If You Only Knew
Jesus, His Encounters (2)
I Am Jesus – Message 30
Video Clip Sermon Spice, ‘Lonely People’
In his book, ‘Six Hours One Friday’ Max Lucado writes about a tombstone he came across in a small cemetery in San Antonio. The stone marks the grave of a lady named Grace Smith. No date of birth is listed, no date of death. Just the names of her 2 husbands, and the following epitaph:
Sleeps, but rests not
Loved, but was loved not
Tried to please, but pleased not.
Died as she lived alone…
QUESTION – how would you like those 20 words to describe your life?
Sleeps, but rests not
Loved, but was loved not
Tried to please, but pleased not.
Died as she lived alone…
[Tim, Laurie]… THINK – about what would it be like to live such a life…? What would it be like to;
• Sleep… but never rest…
• To love… but never be loved (I MEAN - what would it be like; to have all your attempts at love - turned down, ignored, rejected, pushed aside, unnoticed)
• Try to please people and always fall short to never measure up, to never be good enough… “How many times do I have to tell you?” “Why can’t you do anything right?” “You’ll never amount to anything?” AND – what would be like to live to please at least please yourself and fail to do even that..
• AND FINALLY – what would it be like to live alone, to be a lone, to have no one, to know no one, to be known by no one. AND – what would it be like to die alone (no loved one at your bedside, no one to shed a tear at your funeral)
THIS WEEK - as I reflected on Grace Smith’s epitaph. I wondered who wrote it. Were those 20 words written by Grace herself. Man. if she did write them, that would be pretty sad. OR – did someone else (a family member, friend, funeral director) write them to summarize her life?
AND THEN – I began to wonder about how many other people there are in our world, in our community (maybe even in our church) who feel pretty much the same way… (Alone, tired, weary, unloved, unworthy, unsatisfied). I – began to wonder how many people are walking the streets of our world who feel that life has passed them by. LONELY PEOPLE- who unless someone intervenes or something happens will find that Grace Smith’s epitaph becomes the summary of their life…
TODAY – as we continue looking at some of the encounters that Jesus had with ordinary people like you and me…we are going to look at an encounter that Jesus had with a women who is without a doubt the Grace Smith of the New Testament. A woman who felt that life had passed her by. A single woman whose many attempts at love had left her dry.
NOW – it’s an encounter that just about everyone in this room has looked at before (probably more than once). AND – because of that your first reaction when I ask you to turn to John chapter 4 (might be)… Been there. Read that. Know that. Heard it all before. ‘SO STEVE – whoa re you talking about next week.’
BUT LISTEN – no matter how many times you have looked at this encounter before…NO – matter how many times you’ve heard someone teach on it… THE TRUTH – is IF your heart is open and your mind is eager… God WILL say something to you this VERY morning (August 21, 2005).
ALRIGHT – go ahead and turn to John chapter 4. WE – are going to read a huge chunk of that chapter… AND – as you are turning there… I NEED – to set up the text and give you a little background information.
AS – John chapter 4 opens up Jesus is about to move His ministry from Judea to Galilee… AND – he is making this move for a couple of reasons; 1# - because things are getting pretty hot in Judea and He is not ready for a head on confrontation with the Jewish leaders (just yet)… AND #2 – because it is time for Him to bring his message to those in Galilee… Remember what Isaiah said about the Messiah’s ministry in Isaiah 9:1; “…there will be a time in the future when Galilee of the Gentiles, which lies along the road that runs between the Jordan and the sea, will be filled with glory.” - Is 9:1
AND ANOTHER – piece of information that we need to understand (because of the person Jesus is going to encounter in John 4) is both the relationship between Jews and Samaritans… AND – between men and woman.
FIRST – let’s look at the relationship between Jews and Samaritans… THEY – hated each other. AND – this hatred had a 1,000 year history… LET ME – quickly summarize that history..
IT’S ROOTS – go back to the death of David’s son Solomon (Israel 3rd king)… After he died the kingdom divided into a Northern Kingdom (Israel) and a Southern kingdom (Judah). AND - these 2 kingdom fought each other for centuries. THEN – in 721 BC the Assyrians conquered Israel.
NOW - the Assyrians who wicked, cruel and smart… AND – the way they kept a conquered people in check was by taking most of the people (the ones that they didn’t kill) into captivity, and by leaving some people behind… AND – they would repopulated the land with their own people… These gentiles, pagans, and idol-worshippers would work their farms, live in their towns, move into their homes… AND – over time they would marry the Israelites who were left behind… AND – this mixing of the bloodline… (the line of Abraham) didn’t set well with the Jews in the south… IN FACT – when the Jews returned from their own exile in Babylon and began rebuilding the temple in Jerusalem… the people in the north (the Samaritans) said ‘hey guys we want to help rebuild the temple of our God and worship with you’…. AND – the Jews in the south said, ‘go back home you filthy half bread, we don’t want your help. You will have no part in this Temple or our worship.’ NOT – a very good way to build relationships and bring people together.
SO – the Samaritans went back home and built their own Temple on Mt Gerizim. AND - created their own version of the Abrahamic faith… They edited the bible… kept created their own worship center on Mount Gerizim…
The hatred between continue to grow over the years… AND – in the year 128 B.C… when the Jews had gained enough power they stormed Mt Gerizim and destroyed the alternate temple that had been built there. AGAIN - the relationship between Jews and Samaritans at the time of Christ was one of deep running hatred.
AND – the relationship between men and woman was not any better. To a Jew there was only one thing worse then be a Samaritan… being a Samaritan woman. UNDERSTAND - the women of Jesus’ day and time - whether Jewish, Samaritan, or full-fledged Gentile - were for the most part deemed unworthy of respect, education, and religious training. In particular, Jewish rabbis were noteworthy for not speaking with women in public settings during this era. They even debated the appropriateness of a rabbi speaking to his own mother or sister in settings outside the family circle.
So what we have here is in John 4 is encounter that should NEVER have taken place! Jews and Samaritans didn’t talk to one another. Rabbis don’t speak to women. A first-century reader would barely expect Jesus and the woman to acknowledge each other’s presence, much less speak."
NOW - we are ready to read the words that Holy Spirit guided John to put on paper 2,000 years ago. 3So he left Judea to return to Galilee. 4He had to go through Samaria on the way.
OKAY – we need to hit the pause button for just a second here…YEAH – I know that I like that button… BUT GUYS – sometimes you just got to push it. QUESTION – what’s this business that "he had to go through Samaria"? I MEAN – didn’t we just get through saying that any self-respecting, devout Jew of that period would make it a point not to go through Samaria to get from Judea to Galilee or vice versa. Samaria was an unclean place populated by people guilty of religious heresy and ethnic sacrilege.
IN FACT – when most Jews made the trip from Judea (located in the far south) to Galilee (located in the far north) they would avoid Samaria which (sat right in the middle) all together… by crossing the Jordan river and traveling north through an area called the Trans-Jordan. And they would not cross the Jordan river again until they were far north of Samaria lest the dust of the country touch their sandals and make them unclean.
SO - why, then, did Jesus find it necessary to travel through Samaria? UNDERSTAND - this was not a geographical necessity but a theological one. YOU SEE – Jesus came to save all people not just the Jews who worshipped in Jerusalem… BUT - also the Samaritan. YES JESUS - had to go through Samaria… to send out loud and clear the message that He came to save ALL people… AND JESUS - had to go through Samaria because there was a lonely women waiting there for him who needed a drink of living water.
5Eventually he came to the Samaritan village of Sychar, near the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. 6Jacob’s well was there; and Jesus, tired from the long walk, sat wearily beside the well about noontime. 7Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, "Please give me a drink." 8He was alone at the time because his disciples had gone into the village to buy some food.
9The 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?" 10Jesus replied, "If you only knew the gift God has for you and who I am, 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 is a very deep well. Where would you get this living water? 12And besides, are you greater than our ancestor Jacob who gave us this well? How can you offer better water than he and his sons and his cattle enjoyed?"
13Jesus replied, "People soon become thirsty again after drinking this water. 14But the water I give them takes away thirst altogether. It becomes a perpetual spring within them, giving them eternal life." 15"Please, sir," the woman said, "give me some of that water! Then I’ll never be thirsty again, and I won’t have to come here to haul 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-- 18for you have had five husbands, and you aren’t even married to the man you’re living with now."
19"Sir," the woman said, "you must be a prophet. 20So 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?"
21Jesus replied, "Believe me, the time is coming when it will no longer matter whether you worship the Father here or in Jerusalem. 22You Samaritans know so little about the one you worship, while we Jews know all about him, for salvation comes through the Jews. 23But the time is coming and is already here when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for anyone who will worship him that way. 24For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth."
25The woman said, "I know the Messiah will come--the one who is called Christ. When he comes, he will explain everything to us." 26Then Jesus told her, "I am the Messiah!"
27Just then his disciples arrived. They were astonished to find him talking to a woman, but none of them asked him why he was doing it or what they had been discussing. 28The woman left her water jar beside the well and went back to the village and told everyone, 29"Come and meet a man who told me everything I ever did! Can this be the Messiah?" 30So the people came streaming from the village to see him.
Meanwhile, the disciples were urging Jesus to eat. 32"No," he said, "I have food you don’t know about." 33"Who brought it to him?" the disciples asked each other. 34Then Jesus explained: "My nourishment comes from doing the will of God, who sent me, and from finishing his work. 35Do you think the work of harvesting will not begin until the summer ends four months from now? Look around you! Vast fields are ripening all around us and are ready now for the harvest.
Prayer…
As she walked over and looked out of her small narrow window, she saw the sun high in the sky, it was near the sixth hour (12 noon). SHE – could tell that it was going to be another hot day and there wasn’t even a small breeze to break the heat.
She knew that this was not the best time to go to the well to draw water, the heat made the trip down the dusty road very difficult almost unbearable. SHE - would have much rathered gone in the morning when the sun was down, the air was cool and the birds were still out serenading with their songs.
But she didn’t have that choice. THAT’S - when the other women in the town went to draw their water. And she couldn’t face the stares, the whispering and the cold shoulders (not anymore, she had, had enough).
YOU SEE – all the women in Sychar either treated her as though she was the scum of the earth, shouting cruel things or they just looked right through her. YES – a walk in the hot sun was a small price to pay in order to escape their sharp tongues; “Here she comes” “Have you heard, she’s got a new man” ‘They say she’ll sleep with anyone” Shhh there she is, she might hear us.” (as if they ‘really’ cared)
AT - one time she had been a beautiful woman, golden brown hair and deep blue eyes. AT – one time she had been a little girl playing in the dirt full of; laughter, hope, life and dreams… BUT - the years since those early days, had not been kind to her; aging her beyond her years, leaving deep scares within her soul.
YOU SEE - in her life the sting of rejection had been almost constant. She was a Samaritan (strike one). She was a woman (strike two). She had been married to 5 men. (strike 3,4,5,6,7) Five husbands. Five different beds. Five different rejections. SHE KNOWS - the sound of slamming doors. SHE KNOWS - the pain of harsh words and the feeling of being tossed to the side like a worn out pair of sandals.
AND - she knows what it means to love and receive no love in return. Her current guy won’t even give her his name. he only gives her a place to sleep. For most of her life she looked to a man to find herself, she believed that without a man she is nothing or nobody and she had sex too soon or used sex hoping to win love and affection.
"How did my life get so messed up, this is not how I dreamed things would be" she said to herself each night, as she cried herself to sleep… AND – each morning as she tried to find BOTH the strength and a reason to get out of bed.
She felt so alone, even though she lived in a city and was surrounded by many people she felt all alone, it was like she wasn’t even there, no one noticed, no cared, no one ever reached out to her. I MEAN – even a surface, ‘hi how are you’ would have been like a drop of cool water to her weary soul. OFTEN - she wondered to herself, “what’s the use of even going on… Is this all my life will ever be? Nothing I try ever seems to work out. Every dream I dare to dream vanishing quicker than the morning mist in the desert heat.”
BUT - it’s time to go so she heads out her door. Her eyes squint as the noonday sun beats down on her. Her shoulders stoop under the weight of the jar she is carrying. Her feet move slowly stirring up dust on the path. She keeps her head and eyes down, just incase someone else happens to be on the road. (Eye contact is something that she worked to avoid at all cost).
FINALLY - she makes the ½ mile journey to Jacob’s well. So far so good. The road had been empty. No one had seen her. Now if she could just quickly get her fill her jar she could be on her way without encountering anyone. BUT – as soon as she lifts her head, HER - heart starts racing. “Oh no who is that. What is he doing here. He looks Jewish.”
It’s Jesus… AND – God in the flesh is pretty wore out to say the least… BUT – who came blame him with all the pressure and demands closing in on him and after his 30 mile walk from Judea to Sychar. (when’s the last time you walk 30 miles through a dry, hot and dusty land?)
NOW – it looked like he was sleeping, so she thought “I’ll just do this fast and get out of here. BUT – then Jesus open his eyes. AND – sensing her discomfort He says to her… "Please give me a drink NOT – ‘please get away from me, you unclean, filthy immoral tramp…’ BUT – "Please give me a drink… NOW – this lady had been around the block way too many times to think that all this guy wanted was simply a drink of water… "You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. Why are you asking me for a drink?"
“Okay, you got me” Jesus thought to himself. “You are right. I am here for more than a drink of water… I am here to give you what you have been looking for all of these dry, hurtful and empty years…” THEN – he says those 25 incredible life giving words… If you only knew the gift God has for you and who I am, you would ask me, and I would give you living water."
NOW UNDERSTAND – this lady is still thinking about physical water… YOU SEE – the phrase ‘living water’ was used to describe springs, creeks and rivers. It was used to describe water that flowed rather then just sat in a well… She takes Jesus literally…So she responds… ‘how can you give me this water, you don’t even have a bucket… AND – if Jacob had to dig this well to get water… who are to think that you can give me water without digging one…? “
AFTER – she says this Jesus begins to gently guide her down a path that will lead her to a source water that will satisfy the thirst of her soul…
13Jesus replied, "People soon become thirsty again after drinking this water. 14But the water I give them takes away thirst altogether. It becomes a perpetual spring within them, giving them eternal life."
I imagine that her eyes must have danced with hope as she took in the full impact of his words…
“Yes really! I can give you the very thing you have been looking for all your life. What you always wanted when you were growing up but never found? I can fill that hole in your heart that you hoped married love would fill. And it didn’t fill, even though you keep looking and looking and looking. NO, You have never stopped looking and you are still thirsty. BECAUSE - this thirst cannot be quenched from the outside, IT – must be quenched from the inside. I can do that and the life you have always wanted can be yours forever.”
A women met a man at well. She had met a lot of men before (the women of the village would be glad to fill you in on the details)…. BUT - she had never met anyone who seemed to offer her something without expecting something in return. He was different. Had she finally met a man who really cared about her?
AND THEN - he said it. He didn’t have to say that. They could have talked all day without bringing that up. “Go get your husband, “ he said. The request seemed to come out of the blue.
HER - face probably turned three shades of red. She wanted to tell him it was none of his business. TELL HIM – that she didn’t have to put up with that from a total stranger. She received enough condemnation from her mother and sister in laws.
But he hadn’t said it with a condemning tone. It was a fact. There was no white-washing it. She hadn’t planned for her life to turn out this way. She wasn’t proud of it—even though she tried to rationalize it to her family. The fact was—she was ashamed and embarrassed.
Maybe she wanted to change the subject. Perhaps she wanted to leave, but she stayed and she told the truth… “I don’t have a husband.’ NOW – I really love what Max Lucado writes about this moment…
You probably know the rest of the story. I wish you didn’t. I wish you were hearing for the first time. For if you were, you’d be wide-eyed as you waited to see what Jesus would do next. Why? Because you’ve wanted to do the same thing. You’ve wanted to take off the mask. You’ve wanted to stop pretending. You’ve wondered what God would do if you opened your cobweb-covered door of secret sin.
This woman wondered what Jesus would do. She must have wondered if the kindness would cease when the truth was revealed. He will be angry. He will leave. He will think I’m worthless.
If you’ve had the same anxieties, then get out your pencil. You’ll want to underline Jesus’ answer. 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." No criticism? No anger? No what kind of mess have you made of your life lectures? NO. It wasn’t perfection that Jesus was seeking it was honesty.
YOU SEE – it like Jesus was simply noting the obvious and letting her know that it didn’t have to stay that way. UNDERSTAND – He didn’t have to bring it up. He could have avoided the one fact that told more about her than anything else in life. BUT [Tim, Laurie]… - Jesus isn’t like that. LISTEN - if you want someone to sugar coat your life and tell you sweet nothings and never saying anything bad—and lie to you. You have the wrong man.
IF - you are here today and you know your life has some big holes in it, some dark stains, a lot of brokenness and hurts, don’t think that you can do business with Jesus and have him not bring that up. Do you want the doctor to tell you how pretty your eyes look and avoid talking about the cancer? That was the way men had been treating her all her life. One line, one lie after another!’ BUT – Jesus doesn’t give lines… He gives life.
AND NOW – this lady is beginning to see that this guy leaning against the well was more than a man… SHE – knew that he was at the very least a prophet of God. A man who spoke for God. A man who knew God. SO – she asked him the question that had been burning in heart for so very long.
NOW – some scholars think that what she is doing here is trying to change the subject from this very uncomfortable subject of her 5 failed marriages and shacking up with a guy. IN FACT – I used to think that way… BUT – not anymore… YOU SEE – now I can see what is really going on here. This lady is not trying to change the subject… NO - for the first time she is finally on subject…
"Sir," the woman said, "you must be a prophet. 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?"
QUESTION [Tim, Laurie]… - do you see what this lady is ‘really’ asking here? Do see the answer that she has been longing to know? ‘Sir you must be a prophet, so please tell me where is God? Your people say that He is in Jerusalem. My people say that he is on Mt Gerizim. I really want to know Him. I really want to find Him but I don’t know where He is…
AND – guys that is the dilemma of so many searching people in our world today. Where is God? The Baptist say that God is at their church, The church of Christ say that God is at their place… The Catholics, the Methodist, the…
I think you see where I am going with this… Where do they go to find God? Who can they talk to that want try to stack the deck and align the evidence in their favor…?
Where is God…? What an awesome, honest, child-like question… AGAIN – I want to read some Lucado who often says it, like no one else can…
I’d give a thousand sunsets to see the expression on Jesus’ face as He heard those words. Did His eyes water? Did he smile? Did he look up into the clouds and wink at His Father? Of all the places to find a hungry heart – Samaria.
Of all the Samaritans to be searching for God – a woman?
Of all the women to have an insatiable appetite for God-a five time divorcee’.
Of all the people to be chosen to personally receive the secret of the ages-an outcast among outcasts? The most insignificant person in the region?
“Where is the right place to worship?” In a sense, Jesus’ answer was: “it’s not where. It’s who!” AND - in a sense it is true, a person can worship just as well at the lake as in a church building. It’s not where; it’s who! BUT - let’s not kid ourselves—it is the rare person indeed who worships the King of Glory and the Lord of the Cross outside of the fellowship of other believers. the time is coming and is already here when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for anyone who will worship him that way. 24For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth."
Jesus met a woman with a deep spiritual thirst. She listened. She believed. AND - she was never the same again. What an amazing story. And it’s true. Incredible when you think about it. Jesus didn’t reveal the secret to King Herod. He didn’t request an audience with the Jewish ruling council and tell them the news. He didn’t march into the Roman Senate to announce His identity. INSTEAD – it was in the shade of well in a rejected land to an ostracized woman. AND CAN – you imagine how Jesus eyes must have danced with joy when he whispered the secret…
25The woman said, "I know the Messiah will come--the one who is called Christ. When he comes, he will explain everything to us." 26Then Jesus told her, "I am the Messiah!"
GUYS – don’t miss the drama of this moment. LOOK – at her eyes, they are open wide with amazement. LISTEN – to her voice as she struggles for words… “Y-y-y-y-ou A-a-a-a-re the M-m-m-messiah…” AND – watch as she jumps to her feet…. Takes one last look at the smiling Jesus. AND – runs as fast as she can back to town…
IN – a moment all the broken romances disappeared. And all those feelings of being; alone, tiered , weary, unloved, unworthy and unsatisfied… evaporated like the morning mist in the desert heat…
Come and meet a man who told me everything I ever did! Can this be the Messiah?" (God is here! God ahs come! And he cares about me!) 30So the people came streaming from the village to see him.
LIKE YOU – have looked at this encounter and heard messages about this encounter many times before. BUT – this week as I tried to immerse myself in these unbelievable 2,000 year old words. My eyes and thoughts kept coming back to these 4 words…
If You Only Knew…
• That no matter who you are, where you’ve been OR what you’ve done that Jesus is NOT shocked, not turned off and not leaving… BUT THAT HE – still longs to be with you. Still loves you. Still cares about you. Still pursues you…. YOU WOULD; take off your mask, stop pretending, stop running and stop hiding from Him… AND INSTEAD – you would run to him and FALL at his feet in worship… as you immerse yourself in His; love, mercy and grace…
• Who Jesus is, and the gift that He has for you… you would stop asking Him for surface things, temporary things, earthly things, worldly things… And instead you would ask him for living water so that you will NEVER, NEVER, NEVER thirst again! (hey aren’t you tired of being thirsty…
If You Only Knew…
• That nothing but Jesus will EVER quench your thirst… You would go to Him… and you would stop looking for life, for quenching in so many other things. UNDERSTAND – a better relationship, a new relationship, more money, more things, more pleasure, more fun, more good times, more popularity, more friends, more recognition, more… IS NEVER going to satisfy you thirst.
AND [Tim, Laurie] IF – you keep looking to them for life… THEN – like the woman in John 4 everyday you will start off with an empty jar looking for something or someone to fill it…
• That God can be found anytime, right where you are… you would seek Him everywhere & all the time in Spirit and truth. Where is God? He is here. He is with you all the time. Every place can be a place of worship.
• That true joy, true satisfaction, true food is found (not in acquiring more stuff for you) BUT in leading someone to the living waters of Christ… You (we) would open our eyes and see that vast fields are ripening all around us and are ready NOW (not 4 months from now) for harvest…. AND – you (we) would with the eagerness of the woman in John 4 run out into those fields … "Come and meet a man who told me everything I ever did! Can this be the Messiah?" 30So the people came streaming from the village to see him. QUESTION – what are we, what are you waiting for? AND – guys when we run out there let’s invite them not to a place BUT to a person…
• That the one who is; the King of kings and Lord of lords, The Alpha and the Omega, the creator and sustainer of all that we see, The mighty God, the everlasting father… IF – you only knew that he has spoken for you… YOU – would with a gleam of joy in your eyes say and live take this world from me… I don’t need it anymore!!!!
