2. Concerning the Time of Day. B. An Appointment in Samaria 4: The Occasion for the Trip. 2. Samaritan History

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1 Congregational handout; outline sermon text on following pages Sermon Notes & References The Woman at the Well John 4:1-26 February 28, 2016 A. Introduction 1. A Contrast in Witnessing 2. Concerning the Time of Day B. An Appointment in Samaria 4: The Occasion for the Trip 2. Samaritan History C. There s Water & There s Water 4: Opening a Door to Witness (7-12) 2. Jesus Kind of Water (13-15) D. Speaking to Her Conscience 4: Touching the Tender Spot (16-18) 2. Diverting the Diversion (19-24) 3. A Revelation to this Woman (25-26) E. Conclusion

2 {1}. John 4: The Woman at the Well A. Introduction 1. A Contrast in Witnessing a. John 3 and 4 record Jesus engaging in personal evangelism (A) probably many of you were brought to faith in Jesus Christ by personal evangelism: witness of a parent, friend, or teacher (B) John s gospel records Jesus speaking one-to-one at sundry times b. these chapters draw a contrast in personalities and in methodology (A) Nicodemus was a scholarly ruler of the Jews; the unnamed woman was of the despised Samaritans and probably poor (B) (C) Nicodemus knew the Scriptures, carefully keeping the Law; the woman was of questionable moral character Jesus approached Nicodemus on an intellectual level; the woman, on the basis of curiosity, physical need, and conscience c. but in both instances Jesus made and took the time to meet the other in the place where they were and the need which they had 2. Concerning the Time of Day a. some Bible notes identify the 6th hour as noon according to Jewish method of measuring hours from sunrise, others put it as 6:00 p.m. b. so while there is a divergence of opinion on this matter, let us look at this encounter as taking place in the late afternoon, and how that ties in with the little details about the place and the woman B. An Appointment in Samaria : The Occasion for the Trip a. 1 When therefore the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John 2 (although Jesus Himself was not baptizing, but His disciples were), 3 He left Judea, and departed again into Galilee. (John 4:1-3) (A) the Jewish religious rulers had already been antagonistic against John, and now Jesus came to their attention (1) His continued presence in the Judean country-side would only make things more difficult for John (2) Jesus was working according to the Divine time-table, and for Him the time had not yet come to provoke

3 further the conflict with the Pharisees (B) so it was time to return to Galilee; but also b. 4 And He had to pass through Samaria. 5 So He came to a city of Samaria, called Sychar, near the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph; 6 and Jacob s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, was sitting thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour. (John 4:4-6) (A) Jesus had been, not in Jerusalem, but in the Judean country-side (John 3:22), and there were several alternate routes back home (1) the longer trips either up the Jordan valley or the sea coast (2) the shorter, but more rugged, through the mountains that traversed the province of Samaria (B) being raised in Galilee, Jesus would feel no reason to avoid the Samaritans, so would take the shorter trip with His disciples (1) they would leave early, in the cool of the morning (2) a day s journey, 25 miles, would bring them to this place (C) and Jesus knew that He had an appointment there 2. Samaritan history a. now, the religious Jews, so conscious of ceremonial uncleanness, would go out of their way to avoid going through Samaria b. this antagonism dated back some 700 years, when the northern kingdom of Israel, was taken away into captivity by Assyria (A) you will find the record of this in 2 Kings 17 (B) to keep down revolts within the Assyrian empire, resettled peoples particularly leaders and men of military age from one region into another, mixing them up, to remove any national feeling (C) so many of the people of Israel were distributed throughout the Assyrian empire, being replaced by deportees from other places (D) thus, the already faulty worship of Israel was further polluted by the idolatrous worship of those immigrants c. years of bickering followed, some recorded in Ezra and Nehemiah, with the Samaritans establishing Mt Gerizim as their place of worship and having their own books of Moses, suitably revised to agree with their own teachings. C. There s Water & There s Water : Opening A Door to Witness (7-12) a. from this background comes this Samaritan woman to meet Jesus

4 (A) she has taken about minutes to come from Sychar, if we have correctly located this town (1) passing a fountain and a spring-fed river along the way (2) to this ancient well dating back about 1,800 years (3) she lowers her pitcher about 100 feet and draws up water b. Jesus disciples had gone into Sychar to get provisions, and weary fatigued would be a more accurate word He rests from His journey (A) one way to open a conversation is to give a favour or ask a favour (B) Jesus did just that; and had both her interest and curiosity c. The Samaritan woman therefore *said to Him, How is it that You, being a Jew, ask me for a drink since I am a Samaritan woman? (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) (John 4:9) (A) have dealings is literally, have use together with and the idea is not so much that of doing business one with another, but rather the having use (of something) in common with one another (B) on the place where I lived as a young boy, we had a pump in the yard, and, hanging from that pump, a dipper; anyone who came along could hold the dipper under the spout with one hand and reach up with the other to pump up some water to drink (C) many had dealings with that dipper; they used it in common (D) for a religious Jew, so concerned with the externals of religion, this was unthinkable: anything touched by an unclean person was itself considered unclean; and if that person was one of these semi-pagan Samaritans a woman at that she must be unclean! d. Jesus answer teaches about God s grace and makes an offer in return (A) 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. (John 4:10) (1) in past centuries, water-carriers were to be found in the streets of middle eastern cities, crying, the gift of God so is water in a land subject to extreme drought (2) Jesus changes the conversation naturally from water itself to its source and benefit; from the natural to the supernatural (B) she has seen he is no ordinary Jew; now Jesus begins to reveal that He is no ordinary man, answering who is it who says? (1) for He, too, can grant favours (2) He also has water living water lively water bubbling up (3) that could be but spring water; she asks the obvious question e. 11 She *said to Him, Sir, You have nothing to draw with and the well is deep; where then do You get that living

5 water? 12 You are not greater than our father Jacob, are You, who gave us the well, and drank of it himself, and his sons, and his cattle? (John 4:11-12) (A) Where s your rope and bucket?... even a bucket? (B) The location of the well is exactly known today. It has been dug down through 100 feet of chalk. Why Jacob had to do this is not told to us in the Bible, but probably for the same reason that Isaac his father had to dig wells because his neighbours didn t share (C) even Jacob couldn t get water from this well without a bucket (D) now that Jesus has her full interest and attention He is ready to continue to tell her more about 2. Jesus Kind of Water (13-15) a. 13 Jesus answered and said to her, Everyone who drinks of this water shall thirst again; 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life. (John 4:13-14) (A) you have heard about permafrost frost that is in the ground all year round (like the temperatures of the past few days!) (B) well, this is perma-water always present in one (C) self-renewing; permanent refreshment; permanent satisfaction (D) what a change and prospect offered to this woman I tried the broken cisterns, Lord, But ah! the waters failed! E'en as I stooped to drink they'd fled, And mocked me as I wailed. Now none but Christ can satisfy, None other name for me; There's love, and life, and lasting joy, {2}. Lord Jesus, found in Thee... (E) this sounds like a good thing, and the woman said so b. The woman *said to Him, Sir, give me this water, so I will not be thirsty, nor come all the way here to draw. (John 4:15) (A) the verb used for come here indicates that she felt rather keenly the burden of travelling this distance for

6 (B) water (1) passing that fountain; passing that stream (2) if the time was really noon, the heat would have oppressed (3) and she did it... for whom but water that was always near at hand, no thirst any longer what a blessing that must be: O Sir, give me this water! c. the bodily need has been felt, but now she must recognise the need of her soul it s time for Jesus to get personal, D. Speaking to Her Conscience : Touching the Tender Spot (16-18) a. 16 He *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 ; (John 4:16-17) b. you have to come all this way for water, not only for yourself, but for someone else as well... that should be your husband: bring him here (A) this woman has been quite the conversationalist: it is evident even in English and more so in the Greek and in the Samaritan dialect she would have been speaking; but now her answer is abrupt; curt (B) Not have I a husband (3 words the original language) (C) Jesus remarks that she has answered well, but in the original, He reverses the word order in quoting her, Husband not have I (D) for her truth is only partial: so Jesus continues c. for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; this you have said truly. (John 4:18) (A) here is something painful but you must face up to it (B) in the matter of personal relationships your life, past and present, has been very unsatisfying, temporary only, like this water which leaves you thirsty in a few hours... you have a thirsty soul as well (C) your hurt kept you from stopping with the other women gathered now at the river or fountain discussing their families (D) but you are truthful, so there is a chance for you 2. Diverting the Diversion (19-24) a. 19 The woman *said to Him, Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshipped in this mountain,

7 and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. (John 4:19-20) (A) the woman s perception of who Jesus is growing (1) she had learned that He was no ordinary Jew (2) she has learned He was no ordinary man, but a prophet (B) her admission of this is also an admission of her sinful condition (C) but that is not a theme she wants to dwell upon, and here was an opportunity to sound Jesus out on a longstanding argument between the Jews and the Samaritans (D) the Samaritan Books of Moses even had an extra commandment inserted about worshipping on this Mount Gerizim (E) what will this prophet say on this subject (and leave the other!) (F) Jesus is not to be diverted from leading her to know His Father b. 21 Jesus *said to her, Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, shall you worship the Father. 22 You worship that which you do not know; we worship that which we know, for salvation is from the Jews. (John 4:21-22) (A) you need a new relationship, woman, and that relationship is not based upon rituals, or a building, or a place (1) not a physical relationship: you know they re often deficient (2) not based on race or nationality (3) but with the One who is Father of all, creator of all (B) your worship is defective, based on only part of God s revelation (C) but the promised Saviour comes from the Jews; from Judah: The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, Nor the ruler s staff from between his feet, Until Shiloh comes, And to him shall be the obedience of the peoples. (Genesis 49:10) c. then Jesus continues, 23 But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshippers. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth. (John 4:23-24) (A) you Samaritans and many Jews and many today approach worship as though God were a physical being merely a man but on a larger and more powerful scale that is not the case (B) the second commandment tells us that God cannot be represented by material things by graven images because God is Spirit (C) worship is not such externals but must come in truth sincerity from one s innermost being, the spirit d. it is your sinful nature, O Samaritan woman, that needs to be changed if you are to worship the one, true God

8 rightly; 3. A Revelation to this Woman (25-26) a. 25 The woman *said to Him, I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ); when that One comes, He will declare all things to us. 26 Jesus *said to her, I who speak to you am He. (John 4:25-26) (A) speaking with Jesus, has turned this woman s thoughts from the commonplace concerns of well-water to the knowledge of God (B) particularly to that hope which Samaritans, even though sort of a mongrel nation, shared with the Jews: the coming of Messiah (C) what she has been hearing reminds her of that promise, and her desire for Him, because Messiah has the answer to her needs b. and Jesus emphatically answers the implied question made at the start, If you knew... who it is who says to you... (A) I am the Christ, I am the gift of God (B) I am the one whom you should ask for living water (C) I am all you need E. Conclusion 1. how wonderful to be trusting in Jesus Christ, the living water that satisfies the soul and to sing that old Sunday School chorus we had: I'm feeding on the living bread, I'm drinking at the fountain head; And who so drinketh, Jesus said, Shall never, never thirst again. What, never thirst again? No! never thirst again. What, never thirst again? No! never thirst again. And whoso drinketh, Jesus said, Shall never, never thirst again. {3}.

9 by Garth Hutchinson, Faith Fellowship Baptist Church of Aurora (Ontario): may be distributed or quoted freely, only let this be done to the glory of the great God and our Saviour, Jesus Christ (Titus ii.13). Except as noted otherwise, quotations are from the New American Standard version, used by permission. Various other English versions of the Holy Bible may be used in this sermon. Explanatory additions to the Bible text are shown in braces. Version identifiers are: AV Authorized (King James) Version of 1769 NAS New American Standard version 1960, 1995 The Lockman Foundation (usually the 1995 edition) NIV New International Version 1984 by the International Bible Society NLT New Living Translation 1996 Tyndale Charitable Trust NKJV New King James Version 1979 Thomas Nelson Inc., Publishers WEY The New Testament in Modern Speech 1902, 1912 R. F. Weymouth Some of the commentaries and resources used in the preparation of this message are identified as follow: Bruce -- The Cospel & Epistles of John, by F. F. Bruce, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, MI; 1983 BM Biblical Museum, Editor James Comper Gray, ca 1870 EGT The Expositor s Greek Testament, Hodder & Stoughton; 1903 John, by Marcus Dods NICNT The New International Commentary on the New Testament The Gospel according to John, by Leon Morris NTC New Testament Commentary, by William Hendriksen; Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, MI; Attributed to Emma Frances Bevan, Pinebrook Choruses #46 (1946), Young People s Church of the Air. By Greg P. Leavers and Peter Horrobin