Three guys were out having a relaxing day fishing. Out of the blue, they catch a mermaid who begs to be set free in return for granting each of them a wish. Now one of the guys just doesn’t believe it and says, “Okay, if you can really grant wishes, then double my IQ.” The mermaid says, “Done.” Suddenly the guy starts reciting Shakespeare flawlessly and analyzing it with extreme insight. The second guy is so amazed he says to the mermaid, “Triple my IQ”.The mermaid says,”Done”. The guy starts spouting out all the mathematical solutions to problems that have been stumping all of the scientists of varying fields: physics chemistry, etc. The last guy is so enthralled with the changes in his friends, that he says to the mermaid, “Quintuple my IQ”. The mermaid looks at him and says, “You know, I normally don’t try to change people’s minds when they make a wish, but I really wish you’d reconsider.” The guy says, “Nope, I want you to increase my IQ times five and if you don’t do it, I won’t set you free.” “Please,” says the mermaid, “you don’t know what you’re asking...it’ll change your entire view on the universe. . .won’t you ask for something else. . . a million dollars, anything?” But no matter what the mermaid said, the guy insisted on having his IQ increased by 5 times its usual power. So the mermaid sighed and said, “Done”. And he became a woman.
I. Discrimination, (Jesus did not discriminate)
Joh 4:4 And he must needs go through Samaria.
Scrupulous Jews would always avoid Samaria.
The necessity to go through Samaria may have been because He was sensitive to God’s will for Him.
Joh 4:5 Then cometh he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.
Joh 4:6 Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour.
Joh 4:7 There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink.
Joh 4:8 (For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.)
Perhaps she was avoiding other women who might come at cooler times during the day.
Most Jews would not think of asking a favor from a Samaritan for fear of becoming ceremonially defiled; many Jews assumed that all Samaritan women were in a perpetual state of ceremonial uncleanness. (4:27, “his disciples, and marvelled that he talked with the woman”)
Three things about this woman seem to put her at a distinct disadvantage.
First, she is a Samaritan.
In his book, Living Faithfully, J. Allen Blair tells of a man who was struggling to get to Grand Central Station in New York City. The wind blew fiercely, and the rain beat down on him as he lugged his two heavy suitcases toward the terminal. Occasionally he would pause to rest and regain his strength before trudging on against the elements.
At one point he was almost ready to collapse, when a man suddenly appeared by his side, took the suitcases, and said in a strangely familiar voice, “We’re going the same way. You look as if you could use some help.” When they had reached the shelter of the station, the weary traveler, the renowned educator Booker T. Washington, asked the man, “Please, sir, what is your name?” The man replied, “The name, my friend, is Roosevelt. Teddy Roosevelt.”
Second, she is a sinner guilty of sexual immorality, (Luke 7:36-50)
The Pharisees had a very simple system for being holy—they simply kept their (physical) distance from sinners. They thought sin was contagious, and that one could catch it by merely being close to sinners. This is one reason they are so distressed when they see our Lord having such close contact with “sinners.”
and third, she is a woman.
Christ has done more to Liberate women then anything or anyone.
The place of women in that society was not as it is today. A possession or beast of burden.
A missionary said he couldn’t get used to the native man’s sorrow when his wife gave birth to a daughter instead of a son. Over and over he was appalled at the native’s apparent lack of love for the women in his family. “The first jolt came early in my missionary career when one day I saw an empty-handed man leisurely walking behind his wife who was carrying a heavy pack on her back. As I watched, they came to a stream which had to be forded. Likely as not sharp rocks and uneven river bed would make the crossing painful and hazardous. So I wondered if that would bring out any chivalry on the part of the husband.
“Sure enough, when the woman reached the bank of the stream, she stopped and waited. I supposed the husband would at least carry her burdensome pack across even if he did take it back on the other side. But when the man caught up to his wife, he climbed upon the pack and she carried both across!”
It was a regular prayer of the devout Pharisee that he was thankful for not having been born “a gentile or a woman or a dog”
Joh 4:9 Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.
II. Revelation
4 Revelations: First, Revelation concerning everlasting life
Joh 4:10 Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.
Reader’s Digest wrote of the late Harvey Penick: “For 90-year-old golf pro Harvey Penick, success has come late. His first golf book, Harvey Penick’s Little Red Book, has sold more than a million copies, which his publisher believes makes it one of the biggest things in the history of sports books. His second book, And If You Play Golf, You’re My Friend, has already sold nearly three-quarters of a million. But anyone who imagines that Penick wrote the books to make money doesn’t know the man.
“In the 1920s Penick bought a red spiral notebook and began jotting down observations about golf. He never showed the book to anyone except his son until 1991, when he shared it with a local writer and asked if he thought it was worth publishing. The man read it and told him yes. He left word with Penick’s wife the next evening that Simon & Schuster had agreed to an advance of $90,000.
“When the writer saw Penick later, the old man seemed troubled. Finally, Penick came clean. With all his medical bills, he said, there was no way he could advance Simon & Schuster that much money. The writer had to explain that Penick would be the one to receive the $90,000.” People often have Penick’s reaction to the fabulous gift of salvation offered in Jesus Christ. We ask, “What must I do?” God answers, “Just receive.”
—Eric Hulstrand, Binford, North Dakota. Leadership, Vol. 16, no. 4.
During the Spanish-American War, Clara Barton was overseeing the work of the Red Cross in Cuba. One day Colonel Theodore Roosevelt came to her, wanting to buy food for his sick and wounded Rough Riders. But she refused to sell him any.
Roosevelt was perplexed. His men needed the help and he was prepared to pay out of his own funds. When he asked someone why he could not buy the supplies, he was told, “Colonel, just ask for it!” A smile broke over Roosevelt’s face. Now he understood – the provisions were not for sale. All he had to do was simply ask and they would be given freely.
That’s how a sinner receives eternal life. Salvation is a gift. If it could be bought at an auction, millionaires would compete for the purchase and most people would be excluded. But God’s forgiveness is free for the asking. Nothing we can do will ever earn it. —J. Vernon McGee
Joh 4:11 The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water?
The woman recognized the fact, it was impossible for Jesus even to supply her with water from the well. It would take a supernatural work for anyone to draw water from Jacob’s well without a vessel.
Joh 4:12 Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle?
Joh 4:13 Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again:
Joh 4:14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
Christ contrasted the water that He would give with the water that would be drawn from the well. Well water could satisfy the woman’s physical thirst for only a short time, but the water He offered her was of such a different kind and quality that it would permanently quench her thirst.
“Men are merely taller children. Honor, wealth, and splendor are the toys for which grown children pine; but which, however accumulated, leave them still disappointed and unhappy. God never designed that intelligent beings should be satisfied with these enjoyments. By His wisdom and goodness they were formed to derive their happiness and virtue from Him alone.” —Timothy Dwight in a sermon, “The Sovereignty of God,” quoted in Spiritual Awakening. Christianity Today, Vol. 33, no. 2.
A beautiful story is told of King George VI of England, a born-again believer who, before his accession to the throne, used to visit a small brethren assembly in London and enjoy the weekly Bible readings. After he became king he had to discontinue this practice but he remained a devout believer in the Lord Jesus. In the course of his duties George VI came to Canada and his official visit took him to British Columbia. It was thought by the Canadian officials that King George might like to meet a native-born Indian chief. The one chosen for the honor was a well-known and influential Indian known as Chief Whitefeather. Chief Whitefeather was told to sing something for the king and, needless to say, the officials supposed he would sing a native war song. but the Chief was a Christian and had something else in mind. One can picture the surprise of the officials, when Chief Whitefeather began to sing:
I’d rather have Jesus than silver or gold.
I’d rather be His than have riches untold,
I’d rather have Jesus than houses or land,
I’d rather be led by His nail-pierced hand—
Than to be the king of a vast domain
Or be held in sin’s dread sway;
I’d rather have Jesus than anything
This world affords today.
The stunned officials waited to see what King George VI would do. They did not have long to wait. The king went over, took Chief Whitefeather by the hand and said: “I’d rather have Jesus, too.”
—John Phillips, Exploring the Psalms
Second, He revealed her spiritual need (15-18)
Joh 4:15 The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.
Joh 4:16 Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither.
Joh 4:17 The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband:
Joh 4:18 For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly.
Thinking of the daily burden of carrying water from the well to her home, the woman cried out for the water that Christ offered. She saw His offer as a provision that would release her from a physical burden and asked for that water. Christ had created a desire for the gift of eternal life in the heart of this woman. She had seen its desirability. Now, the woman must recognize her desperate need. So Christ asked her, “Go, call thy husband, and come back.”
Jesus has now moved to the deepest level of this woman’s need, her need for cleansing from sin. To do this, He gently exposes sin in her life. He does so by telling her to bring her husband. She makes a choice—not an unusual choice, but a very predictable one. She chooses to conceal her sin by giving Jesus an answer that is factually truthful, but functionally dishonest. She tells Jesus she has no husband.
Any other man (apart from divine revelation) would have accepted her answer at face value and withdrawn the request. Jesus reveals His omniscience by informing the woman that she is (technically) correct—she does not have a husband. She has had five husbands, and the man she is now with is not her husband. At a minimum, they are not married; at the worst, she is actually sleeping with some other woman’s husband. Either way, Jesus has told this woman enough for her to (correctly) conclude that He has divine knowledge. He is, at a minimum, a prophet. She reasons from what He has told her that He could go on to tell her virtually everything she has ever done. Her sexual sins may be only the “tip of the iceberg,” but she is convinced He knows the whole iceberg. And she is right!
While she might deny she was living an immoral life in an effort to hide he need, she could not hide her need from Christ.
Third, He revealed the nature of God (“God is Spirit”)
Joh 4:19 The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet.
Joh 4:20 Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.
I don’t think she is just trying to change the subject; rather it seems an honest effort to get to the heart of the difference between the “faith” of the Samaritans and the “faith” of the Jews.
If Jesus was truly a prophet from God He should be able to settle the issue that had divided the Jews from the Samaritans for generations.
∙ The Samaritans insisted that God was to be worshiped in the Samaritan temple on Mt. Gerizim.
∙ The Jews insisted that God was to be worshiped in the temple at Jerusalem..
Joh 4:21 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.
Joh 4:22 Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.
Joh 4:23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
Joh 4:24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
∙ Jesus replied that the conflict existed in part because of a misunderstanding of the nature of God.
∙ If God is corporeal, then He is confined to one place; and the place in which He dwells would be the only acceptable place of worship.
∙ If God is noncorporeal, then God may be worshiped anywhere. Jesus conveyed this truth when He said, “God is spirit”(John 4:24).
∙ As a consequence, he is to be worshiped not through external forms in a physical building but from the heart and in conformity to the truth of His person.
When Lawrence of Arabia was in Paris after WWI with some of his Arab friends, he showed them the sights of the city: the Arch of Triumph, the Louvre, Napoleon’s tomb, the Champs Elysees, (shan za le za) but none of these things impressed them. The thing that really interested them the most was the faucet in the bathtub of the hotel room. They spent much time in turning it on and off. They found it amazing that one could turn a handle and get all the water he wanted.
Later, when they were ready to leave Paris and return to the East, Lawrence found them in the bathroom with wrenches trying to disconnect the faucet. “You see,” they said, “it is very dry in Arabia. What we need are faucets. If we have them, we will have all the water we want.” Lawrence had to explain that the effectiveness of the faucets did not lie in themselves but in the immense reservoirs of water to which they were attached and he had to point out that behind this lay the rain and snowfalls of the Alps.
What a tremendous application to our Christian lives. Like the faucet by itself, so as individual Christians by ourselves, without Christ we are useless,
John 15:5, “I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.”
The lives of many Christians are as dry as the Arabian desert. They have their faucets, but there is no connection to the Living Water which enables us to share with others.
Fourth, He revealed Himself to her as the Messiah.
Joh 4:25 The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things.
The woman discerned that Jesus was fulfilling a messianic role. A belief among Samaritans was that Messiah would reveal the Father to men. Jeus was doing what Messiah would do by making the Father known to this woman. The question, therefore, was raised in the woman’s mind as to whether Jesus might be the Messiah. She affirmed her faith in the coming Messiah (John 4:25). To that confidence Jesus openly declared, “I who speak to you am He” (v. 26).
Joh 4:26 Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he.
III. Deprivation, (Jesus deprived Himself of food to minister. The woman left he waterpot!)
Joh 4:27 And upon this came his disciples, and marvelled that he talked with the woman: yet no man said, What seekest thou? or, Why talkest thou with her?
Joh 4:28 The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men,
Joh 4:29 Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?
Joh 4:30 Then they went out of the city, and came unto him.
A group of prospectors set out from Bannock, Montana (then capital of the state), in search of gold. They went through many hardships and several of their little company died en route. Finally they were overtaken by the Indians who took their good horses, leaving them with only a few limping old ponies. Then they threatened them, telling them to get back to Bannock and stay there, for if they overtook them again, they would murder the lot of them. Defeated, discouraged, and downhearted, the prospectors sought to make their way back to the capital city. On one occasion as they tethered out the limping ponies on a creekside, one of the men casually picked up a little stone from the creek bed. He called to his buddy for a hammer and upon cracking the rock, he said, “It looks as though there may be gold here.” The two of them panned gold the rest of the afternoon and managed to realize twelve dollars’ worth. The entire little company panned gold the next day in the same creek and realized fifty dollars, a great sum in those days. They said to one another: “We have struck it!” They made their way back to Bannock and vowed not to breathe a word concerning this gold strike. They secretively set about re-equipping themselves with supplies for another prospecting trip. But when they got ready to go back, three hundred men followed them. Who had told on them? No one! Their beaming faces betrayed the secret!
If we have been enamored with Him, whom having not seen we love, we should be unable to conceal the treasure: Our beaming faces should betray the secret!
—L. E. Maxwell
Joh 4:31 In the mean while his disciples prayed him, saying, Master, eat.
4:27. In spite of their amazement that Jesus would talk to a woman, the Lord’s disciples do not bring it up. Perhaps the disciples simply set their question aside because of a more important matter—lunch. It sounds silly, doesn’t it? But is it not the case?
Joh 4:32 But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of.
Joh 4:33 Therefore said the disciples one to another, Hath any man brought him ought to eat?
Joh 4:34 Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.
This is no time for lunch!
Joh 4:35 Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.
Jesus had a sense of urgency about His Fathers business because time was short!
Dwight L. Moody, by his own admission, made a mistake on the eighth of October 1871 — a mistake he determined never to repeat.
He had been preaching in the city of Chicago. That particular night drew his largest audience yet. His message was “What will you do then with Jesus who is called the Christ?” (Matt. 27:22)
By the end of the service, he was tired. He concluded his message with a presentation of the gospel and a concluding statement: “Now I give you a week to think that over. And when we come together again, you will have opportunity to respond.”
Ira Sankey then sang the closing hymn, which included the lines, “Today the Savior calls: for refuge fly. The storm of justice falls, and death is nigh.” But before the final note, the music was drowned out by clanging bells and wailing sirens screaming through the streets. The great Chicago Fire was blazing. In the ashen aftermath, hundreds were dead and over a hundred thousand were homeless.
Without a doubt, some who heard Moody’s message had died in the fire. He reflected remorsefully, Now, whenever I preach,” he said later, “I press for a definite decision. I would rather lose my right hand than give people even a day to decide for Christ, for I don’t know if I’ll ever see them again.”
Joh 4:36 And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together.
Joh 4:37 And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth.
Joh 4:38 I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours.
Joh 4:39 And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him for the saying of the woman, which testified, He told me all that ever I did.
Joh 4:40 So when the Samaritans were come unto him, they besought him that he would tarry with them: and he abode there two days.
Joh 4:41 And many more believed because of his own word;
Joh 4:42 And said unto the woman, Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world.
