A Gospel Conversation
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Just Passing Through
Just Passing Through
God had a plan — Jesus heard that the Pharisees learned He was baptizing more disciples than John. He knew they were coming to interrogate Him as they had John. It was not yet time for such a confrontation so He leaves quietly for Galilee.
He had to pass through Samaria — There was another route to Galilee but the one directed by the Father took Him through Samaria. It was appointed that He go through Samaria. Our life is appointed and there are no chance encounters with God.
Samaria — Was not a popular tourist spot for Jews of the day. Samaria was capital of the Northern Kingdom of Israel when the nation was divided between Israel in the north and Judah in the south. The name of the capital (Samaria) became the name of the entire area by the time of Jesus.
The norther Kingdom fell to the Assyrians in 722-721 BC and they deported the leading citizens of Israel and settled the land with foreigners who intermarried with the surviving Israelites. These remaining people adhered to some form of their religion.
After the exile (southern kingdom fell too), Jews who returned to their homeland around 539 BC, the remains of the southern Kingdom, viewed the Samaritans as racial half-breeds whose religion had been tainted.
By the time of Jesus the Samaritans had developed their own religious heritage based on the Pentateuch (first five books of the OT) which was the only scripture they followed. They did not accept any other books of the Old Testament as authoritative.
The prophets and other books are the place where Jerusalem is pronounced special. It was in these books that God recorded His direction to build the temple at Jerusalem. Since the Samaritans did not accept these books they built a temple for themselves on Mount Gerizim…and after this temple was destroyed in the second century BC kept worshipping there.
So the Jews did not like the Samaritans at all. They hated them. Even in the story of the Good Samaritan the Lawyer whom Jesus is telling the story will not use the word “Samaritan” but instead refers to him as “the merciful one” refusing to bestow any honor upon anyone carrying the name “Samaritan.”
It was in Samaria, near the town called Sychar, that Jesus and his disciples find a well to rest. It was a three day journey from Judea to Galilee. It was noon, they had traveled a while in the heat of the day. They were hungry and Jesus was thirsty. The disciples went into town to find some Kosher food while Jesus rested at the well…awaiting His divine appointment with the Samaritan woman.
Samaritan Woman — She was unschooled, without influence, despised, and in the eyes of the typical Jew, only capable of folk religion. She came to the well in the middle of the day by herself. Women usually would come to the well in groups and in cooler parts of the day. Perhaps, due to her public shame (we will learn in next verses she had been married 5 times and was living with a man now) she was isolated and therefore came alone at this time.
Jews avoided all contact with Samaritans if they could help it. But Jewish men would avoid speaking with women in public at all…even their own wife! Men certainly wouldn’t want to discuss theological issues with a woman in public! So it is of extreme significance that Jesus chose to talk with a Samaritan woman…and one of questionable character too!
But Jesus reaches out to everyone. In chapter three it was the powerful, learned, respected, orthodox, theologically trained man named Nicodemus. In chapter 4 it is the person on the lowest rung of the social ladder. In the eyes of Jesus both Nicodemus and this woman were persons. SHE was a person, created in the image of God, loved by Him, in need of salvation whose offer would be extended to her.
Will you give me a drink — This is how the NIV translates it and this translation captures it better than the ESV “Give me a drink.” It was a request. The woman was shocked to say the least…
Jews not only wanted nothing to do with Samaritans…would not talk to women in public…but they would never use dishes that a Samaritan used. To ask for a drink of water was to ask the woman to lower her jar, get water and then allow Jesus to drink from it…she knew this was scandalous in the eyes of Jews!
There is not a single person in this room beyond the love, grace and mercy of Jesus. There is not one thing you could have done to place yourself beyond the hope of grace. The message of salvation is for everyone, regardless of position, regardless of male or female, young or old, rich or poor. The Gospel is for all…and there should never be ANY man made barrier that would keep us from sharing the Gospel with everyone!
Racism, segregation are both condemned in this story. The Jewish people were racist when it came to the Samaritans. They segregated themselves from them…to the point they would not drink after them…sound familiar? Anyone here remember separate drinking fountains for black and white people in our country?
We cannot pass over this story and miss such a monumental teaching given us by the life choices of our Savior…Racism and segregation have NO PLACE in the life of a follower of Christ!
Unfortunately so many Christians have been taught to be just that…racist or segregationist. To think others are beneath them or should in some way be separated from them. As MLK once said, “The most segregated hour in the United States is 11am on Sunday morning.
A first grader went on her first day to a newly integrated school at the height of the segregation storm. An anxious mother met her at the door to inquire, "How did everything go, honey?" "Oh, Mother! You know what? A little black girl sat next to me!" In fear and trepidation, the mother expected trauma, but tried to ask calmly: "And what happened?" "We were both so scared that we held hands all day."
A first grader went on her first day to a newly integrated school at the height of the segregation storm. An anxious mother met her at the door to inquire, "How did everything go, honey?" "Oh, Mother! You know what? A little black girl sat next to me!" In fear and trepidation, the mother expected trauma, but tried to ask calmly: "And what happened?" "We were both so scared that we held hands all day."
We have to know racism and segregation are never the will of God…should be radically opposed…and our kids should be taught that neither are the will of God…not now…not in the past…not in the future…not ever! Jesus taught us a better way…the way of love…and it is time we walk in it with more than our words! Jesus demonstrated how by reaching out to this woman at the well with salvation.
The Gospel is for all and Jesus reached out to all as evidence of such...
A Gospel Conversation
A Gospel Conversation
The ice breaker was the water…It was unusual for a Jewish man to make such a request…His doing so opened the door for a conversation to take place. He uses the imagery of water to direct the conversation to spiritual things.
Illustration the red and blue cards
Gift of God — Eternal life which Jesus came to give! This is a reference to the Old Testament as seen in
“For My people have committed two evils:
They have forsaken Me,
The fountain of living waters,
To hew for themselves cisterns,
Broken cisterns
That can hold no water.
The woman thought Jesus was talking about H2O…This is where so many lost people get hung up when we begin to talk to them about spiritual things…they are focused on their physical and material need and miss their real need. They are looking to God for H2O when there is a Living, Spiritual Water available to satisfy their deepest thirst.
This is where a lot of Christians and churches lose their way…we become so involved in meeting physical needs that we never tackle the deeper spiritual needs in the people whom we serve.
She answers Jesus, “Who are YOU?” Are you greater than our father Jacob?
It is the day of God’s salvation! God doesn’t remove the desire for His Spirit…He pours out His Spirit and satisfies it And He does so again and again forever Jesus puts His Spirit within us and it wells up like a fountain continually nourishing our soul and satisfying our thirst for life in Him!
There are a lot of people who come to the church in order to have a physical or material need met. They want an easier, happy life on earth. Praise God for the open door physical needs often provide us! But we need to understand…Jesus fed the 5000…he healed the sick and raised the dead…He often provided for physical needs...but His purpose was and is to save the lost from spiritual death. The Samaritan woman was interested in having her physical thirst satisfied but there was a deeper one ready to be quenched.
“The water is the satisfying eternal life mediated by the Spirit that only Jesus, the Messiah and Savior of the world, can provide.”
Make no mistake about it! We are all born spiritually thirsty…there never was a question as to whether or not she was so. We are all so.
God doesn’t remove the spiritual thirst we are born with…He quenches it! He pours out His Spirit and satisfies our desire...And He does so again and again forever Jesus puts His Spirit within us and it wells up like a fountain continually nourishing our soul and satisfying our thirst for life in Him!
Therefore you will joyously draw water
From the springs of salvation.
“They will not hunger or thirst,
Nor will the scorching heat or sun strike them down;
For He who has compassion on them will lead them
And will guide them to springs of water.
“They will hunger no longer, nor thirst anymore; nor will the sun beat down on them, nor any heat;
Still the woman has her mind on H2O. She says give me some of this water so I don’t have to come out here in the heat and draw water anymore. Jesus responds by changing the subject.
When you are having a Gospel conversation…do what Jesus did…guide the conversation to spiritual things.
He is not distracted by her request…he turns the conversation to the real need of her heart…a need she has misunderstood…Jesus tells her…Go call your husband
When you steer people to their brokenness they realize their need for healing…People must see they are a sinner in order to realize their need of a Savior....May I ask you a question? Do you believe yourself to be a good person?
There is a story of a tool company that manufactured drill bits. Faced with financial losses, company executives gathered to discuss the problem: a declining demand for drill bits. The CEO challenged his men: "How can we revive the bit market?" After an embarrassing silence, one member of the team dispelled the fog: "Sir, the market isn't for bits--its for holes!" The story, though apocryphal, does illustrate a basic but often overlooked truth: "The customer never buys a product. By definition, the customer buys the satisfaction of a want" (in the words of Peter Drucker). To put it another way, there are no markets for products--only markets for what products can do.
We aren’t selling a product but we are offering salvation through faith in Jesus…But who seeks salvation and eternal life in Christ until they know they are damned, dead and lost
I have No Husband — She answers curtly and incompletely. It is almost as if we can feel the sting of the words on her heart…The words hit her where it hurt most…
Jesus presses the point…you are right…you have no husband now…you have had 5 husbands and the one you are living with now is not your husband.
Jesus is pressing in on her deepest sin, insecurity and pain. He does this so He can meet her real need…so he can heal her heart and give her life. Jesus presses the point…you are right…you have no husband now…you have had 5 husbands and the one you are living with now is not your husband.
Jesus doesn’t play games — Jesus doesn’t want to anesthetize the pain…He wants to heal you of that which causes your pain. He doesn’t want to give you a drink…He wants to give you the Spring of water that never ceases to satisfy your thirst.
Jesus was in affect telling the woman…Let’s be real with one another and talk about who you really are so I can then tell you who I really am…so you might then become who you really need to be...born again.
“Perceive you are a prophet…Worshipped on this mountain — So, she sees He is a prophet…So she attempts to turn the conversation to theology.
Jesus came with the purpose of meeting her Spiritual need…she was focused on her physical needs…So now she wants to have a theological debate over how the Jews and Samaritans differed on how that spiritual need was to be met.
She says, you Jews say we should worship in Jerusalem and we say it should be here…yada yada yada. Her purpose was to distract Jesus from her sin problem so to avoid embarrassment…To discuss theology was to take the focus off of her personally…Jesus was having non of it.
Jesus responds with three things: Soon, an hour is coming when worship isn’t going to be about a place…not here or Jerusalem. Second, Salvation is from the Jews…they are the people who are the means of God’s revelation of Himself to mankind. Third, God wants people who will worship Him in Spirit and in Truth.
God is spirit — He is invisible and divine as opposed to human.
Worship after the Cross of Christ isn’t about being in a certain place at a certain time…it is about being in Christ…being the Temple of the Holy Spirit. We worship God out of the fullness of the Spirit of the Living God within us.
You and I have the capacity, because of the Spirit of God within us and the Truth upon which our faith rests…Jesus Christ…to worship anywhere at anytime.
He answers her theological hang ups with short, respectful answers while moving her to the point of the conversation…the Gospel.
People want to get hung up on details and Jesus says I have the details worked out…don’t worry about them…let’s talk about your spiritual thirst and the Gospel…the means by which you might participate in real worship and the life of God in the process.
What Will You Do With Jesus?
What Will You Do With Jesus?
God is spirit — He is invisible and divine as opposed to human.
Worship after the Cross of Christ isn’t about being in a certain place at a certain time…it is about being in Christ…being the Temple of the Holy Spirit. We worship God out of the fullness of the Spirit of the Living God within us.
You and I have the capacity, because of the Spirit of God within us and the Truth upon which our faith rests…Jesus Christ…to worship anywhere at anytime.
Verse 25 is a test…She says, the Messiah will explain all of these things to us…all the things you are talking about…She wants to know what Jesus will say to such a statement…and He responds in the way she was likely hoping…I who speak to you am He!
At the end of every Gospel conversation there comes a point in time when the person talked to has to do something with Jesus…who do you say Jesus is? Liar, Lunatic or Lord?
At this point we know from the rest of the story she has believed…at least enough to gather others to find out more about Jesus for themselves.
Certainly at first she thought Jesus to be a liar and lunatic. After He told her about her life and shared the Gospel with her she began to think He was the Lord and Messiah she had long been waiting for.
Jesus is the only way…He is the way, truth and life. They so need to know…hear, believe and be saved. Will we tell them?
Jesus is the only way…He is the way, truth and life. They so need to know…hear, believe and be saved. Will we tell them?
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.
Everyone needs to know they are a sinner…Jesus is their Savior…and how to receive His salvation…Everyone needs to know what it means to admit their brokenness…believe Jesus died on the Cross for their sins and commit their life to Christ.
Will you commit to share Jesus with me this morning? Will we commit to have a Gospel conversation between now and Easter Sunday?