Being a Witness Lessons from The Expert Text: John 4:1-42 Series: Gospel of John [#8] Pastor Lyle L. Wahl December 29, 2013 Introduction Today we return to our series in the Gospel of John. Jesus has told us, you shall be my witnesses. 1 That is the mission of every believer to our world. We looked at our witness earlier in this series through John the Baptist, who was an expert witness. But today, in chapter 4, we come to the expert witness, Jesus Himself. And so, our focus is on lessons from the expert. We are going to look at Jesus example, encouragement, and method of expansion. Jesus example of personal witness. We ll start with Jesus example of personal witness. Look at verse 4, Now he had to go through Samaria (NIV). There is more here than meets our 21 st century eyes. Jesus witness in this chapter was planned and purposeful. The area of Samaria was between Judea in the south and Galilee in the north. So it would seem to make sense that you had to pass through Samaria to get to Galilee, where Jesus was headed (as we read in verse 43). And that is what many Jewish people did. But not all Jewish people did that. Some strict Jews circled around Samaria to the east to get up to Galilee, even though it made their journey much longer. 2 Why did they do that? Because there was strong hostility between the Jews and Samaritans. When the Assyrians defeated the Northern Kingdom of Israel in 722 B.C., they removed many of the people to other countries and brought in people from a variety of other nations. The remaining Jewish people and foreigners intermarried, with their descendants becoming the Samaritans. The Samaritans had their own temple at Mt. Gerazim, which was burned by the Jews around 128 B.C. The Samaritans had their own priesthood and accepted only the first five books of the Old Testament as Scripture. Most Jews considered them unclean half-breeds, their Scriptures being incomplete and their religion having parts that were not true or pure. 3 Jesus had to go through Samaria. It was the shortest route. It was not the only route. It was not the route favored by some. It was His chosen route to fulfill His purpose and plan for ministry there. 4 Jesus teaches us that our witness should be planned and purposeful. You may have heard the saying, Most people don t plan to fail, they simply fail to plan. One reason we fail to
be effective as Jesus witnesses is that we are not motivated by that purpose, and fail to plan to be witnesses. As we approach a new year, one positive resolution would be to have a purposeful and planned witness in 2014. A second part of Jesus example is that His witness was to all people. As Jesus and His disciples walked north through Samaria, they came to a fork in the road near the town of Sychar. Verse 6 tells us Jesus was tired (NIV), fatigued, wearied from His journey. So He sat by the well there, while His disciples went into the nearby town to buy food (verse 8). This highlights that Jesus was truly man as well as truly God. A Samaritan woman approached the well to draw water. Most Jewish men in that time did not talk to any woman in public, not even their wife or daughters, 5 let alone a Samaritan woman. She was also a woman with issues she had been married five times, and was now living with a man who was not her husband. In chapter 3 Jesus met with Nicodemous a Pharisee, a member of the ruling Sanhedrin, one of the most important men in the land and showed him God s truth and love. Here Jesus meets with this Samaritan woman, and then other Samaritans, to show them God s truth and love. His witness was to all people. Jesus shows us our witness is to be to all people. Yes, we feel more comfortable with some people than with others. Sometimes we actually may find it easier to talk with people we don t know about God than those we know well. Our witness is to be to all people regardless of our feelings, culture and position, regardless of who or what the others are or are not. The third part of Jesus example of witness is that it was personal and without gimmicks. Jesus witness was personal. It was not only directed at this woman personally, but it was shaped personally for her. His didn t use any gimmicks. He did not use ideas or schemes that withheld some important information, and so could have tricked her. Let s review Jesus witness to this Samaritan woman. He came to the well at about the sixth hour, or at about noon by Jewish time. When this woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her Give me a drink. It was mid-day and hot. While travelers usually carried skin bags and rope to draw water, Jesus disciples had gone to town for food. His need was real. Jesus used this situation as a way to not only quench his thirst, but also to open the door to talking about spiritual truth. His approach was personal and genuine. Our witness always should be personal and without gimmicks. Sadly, gimmicks have been used by some Christians in their attempts to witness. For example, offering free tickets to a performance or dinner which appears to the recipient to be just that, while the event has been designed to be an evangelistic event. Or offering information or seminars with no statement of a Christian element or connection. I have talked with people who are so angry and bitter at being tricked into attending such functions that they don t want to hear anything about Christianity. We can and should use interests and needs as opportunities to point people to Christ, use them personally and without gimmicks. 2
Next there is the part of dealing directly with sin. We see this clearly in Jesus encounter with this woman. After the opening conversation Jesus moved to talk about living water which quenches thirst permanently, and becomes a well of water springing up to eternal life (14). The woman quickly replied, Sir, give me this water so I won t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water (15 NIV). Just as Nicodemous was hung up on the physical level of being born again, so she was on this living water. Jesus response? Look at verse 16. He told her, Go, call your husband and come back (NIV). That s not what we would call a smooth transition! Why this question? Jesus moved quickly to spiritual matters and her spiritual condition, in particular to her sin and sinfulness. She tried to avoid the question saying, I have no husband. Then Jesus lays it all on the table, You are right in saying, I have no husband; for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true (17b- 18 ESV). Jesus expressed acceptance and love to all, but He never ducked the issue of sin. He always dealt with it directly. Our witness for Jesus is to be like His. Christians are sometimes reluctant to use the S- Word, Sin. Yes, many people think sin is an outdated concept. As well, many people honestly do not have a clear understanding of what sin is, that it is any failure to meet the perfect, holy, righteous character and standards of God. Make no mistake, the gospel, our witness is not complete without the truth about sin. A final part of Jesus example of personal witness is that He answered questions without being sidetracked. This woman, like most people, was not comfortable when confronted with her true spiritual condition. So she did what many do, she tried to avoid the subject, sidetrack the conversation to something more comfortable, less personal. It started with Jesus telling her to go get her husband. She tired to get off that track by saying I have no husband. The truth, but not the whole truth. Jesus did not get sidetracked. In fact, He picked up on her answer to present the truth about her situation. Her next attempt starts in verse 19. Sir, the woman said, I can see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem (NIV). It was much more comfortable for her to debate where people should worship than to discuss her sin. Jesus answered her directly. He told her worshiping God is not about the place but about worshiping the one true God in spirit and in truth. She made one last attempt to sidetrack Jesus in verse 25. I know that Messiah (called Christ) is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us (NIV). In effect, Let s talk about prophecy, about the Messiah who will clarify all of this. He will settle everything. 3
But this led exactly to the heart of the message, the gospel Jesus wanted her to know and receive. And He stated it plainly, dramatically, I, the one speaking to you I am he (NIV). Jesus answered her questions, but did not get sidetracked from His purpose and point. It is easy to get sidetracked with the subject of religion, or politics, the world economy, disasters, morality, the presence of evil in our world. The list is endless. An effective witness answers questions without being sidetracked. Jesus encouragement to His disciples. Now let s move on to Jesus encouraging His disciples in their witness. He did that by encouraging them to be focused on mission. The disciples returned from town with food. The woman left her water pot and went back to town telling people about Jesus, the One who told her not only about herself, but said He is the Messiah. As people came out to Him, his disciples said, Rabbi, eat! Jesus was both tired and hungry, and I m sure he ate, but he took the opportunity to teach. Let s pick it up at verse 32. But he said to them, I have food to eat that you know nothing about. Then his disciples said to each other, Could someone have brought him food? My food, said Jesus, is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. (32-34 NIV). Jesus never lost sight of His mission. With family, work, interests, friends, church and other things in front of us, it is easy to live day to day without a sense of our mission to be Jesus witnesses, to be God s salt and light. Being His witness includes what we do in and for the church as well as in our individual lives. Like the disciples, we need to be reminded of our mission, to have it central in all aspects of our lives each day. Jesus also encouraged them to be harvesters. Jesus words in 35-38 are a familiar missions text. Today zero in on the main point. Jesus has told His disciples that mission was His central focal point, and it was to be their central focal point. Then, in verses 35-38, He tells them to be ready, and more, to be harvesters now! Go on to verse 35. Don t you have a saying, It s still four months until harvest? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. Even now the one who reaps draws a wage and harvests a crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. Thus the saying One sows and another reaps is true. I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor. (35-38 NIV). 4
Bringing in a spiritual harvest of people coming to faith is not always like planting and harvesting a crop where you plant and wait four months for the harvest. There are always some who are ready to hear and to respond, as we see in the Samaritans here. There is an urgency to be harvesting today. One person wrote, If those disciples had been appointed a commission on enquiry as to the possibilities of Christian enterprise in Samaria I know exactly what resolution they would have passed: Samaria unquestionably needs our Master s message, but it is not ready for it. There must first be ploughing, then sowing, and then waiting. It is needy, but it is not ready. 6 Just as Jesus encouraged His disciples, He encourages us to be harvesters now. It is true that many people take time to process the truth of the gospel before they come to faith. But that never should be used to excuse not taking every opportunity to ask the question What are you going to do with Jesus Christ? It never should be used to excuse not being harvesters today. Jesus encourages us be focused on our mission and to be harvesters. Jesus expansion through multiplication. In addition to Jesus example of witnessing and His encouragement for His followers to be witnesses, we also see His work of expansion through multiplication. He used those who were saved to reach others who then reached yet others. In that short time in Samaria Jesus reached the woman. She went back and told others, and, verse 30, people were coming to Him. Then, verse 41, Many more believed because of His word. Jesus plan for reaching the world, for building the church has always been one of multiplication each one who believes tells and reaches others, and this is to keep moving onward. We are not told how many the many was (and that is not the key point), but as this woman told others, they came to hear, and then believed. And as those then told others, still others believed. The kingdom of God is built through multiplication by the witness of every believer. This leads us to the important point of investing in new believers. Jesus gives us the example in verse 40. So when the Samaritans came to Jesus, they were asking Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days. He was on His way to Galilee to minister. The stop at that fork in the road was to rest, to be refreshed with water and food, and to minister. When people responded, Jesus did not bless them and immediately move on. He invested in them. Two days may not seem to be much. But Jesus took two days out of His brief public ministry to invest in those new believers. The process of spiritual growth and then multiplication will not get off the ground unless we invest time and energy in new believers. 5
Conclusion. We are witnesses. The Expert shows us how to fulfill this mission. A modern parable highlights how basic and yet neglected this mission often is. It came to pass that a group existed who called themselves fishermen. And, lo, there were many fish in waters all around. Streams and lakes were filled with fish, and they were all very hungry. Week after week, month after month, year after year, people who called themselves fishermen met in meetings and talked about their call to fish, the abundance of fish, and how they really should go fishing. They built large buildings for local fishing headquarters, and issued pleas on a regular basis for more fishermen. But they did not fish. They organized a board to send out fishermen to other places where there were many fish. Their great vision and courage to speak out about fishing was seen in their promotion brochures and spirited rallies to wish these fishermen well. But the staff and committee members just never got around to fishing. Large, elaborate training centers were built to teach fishermen how to fish. Persons with doctorates in Fishology were hired to do the teaching. But all they did was teach fishing they did not fish. After one stirring meeting on The Necessity of Fishing one young fellow left the meeting and went fishing. He caught two outstanding fish. He was honored for his excellent catch and scheduled to visit all the big meetings to tell about his experience. So he quit fishing to travel about, telling his story. Now there were many people around them who questioned their status as fishermen, and laughed at their clubs and rallies when there was never any evidence of any fish being brought in. But they continued claiming to be fishermen, even if they never found the time to fish. And Jesus said, Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men. 7 As you reflect and respond to God now, thank Him that you have the privilege of being His witness, the privilege of being one who can point and lead people to Jesus, His forgiveness and everlasting life. Also evaluate you witness in light of the truth Jesus shows us in His own example. Commit yourself, recommit yhourself to truly being a fisher of men. 6
1 Acts 1:8 2 Leon Morris. The Gospel According to John. Grand Rapids: Wm B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1971, page 255. 3 On the animosity see, for example, D. A. Carson. The Gospel According to John. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1991, page 216. Morris, page 256. 4 Morris, page 255. He writes the necessity lies in the nature of the mission of Jesus. He notes that John often uses must of Jesus mission (3:14; 9:4; 10:16; 12; 34; 20:9). 5 Morris, page 274. 6 G. Campbell Morgan. The Gospel According to John. London: Marshall, Morgan & Scott, LTD., 1933, page 78. 7 Original source not known. 2013 Lyle L. Wahl Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE, Copyright 1960, 1962, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. Scripture quotations marked (ESV) are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV ), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. 7