Witnessing Like The Master (John 4:3-29)
Learn A Lesson From The Best
Suppose that you want to learn how to play golf. If you were to have anyone in the world to teach you for a few days or a few weeks, to whom would you go? You just might say Tiger Woods, who is the best golfer in the world.
Or if you were to want to learn how to drive in NASCAR. You might want to learn from Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr or one of my favorites, Carl Edwards, Jr.
Same goes with running. The greats of the past such as Steve Prefontane and others that graduated from Oregon learned under Bill Bowerman, who is known as one of the best coaches in the world and the inventor of the Nike waffle sole shoe.
So it only makes sense that we should look to the Master--Jesus Christ--and see how He did it. The apostles learned from Him, and thousands were saved in a day (Acts 2). Countless others have learned from Him, and millions have been saved.
While we can study how other Christians since Jesus have witnessed, it is always best to go right back to the source Himself--Jesus.
This week, we will examine one of the greatest stories of witnessing to the lost in the story of the Woman At The Well, found in John 4. We will see how the Master Himself presented the gospel to this woman; how it was an uncommon event; how her life changed and because of that change she too wanted to tell all she knew about this man.
The Plan
He left Judea and departed again to Galilee.
But He needed to go through Samaria.
So He came to a city of Samaria which is called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.
Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, sat thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour. John 4:3-6, NKJV
I have said it many times before, God doesn't have A plan, He has THE plan. Of all of the literally quadrillions upon quadrillions of ways that He could have chosen to accomplish His will, He chose the best way. When we have difficulties in life, it always is best to remember this key fact. God is God, we are not, and we must always trust Him!
To anyone that knew the area, or could read a map, it would seem to make sense to go through Samaria. It was a shorter route. However, Jewish people hated the Samaritans and vice versa. In fact, the Jews hated the Samaritans so much that they would go the long way around Samaria to avoid them.
When we hear the term "Samaritan" we often think of "Good Samaritan". This is from the parable that Jesus told of the injured man who was ignored by the elitists and tended to by the man of Samaria. Some people that are not familiar with Samaria and Samaritans think that they were a "good people". However, the Bible teaches us otherwise, as we will see.
Back centuries earlier, keeping the story simple, the people in Samaria were Jews that had intermarried with pagan people. They abandoned many parts of the Jewish faith, and recognized only the Pentatuch--the first five books of the Bible--as being authentic and authoritative. Their faith became a mongrelized faith, a faith that was no real faith at all. It mixed pagan belief with orthodox belief, which resulted in no real true belief at all.
But, as we will see, there is a divine plan behind this apparent detour.
It was the heat of the day--the sixth hour, or noon. Jesus, being a man in addition to being God at the same time, was tired and hot. He stopped at the local waterhole so to speak, one famous from centuries before. It was work to get water from Jacob's well, as it was a cistern that was spring fed but is estimated to be about 100' deep and still exists today. We will see just how important it is that Jesus was there at that precise time, and also how it is that the Samaritan woman also happened to be there at the time.
Starting In The Natural Realm
A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, "Give Me a drink."
For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.
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. John 4:7-9, NKJV
What we see here is a very unusual thing. Here Jesus, recognized as a Jewish teacher or rabbi, was addressing a Samaritan woman.
For a Jew to speak to a Samaritan was highly unusual, but for a Jewish teacher to speak to a Samaritan was even more unusual--remember from yesterday's devotional how Jews looked down upon Samaritans as mongrels. And, on top of this, Jewish rabbis would never speak to a strange woman in public.
Jesus also shows his humanity in that here, in the heat of the day, he was thirsty just like you or I would be. While He is God, He is still man. He became hungry, became tired and became thirsty just like you and me.
Jesus starts in the natural realm--not just in meeting the need of quenching His thirst, but in finding a common ground with this woman. She was there for water, He was thirsty and was there for water.
It is important for you and me to establish a common ground when we talk to someone about Jesus. By establishing a common ground--by talking about sports interests, cooking, or any other subject that is well known to the person you are speaking with--an element of trust is established.
Now look at the attitude in this woman. Some scholars view this as a mere question out of surprise, but if you look at the first half of the conversation that Jesus has with her it is different. It is one of having an attitude.
It is almost as though this woman is pointing her finger at Jesus and asking him "What? Who do you think that you are, asking me for a drink of water? What is your ulterior motive?" One has to ask "why would the Samaritan woman have been at the well in the heat of the day?" Normally, one wold draw water in the cool of the day--morning or evening. It would appear she was avoiding contact with people; she was looked down upon by her own people.
Folks, when you witness to the lost you will run into resistance. It is just part of what we do. It is not always easy; in fact people will most often think that you think that you think that you are "superior" to them because you are saved. You will run into attitude--but remember that the consequences are eternal, swallow your pride and be gentle and tactful.
The Swing to the Spiritual Realm, Part I
Jesus answered and said to her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, 'Give Me a drink,' you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water."John 4:10, NKJV
When we witness to the unsaved we start in the natural realm and swing to the spiritual realm--we start with talking about some common item or activity and relate it to a spiritual metaphor.
Here the Master uses water. Water sustains life. While we can go for many days, weeks or even months without food, we can't go very far without water--only a few days. Our bodies are mostly water, and weather through perspiration, excretion or sickness we lose that valuable element. I have seen a number of people transported to the hospital lately because of dehydration, or a severe lack of water in the body.
However, there is a greater hazard to the person and that is the lack of living water as mentioned by Jesus. Living water is a Hebrew term for water from a stream, brook or flowing fountain as opposed to water from a cistern. I would suppose that the difference is that this water is aerated, or has water infused into it because of the motion of the water. Water from running springs most often taste better because of this. Water that is moved like this is aerated, or has oxygen put in it. Water from cisterns can sometimes become stagnant.
When the Holy Spirit indwells the believer after conversion, there is a freshness of life. Life has a meaning to it that was not there before. The life without Jesus may look just fine, but it is in reality stagnant.
Jesus also tells her "if you knew the gift" and "who is who says to to give me a drink", shows a remarkable event, in that He has swung from the natural to the spiritual, from water to "living" or "spiritual" water. He is about to reveal who He is to her, but she is not yet ready for it.
The woman said to Him, "Sir, You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where then do You get that living water?
"Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?"
John 4:11-12
She has a great change in her attitude here. She has gone from brash and arrogant in her dealings with Him to one of respect, calling Jesus "Sir".
She notes that he has nothing to draw the water with. Each person that came to the well had to bring their own bucket or pot and rope to draw the water. This was great work--if it was, for instance, a five gallon bucket, and the well was 100 feet deep, then she would have to pull a 40 lb bucket of water 100 feet up and out of the well. Also, he was asking her to use HER bucket--a bucket of a Samaritan which was considered unclean by the Jews.
She makes her connection with the Jews here, claiming Jacob as her ancestor. She is saying to him "are you greater than Jacob (Israel) himself?
Jesus answered and said to her, "Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, 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." John 4:13-14, NKJV
Physical water provides only a temporary need. Soon after the water is taken, it is lost from the body and needed again. However, when the Holy Spirit dwells within the believer, it is a constant refreshing that comes. And, in addition to this, it is a fountain that others can draw from.
In witnessing to others, they too can draw from your "Holy Spirit well". I'm sure that you have met others that just seem to be overflowing with the Spirit, and that is often a contagious thing!
The woman said to Him, "Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw." John 4:15, NKJV
She still doesn't understand that this is not a physical water, but a spiritual water. She is still blind to the truth.
Using The Law
Jesus said to her, "Go, call your husband, and come here." The woman answered and said, "I have no husband." Jesus said to her, "You have well said, 'I have no husband,' for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly."John 4:16-18, NKJV
Wow does this seem abrupt. Jesus saw the need to go straight to the law to show this woman her spiritual need. Jesus, in his Godly attribute of knowledge, asks her about her husband.
She immediately states "I have no husband", which is true but is not telling the whole story. Keeping the story short, He told her--a woman that He had never met until that day--that while she had no husband currently, she had been married five times and was living in sin with another man.
What Jesus does here is he uses the Law--the 10 commandments, specifically "thou shalt not commit adultery" to reveal the true nature of the person. When we truly see our sin state, we see that we cannot possibly live up to God's standards perfectly. The heart must be softened by the application of the Law to it in order for the person to see their need for salvation.
The woman said to Him, "Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship."John 4:19-20, NKJV
Instantly, this woman sees Jesus as more than just a man. She sees him as a prophet, one that can fortell the future. But, as we know, Jesus is that and much, much more. She is beginning to see the truth.
Now she makes a statement that is actually a question. Who is right? Are we right, or are the Jews right?
However, a relationship with God is not about where you worship but is about where your heart is and the truth:
Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. "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. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." John 21-24, NKJV
It is not the location of the person, but instead the location of the heart. Where is a person's heart in relationship to God? Jesus makes an interesting point here--we are to worship in spirit and in truth. Simply put, we are to worship God with our heart--who we are--and with the truth of God's word.
Here I AM
The woman said to Him, "I know that Messiah is coming" (who is called Christ). "When He comes, He will tell us all things. Jesus said to her, "I who speak to you am He." John 4:25-26 NKJV
Somehow, along the way, this woman had heard that one day the Messiah--the one come to save His people--would come. And when He would come, He would reveal the truth in all things. Her making this statement is almost in the form of a question and Jesus responds with "I AM", which is seen often here in the Gospel of John. This was Jesus's way of stating just who is is--God himself.
What kind of response did this have in the woman?
The woman then left her waterpot, went her way into the city, and said to the men, "Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?" John 4:28-29, NKJV
This woman believed that Jesus was the real deal. She had gone from brash to beloved. From crass to Christian.
When someone sees Jesus for who He is, they don't just hold that truth to themselves. They go and tell others. They shine the light upon the Saviour. This is exactly what she did, and look at what happened after this:
And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, "He told me all that I ever did." So when the Samaritans had come to Him, they urged Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days. And many more believed because of His own word. Then they said to the woman, "Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world." John 4:39-42, NKJV
The initial truth of the Gospel of Jesus was shared by this Samaritan woman, and people believed but wanted to learn more. Many more were saved, but the kickoff event was the salvation of this woman that stated "He told me all that I ever did".
Now look at this vital truth. Each person that comes to faith because of our witness to them with the Gospel message, but also by an experience with Jesus. The New King James Version does not translate verse 42 correctly; it should state "It is no longer because of what you said that we believe..." in the NASB. What do we learn from this? They came to faith in Jesus because of the witness of the Samaritan woman, but their experience with Jesus rooted them in that faith.
