COME SEE A MAN
Opening Song: 292: Jesus I Come
Scripture Reading. John 4: 1-30
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!
Pray
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 lessons here about racial prejudice, religious hatred, and dealing with moral outcasts. This story also conveys valuable truth about how to do evangelism.
I should also 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.
Suppose a woman came to our church with this kind of history: She had three children by three different men – one of whom was a live-in boyfriend and two were husbands from whom she is now divorced. In addition she has had two abortions from pregnancies resulting from sexual relationships with two other men and right now she is living together with yet another boyfriend, and she is pregnant out-of-wedlock again
• Suppose she just accepted Jesus as her Savior a month ago, but is still living with her boyfriend and is unsure when – or whether -- she will marry him
• Suppose her history and lifestyle are well known in the community
• How would we relate to such a woman?
• Of course, we would be friendly to her and welcome her to our worship services
• Would we welcome her into a home group?
• Would we give her a baby shower for her new baby?
• Would we allow her to serve as a helper in the nursery or children’s church or pathfinder?
• Would we allow her to give her testimony in a church worship service?
• How “cleaned up” and “doctrinally sound” does a new believer need to be in order to witness for Jesus Christ?
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. If you think of the Bosnians and the Serbs or if you think of 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.
Most people waited until the heat of the day had gone by before they went to the well. In the dim light just before night fall when the sun was not so hot and the temperature began to drop, they could come to the well with the rest of the community. This was a social time. Younger women asked for advice about cooking and children from the wiser women in the community. They traded the latest gossip and news. It was a time for strengthening the bonds of the community. On the other hand, it was a very difficult time for the outcasts of society - to watch the others socialize - to see the fingers pointed at you - that was a very tough time for outcasts to go to the well.
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 fact that this woman came to the well at noon tells us that she was one of those outcasts. She didn't want the society of the other women. As Jesus spoke with her, we learn the reason for her status. She had divorced and remarried many times. She had had five husbands. Even now she was with her sixth man and this time, she didn't even bother to get married. Even though the Samaritans didn't get along with the Jews, they still shared the Laws of Moses. Adultery was still a heinous crime. As far as the other women in town were concerned, this woman was trash. In order to avoid them and their put downs, she came to the well at noon. She came when there would probably be no one else at the well.
But, it was just such a woman that Jesus chose to be his key witness in reaching the town of Sychar in Samaria with the Gospel
• And this was no moving away from the norm on Jesus’ part – for he also chose a similar sort of woman to be the first witness of his resurrection – a woman whose chief claim to fame is that Jesus had cast 7 demons out of her
• And this in a culture in which even virtuous women were not respected as credible witnesses or teachers of religious truth
• What can we learn about what kind of man – and Savior – Jesus is from this story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman?
• And what can we learn about what it means to be a witness and fully devoted follower of Jesus from this story?
• What qualifications does Jesus look for in choosing his followers, servants and witnesses?
It is obvious that this woman felt a thirst in her life that went beyond her body's need for water. She was trying to quench that thirst by finding Mr. Right. Only it never worked. She tried with five husbands and another man who was not her husband. The woman at the well had been a bride many times, but the marriages were not successful. Her spirit was dying of thirst and she was trying to quench it with the best love that the world could offer and it was not enough. Her soul was still thirsty.
She often came to Jacob's well for her physical thirst, but where could she go for her parched and thirsty spirit? She repeatedly tried the world's wells, but they never quenched her thirst. The world's wells are all broken cisterns and she had come up dry and dusty every time.
Today's message tells us that this woman - as she made her daily trek to the well that temporarily satisfied her bodily thirst - met a different man - a God-man - a man who offered living water - water that never went dry - in fact, water that became an overflowing fountain in those who drank from it. Here is Jesus who offers a drink that satisfies the thirsty soul forever. Instead of offering her another physical relationship, this man offered a different relationship. Instead of offering her another earthly marriage, He offered to make her a part of His Bride, the Church. 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.
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.
Turn with me to John 3:5, here Jesus tell Nicodemus, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. And in John 4 Jesus is telling the woman at the well, "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." As the Spirit gives life, so water combined with the Spirit makes living water. The water and the Spirit that Jesus offered to Nicodemus is the same as the living water that Jesus offered to the Samaritan woman at the well. This is the same living water that we all need - the Word of God that the Holy Spirit uses to create and maintain our faith.
As Jesus spoke to the woman, the Holy Spirit used the living water of His words to change her. The process of conversion is tough and begins with the Law. We must see our sin in order to see our need for a Savior. In this woman's case, Jesus confronted her with her sin. Jesus said to her, "You are right in saying, 'I have no husband'; for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true."
It may seem that God is cruel when He forces us to face our sin. Never the less, this is the greatest love we can ever receive. As the Holy Spirit shows our sin to us, He shows us that we cannot save ourselves. He shows us that we must receive our salvation from outside of ourselves. He shows us our need for a savior. This reality check with the law prepares us for the living water of the Gospel.
When the Law has softened our hearts, the Holy Spirit uses the living water of the Gospel to show our savior to us. The woman said to [Jesus], "I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things." Jesus said to her, "I who speak to you am he." How beautiful those words must have been to that woman - like a gentle rain on thirsty soil. These words are the living water that the Holy Spirit will use to change her parched and thirsty soul into a heavenly oasis.
The living water of the Gospel quickly became a fountain in this woman. The woman left her water jars and went away into town and said to the people, "Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?" The living water produced an instant missionary. This woman who went to the well at noon to avoid the people of the town now sought out the people of the town in order to lure them out to meet the source of living water. Her living water did indeed overflow.
• In the Jewish culture of Jesus’ day – the only people who were qualified to teach religious truth in public were righteous Jewish men
• Mothers could teach their children, but only Jewish men could teach in the synagogue or Temple
• And of course, any religious teacher would need to have an impeccable reputation for moral righteousness and obeying the Law of Moses
• The Samaritan woman whom Jesus encountered at Jacob’s well in Sychar was neither righteous nor Jewish nor a man
• All Samaritans were regarded as half-breeds and heretics among the Jews – and this woman was an outcast among her own people – an outcast among outcasts
• Divorce was not unheard of in that day – but it was much rarer than in our day
• To get divorced and remarried once or twice was socially permissible – but to be divorced and remarried 5 times – and then to be living together with a man outside of marriage – was absolutely scandalous and totally unacceptable
• Even in our day such a woman’s character would be regarded as suspect – but in that day such a woman would be branded as exceedingly immoral and as a total loser
• Where morally respectable church people would see a sinner and respond with moral superiority and judgment – Jesus saw a woman thirsting for love, acceptance and hope, and responded with an offer of God’s soul-restoring grace in the form of living water – new life from the Spirit of God coming to live within her
• Where morally respectable church people would see a promiscuous, 5-time loser who would obviously never be able to get her life together – Jesus saw the glorious potential of a woman reborn by the power of the Spirit and then testifying to the saving grace of Jesus transforming her life
• Jesus didn’t come to pat righteous people on the back and bolster the prejudices of religious people who look down on others – Jesus came to seek and to save lost people – and this woman was clearly lost – and yet redeemable
• And so Jesus initiated a relationship with her by first of all extending grace to her – the grace of his acceptance even to talk with her in public when no one else would, and then the grace of offering her the gift of living water – new life from the Spirit of God welling up to eternal life
• When dealing with this lost and sinful outcast – Jesus leads with grace and then follows up with truth
• The offer of living water is free for the receiving and believing – but before she could receive the living water, she first needed to face the truth of her broken cisterns that had run dry – instead of turning to sexual relationships with men to quench the thirsting of her soul – she needed to turn to Jesus
• And so Jesus exposed the truth of her past failures and current immorality – not in order to shame or condemn her – but in order to heal her and set her free to experience fullness of life in Christ
• She could not drink freely of the living water while still searching for love in all the wrong places
• Jesus was the embodiment of the Love of God in human flesh – and only a personal relationship with Jesus could quench the thirsting of her soul
• In order to experience the full power of the saving grace of Jesus Christ, the woman must first face the truth about herself – and then she must understand the truth about Jesus
• Because he was able to tell the woman everything about her life without being told – the woman surmised that Jesus must be a prophet – his supernatural knowledge must have come from God
• How much truth content does a person need to understand and believe in order to have saving faith?
• How much Christian doctrine about the Trinity and the deity and humanity of Christ and atonement and justification and regeneration does a person need to understand and explain in order to be a witness for Jesus Christ?
• How much does a new believer need to clean up their act before they are qualified to tell others about Jesus?
• Faith is more than intellectual assent to right doctrine about Christ – Faith is humble reliance upon Christ and his finished work on the Cross and allegiance to Jesus Christ as Lord
• There must be some truth content as the object of faith – but the emphasis of saving faith is not so much creedal assent as heart surrender and allegiance
• If you believe that Christ died for your sins and was raised from the dead – if you rely upon Christ and his saving work on the Cross rather than your own good works and moral righteousness to put you right with God – if you give your heart allegiance to Jesus Christ as Lord – then you are saved
Romans 10:9 - 10 (NIV) 9 Says, That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.
• How much did this Samaritan woman understand about the Trinity, about the pre-existence, incarnation, deity and humanity of Christ, about Christ’s atoning death and resurrection and coming again
• Nothing
• For that matter, how many of the baptized converts on the Day of Pentecost could have articulated a doctrine of the Trinity?
• Probably none
• How much truth did this woman understand?
• Not much
• She was probably still confused with a lot of baggage and corrupted theology from her Samaritan background – that did not get all cleaned up by this one conversation with Jesus
• She first came to believe that Jesus was a prophet – and then she was excited by Jesus’ claim to be the Messiah – but she almost surely did not catch the deeper significance of Jesus’ subtle claim to deity
• Her testimony was very simple:
John 4:28 - 29 (NIV) 28Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, 29“Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?”
• She told others of her experience with Christ: He told me everything I ever did
• And she testified to her understanding of truth: Could this be the Messiah?
• Her experience of the personal grace that Jesus had extended to her – and of his prophetic knowledge of her past and present situation – had left a deep impact upon her
• And his words impressed her with the possibility that he may actually be the long awaited
Messiah
• That was the extent of her testimony: Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?
• Consider this also: The woman giving this testimony had not even begun to clean up her life yet
• She was still involved in an immoral relationship -- she was still not married to the man she was living with
• Wouldn’t you be curious to know what this woman did next about her relationship with her live-in boyfriend?
• Did she leave him right away? Did she stay with him? Did she give him an ultimatum? Did she get married to him? Did he become a Christ-follower? Did she marry someone else? Did she remain single? How long did it take before she cleaned up her act?
• The story mentions none of this
• This woman did not wait to clean up her life or become better instructed in biblical teachings and Christian theology to begin her witness for Jesus Christ
• As soon as she began to grasp that she had been having a conversation with someone acting like and claiming to be the Messiah – she spread the news • Surely there would have been better qualified people to take the good news of the coming of Jesus the Messiah to the people of Sychar
• She was not theologically qualified, she was not morally qualified, and she was not socially qualified
• What did this woman know about God’s plan of salvation – and who would listen to her anyway?
• At the very least shouldn’t she wait to make some lifestyle changes before telling others about Jesus being the Messiah?
• Who was she to represent the Holy One of God?
• What is a witness?
• A witness is someone who tells others what they have seen or heard
• And that’s exactly what this woman did – she told the people of her town what she had seen and heard – and invited them to come and check it out for themselves
• We might think that she should have waited until she was better trained and better qualified
• We might think that the Samaritan townspeople would not have been ready yet to believe her testimony
• But what was Jesus’ comment on this situation?
John 4:35 (NIV) 35Do you not say, ‘Four months more and then the harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.
God used the living water of the Gospel that came out of this adulterous woman to perform an immense miracle. A Samaritan town asked a Jewish rabbi to teach them. He taught them for two days. Can you imagine today's Palestinians allowing a Jewish rabbi to teach them for two days?
Eventually, the people of this town confessed, "We know that this is indeed the Savior of the world." As people who only had the Books of Moses, they knew that this was the Seed of the Woman that God had promised to Adam and Eve in the Garden. They still knew that this was the offspring of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob through whom all the nations of the world would be blessed. They still knew this was the fulfillment of all the sacrifices required by the Law of Moses. They still knew that this was God's sacrifice who would give up His life for the sins of the world.
• Nearly every person here today knows more truth about Jesus Christ and the Bible than this woman did
• Nearly every person in this room has a more respectable lifestyle than this woman did
• Nearly every person in this room has experienced more of the life-changing power of Jesus Christ than this woman had
• Yet the enemy will try to silence you by convincing you that you are not worthy or ready or qualified to tell others about Jesus
• Don’t believe the enemy’s lies!
• Be a witness! Tell others what you have experienced – share with others the truth of Jesus and his salvation to the best of your understanding
• Of course, you want to grow in your knowledge of the truth, Of course, you want to grow in holiness and Christ-likeness, Of course, you want to grow in your ability to explain to others the reason for the hope that you have, Of course, you want to bring your lifestyle into alignment with biblical teachings
• But right now – just as you are – if you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, then you are qualified to tell others what Jesus Christ has done for you
• Come; see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?
• A witness points people to Jesus
• A witness tells others what she has seen and heard and then brings people to Jesus
• Come, see for yourself – Could this be the Christ?
• This woman is under no illusion that she has all the answers
• She is under no illusion that people are going to be saved by admiring her righteous lifestyle
• There is no holier-than-thou self-righteousness in her witness, there is no air of superiority in her witness, there is no dogmatism in her witness, there is no boasting in her witness
• Her objective is not to get people to become more religious or moral
• The objective of her witness is to connect people with Jesus -- He’s the One with all the answers – He’s the One with the Living Water – He’s the One who is the Way to the Father
• Sometimes we are timid in our witness because we don’t think we have enough knowledge, or because we aren’t holy and sanctified enough, or because we don’t know what to say to answer all their questions or solve all their problems
• It is not the responsibility of a witness to have it all together or to know all the answers or to fix people’s lives – it is not the responsibility of a witness to BE the Savior – it is the responsibility of a witness to introduce others to the Savior – to tell others what Jesus has done for you and urge them: Come, check it out – Could this be the Savior of the world?
John 4:39-42 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 at their village. So he stayed for two days, 41 long enough for many of them to hear his message and believe. 42 Then they said to the woman, “Now we believe because we have heard him ourselves, not just because of what you told us. He is indeed the Savior of the world.”
• Some believed because of the woman’s testimony – many more believed as the result of a personal encounter with Jesus Himself
• The job of a Christian witness is to tell others what you have experienced and what you understand of the truth of the Gospel – and then challenge people to check out Jesus Christ for themselves to see if he is who he claimed to be
• Some will believe on the basis of your words and your changed life
• But others will need to read the Gospels for themselves and see for themselves who Jesus is
• Still others will need some kind of personal encounter with Jesus Christ – an answer to prayer a healing miracle, a personal experience of the love of Christ’s body in action
• When someone comes to you with a need that you cannot meet, a problem that you cannot fix – a situation where God must intervene with His power and love – don’t be afraid to ask God to do just that – to reveal Himself to that person in need by answering a specific prayer request for something that only God could do --even praying out loud for God to show Himself real in the person’s life
• If you believe that Jesus is the Savior of the world – then give him a chance to be that Savior for others
• Connect people to Jesus – and let Jesus prove Himself real to them – that He is the Savior of the world
• Who are the people who will have a hard time believing that?
• Many social outcasts have a hard time believing that, many women who have been used and discarded again and again have a hard time believing that, many people who are deeply ashamed of past failures or current sins have a hard time believing that, many people who feel shunned or rejected by respectable church people have a hard time believing that
• What kind of Christian witness is best qualified to bring the hope of Jesus Christ to people who feel cut off from the love of God?
• Christians like the Samaritan woman
• They are far from being Bible scholars, their theological understanding may be a little off at some points, they are not people with much worldly influence or social standing, their lives are still kind of messy – a long way from being fully cleaned up to the standards of most long-time church people
• But at a time when their life was falling apart – when they were losing their grip and sinking into a frightening chaos – when they were experiencing deep anguish of soul and all hope of a better life was fading – they had a personal encounter with Jesus of Nazareth – and his living water began to quench the thirsting of their soul
• Their life is still not put together all nice and neat like some Christians’ – but they have tasted the living water of Jesus Christ and they know he is the Savior of the World
• And they are able to relate to non-Christian sinners in a grace-filled, nonjudgmental way because they are deeply aware of their own shortcomings
• They don’t claim to have all the answers – but they can point people to the One who is the Way, the Truth and the Life
• Every church needs many women – and men – like the Samaritan woman who met Jesus at the well
• Some Christians have all kinds of Bible knowledge – but rarely share a word of witness with any unbelievers – and rarely bring unsaved people into a personal relationship with the Savior of the world
• Christians like the Samaritan woman may not know much – but what truth they do know – they share with other sinners
• Come, see for yourself – this Jesus knows the worst about me – all my past failures and my present sins – and he still loves me – and he has living water that quenches the thirsting of my soul as nothing else does
(Conclusion):
Jefferson story
• You see, that is what makes the witness of a Christian persuasive and winsome and compelling – when the witness comes from a heart that treasures Jesus above all else
• Every church needs some Samaritan women Christians
• Their lives may be a little messy around the edges
• But in the depth of their heart – they treasure Jesus above all else – they have exchanged their broken cisterns for the streams of living water that never run dry – and they are able to lead other thirsty sinners to that living water
• Jesus has become their life – and they share his living water with others
As Nicodemus learned that Jesus would die for His sins on the cross, so also, this Samaritan adulteress learned that He would give Himself up for her as well. It would be hard to find two people who were farther apart on the social spectrum than Nicodemus the Pharisee and the Samaritan adulteress at the well. Yet both of them received the forgiveness that Jesus Christ won for us with His holy precious blood and His innocent suffering and death. They both received the promise of eternal life through Jesus resurrection from the dead.
In this way, we see that the salvation of Jesus Christ is for everyone of high status, everyone of low status, and everyone in between. In these two stories we see the contrast of rich and poor, powerful and weak, male and female, and yet with all of these differences, the salvation is the same, faith in Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. This living water of the Gospel is for all people in all places in all times Prayer:
• For those who need to come to Jesus for new life
• For those who need to witness for Christ just as they are
• For those who need to reach out to Samaritan women and extend Christ’s love to them
It’s my prayer for us that we can say that “Jesus, You Are My Life
. Amen.
Closing Song: 493: Fill My Cup Lord
