John 4 - The Smaritian Woman - Sunday meeting..10-31-21 Pastor Gilman

 

I had a thought this week as I was preparing for today regarding how we identify the things that we should be applying in our lives as we study week after week.. After all isn’t that the point of it….My answer to this internal question was relatively simple so I’d like to share it with you.

If Jesus makes a point to anyone, a disciple, to people in a multitude, a sick person or a traveling stranger. No matter who or what the circumstances this also applies to us. Everyone in the bible can apply to one aspect or another in our lives. We must look for the aspects , acknowledge them, so we can rightly apply the word of God to ourselves. Mostly, we do the best we can with the knowledge and awareness that we have at the time and when we know more we do things differently. So we need to ask for enlightenment and the ability, the wisdom, to apply His Word rightly and communicate it in a way that God would approve.. We often need His help to do these things so we ask for guidance, strength and wisdom everyday. As Jesus prayed …Give us this day our Daily bread…..

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John 4 has so many aspects to it that initially I was hard pressed to know exactly where to begin, to make the most of our time together. In order to frame chapter 4 correctly we need to have a look back at the last 10 verses, or so, of chapter 3.

Verse 1 ,chapter 4 states: “When therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John, 2 (though Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples,) 3 he left Judea, and departed again into Galilee”

So lets look at what brought this about..

Now referring to chapter 3,verse 22.

"After these things, Jesus and His disciples came into the land of Judea, and there he remained with them and baptized. Now John was also baptizing in Aenon near Salim because there was much water there. And they came and were baptized. For John had not yet been thrown into prison, And there arose a dispute between some of John's disciples and the Jews about purification. And they came to John and said, Rabbi, he who was with you beyond the Jordan to whom you have testified, that is Jesus, behold He is baptizing, and all are coming to him."

Now let's stop right there, and let's go through some of these verses.

Let me begin by saying “pride” is a cancer to the human soul. Nothing is more destructive to humanity than pride. Pride is what kicked Lucifer out of heaven. Pride is what took Adam out of the garden. Pride is what took Saul, the king, out of the kingdom. Pride destroys relationships, friendships, marriages, families, work colleague relationships, ministries, and even churches. And at this point, pride is tempting John the Baptist.

John the Baptist had had a very powerful ministry because people from Jerusalem and all around Judea heard about this crazy, bug-eating, long-haired, weird-dressing preacher down by the Jordan River, and they flocked just to see what he was about and to hear him.

Even the religious big wigs came; the Scribes Sadducees, and Pharisees.

But now, Jesus' ministry is gaining more attention. John the Baptist baptized Jesus, as our Lord identified with “us” in the waters of baptism. But now Jesus' ministry is beginning to overshadow that of John the Baptist, and John's disciples are noticing that.

And we get here then John's response to this issue; this temptation to become envious of what's happening with Jesus and with the disciples.

John had a very lonely ministry. As he said, He was a voice crying in the wilderness. Make straight the ways of the Lord. John the Baptist, as we know , will be put into prison. And while he's in prison, facing almost certain death, he's going to have second thoughts, even sending a messenger asking, Jesus, are you the one we're looking for or should we seek another? Remember that?

What you're going to see, that John the Baptist has a very spiritually mature response to this challenge. to this temptation; one that we can learn from. And I would say, especially if you if you battle , on some level, with issues of pride and envy this passage can be very helpful.

If somebody else, is getting the spotlight or credit ..If somebody else's life or ministry is eclipsing yours you're feeling those tendencies toward bitterness

or envy, John the Baptist provides good fodder for a cure for that, if we follow in his example. And we can follow his example with confidence because as Jesus said. John the Baptist was the greatest man that ever lived…

So there arose, verse 25, a dispute.

In Verse 22 it says, "His disciples came to the land in Judea, and there He remained with them and baptized." Now before you think Jesus was out there baptizing, He was not.

Fast forwarding to chapter 4 verse 1,

"Therefore when the Lord himself knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John."

Now notice the statement that follows.

"Though Jesus Himself did not baptize but His disciples, He left Judea and departed again to Galilee."

So Jesus wasn't doing the baptism. His disciples were doing the baptism, but the activity brought anxiety, and that's why in verse 25 there arose a dispute between some of John's disciples and the Jews about purification. And it was that dispute with the religious elite, the religious leaders of Judaism, that caused those feelings of animosity toward Jesus' disciples.

You all have known troublemakers.. Paul talked about them being within the first churches.. Paul's second command is very clear. He says that we are to "avoid them" (troublemakers). He is telling us that we are to have no fellowship with those who would cause trouble in the church!

Who do you think directs them? What path are they following? Of course we know it’s Satan’s work.. the great divider and deceiver…

So John’s disciples said…"Rabbi, he who is with you beyond the Jordan to whom you have testified, behold, he is baptizing and all are coming to him." They are feeling a little disillusioned …

You probably already know this, but many people do get disillusioned with church, their ministry or even their bible study. Because they are all groups of God’s people.. brothers and sisters in Christ..

But just because God’s people have been forgiven for sins, it doesn't mean that they are sinless.

It doesn't mean that they are perfect.

And the disillusionment comes in when all of a sudden we’re with brothers and sisters who are following Jesus and then we discover “flaws” in our new family. You may be shocked and appalled. This is called have unrealistic expectations…And having unrealistic expectations will set you up for disappointment every time…

You see, the Church is not a society of the perfect. It's a society of the redeemed. It's redeemed people who express their spirituality through human personality. And whenever you express your spirituality through human personality ,human nature comes through.

It's going to come out with that personality around it.

It's how the Lord designed it, by the way.

When we read the Gospels, and we have Twelve Apostles; And those apostles, we discover, argued about who's going to be the greatest in the kingdom. Not just once, but several times.

As the Church moves on in the Book of Acts.

In the 15th chapter, we find the apostle Paul, and his companion in ministry, Barnabas, had a dispute, an argument. And it says the contention was so sharp between them that they parted company. I know you remember this..

On their first missionary journey together, John Mark, the cousin of Barnabas (Col. 4:10), accompanied them. Along the way, however, John Mark decided to return to his home in Jerusalem (Acts 13:13). He just left his duties and forgot his promise and went home.. Later on, when a second campaign was being planned, Barnabas proposed taking Mark as a helper, but Paul resisted the idea. The New Testament record indicates that a “sharp contention” developed between them (Acts 15:36-41).They could not reach an agreement, and so they split up. As far as the sacred record indicates, these two remarkable men never saw one another again but there was a type of reconciliation… You see Barnabas was a social worker type.. He wanted to give Mark another chance. He was attracted to the lame and weak.. He wanted to help.. Whereas Paul had duties to perform, churches to establish and had no time for nonsense or people that he could not depend on…Burned me once shame on you.. burn me twice shame on me… Who was right?

Apparently John Mark had changed his ways and become a faithful disciple with the help and understanding of Barabbas..

Years later, Paul finds the formerly useless Mark “useful,” as revealed in the apostle’s concluding epistle. “Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for ministering” (2 Tim. 4:11). That is the closest to an admission of being wrong that you will ever hear from Paul on this matter…

But these God fearing men went in two different directions.

You might say that's tragic.

But actually it's turned out to be quite wonderful because there was to be a reconciliation of sorts, but in the meantime, because of the split, there became two groups that the Lord can use in two different places. And so there can be multiplication, even by division, even if it's imperfect and sinful the Lord can use that.

So in John chapter 4 the disciples of John the Baptist and Jesus and his disciples fueled by the religious leaders of the Jews are becoming contentious. They said more people are going to Jesus than coming to us…What’s up with that John?

Now listen to John the Baptist's answers.

John answered and said, "A man can receive nothing

Unless it has been given to him from heaven."

Now stop right there with that statement.

This reveals that John had a proper theology.

God is in charge.

He continues, "You yourselves bear me witness that I said, I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before Him." Now this reveals that John has a proper understanding. He would say, I know my calling. I know who I am. I wonder.. Do we understand our calling?



Then he says this.

" He's using an analogy now of a Jewish wedding, "he who has the bride is the bride groom, but the friend of the bride groom." (We would call that the best man today.) "Who stands and hears him rejoices greatly because of the bride groom's voice. Therefore, this joy of mine is fulfilled."

This reveals John had a proper attitude.

And then verse 30.

"He must increase, but I must decrease."

This shows he has a proper relationship to what God is doing through him and through , Jesus. Since God is sovereign, it should be Less of me, more of Him.

That's the proper relationship.

Going forward..

Its says in John 4 verse 3 … That Jesus he left Judea, and departed again into Galilee. 4 And he must needs go through Samaria..

If you and I lived 2000 years ago in this region and we were reading this,

he needed to go through Samaria.

We'd say, one question.

Why? It’s a little like going to Manila by way of Vietnam…

But it says Jesus needed to go through Samaria.

And why?

Well, we find out as we read there's a woman at Samaria that Jesus has an appointment with. She doesn't know this. The apostles don't know this, they just went to get food.

Jesus knows this. It's in the Providence of God.

He wants the lesson to be known that God loves Samaritans as much as He loves Jews. He loves all mankind..It says in many places that Jesus loved the sinner.. I think that’s everyone, isn’t it…?

Interestingly, one woman is going to be affected by this conversation. She's going to believe in the Lord. And she will carry the gospel to Samaria. And many more in her village and the surrounding towns will believe because of her testimony. He needed to go through Samaria. He had a purpose…

Here’s a little background that will be useful to get this interaction between the Samaritan woman and Jesus; And to really understand the impact of this…

For 700 years, by this time, 700 years, there has been animosity between Samaria and Jerusalem. The Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.

If you're going north, if you were Jewish, especially if you were a very compliant, you want to stay away from Samaria. They would actually go across the Jordan River out of the land of Israel into the land of Perea, and go north, and then re-enter from the north to get to Galilee. Jews would circumvent the whole area of Samaria.

Why is that?

In 722 BC, the Assyrian Empire took over the known world. They swept down through the north from the northeast, and they took over the 10 tribes in the north. Now Israel was split.

The king ,Jeroboam introduced idolatry in the north and placed golden calves for the people to worship at. Two of them in fact. One in the far north of Dan and the second in the area of Samaria in Bethel.

In Bethel and Dan, golden calves were there for worship. That really angered the people of Judea and can I say that it must have also angered God. But they continued doing their idolatry.

In 722 BC, when the Assyrians took over the world, They took captive the 10 northern tribes, and when the Assyrians took places over, here's what they did.

They would remove the population base away from the land. They didn't just take over. They took you out of your homeland and brought you to another place. And they brought, in the place of the population, people from other areas they conquered. They wanted to really mix it up.

Because this takes the nationalistic spirit away if you're away from your homeland.

You feel very defeated, very depleted. Hopeless in fact…. So he took away the people, except the Assyrian policy was always to keep the people of the land, the farmers, the poor people, let those people stay. So the Jewish people, some of them remained, the poorest of the land while floods of new people came in from other countries. The floods of new people, non-Jews from other places populated the northern area of Samaria, and intermarried with the Jews who remained in the land.

Now there was a meshing together of ideologies, belief systems, foreign gods and goddesses. So it wasn't a pure bloodline. And it wasn't a pure religion, not that it ever really was. But it was worse.

It got so bad that after the Babylonian captivity down south, in 586 BC, the Babylonians took over the area of Judea, 70 years after that a decree was issued allowing the Jews to worship as they wished so they came back to Judea to rebuild their temple.

When they wanted to rebuild their temple, some Samaritans came down.

Sanballat was one of them.Tobiah. And they said, we want to help you rebuild this temple. And the people of Judea said, no way. We're not letting you help at all. We the people of Judea from these tribes, we're building it on our own. We want nothing to do with you because of the idolatry and the pollution that was in their system, in their lives.

The Samaritans got so angry with the people of Judea for not letting them participate in that, that they built a rival temple on another mountain.

See, the one in Jerusalem is on Mount Zion.

The one in Samaria, they built on Mount Gerizim.

So they build a temple on Mount Gerizim.

So now there's a rival temple. And the historian Josephus says, the rival temple in Samaria was almost exactly like the temple in Jerusalem. So you have Samaritan worship in Samaria, and the Jerusalem worship in the temple. So the people in Judea, the Pharisees, the Sadducees, all of them, detest the Samaritans and regard them as filth.. They have no dealings with the Samaritans.

It's a rival religion. A rival temple. And a lot of bad history, bad blood between them.

Now you have a backdrop to the situation at Jacob’s Well…



Today we're going to be covering as much of John chapter four as possible..Don’t worry about taking notes or remembering details as everything will be published on our website for you to reference and cross reference at your leisure.. Also I will be doing the closing prayer this morning so everyone can relax about that.. But regarding this if anyone else wants also to close with a prayer just jump in we would welcome that as well…Prayers are always welcome….Lets pray:

Dear Lord in heaven,

We are grateful for your presence with us this morning. Guide us forward, open our eyes and soften our hearts that we may be receiving of your Word. We are grateful for the fellowship and we ask for your blessing on us this morning..

We ask these things in Jesus’ name

Amen



We're going to talk about an incredible testimony and discussion between Jesus and the Samaritan woman so let's first look at how this particular chapter, chapter four, is broken down because as we've seen throughout our study of the book of John the apostle John has a lot of structure to his accounts that he takes us through. So this chapter, like others, and is broken into two parts.

The first part and the really the main chunk of this chapter covers his interaction with a woman at the well from Samaria. Jacob’s well… Then in a very last section of this chapter we're going see Jesus healing an official’s son and how he approaches the officials and the Jews who, as we've seen before, need to have a sign in order to believe… but let's look and see how the Samaritan woman interacts with Christ.

In verse 1 this event takes place in Samaria. Now Samaria is a region in northern Israel. It's kind of a barren desert area and there's a mountainous area around it and the location is at Jacob's Well…

Nevertheless I want to set the stage for this interaction by reading it for you.. Verses 1 through 26…

“When therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John, 2 (though Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples,) 3 he left Judæa, and departed again into Galilee. 4 And he must needs go through Samaria. 5 Then cometh he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. 6 Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour. 7 There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink. 8 (For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.) 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. 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. 11 The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water? 12 Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle? 13 Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: 14 but whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. 15 The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw. 16 Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither. 17 The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband: 18 for thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly. 19 The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. 21 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. 22 Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. 23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. 24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. 25 The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things. 26 Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he.”

Jesus is beginning to speak a parable to this woman using imagery that she would well identify with. This is a technique that Jesus often used when speaking to groups or multitudes of people. It is clear that the most important thing was to communicate with this woman that she will understand fully what he was saying. So he talked to her about “Living Water.” Like the imagery of ‘Birth” and other references to the old testament used with Nicodemus . .Jesus sought to communicate with his use of examples that the people could relate to in their own way.. You know some of us who are teachers or mentors or actively part of interpersonal relationships like friendship or even marriage or any profession where communication is required, just talk to hear themselves talk. Using big words to impress even if the others don’t understand. Conveying their message is secondary to being impressive with big words; even to children.. Communication is not the goal in these circumstances.. and it enlightens no one and helps no one.. He is well aware of this…

Jesus on the other hand wants his children to understand the content, to identify, to appreciate and value his message and to have faith enough to live it.. So now He’s talking about “Living Water” because he is sure that this woman will understand what he wants to convey to her…He is offering her eternal life, isn’t he..

But Living Water was water that would flow from a spring. It was moving, alive, full of oxygen, fresh water and it was the only water that they would use in the cleansing pots at the Temple as they go into the temple sacrifice. We’ve talked about the pools situated around the temple used for just this purpose. Living water in the Jewish culture and in this part of the world was precious and it was valued and so as far as the Samaritan woman knew there was no living water to be found in a desert area like this…But she knew what it was… There were mountains surrounding Jacob’s well, so she wants to know where is this living water because we have this water from the well that our ancestor provided for us… but tell me more about this living water…so Jesus goes on to tell her in verse 14 he says I can give you this water that becomes a spring within a person and results in eternal life… so this living water is available to the Samaritan woman; it's a water that she can have that will quench her thirst for eternity and it will provide eternal life…..

This woman, married 5 times and living with yet another man was probably not the most reputable woman. Her search for substance and happiness had been elusive.. beyond her reach.. She was considered filthy by the Jews and maybe by her own people. She even came to the well when no one else would be there.. Was this to avoid others? Maybe but this day it was a call by Jesus. “Jesus said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: 14 but whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst.”

She would never thirst again… The things that she longed for , searched for, things that would be beyond her grasp. Impossible for her to achieve alone would be possible through Jesus Christ. The inner desires and longings would be satisfied. She would find peace in her life and peace in her heart. She would never thirst again…He would allow her to be reborn.. or “Born again”….It is a spring alive inside that bubbles forth, never-endingly.. It is the Holy Spirit indeed..

So she ask Jesus for some of this water so she would not have to draw from the well… It reminds me of the base response of Nicodemus “Can an old man return to his mother’s womb and be born again??

If she had an idea of who Jesus was she was denying it to herself at this point. So she responded to him in a literal, concrete way as if to have missed the point altogether and I think she did… And Jesus thought she missed it also because he continues talking to her about worship and telling her that it is not the place where you worship that counts..Not in the mountain or Jerusalem but worship in Spirit and in Truth …It’s what inside of you not where you are.. Now you can’t worship in spirit if you do not share his spirit and if you do “truth” will be a natural reality…

But here’s the thing . We don’t need a huge ostentatious church building to worship our Lord. We don’t need to travel to the Holy Land to honor and worship our Lord. God is not concerned about how humble our surroundings are .He does not require that we impress him with our construction abilities...what he needs and wants from us is to share his spirit and worship in spirit and in truth..And this is what he told the Samaritan woman… Finally down to the very last she said “ I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things.”

Basically what she is telling Jesus is that…. “ok what you say sounds right but I will wait to hear it from the source. So if you don’t mind I’ll just wait for the messiah to tell of these things” Like Nicodemus Jesus also knew her heart and believed her to be of an honest heart because Jesus responded directly…26 “Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he.”

At that moment she accepted Jesus Christ into her life and into her heart… Lets continue…..

Verse 27….. And upon this came his disciples, and marvelled that he talked with the woman: yet no man said, What seekest thou? or, Why talkest thou with her? 28 The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men, 29 Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ? 30 Then they went out of the city, and came unto him.



31 In the mean while his disciples prayed him, saying, Master, eat. 32 But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of. 33 Therefore said the disciples one to another, Hath any man brought him ought to eat? 34 Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work. 35 Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.

Look at the possibilities around you. See the opportunities that are waiting for you..Harvest the souls according to God’s will. You will see that they are ripe for harvest…and this will be our meat or sustenance, the work of the Lord.. Just do the work, God’s will and all will be provided..Understand how we are all connected and dependent in this life and if you do You will never thirst again, You will want no more for you will reap peace in this life and have eternal life everlasting…..

36 And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together. 37 And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth. 38 I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours. This represents the connectedness that we have with one another..

Verse 39

And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him for the saying of the woman, which testified, He told me all that ever I did. 40 So when the Samaritans were come unto him, they besought him that he would tarry with them: and he abode there two days. 41 And many more believed because of his own word; 42 and said unto the woman, Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world.

Isn’t this a wonderful testament for ministering, living the values and truths that we hear and talk about . Putting our words into action as did this lowly Samaritan woman. The people didn’t necessarily believe her but when they got a taste of Christ they believed. As we minister and become a living example of God’s word if folks don’t believe us necessarily just point them to another place or person that they might believe.. Sharing the Word, the Good News is the best love we can give to our neighbor and one of our greatest blessings.

Next week we will resume with John 4 and begin with verse 43…

43 Now after two days he departed thence, and went into Galilee. 44 For Jesus himself testified, that a prophet hath no honour in his own country. 45 Then when he was come into Galilee, the Galilæans received him, having seen all the things that he did at Jerusalem at the feast: for they also went unto the feast. 46 So Jesus came again into Cana of Galilee, where he made the water wine. And there was a certain nobleman, whose son was sick at Capernaum. 47 When he heard that Jesus was come out of Judæa into Galilee, he went unto him, and besought him that he would come down, and heal his son: for he was at the point of death. We’ll pick up on this next time…We will finish chapter 4 with the 2nd miracle of Jesus and begin John , chapter 5…



Father we are grateful for prayers answered and understand that all things are on your time not ours. We are thankful for your unceasing love for us and we are thankful for your unvarnished Word to guide us. Help us to go forward as your word is reviled and apply it in our lives daily… Keep us centered Lord and on solid ground and let us not be deceived by Satan or his disciples.. Help us to keep your spirit in our heart and truth upon our lips always…

We ask these things in Jesus’s name..

Amen

Closing Prayer



In closing of this meeting this morning we are so thankful for the opportunity of having this fellowship and to study your word. We are especially grateful for prayers received by you and prayers answered. We thank you for all that we have and all that we are and we are grateful for your mercy, never-ending patience and love for us.

We ask today for assistance Lord for our work. Guide and lift up those who do your work for the children, the deprived and the sick. Help us be true representatives of your Word wherever we go and whatever we do. Keep us from temptation and help us stay on the path of eternal life. Give us the wisdom and strength to apply your word to our lives.. Bless this bible study and all of it’s members who seek “Living Water”..

We ask these things in Jesus’ name

Amen