married to the man you’re living with now. You certainly spoke the truth!
19 Sir, the woman said, you must be a prophet. 20 So tell me, why is it that you Jews insist that Jerusalem is the only place of worship, while we Samaritans claim it is here at Mount Gerizim, where our ancestors worshiped?
21 Jesus replied, Believe me, dear woman, the time is coming when it will no longer matter whether you worship the Father on this mountain or in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans know very little about the one you worship, while we Jews know all about him, for salvation comes through the Jews. 23 But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way. 24 For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.
25 The woman said, I know the Messiah is coming—the one who is called Christ. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.
26 Then Jesus told her, I Am the Messiah!
27 Just then his disciples came back. They were shocked to find him talking to a woman, but none of them had the nerve to ask, What do you want with her? or Why are you talking to her? 28 The woman left her water jar beside the well and ran back to the village, telling everyone, 29 Come and see a man who told me everything I ever did! Could he possibly be the Messiah? 30 So the people came streaming from the village to see him.
31 Meanwhile, the disciples were urging Jesus, Rabbi, eat something.
32 But Jesus replied, I have a kind of food you know nothing about.
33 Did someone bring him food while we were gone? the disciples asked each other.
34 Then Jesus explained: My nourishment comes from doing the will of God, who sent me, and from finishing his work. 35 You know the saying, Four months between planting and harvest. But I say, wake up and look around. The fields are already ripe for harvest. 36 The harvesters are paid good wages, and the fruit they harvest is people brought to eternal life. What joy awaits both the planter and the harvester alike! 37 You know the saying, One plants and another harvests. And it’s true. 38 I sent you to harvest where you didn’t plant; others had already done the work, and now you will get to gather the harvest.
39 Many Samaritans from the village believed in Jesus because the woman had said, He told me everything I ever did! 40 When they came out to see him, they begged him to stay in their village. So he stayed for two days, 41 long enough for many more to hear his message and believe. 42 Then they said to the woman, Now we believe, not just because of what you told us, but because we have heard him ourselves. Now we know that he is indeed the Savior of the world.
A Dangerous Conversation:
I love this conversation. It is such a perfect picture of Jesus – there is danger: Jews didn’t talk to Samaritans, men didn’t talk to women (especially alone, and especially ones with questionable relational backgrounds), and Rabbi’s especially should never be in a potentially embarrassing or compromising situation. What might people say? There is also a great ease: Jesus is open and real and comfortable. There are high stakes: Jesus brings it all out into the open. There is even a bit of theological controversy which Jesus so deftly handles and then returns to the important issue. Let’s look and see how Jesus goes about having a spiritual conversation, and see what we can learn that might help us in similar conversations.
How to Have A Spiritual Conversation:
The story begins with a very human Jesus – tired and thirsty after walking for 4-5 hours. And he asks for help. There is something important here already, think of it from a power/need perspective. Jesus was the one needing a drink. Jesus was the one without a bucket or a rope. And so He asks for help. This tells us we don’t walk into relationships or conversations as if we are the saviours, the ones with no needs, the ones with all the answers – even Jesus didn’t walk into a conversation like that! A really good way to open up a conversation is to ask for help.
I think the Samaritan woman’s response is a little bit of friendly banter. She sees a thirsty stranger, alone, resting near the well, of course He needs a drink and of course she’ll give him one. But she gets the little dig in along the way, and I imagine a bit of a twinkle in her eye as she says You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. Why are you asking me for a drink? (vs. 9). But Jesus is up for it, and has a response: If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water. Context time: Samaria, desert region, deep wells for water, no rivers or streams or sources of moving water. Moving water is the good stuff – it will be clean, fresh, and better than standing water: as such, it is known to people as living water. It is the kind that is required for religious ceremonies, that’s how important it is. So she wouldn’t have heard Jesus’ words in a spiritual sense, but in a practical sense of a better kind of water.
Keeping the Spiritual: vs. 11-5
The next bit of the conversation, vs. 11-15, can be read a couple of ways, but essentially Jesus keeps the spiritual perspective open. He keeps His eyes on both the physical (the need for water) and the spiritual. He brings an awareness of real need in both areas. There is something really important here for us as we have conversations with people. People don’t just have physical needs, they have spiritual needs as well. And it is ok to talk about both; in fact it is helpful and expected. For example: say a neighbor or work colleague has a family member in hospital. It is great to jump in and offer a casserole or some babysitting or to cut the lawn for them – that is fantastic. But let’s not leave it at that. They also need hope. They need comfort. They need someone to listen and someone who can say, You know, the way I look at it even the worst case scenario – someone I know and love not winning the physical battle and dying in hospital – doesn’t mean the end, because I have a hope and confidence for eternity in heaven that offers me a very real anchor and promise of reunion because of faith in Jesus.
Listening to the Spirit and the Person: vs 16-19
Next in Jesus’ conversation, vs. 16-19, is that piece that really causes the difference. Thus far it is pleasant banter, a bit of mysteriousness, but easy to leave on the surface. Now something supernatural happens. Something that still happens. Jesus throws back the curtains to let in the light, in a way that preserves her dignity: Go and get your husband. Notice carefully: Jesus doesn’t accuse, He doesn’t judge, He doesn’t flaunt. But Jesus knows something critical about this woman. He has the vital piece of information that will invite the breakthrough to faith. And this still happens, perhaps not as dramatically or as perfectly, but it is part of the Holy Spirit’s work still today. If we learn to listen to God, He will whisper things like this to us today, which will be breakthrough moments in conversation.
We need an example here: do any of you have a story to volunteer about how God has whispered something to you during a conversation with someone, something that you didn’t know, that turned the conversation like we see here at Jacob’s well? Think about it for a moment, and while you do I’ll share that it sometimes happens to me when I’m listening really carefully to God and to someone else, and I’ll just feel a whisper of the Holy Spirit to ask a particular question; or to pick up on a bit that was said but then quickly moved on and bring the conversation back to that. Now it isn’t a primary gift for me, but when I’m deeply listening to the Spirit and to another person, it happens sometimes. Anyone else?
It really isn’t hard to learn. God will guide, and God will protect. Imagine for a moment if Jesus was wrong – impossible for Him, of course, but possible for us. Jesus says, Go and get your husband, having felt that God whispered she’d bounced around in a lot of relationships and this was a place of need and connection. If Jesus was wrong, what would have happened? She probably would have said, ok, I’ll be back in a few minutes. Similar things happen for me, sometimes I ask a question and maybe didn’t hear God clearly, and it isn’t the exact right question for the moment – no big deal. The conversation continues. Life goes on. My point here is that our conversations with people all around us really can be a lot more, if we listen deeply both to them and to the Holy Spirit, and if we wisely and cautiously and (most importantly) LOVINGLY ask about something or pursue something that God might be whispering to us.
Comfortable Space: vs. 19-26
The next movement in the conversation is a natural one (vss. 19-26). Jesus has touched a critical place, and the conversation retreats into a place that is a little more comfortable and not quite so personal. Notice that Jesus sort of lets her change the topic a bit, it goes off into a particular theological question, and Jesus answers, but briefly. I see the same thing in spiritual conversations today – they sometimes touch some place of need or pain and then retreat a bit to something safer. Oh, I used to go to church once in a while with my grandma when I was growing up… it was insert description here. That is ok, and Jesus models for us that it isn’t a set-back in the conversation, it is probably more like a warm-up. And our job in conversations like that is to give people space and time to get comfortable and to demonstrate that we aren’t high-pressure sales people eager to close the deal.
Making it Clear: vs. 26
The last part of Jesus’ conversation is where Jesus is careful to make it all very clear: I Am the Messiah! (vs. 26). It is worth noting for our spiritual conversations that there does come a time when we have to speak clearly and plainly, and not leave people guessing and wondering. There comes a time when we need to say, I follow Jesus because I believe in Him, again not in a forceful way but in an inviting way.
Conclusion:
There is much more in the story, but that’s enough for today. Let me wrap up with a question, then an assignment. The question is this: when is the last time you had a spiritual conversation with someone who may not share your faith in Jesus? Hopefully it wasn’t long ago, because these conversations are vitally important in the Kingdom of God, we need to be having them. Jesus sent us out to be His witnesses, and if we aren’t engaging in these conversations we are not doing what we have been sent to do.
Here is the assignment: listen to the Holy Spirit in every conversation you have this week, and follow where the Spirit leads. Don’t force it, but also don’t ignore where God might be wanting to take a particular conversation in a direction that sees His Kingdom come.
