“Going Public with Our Faith”
John 4:1-26
Last week we welcomed we welcomed in the New Year by talking about what it means to go public with our faith. In the Scripture today we find that Jesus having gone very public with Hi ministry, was now traveling. He had to go through Samaria. While traveling he comes to the town of Sychar; there was a small piece of property located there, owned by Jacob and on that property there was a well. Jesus has been walking quite a distance; he is tired, he is hot and he is thirsty so he sits down by the well. The Bible says it was about the sixth hour (the Jewish day started at 6 AM) meaning that it was about noon. This was the hottest part of the day.
It is at this well that He encounters a woman from Samaria and he asked her, will you give me a drink? The Bible tells us the woman was “surprised.” She says to Jesus, you are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman how can you ask me for a drink? There was a barrier. Jesus was a rabbi so he was forbidden to speak to a woman in public. If a rabbi was in public with his wife or daughter or sister he was not allowed to speak to any of them. Much less a complete stranger. But He does. He crosses this barrier and goes public.
Now it’s a bit odd for this woman to walk to this place --- over a half mile to walk there and there was water right in her own town. She went to the outskirts of town most likely because she was an outcast who didn’t want to be seen in public. Jesus will speak to her later in the story and point out she has been married 5 times and the man she is living with now, is not her husband. Jesus doesn’t point this out to condemn her, He is actually letting her know He is fully aware of her situation (and as a result of her lifestyle) He is even more interested in speaking to her. You see, Jesus came to break down barriers. And sin is a barrier.
In addition, The Jews and Samaritans had been fighting for over 4 centuries. This was like the Hatfields and the McCoys. Some, no doubt, had even forgotten what they were actually fighting about. There were cultural differences. There were racial differences… a lot of hatred between the two groups. The Jews felt like they were superior---kind of a cut above the Samaritans so you can imagine how surprised this woman was when Jesus actually spoke to her. But, Jesus was all about breaking down barriers. Jesus worked day and night for 3.5 years doing this very thing ---- breaking down barriers to present the gospel.
• When the Pharisees complained against Jesus for eating with tax collectors and with sinners he simply said I didn’t come to help those who are well, I came to help the sick. Jesus was breaking down a religious barrier.
• Zacchaeus was a tax collector. Luke tells us Zacchaeus was considered to be a sinner in the eyes of the public. Jesus saw him and invited himself to go to his house. This was unheard of. Jesus was breaking down a social barrier.
• Lepers were not allowed to have contact with anyone other than immediate family. They were outcasts. Yet Jesus not only approached a man with leprosy, He approached ten of them or rather they approached him and Jesus accepted them and healed them and by doing so, He broke down a physical barrier.
• Women had very little standing in that day yet Jesus did more to lift up the status of women than any other individual in history. Women couldn’t speak in public with men. They couldn’t walk in front of their husbands. Girls weren’t allowed to go to school. Women had no place in worship. No voice in worship. In the Jewish synagogue today they still cannot sit with the man. Jesus was breaking down a cultural barrier. Jesus changed everything.
So this helps us understand why this woman asked this question. Jesus quickly replies in verse and gets right to the basics and offers this woman living water. This was confusing to the woman because it would be like me talking about steak and potatoes but then I expect you to understand that I’m actually talking about spiritual food which it kinda is but she couldn’t make the transition.
Jesus came to make salvation accessible to all. He came to remove any barriers. Here He was breaking down the barrier of sin between man and God. The water the woman had come to draw from the well could only be obtained through hard labor. There was no button to push on the fountain. You had to draw it out. On a hot day. At the peak temperature. So if there was a way to get this water easier, then why not? So Jesus points out to her that the water he is speaking of is not something you and I were intended to struggle for. It was not meant to be difficult to get to. It was not supposed to hard to get to.
What happens is that when it comes to getting spiritual help we are often afraid to ask. If we ask we run the risk of being seen as weak or helpless. If we ask, we have to go public. Others of us want spiritual help but we look in the wrong places. We go to the wrong source to find it. Jeremiah wrote about this centuries before. Jeremiah 2:13. "My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns (tank for holding water) that cannot hold water.” We look in the wrong places. This woman clearly does not understand what Jesus is telling her. She is basically saying I have no idea what you’re talking about but if you can produce some kind of magic water, then let’s see it. Something that’s easier to get to, I’m all for it. I am reminded of a similar response given by Nicodemus. Jesus said you must be born of water and of the spirit. Nicodemus said how can I go back into my mother’s womb? They were simply not on the same page.
Here was a woman who lived outside the boundaries of any religious standard of the day. She had no faith in Jesus; she had been married 5 times and is likely a bit embarrassed. But the bigger question for her was this, how could Jesus know these things? And where in the world did he get this information? So, briefly she does what many do when they are uncomfortable with the conversation … you change the subject. She realizes she is no longer talking to some guy who sells bottled water-she knows there’s something different about this man.
So the topic changes now to worship. Where is the appropriate place to worship? It’s still a spiritual conversation, it’s just different. And Jesus wants here now to understand a couple of things about worship.
1. Place is not a barrier to worship. Place is irrelevant. We worship in a building today, but we don’t worship a building. We worship in spirit. We worship with the heart.
2. We worship in truth. Religion had become a barrier as well. And Jesus came to break down that barrier also. Verses 23-24. Now, recap with me. Numerous barriers we see here. Things that can get in the way. Jews vs. Samaritans. (racial barrier). Culture. Gender barriers. Religion has been a barrier. We argue about which church has it all correct. Don’t think the world doesn’t notice us arguing. In many ways, religion has actually kept people from worshipping. It has kept people out of the church. Our rules and our negativity have turned people away. God is not interested in
• Jews or Samaritans.
• A building that cost millions or one that meets in a strip mall
• Catholic or Methodist
He is interested in worshippers who will worship in spirit and in truth. Some will say well I feel closer to God in private. In our prayer closet. Nothing wrong with that. But God established His church to be a public place of worship. Some want a certain type of music when they attend; some say the music is too soft; for others it’s not loud enough. Some want to dress up. Others, not so much. We disagree on so many things and but there is a point where we must agree. If the spirit is not completely engaged, then there is no worship at all.
The woman makes an interesting statement in v. 25. She says I know that when Messiah comes he will explain everything to us. She was looking for the promised Messiah; not realizing she had just met Him. And since the promised Messiah was the only one who could fix her problems, she felt no reason to continue the conversation. No reason to continue talking about how many husbands she had and answering a lot of complicated questions. What she wanted before she would go public with her faith was some answers. She wanted answers but she wanted them from the right source---the Messiah. And He was standing right in front of her. Jesus is always much closer than we realize. The (Greek) text reads, “I am the One speaking to you.” This is one of only 2x Jesus made this statement in the NT. “You’re waiting for the Messiah; oh well you might be interested in knowing, I’m the One.” ?
Everywhere Jesus went He broke down barriers. Always to help people go public with their faith. And here He does it again. He is looking for true believers and he has found one—a Samaritan woman in an unlikely place in an unlikely conversation. Now the fact that Jesus is looking for TRUE worshippers/TRUE believers implies that there are worshippers who are false. What is that? False worshippers either worship someone other than Jesus or they worship in a way that dishonors Him. Think about this. There are many devout, sincere worshipers. Many worship Buddha or Allah or the Mormon god. They’re sincere but they aren’t worshipping the true God. There are also those who are sincere but they worship man. People get too attached to their pastor and they think he can do no wrong; then they find out he is human too. Pastors are sinners as well. When the Pope was visiting in America one woman on the news said, “The Pope is the closest thing to God we have.” I hope not. We have Jesus! He has broken down every barrier necessary for us to go public. We are without excuse.
We find in the New Testament in the tabernacle there was an inner room called the Holy of Holies. It was the place where the very presence of God existed. No one could enter that place except the high priest and he could only enter once a year. It was a very sacred place covered by a thick curtain. Why? Because no one else could enter. And even for him to enter there were special preparations he had to make. The veil was very unique. It was 60 feet in height, 30 feet in width, and it was four inches thick. No one could reach it, no man could tear it open. Veil means to cover, to divide, to separate; a barrier. Matthew records that when Jesus was on the cross that He cried out with a loud voice, and yielded (up) His spirit. 51 And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook and the rocks were split. 52 The tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had died were raised. The Holy of Holies was the place that held the very presence of God. So why was it covered with a barrier? When the priest would enter on the annual Day of Atonement he was required to make special preparations. He had to wash Himself, put on special clothing, bring blood with him to make atonement for the sins of the people and also he had to bring in burning incense so that the smoke could cover his eyes from getting a direct view of God. Because God’s holiness and man’s sin were so far apart. A Holy God could not look upon our sin. But all of this changed when the veil was torn…ripped in two, from top to bottom. The veil is gone. The smoke has faded. Your sin is forgiven. There is nothing to stop you from going public with your faith this year.
Today. Listen to what the write of Hebrews says. “Therefore brothers, since we have confidence to enter the most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, His body…let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith.” Satan has tried to establish all kinds of barriers through the centuries, cultural, racial, religious…God has torn every one of them down through His son Jesus Christ. Every barrier has been destroyed. If you want to get to Jesus you don’t have to go through the pastor or a priest …. You can go directly to Him. Today. Now. You can go public with your faith.
