"Well Educated"

• In John chapter 4 we see the fullness of the Gospel of Christ

• We see from beginning to end, the completeness of Jesus’ arrival on earth

• It is:

o To give salvation regardless of Race, Creed, Ethnic or religious background

o To encourage honesty and integrity before God

o To indicate to us the importance of worshiping God according to His desire’s not our own

• In this portion of the passage we see that Jesus has journeyed many days and in many places

• He is weary, tired, hungry and thirsty

• In the midst of His journey he stops at a common place known as ‘Jacob’s Well’

• It is recorded in the book of Genesis of the purchase of land by Jacob, one of Isaac’s children, in the land of Shechem

• The well is a holy place by multiple religions to include, Christians, Muslims and Jews

• In the first portion of the passage we see the barrier of ethnicity, culture, race and sex, having been dropped by Jesus

• It was the noon hour, Jesus needed a drink and the only available drink was from a woman, a Samaritan and someone of another belief

• Some of the unique circumstances of this encounter were:

o Jesus, a Jew, requesting assistance from a Samaritan

o This woman was at the well at the noon hour; a task usually reserved for morning and evening

o Jesus was speaking not only to a Samaritan, but a woman as well

1. DRINK (VS 1-15)

• Romans 2:11: “For there is no respect of persons with God.”

• Ephesians 6:9: “And, ye masters, do the same things unto them, forbearing threatening: knowing that your Master also is in heaven; neither is there respect of persons with him.”

• In the service of the Lord; we must understand that salvation and the goodness of God extends to all who are spiritually thirsty

• Jesus did not take into consideration who it was He asked for a drink; he was thirsty and simply called out (VS 7)

• Without hesitation, the woman immediately limited her ability to give and His ability to receive because of societal differences

• John 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.”

• She created barriers because:

a. She was Samaritan

b. He was a Jew

c. She was a woman

• The woman indicated her apprehension in the last part of her statement, “…for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.”

• Jesus immediately rebukes her attitude; as should we when it comes to ministry in this world

• John 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.”

• Jesus reversed the roles within the conversation; letting her know that if she understood what was truly going on, she would, in fact, be asking Him for water instead

• The late U.S. President, John F. Kennedy, in a famous inauguration speech made one of the most famous proclamations in history; He said; “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country”

• In serving God, we must take upon ourselves the same attitude, how can we serve him, not how can he serve us

• When we think of drinking from the water of life, as Jesus commented to this woman, we begin to understand the new tools for living we now possess

• The Samaritan Woman asked a profound question in verse 12; that question was, “Are you greater than our father Jacob?”

• Of course the answer is, yes!

• For the well of Jacob would dry up and be unavailable from time to time

• Jesus responded with an answer that would certainly be clear

• Whoever drank from His well would never thirst again

• VS 13 breaks down the cultural barrier when Jesus uses the word “Whoever”

• Romans 10:13: “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

• Jesus broke down all of the necessary barriers by simply seeing a need and being willing to meet them; with no strings attached

2. DELIGHT (VS 15-18)

• Psalms 37:4: “Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.”

• In becoming a Christian and following through in service; we must be honest, hold integrity and confess our faults to the Lord in order to see clearly the love of Christ