Intro
What kind of people are able to spread the Gospel?
Goal
Let’s see that the Gospel flows from ordinary people who have had an encounter with Jesus.
Plan
Let’s examine John 4:5-42 and the woman at the well.
John 4:5 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.”
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Publishers Inc.
Location
Sychar is between Mount Gerizim (“cut up mount” meaning “rocky mount”) and Mount Ebal (perhaps “bald mount”). On the southern rocky mount Israel shouted the blessings and on the northern smooth mount they shouted the cursings (Deuteronomy 11). This could picture how the way to blessings is often rocky and the easy way is often the way to cursings. Between the two mounts is Jacob’s well. Sychar may be a derogatory nickname for Shechem. The nickname possibly meant place of drunks. The Greek Orthodox St Photini Church near Nablus, Israel, is now built over the well. Photini is a variant of the Christian name of the Samaritan woman in our story.
John 4:5-6 An Unbiased Savior
Let’s look at John 4:5-6. Eventually he came to the Samaritan village of Sychar, near the field that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there; and Jesus, tired from the long walk, sat wearily beside the well about noontime. Jesus was not a bigot, but willing to enter a Samaritan village despite the hatred between Samaritans and Jews. The name Sychar is possibly a derogatory nickname, meaning a place of drunkards, similar to nick names like Sin City or Filthadelphia. Would we enter a neighborhood with a sinful reputation for the sake of the Gospel? Would we enter a bar even if Jesus himself was there?
John 4:7-9 Bigotry Busting
In John 4:7-9 we read, Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Please give me a drink.” He was alone at the time because his disciples had gone into the village to buy some food. 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?” Jesus broke several taboos talking with a Samaritan woman alone. He did not care. Jesus knew he was doing right. Do we care more about what others think than doing what is right?
John 4:10-11 Living Water
Let’s look at John 4:10-11. 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.” “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? Jesus seized a Samaritan woman’s curiosity by speaking about living water, a term for flowing water. She assumed he meant good water from the well. But she was about to find out that he was speaking metaphorically about something entirely different, deeper truths which the whole world desperately needs to know.
John 4:14-15 Satisfying Every Thirst
In John 4:14-15 we read, 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.” When Jesus spoke to the Samaritan woman about living water, he was referring to something spiritual not physical. Unlike well water, living water is like a stream or river. It flowed from the woman’s encounter with Christ into her community. So the Gospel flows into our communities. We were all once enemies of Christ, drinking from a well with still water. Jesus offers us living water that flows regardless of ethnic or religious background. Only He can satisfy every thirst.
John 4:16-18 A Woman Witness
Let’s look at John 4:16-18. “Go and get your husband,” Jesus told her. “I don’t have a husband,” the woman replied. Jesus said, “You’re right! You don’t have a husband—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!” Who was the woman Jesus met at the well? Let’s not read more into the story than it says. She’d had five husbands. Whether simultaneously, sequentially, divorced or widowed we don’t know. She lived with a man but their relationship is unclear. What is clear is that Jesus did not condemn her. He taught her about true worship.
John 4:23-24 Worshipping in Spirit and Truth
Let’s read John 4:23-24, 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. For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.” Outward things like music, languages, robes, crosses, gestures and liturgies are NOT worship. They may accompany worship, but true worship is in spirit and truth, true or sincere. We do not need to feel judged or compelled to conform to any outward physical gestures or show of religion. We are free to worship the Father in spirit and truthfully.
John 4:29 The Best Evangelists
After meeting Jesus at the village well, a Samaritan woman said to her fellow villagers in John 4:29, “Come and see a man who told me everything I ever did! Could he possibly be the Messiah?” Professional evangelists put on an expensive show and leave a church with a flash of excitement and very little growth. The best evangelists are ordinary people. We don’t know the Samaritan woman’s reputation. She may have been a loner, who fetched her water at a time when the crowds were not there. The best evangelists are often new people and those from the fringes, but always those who have had an encounter with Jesus.
John 4:34 Food to Eat
The disciples asked Jesus if he was hungry, and we read in John 4:34, Then Jesus explained: “My nourishment comes from doing the will of God, who sent me, and from finishing his work. Jesus had food to eat that the disciples knew nothing about. Our food is also to do the will of God and finish his work. A harvest is ready to be reaped. God has already prepared that harvest in our community. Hearts are ripe for harvesting a new crop of Christians. A lone Christian who goes to church and hides all week long cannot harvest. We need to be in our communities and know our neighbors.
John 4:42 Photina of Samaria
After the Samaritan woman’s encounter with Jesus at the well, we read in John 4:42, 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.” The Samaritan woman went on to become a famous evangelist. According to tradition, she was baptized by the apostles with the name Photina, also known as Saint Photina and Saint Svetlana. She and her family became evangelists, moved to Carthage to preach the Gospel where her elder son Victor was taken prisoner to Rome where he converted his jailer.
Outro
Have you had an encounter with Jesus? Somewhere out there is a future evangelist waiting at a local watering hole for us to tell them about Jesus, waiting for the living water that flows from heaven through us. Is our food is to do God’s will or do we hide in our homes away from our community? Let’s be about our Father’s work.
