2016.07.31                                      John 4:1-26

                  The Woman at the Well

                  A lesson in Evangelism

Good morning everyone…. It´s great to see you this morning… I am glad you are here…. I have good news for you… His Name is Jesus…   He is Savior and Lord…

As we pickup the Word of God this morning… Jesus has finished offering the Gospel to the teacher in Israel… Nicodemus knows the Scriptures…. He obeys them with all of his power…. But He knows that he needs a Savior… Nicodemus will be born again as he hears and believes the Good News…. We move this morning from the most righteous to the least righteous person in all of Israel…. A Samaritan woman who has quite a difficult past… She has 3 strikes against her… And she does not know the scriptures…. She has not tried to obey them at all… She is hopelessly lost… But she also knows that she needs a Savior… Jesus is showing us how to Evangelize….. He is proclaiming the  to everyone who is willing to listen… As we begin this morning… Jesus travels from Judea to Galilee… passing though Samaria…

John 4: 1-4                           NKJV     slt 2000

1 Therefore, when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John. 2 (though Jesus Himself did not baptize, but His disciples), 3 He left Judea and departed again to Galilee. 4 But He needed to go through Samaria.

1 Als nun der Herr erfuhr, daß die Pharisäer gehört hatten, daß Jesus mehr Jünger mache und taufe als Johannes 2 — obwohl Jesus nicht selbst taufte, sondern seine Jünger —, 3 da verließ er Judäa und zog wieder nach Galiläa. 4 Er mußte aber durch Samaria reisen.

v1… When the Lord knew … He left Judea…The time was not yet right for a confrontation in Jerusalem… so Jesus returned to Galilee…

v4… He needed to go through Samaria… Although the road through Samaria was the shortest route to Galilee… Jews avoided it because there was a deep distrust and dislike between Jews and Samaritans…

Because the Samaritans had a historical connection to the people of Israel… their faith was a combination of law and ritual from the Law of Moses… aIt was combined with remnants of pagan religion too… Most Jews in Jesus' time despised the Samaritans… even more than Gentiles - because they were, religiously speaking, "half-breeds"…

Why must Jesus go through Samaria? Because there were people there who needed to hear Him…

John 4: 5-9                             NKJV   slt 2000

5 So He came to a city of Samaria which is called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. 6 Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, sat thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour. 7 A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.” 8 For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. 9 Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.

5 Da kommt er in eine Stadt Samarias, genannt Sichar, nahe bei dem Feld, das Jakob seinem Sohn Joseph gab.6 Es war aber dort Jakobs Brunnen. Weil nun Jesus müde war von der Reise, setzte er sich so an den Brunnen; es war um die sechste Stunde. 7 Da kommt eine Frau aus Samaria, um Wasser zu schöpfen. Jesus spricht zu ihr: Gib mir zu trinken! 8 Denn seine Jünger waren in die Stadt gegangen, um Speise zu kaufen. 9 Nun spricht die samaritische Frau zu ihm: Wie erbittest du als ein Jude von mir etwas zu trinken, da ich doch eine samaritische Frau bin? (Denn die Juden haben keinen Umgang mit den Samaritern)

v6a… Being wearied from His journey… John records Jesus' weariness… He is tired and thirsty…. Very able to relate to us…

v6b… It was about the sixth hour… This woman came for water at an unusual time and alone…

v7... Jesus said to her… Normally a rabbi would not speak with a woman in public… Not even his own wife… It was also very unusual for a Jewish person of that time to ask a favor or accept a drink from a Samaritan's cup… Jesus' request genuinely surprised the woman…

v9… How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me… Immediately, the woman was impressed by the friendliness of Jesus… This was probably the first time she had ever heard  a kind greeting from a Jewish man… Now, let's read a few more verse and talk about this woman for a bit…  She's alone at the well at the wrong time of the day…

John 4: 10-15                       NKJV   slt 2000

10 Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”11 The woman said to Him, “Sir, You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where then do You get that living water? 12 Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?” 13 Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”15 The woman said to Him, “Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw.” 

10 Jesus antwortete und sprach zu ihr: Wenn du die Gabe Gottes erkennen würdest und wer der ist, der zu dir spricht: Gib mir zu trinken!, so würdest du ihn bitten, und er gäbe dir lebendiges Wasser.11 Die Frau spricht zu ihm: Herr, du hast ja keinen Eimer, und der Brunnen ist tief; woher hast du denn das lebendige Wasser?12 Bist du größer als unser Vater Jakob, der uns den Brunnen gegeben und selbst daraus getrunken hat, samt seinen Söhnen und seinem Vieh? 13 Jesus antwortete und sprach zu ihr: Jeden, der von diesem Wasser trinkt, wird wieder dürsten.14 Wer aber von dem Wasser trinkt, das ich ihm geben werde, den wird in Ewigkeit nicht dürsten, sondern das Wasser, das ich ihm geben werde, wird in ihm zu einer Quelle von Wasser werden, das bis ins ewige Leben quillt.15 Die Frau spricht zu ihm: Herr, gib mir dieses Wasser, damit ich nicht dürste und nicht hierher kommen muß, um zu schöpfen!

10… If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, "Give Me a drink"… Jesus draws the woman into conversation… He makes her curious about the things of God (the gift of God)… He makes her want to learn more about who Jesus is (who it is who says to you)… and about what He can give her (He would have given you living water)…

v10b… Living water… In ancient times, they called spring water living water… All ritual washings were best done in flowing… Living water… In Isaiah 55…v1…we read these words….

Isaiah 55:1                    NKJV   slt 2000

1 Come Everyone who thirsts, Come to the waters; And you who have no money, Come, buy and eat.

Yes, come, buy wine and milk Without money and without price.

1 Wohlan, ihr Durstigen alle, kommt her zum Wasser; und die ihr kein Geld habt, kommt her, kauft und eßt! Kommt her und kauft ohne Geld und umsonst Wein und Milch!

Here Isaiah offers living water freely to anyone who will come…. In Jeremiah God describes Himself as the fountain of Living waters… He means the spiritual water that quenches our spiritual thirst and gives life… This Samaritan may have known these scriptures… But even if she did not... She certainly knew the Rock that Moses struck in the Wilderness…Exodus 17, 1 Cor 10: 1-4… Out of it flowed Living waters…. They were kept alive in the desert by those living flowing waters…

v12… Are you greater than our father Jacob… It is hard to tell if the woman asks a sincere question… or if she is a cynical critic… It all depends on the tone of her voice… but she does come to belief at the end… And as we will see next time… the Lord uses her as a wonderful evangelist… Even though she is a horrible sinner… Even though she is a new believer… that´s for next time though…let´s continue in our text for this morning… and see her transformation and conversion to faith in the Messiah… v16…

John 4: 16-18                    NKJV    slt 2000

16 Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.”17 The woman answered and said, “I have no husband.”Jesus said to her, “You have well said, ‘I have no husband,’ 18 for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly.”

16 Jesus spricht zu ihr: Geh hin, rufe deinen Mann und komm her! 17 Die Frau antwortete und sprach: Ich habe keinen Mann! Jesus spricht zu ihr: Du hast recht gesagt: Ich habe keinen Mann! 18 Denn fünf Männer hast du gehabt, und der, den du jetzt hast, ist nicht dein Mann. Da hast du die Wahrheit gesprochen!

John 4 :19-26               NKJV   slt 2000

19 The woman said to Him, “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship.”21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. 22 You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. 24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” 25 The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). “When He comes, He will tell us all things.”26 Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am He.”

19 Die Frau spricht zu ihm: Herr, ich sehe, daß du ein Prophet bist! 20 Unsere Väter haben auf diesem Berg angebetet,und ihr sagt, in Jerusalem sei der Ort, wo man anbeten soll. 21 Jesus spricht zu ihr: Frau, glaube mir, es kommt die Stunde, wo ihr weder auf diesem Berg noch in Jerusalem den Vater anbeten werdet. 22 Ihr betet an, was ihr nicht kennt; wir beten an, was wir kennen, denn das Heil kommt aus den Juden. 23 Aber die Stunde kommt und ist schon da, wo die wahren Anbeter den Vater im Geist und in der Wahrheit anbeten werden; denn der Vater sucht solche Anbeter. 24 Gott ist Geist, und die ihn anbeten, müssen ihn im Geist und in der Wahrheit anbeten. 25 Die Frau spricht zu ihm: Ich weiß, daß der Messias kommt, welcher Christus genannt wird; wenn dieser kommt, wird er uns alles verkündigen. 26 Jesus spricht zu ihr: Ich bin’s, der mit dir redet!

v16… Go, call your husband, and come here.”… This woman has come alone to the well… And it was the hottest part of the day… Normally this was a community activity… The girls grabbed their skins or water pots and walked together to the well… They used the opportunity to talk about their husbands and Life!... But now we see why she has come alone… She is ashamed… She has had five husbands… and the man she's with now is not her husband… She is not even married this time... She is living with a man… That kind of open sin could get her killed… What has happened to get her to this place?   We don't know any details about these 5 marriages… But the people have certainly noticed those failures…. They surely thought that there must be something terribly wrong with her…

We do know that it's a mark of shame for her… that shame has radically affected her life… it has affected her ability to walk in normal society… She now spends much of her energy avoiding and hiding… When she knows no one else will be there… In the middle of the day… She goes to the well… Today her life will be changed forever… Because the Savior of the world is sitting at the well…. He was waiting for her… He speaks kindly to her… And she is shocked…

Why is Jesus reaching out to this woman? Because he's the Savior of the world... He has come to seek and to save the lost… Do you remember when John describes Jesus as being full of grace and truth…? John 1…v14… That is Jesus…. Just like His heavenly Father…. He is by nature a Savior…

Jesus is being gracious to this Samaritan woman… When he begins to speak to her about her sin… He is giving her the chance to confess and repent… I love the fact that Jesus does not tiptoe around her sin… She knows that her life is a mess…. She knows that she needs a miracle…. When she says… "Give me this water so I don't have to come to this well anymore," do we understand what's going on? She is saying…. I am tired of what my life is… I'm tired of hiding... I need this living water… Give me this water… What does Jesus say? "Go get your husband…. Look at verse 18…

v18a... You have had five husbands… We Jesus wonderfully here… He is 100% man… Tired and thirsty… We also see Jesus as 100% God… Because Jesus used supernatural knowledge in ministering to this woman… He told her the deepest darkest most painful things about her life… 18b…

v18b… And the one whom you now have is not your husband… Why did Jesus bring up such an embarrassing issue? Because the issue of her sinful life must be confronted…. This woman had to decide what she loved more… her sin or the Messiah?

He touches the most tender… most shame-filled… guilt-ridden part of her life… She is living with a man… For what ever reason… Her current boyfriend is not willing to marry her… That´s crazy… He would rather risk being stoned to death…. Maybe he thinks… Carefull… She has already been married five times… She honestly says to Jesus…  "I don't have a husband."

 Jesus says… "I know… What you've said is true… You've had five… and the guy you're with now is not your husband… Why would Jesus do that? The first step towards genuine repentance and salvation… is to admit the truth about yourself… Let´s talk for a minute about divorce…. Divorce is not the unpardonable sin… This woman has been divorced not once or twice…. She has been divorced 5 times… Notice that they were all real marriages… And yet God´s grace is sufficient for her…. Jesus stands ready to forgive anyone who cries out to him… Even a murderer and adulterer… like the great King David was forgiven… God´s grace is greater than all our sin…. That´s what the Bible teaches… None of us have anything to be proud of…. If we are saved this morning…. We are all saved the same way…. We are saved by Grace through Faith… Ephesians ch2 v8,9…

Here is a lesson in Evangelism….. Just like Jesus…. We speak the truth in love… We confront sin… And when we give our own testimonies… We tell the truth about ourselves… We were lost in sin and pride and rebellion… But God…. Ephesians 2: 4,5…

Ephesians 2: 4,5                  NKJV   slt 2000

4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),

4 Gott aber, der reich ist an Erbarmen, hat um seiner großen Liebe willen, mit der er uns geliebt hat,

5 auch uns, die wir tot waren durch die Übertretungen, mit dem Christus lebendig gemacht — aus Gnade seid ihr errettet! —

It is The Lord who reached into our lives….. Because of His love and grace… He made us alive in Christ…. He saved us… He is great…When we give our testimonies… When we tell the truth about us…  we can rightly give all of the glory to God…  When we give Him the Glory and honor that he alone deserves… We magnify the grace and mercy of God…. He is mighty to save…

Jesus is showing this Samaritan woman her sin filled heart…. Jesus is holding up her life like a mirror… 2 Timothy 2: 15-17… She sees the painful truth of her own sin… To honestly See our sin… This is really painful… heart tearing… It is very difficult to see ourselves in the light of truth… We have all struggled… Maybe not exactly like this woman…. We may not have been married 5 times…. But we were all just as lost….. We all have or have had secrets to hide….  Maybe it's a different chapter in our lives…. Drugs rebellion…. Promiscuity… Lust… Greed… We all have sore spots…. Secrets that we don´t want to talk about… We say…. Don´t go there…. Leave me alone… I am ashamed…. It is too painful…

Yet, here is  Jesus… He goes there… He is like a surgeon…. His is going to cut the cancer out… "Do you want the living water? Go get your husband." She says….  "I don't have one."… That is what is happening here… Jesus is going after the space that only he can heal… Remember she's coming out to the well in the middle of the day… which means she's avoiding the judgment and condemnation of the other women… She has come out in the middle of the day to avoid being wounded by the stares and whispers of others...

She feels dirty... She feels ashamed... She has been successful at avoiding that condemnation by sneaking around the village… At least she doesn´t have to hear what they are saying about her… Yet it has not really helped…  She has not been healed… She has a slave to her guilt and sin and shame… Jesus… Because He is the Savior of the world… Put His surgeon’s knife to that very spot… He will cut the cancer out and heal her broken heart… She is afraid… She has become a professional at hiding from the scorn and anger of the women of the village… But She has nowhere to hide from Jesus…

I think that we can all relate If we think about it… We hide these places in our hearts as though Jesus doesn't about know them… We have these secrets ourselves… We sometimes struggle with our own secret sins and pride… We avoid fellowship… We avoid the Word of God… Because we often refuse to look in the mirror…  

Even as Christians… We can have some very real struggles… Problems that we are unwilling to reveal each other or to Him…  We pretend… We lie to ourselves… as though He doesn't already know every secret in our hearts… You shall know the truth…. And The truth will make you free… John 8:32…

That's what's so wonderful about this text… Jesus already knows  the whole truth… When he says to this Samaritan, "Go get your husband." He's not surprised by her answer…  He's going after the very spot that she doesn't want anyone to touch… because it's too painful…  Jesus reaches into her deepest most secret wounds… She is now at the level of the heart which is wildly uncomfortable for almost all of us…. We do not want anyone to go there… You see… we would rather pretend to be super Christians…. Than to let the Light of truth shine on our sin and pride and rebellion… And yet… There is no other way for us to find mercy and grace… That´s why the Bible says if we confess our sins… He is faithful and just to forgive and cleanse us…  

What does she do? She starts by telling the truth… maybe she is in shock…  Because he could not have known her secrets… There is a lot more here than a tired and kind Israelite…. He Must be more…. Her response shows that to us… John 4 v19…

John 4 :19-26               NKJV   slt 2000

19 The woman said to Him, “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship.”21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. 22 You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. 24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” 25 The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). “When He comes, He will tell us all things.”26 Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am He.”

19 Die Frau spricht zu ihm: Herr, ich sehe, daß du ein Prophet bist! 20 Unsere Väter haben auf diesem Berg angebetet,und ihr sagt, in Jerusalem sei der Ort, wo man anbeten soll. 21 Jesus spricht zu ihr: Frau, glaube mir, es kommt die Stunde, wo ihr weder auf diesem Berg noch in Jerusalem den Vater anbeten werdet. 22 Ihr betet an, was ihr nicht kennt; wir beten an, was wir kennen, denn das Heil kommt aus den Juden. 23 Aber die Stunde kommt und ist schon da, wo die wahren Anbeter den Vater im Geist und in der Wahrheit anbeten werden; denn der Vater sucht solche Anbeter. 24 Gott ist Geist, und die ihn anbeten, müssen ihn im Geist und in der Wahrheit anbeten. 25 Die Frau spricht zu ihm: Ich weiß, daß der Messias kommt, welcher Christus genannt wird; wenn dieser kommt, wird er uns alles verkündigen. 26 Jesus spricht zu ihr: Ich bin’s, der mit dir redet!

v19… I perceive that You are a prophet…

The Samaritans focused almost entirely on the first 5 books of Moses…. They rejected the OT prophets for the most part…. Instead they were focused on the prophet that Moses had said would come…. The greater Prophet greater than I… Deut18: 15-18… That was the promised Messiah…. You see as far as the Samaritans were concerned… there had not been a true prophet since Moses… And He would be the Messiah…. She was beginning to believe….. This man….. Who knew things that He could not have known… He must be the Messiah… v20…

v20... Our fathers worshipped on this mountain…  It is possible that this was a genuine source of confusion and a stumbling block to her… but it is more likely that this simply was a way to deflect Jesus penetrating search of her heart… If she wanted to start a debate here…   Jesus didn't take the bait… Jesus was more interested in winning her heart…. He came to seek and to save…  

She says… "Which mountain is it?" Jesus just answers… "Neither that mountain, nor that mountain…

v22… You worship what you do not know… The Samaritans believed that Moses commissioned an altar on Mount Gerazim… the mountain of blessing… this was their justification of the system of worship on that mountain… But it was rooted in a defective mixed up form of worship…  So Jesus told her that they worshiped what they do not know… Our course we know that Genuine Worship has nothing to do with where…

v24… God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth… Jesus establishes the basis for all genuine worship… it is not special places or special things like temples and altars…  Genuine worship is from the heart… We worship in spirit and in truth.

To worship in spirit… means you are concerned with the spiritual realities, not outward sacrifices, cleansings and rituals…

To worship in truth… means you worship according to the whole council of God's word… especially in light of the New Testament revelation…

As we just read in v23… The true worshippers will worship him in spirit and in truth…  that day is today…

v25… The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming”…

v26… I who speak to you am He… Jesus reveals Himself as the Messiah for the first time… Right  here in these verses… He does it for the worst sinner in Sycar… A Samaritan woman…

 Although this woman was a sinner… She was really no different from any of us…. We all have secret wounds…. Secret sins….. We all have the same deep need for mercy and forgiveness and healing… In His grace and mercy…  Jesus revealed Himself to her… Jesus always reveals Himself to sinners who seek Him with their whole hearts... What about you…. Are you truly following Jesus… Do you worship him in spirit and in truth? Have you confessed the truth about yourself to the Lord…. Have you exposed your secret sin to the Great Physician and Surgeon… Doctor Jesus…. He will cut out your sin and pride… and He will wash you clean… Cry out to Him today… Let´s pray…

Communion

Danger caution!!!! We want to once again welcome all of our guests and visitors this morning…. We are very glad that you are here…. We are going to celebrate communion this morning as a church family…. If you have given your heart to Jesus… And if you are willing to let the Lord Jesus search your heart this morning before you partake… And willing to  Confess any sin that is in your life… You are welcome to participate with us… In 1 Corinthians… Paul exhorts us…

Examine your hearts… That is what we need to do this morning as we prepare to take communion together… The worship team will come forward and as they lead us to the throne of grace…. Let´s examine our  hearts…. The elements will be passed out…. Please hold them and we will take communion together when I come back up here…

Communion is a picture of the fact that we are all in Christ…. Every time we take communion… we take into our hands a reminder that we have been redeemed…. And that we belong to each other…. We are members of another… Jesus has saved us and made us one family in Him…  

1 Corinthians 11: 23-26                                 slt 2000

23 For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; 24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” 25 In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.

1 Corinthians 11: 23-26                                 slt 2000

23 Denn ich habe von dem Herrn empfangen, was ich auch euch überliefert habe, nämlich daß der Herr Jesus in der Nacht, als er verraten wurde, Brot nahm,

24 und dankte, es brach und sprach: Nehmt, eßt! Das ist mein Leib, der für euch gebrochen wird; dies tut zu meinem Gedächtnis!

25 Desgleichen auch den Kelch, nach dem Mahl, indem er sprach: Dieser Kelch ist der neue Bund in meinem Blut; dies tut, so oft ihr ihn trinkt, zu meinem Gedächtnis!

26 Denn so oft ihr dieses Brot eßt und diesen Kelch trinkt, verkündigt ihr den Tod des Herrn, bis er kommt.