Title: Pots and People
Theme: Show that when we encounter Jesus we can leave with our burdens lifted.
Text: John 4:4 - 29
The Encounter
John 4:4 But He needed to go through Samaria.
5 So He came to a city of Samaria which is called Sychar
John 4:6-7 Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, sat thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour. (7) A woman of Samaria came to draw water.
This describes the opening scene of Jesus' encounter with the woman at the well. John reminds us that it was no accident that Jesus was traveling through Samaria. Actually no Jew traveled through Samaria by accident. This was a divine appointment.
Jesus had an divine appointment with one of the most unassuming characters in scripture. As he is resting and leaning on the well this woman of the town walks up to draw water.
Noon Day
It is important to note that she was drawing water at noon day. The hottest part of the day.
Why? Maybe she ran out and got thirsty (which would be a great play on words considering what she was about to receive). But more than likely it was because she was a woman of shady character who was tired of the stares and the gossip at the well. She had decided to avoid the crowd and came out alone to draw water.
What all men want
Jesus said to her, "Give Me a drink." 9 Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, "How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?" For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.
This woman was surprised that this Jew would talk with her. Jews had little dealings with Samaritans. Even more this was a man. She was suspect of his motives. She had been taken advantage of by so many men.
Thirsty
Living water
Joh 4:13-14 Jesus answered and said to her, "Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, (14) but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life."
Joh 4:15 The woman said to Him, "Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw."
Here Jesus reveals his true motives, he was not here to get water but to meet this woman. He knew her better than she knew herself. He saw her before she ever came to the well. He had a need to meet her and to offer her more than what she was living for.
She was coming for water but Jesus was offering living water.
This well had become more than just a place of refreshment it became a place of hurt. This was the same place that people would judge and gossip about her as she would come. She was hurt many times here.
Jesus said that he would give her water that would cause her not to come back. To change her life.
Come Clean – Be Honest
John 4:16 Jesus said to her, "Go, call your husband, and come here."
John 4:17 The woman answered and said, "I have no husband." Jesus said to her, "You have well said, 'I have no husband,'
John 4:18 for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly."
Two things about this passage are important.
This woman's answer. She was being honest with him. There are many ways around the statement. She knew how she lived. She had been married five times and seemed to quit on marriage. This man here had quit on her, he wouldn't even give her is own name.
Secondly is Jesus' response. He was not there to condemn or tear down. He commends her for being honest.
Something Different
John 4:19 The woman said to Him, "Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet.
There is something different about this man. He is not like all the other men that she has encountered. They always want something more from her. Rarely were they there to meet her needs but they were there to take advantage of her.
Where is God?
John 4:20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship."
Where is God? My people say on this mountain. Your people say he is in Jerusalem. I don’t know where he is. There are so many religions and people arguing over so many things.
Even as a Samaritan she was confused about where to worship. Here is Jesus answer.
What a touching statement.
John 4:23 But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.
John 4:24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."
It is not about where to worship him. What church to go to. It is not about what name that is on the sign. It is about God in your heart. As he promised in the Isaiah God was going to write the law on the heart of man. The Lord wants to transform the heart.
The Messiah - Revealed
John 4:25 The woman said to Him, "I know that Messiah is coming" (who is called Christ). "When He comes, He will tell us all things."
John 4:26 Jesus said to her, "I who speak to you am He."
Jesus reveals his true identity. For the first time in John he shares who he is. And to whom did he do this. Not to Kings or religious leaders but to this woman of Samaria.
Messiah - the anointed one, savior of the world, deliver, restorer. This is why he came as he says in Luke 4:18 to set people free from their captivities.
Most Important Phrase
John 4:28-29 The woman left her water jar and went into the town. She said to the men, 29 'Come and see a Man Who told me everything I ever did! Can this be the Christ?'
This is how the passage concludes. Don't miss the final event. She goes back to tell others about the Messiah but notice what she leaves. Her pot.
She came burdened and weighted down by the weight of the world and left free.
Conclusion
I concluded this message with a monologue by Leah Hardee (my daughter) about young girl who is struggling with baggage.
Reference Material: Cast of Characters "Two Tombstones" by Max Lucado
