As you read and study these first 42 verses of John’s Gospel as recorded in chapter 4, you will find that it is steeped in spiritual insight and wisdom.
Of the 42 verses, Jesus is speaking in 18 of them. - - No wonder there is such profound wisdom and knowledge revealed here. We’ve all read and/or heard of the Sermon on the Mount, well we have here, what I’ve termed as “Wisdom at the Well”.
These verses teaches us:
The proper way to evangelize a non-believer.
How to deal with sensitive situations and personal matters privately.
The importance of directly confronting traditional misunderstandings.
Also, John 4:1-42 teaches us that in all we do; Leading People in the Knowledge and Understanding of Christ, is of upmost importance.
So this morning, we will focus our attention on the fourth point - Leading People in the Knowledge and Understanding of Christ.
Subject: A Spiritual Encounter
We, at some point in our lives - must all have a spiritual encounter with God. Whether it is with God the Father, God the Son and/or with God the Holy Spirit. . .
An encounter must take place. If there is no spiritual encounter, there is no access into the Kingdom of God.
In John 14:6 “Jesus said. . . . , I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
In John 6:44 Jesus states . . No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. . . . . .”
In John 10:14 Jesus says I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me.
In John 6:65 “. . . Jesus said, "This is why I told you that no one can come to Me unless the Father has granted it to him.”
Now, upon that spiritual encounter (or interaction, or invitation), you must make a personal decision. In other words, once that invitation is made, your acceptance into the Kingdom of God, is based upon your personal decision (crisis of belief).
Listen carefully to this: “Change does not Require Acceptance, but Acceptance does Require Change.”
So, as we progress with our text, you will see that it was through the teaching of Christ that drives The Samaritan Woman to a heighten level of understanding “of the truth in Christ”, that caused her to accept Him as the Messiah, which in-turn became the catalyst for her change.
Jesus is the Catalyst for Our Spiritual Change.
There are three points I’d like for us to explore today:
A Sacred Revelation. 2) A Special Realization. 3) A Sensational Reconciliation .
) A Sacred Revelation
John 4:10 (NET) “Jesus answered her, “If you had known the gift of God and who it is who said to you, ‘Give me some water to drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.”
In our Text, we find that our Lord-Jesus Christ displays both His deity and humanity in this single setting during His encounter with this un-named Samaritan Woman.
His deity is revealed:
In John 4:4 - when Jesus said “And he must needs go through Samaria.” As it was the providence of God.
His humanity is revealed:
In John 4:6 - in the fact that Jesus “became tired (or weary) from the journey and He sat down”
His deity is revealed:
In John 4:10 as Jesus had insight into the Samaritan Woman’s spiritual understanding of worship and in the fact that He offered her living water.
His humanity is revealed:
In John 4:7 - by the fact that he asked for a drink of water.
This verse parallels with John 19:28 where Jesus says “I Thirst”
His deity is revealed:
In John 4:34 - When “ Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of the one who sent me and to complete his work.”
His humanity is revealed:
In John 4:8 - (For his disciples had gone off into the town to buy supplies/food.) and in John 4:31 by the fact that the disciples were urging him, “Rabbi, eat something.”
The sacred revelation was revealed for the Samaritan Woman was in the fact that:
Jesus broke all traditional strongholds between cultures in less than 50 verses.
Jesus chose not to by-pass Samaria.
Jesus chose to converse with a Samaritan.
Jesus broke the customary laws of Jewish men not speaking to women in public.
Jesus choses to reveal to this woman His true identity. “I am He to whom you are speaking”
It is an amazing instance of grace (God’s un-merited favor), that a woman, a Samaritan woman, a lewd and infamous woman, should be a chosen vessel of not only salvation, but to be among the 1st person in biblical history to become an evangelist for Christ.
II.) A Special Realization
John 4:19-20 (NET) “The woman said to him, “Sir, I see that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you people say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem.”
Here is the point: “Your salvation comes not from knowing how others worship or where they worship; but by you receiving into your own heart this living water that is available to all."’
The Special Realization for the Samaritan Woman was that
That are no special places for worship.
That the person to whom she is talking is not only a prophet, but is the Messiah - “The Only Begotten Son of God.”
That her ancestral connection to Jacob’s Well, is not significant in her salvation - it serves only as a place of memorial of Jacob’s and Joseph’s.
Her past history will now be erased as she accepts this new profound knowledge of the Messiah.
Remember I told you earlier “Change does not Require Acceptance, but Acceptance does Require Change.”
Her Credibility was Restored.
Her Knowledge was Renewed
Her Judgment By Society is Neutralized.
Luke 24:32 “And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?”
Mark 5:20 “So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed.”
Have you come to realize that you are special to Jesus. - He’s not concerned about your past or what others may say about you. He will give you the truth - “The Truth will Set You Free” John 8:32
That is Your Special Realization!
III.) A Sensational Reconciliation:
John 4:39-41 (NET) Now many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the report of the woman who testified, “He told me everything I ever did.” So when the Samaritans came to him, they began asking him to stay with them. He stayed there two days, and because of his word many more believed.
I have a saying that is appropriate for this text: “God Did Not Save You; To Save You.” In other words, when you come into the understanding of the Messiah and His love for you - you must introduce Him to others.
The Samaritan Woman did not hide the Gospel (The Good News) she had just learned. As matter of fact, the Bible tells us that she no longer thirst for water.
John 4:28-30 “Then the woman left her water jar, went off into the town and said to the people, “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Surely he can’t be the Messiah, can he?” So they left the town and began coming to him.”
Psalm 42: As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?
The Samaritan Woman is nothing like the rulers of the synagogue or the Sanhedrin Council; when she heard she believed:
John 7:26 “Yet here He is, speaking publicly, and they are not saying anything to Him. Have the rulers truly recognized that this is the Christ?”
The Messiah has come to reconcile you, offer you a new lease on life, to restore you and your faith. What are you waiting on?
During the first century, women were often treated as second-class citizens, but Jesus, even though he is tired, and even though there was great animosity between Jews and Samaritans, Jesus treats the Samaritan Woman with great respect and evangelizes her. She in-turns go out to tell others of her encounter.
Does the word of God move you to action?
Jesus informs her that he is the Messiah.
To this woman, this is equivalent to Mary & Martha seeing Lazarus being raised from the dead;
To this outcast woman, this is equal to Mary discovering that person she mistook for a gardener, is the Risen Savior;
To this Samaritan Woman, this stands beside Jesus’ appearance in the upper room with the disciples.
My friends, this was a sensational reconciliation for person who was deep in sin; rejected and with a questionable reputation.
Faith is the surest of all Sin-Killers. C.H. Spurgeon
That which was once your focus has now been replaced with something better. The material need has been replaced with a spiritual desire. That which you sought after so desperately, is no longer sought after. The woman’s focus in now on the presents of the Messiah?
Are you still seeking water, when your real thirst has been quenched.
