John 4:1-42 - Bob Davis

John 4, 1 through 42. When Jesus learned that

the Pharisees had heard he was making and baptizing

more disciples than John, though Jesus himself

was not baptizing, but his disciples were, he

left Judea and went again to Galilee. He had

to travel through Samaria, so he came to a town

of Samaria called Sychar, near the property that

Jacob had given his son Joseph. Jacob's well

was there, and Jesus, worn out from his journey,

sat down at the well. It was about noon. A woman

of Samaria came to draw water. Give me a drink,

Jesus said to her, because his disciples had

gone into town to buy food. How is it that you,

a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a Samaritan woman,

she asked him, for Jews do not associate with

Samaritans. Jesus answered, if you knew the gift

of God and who is saying to you, give me a drink,

you would ask him and he would give you living

water. Sir, said the woman, you don't even have

a bucket and the well is deep. So where do you

get this living water? You aren't greater than

our father Jacob, are you? He gave us the well

and drank from it himself, as did his sons and

livestock. Jesus said, everyone who drinks from

this water will get thirsty again, but whoever

drinks from the water that I will give him will

never get thirsty again. In fact, the water I

will give him will become a well of water springing

up in him for eternal life. Sir, the woman said

to him, give me this water so that I won't get

thirsty and come here to draw water. Go call

your husband, he told her, and come back here.

I don't have a husband, she answered. You have

correctly said, I don't have a husband, Jesus

said, for you've had five husbands, and the man

you now have is not your husband. What you have

said is true. Sir, the woman replied, I see that

you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshipped on

this mountain, but you Jews say that the place

to worship is in Jerusalem. Jesus told her, Believe

me, woman, an hour is coming when you will worship

the Father, neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.

You Samaritans worship what you do not know.

We worship what we do know because salvation

is from the Jews. But an hour is coming and is

now here when the true worshipers will worship

the Father in spirit and in truth. Yes, the Father

wants such people to worship him. God is spirit,

and those who worship him must worship in spirit

and in truth. The woman said to him, I know that

the Messiah is coming, who is called Christ.

When he comes, he will explain everything to

us. Jesus told her, I, the one speaking to you,

am he. Just then his disciples arrived and they

were amazed that he was talking with a woman.

Yet no one said, what do you want or why are

you talking with her? Then the woman left her

water jar, went into town and told the people,

come see a man who told me everything I ever

did. Could this be the Messiah? They left the

town and made their way to him. In the meantime,

the disciples kept urging him, Rabbi, eat something.

But he said, I have food to eat that you don't

know about. The disciples said to one another,

could someone have brought him something to eat?

My food is to do the will of him who sent me

and to finish his work, Jesus told him. Don't

you say there are still four more months and

then comes the harvest? Listen to what I'm telling

you. Open your eyes and look at the fields because

they are ready for harvest. The reaper is already

receiving pay and gathering fruit for eternal

life so that the sower and reaper can rejoice

together. For in this case, the saying is true.

One sows and another reaps. I sent you to reap

what you didn't labor for. Others have labored

and you have benefited from their labor. Now

many Samaritans from that town believed in him

because of what the woman said when she testified.

He told me everything I ever did. So when the

Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay

with them, and he stayed there for two days.

Many more believed because of what he said, and

they told the woman, We no longer believe because

of what you said, since we have heard for ourselves

and know that this really is the Savior of the

world. You may be seated. Amen. Wow. Thank you,

Sarah. That was a lot, right? I mean... 42 verses

there. It's a lot, and we've got a lot to unpack

this morning. But good morning, Radiant. My name's

Bob Davis. If you don't know me, I'm one of the

elders here, and it is a blessing to open God's

Word with you this morning. Just a moment before

we do that, happy Mother's Day to all of our

moms, right? How about we give a round of applause

for our moms? Thank you. You know, Mother's Day

can hit different for some of y 'all, right?

Some of you, Mother's Day is a beautiful, joyful

thing. And for some of you, it's bittersweet,

right? And I just want you to know that we care

about you. We love you. Moms, we're thankful

for you. And what you do is perhaps one of the

most important jobs in the world. And we honor

you and we're thankful for you. And so happy

Mom's Day. Again, we've got a lot of ground to

cover, so we're going to jump right into this,

okay? So open your Bible or your book of John

that you've got here. I believe it's on page

18. Open it up and here we go. When Jesus learned

that the Pharisees had heard, he was making and

baptizing more disciples. Even though he wasn't

himself baptizing, but his disciples were. He

left Judea and went again to Galilee. So the

Pharisees, they hear of this extraordinary success

that Jesus is having. And Jesus, not wanting

conflict, perhaps, that could end his ministry

early, decides that he needs to just move on.

So if you remember the language that John is

using and starting to use, and you're going to

see it more and more as we go through, he uses

the language of Jesus' hour, right? Jesus is

on the clock. He's on the Father's clock. Remember

his response when we were back a little bit in

the miracle at the wedding as he turns water

into wine? His mom comes to him and says, hey.

And he's like, woman, why are you bringing this

to me? It's not yet my hour. It's not yet my

time, right? So this is similar to that. So Jesus,

not wanting to engage in conflict here, and he

decides it's time to move out. And so he moves

out from Jerusalem at this time, and we get to

verse 4. He had to travel through Samaria. Man.

There is so much right here in these opening

verses. So I've got a picture up here. I don't

know if you can, hopefully you can see that pretty

good. In the bold there, you can see Judea, Perea,

Samaria, Decapolis, Galilee, right? So this is

Israel in Jesus's time. And the text said that

he had to travel through Samaria. It may be better

to say that if he wanted to go the expedited

route, right, the direct route, he had to travel

through Samaria because he certainly didn't have

to travel through Samaria. He just did. But in

order to grasp the weightiness of this text,

you've got to understand the relationship that

the Jewish people had with the Samaritans. So

Samaria, as you can see just north, right, it

lies between Jerusalem and Galilee, right? So

Judea and Galilee. So obviously, if he's going

to go straight there, he's got to go through

it. But again, he doesn't, he doesn't have to.

Samaria had no separate political existence in

Jesus's day. They just didn't. So they were kind

of like the valley, right? I mean, that's not

a great illustration, but we feel like it's all

one, if you will. It was united with Judea under

the Roman procurator, but there absolutely was

a divide. When the Assyrians, and we're just

a quick bit of history, when they came and captured

Israel in 740 BC, and then a little later on,

they take over Samaria, they later deport. You've

got to hear this. They deport all of the Israelites

of substance, right? If you were anybody, if

you were professional, whether you were a smithy,

a carpenter, not a smithy at that, but anyway,

you get my point. Whatever it was of substance,

you were gone. They deported you. They took you

and said, yep, you no longer live here. You now

live in Babylon, and so you're in exile. You

see, that's how you erase a people and a culture.

You destroy their temple. You literally remove

them. You pluck them up, and you put them on

trains, and you send them off, right? I mean,

it sounds like something out of Nazi Germany,

right? Send them into this foreign country, and

they're going to be slaves, and you put foreigners.

So now we don't just make a void. We fill it.

We refill it with foreigners. We just bring in

outsiders, and we plop them there now. Right?

So, I mean, just think of this. Like they never

existed. And so the remaining Samaritans, there

were a few left there. Apparently they weren't

of substance, right? And the remaining ones,

they try to adhere to some form of their religion,

their culture. But now with all these four, like

there's a little bit of our religion, a little

bit of theirs, a little bit of their culture,

a little bit of ours. And so at the end of the

exile, Roughly 70 years later, can you imagine

getting rooted up and sent off? I mean, a generation

of people die while they're gone and coming back,

maybe more than that. And so roughly 70 years

later, which you can find in the books of Ezra

and Nehemiah, the returning Israelites viewed

the remnant who had stayed in Samaria not only

as the children of political rebels, but racial

half -breeds. You intermarried. You worshiped

other gods. So they looked down on them, whose

religion was tainted by pagan influences. And

so when Israel goes to rebuild the temple, the

Samaritans, they offer to help in the book of

Ezra. You can go into Ezra chapter 4, and as

Ezra 4 · chapter mention

you dig into that a little bit, I encourage you

to do that. Their offer was rejected. Like, nope,

you have no part in what we're doing. They actually

opposed the Jews, and they began to undermine

their efforts. And when the rebuilding of the

walls was taking place, as you read in the book

of Nehemiah, as a matter of fact, they'd become

kind of hostile at this point. They're literally

fighting against them. They're literally in combat

with these guys, so much so that those workers

are standing shifts, like one's building, one's

watching out, so that they can get this work

done. The Samaritans saw themselves as equals,

and yet the Jews disagreed. That's the very short

version, right? So that's just trying to undergird

this idea that you've got to have as we begin

thinking about the relationship between the Samaritans

and the Jewish people. As a matter of fact, there

are some differences between Samaritan Jews.

at several levels. Their Bible, the Samaritans,

is just a Pentateuch, right? The first five books

of the Bible, that's it. Whereas the Jewish Bible

included the Jewish prophets and writings, the

Samaritans viewed themselves as the remnants

of the northern kingdom of Israel who stayed,

right? We're the ones who stayed while the Jews

descend from the kingdom of Judah. Perhaps the

greatest difference is to be seen where the place

of worship was commanded to be. The Samaritans,

they saw that, well, let me back up here. The

Jews built a tabernacle in the city of Jerusalem,

right? And so it's there. Well, the Samaritans

are on Mount Gerizim, right? And so two different

mountains, right? So when they said, yeah, well,

you ain't helping us rebuild our temple. We're

rebuilding our own. They're just like, heck with

you. We don't need it. We're building our own.

This is where God said to worship anyway, right?

So there is this huge divide. Somewhere around

100 B .C., the Jews go up to Mount Gerizim and

they destroy the temple. They're like, yeah,

you're going to build your own? That's an abomination.

They destroy it. And so I could go on for a bit

here, but you can see how strongly, I hope you

can, that these two groups of people felt about

each other. So when John says in verse 4, Jesus

had to travel through Samaria, we should pay

attention. Like, I want you to underline or circle

that word had to, because physically speaking,

Jesus did not have to. As a matter of fact, the

Pharisees, can we go back for one second to that

other slide? The Pharisees, and if I had a pointer,

I'd show you, but they're going to go up and

they're going to swing over at Bethany and go

on the Transjordan, the other side, and they're

going to go all the way up. So they're getting

off the highway. And they're taking the side

roads, right? And yeah, we're going to go all

the way around the city this time, right? And

so much so that the direct route was about three

days, right? Something like 70 to 75 miles of

walking, three days, right? You're putting in

a pretty good day to walk 20, 25 miles a day.

But to get on the bypass and get off the exit

and go around would double the trip. Like three

or four more days to go around. This is what

the Pharisees preferred to do. Now there are

plenty of Galileans and those who are just common

folk. They're like, yeah, we really don't care.

We're just going to keep our head down and we're

going to go straight through, right? But you've

really got to dislike somebody to walk for three

or four days longer than you have to, right?

I mean, you just do. And so I think that we can

infer here. And a lot of commentators, a lot

of scholars agree with this statement that we

can infer that there's some type of divine appointment

here in this had to. Jesus had to. He is on a

mission to do his Father's will. You know, perhaps

some of you have heard from the Lord over the

last months, the last year, I don't know, somewhere

along this journey of following Jesus. Some things

that have to change. The Lord wants to change

some things, right? But you keep ducking out,

getting off on the exit, and taking the long

way around. Yeah, well, I'm not sure I'm ready

to go quite there yet, Lord. What if you, what

if you just went ahead and did what the Lord

was calling you to? What might that look like?

Because friends, you have to. Jesus had to. This

divine appointment, right? We're going to get

into that a little bit as we move on. Now, I

don't want you to forget where we've just come

from. In chapter 3, we heard of another divine

appointment, right? This fellow that epitomizes

what a great Jew looks like. Nicodemus, right?

Nicodemus comes to him in the night, right? So

there's some, John's playing with some things

here you're going to see, right? Compared to

what we're getting ready to go into. So he comes

in the night. He's educated. He's respected.

He's valued in his community. He's probably somewhat

wealthy in contrast to the woman that we're about

to meet. And here's a glimpse of the great news

of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus is for all

people to know him and to be redeemed in and

through him and to walk with him. Amen? Like,

we should get kind of excited about that. Like,

Jesus is for all people. He doesn't just save

the respected and the educated. He doesn't just

save the well thought of. He's for all people.

As a matter of fact, there is no category of

half breed, not good enough, intermingled. There

is no category. He's come that all might be saved.

And so it doesn't matter how good or how wicked

you think you are. We all fall short of the glory

of God and Jesus is the only hope. Amen. So let's

get back to it. In verse 4, he had to travel

through Samaria. So he came to a town of Samaria

called Sychar, near the property that Jacob had

given his son Joseph. Jacob's well was there,

and Jesus, worn out from his ministry, excuse

me, his journey, sat down at the well. It was

about noon. So Nick came at night, right? This

woman comes in the middle of the day. A woman

of Samaria came to draw water. Give me a drink,

Jesus says. Because the disciples had gone into

town to buy the food. So this is kind of a cool

piece here, right? So notice the disciples are

gone and Jesus is one -on -one with this woman.

Later on, the thing's going to shift, right?

The disciples come back and this woman's going

to go away and it's their turn, right? And so

the woman, he says, give me a drink because they'd

gone to buy food. How is it that you, a Jew,

ask for a drink from me, a Samaritan woman, she

asked him, for Jews do not associate with Samaritans.

So he comes to this town near the property of

Jacob, Jacob's Wells there, right? But we don't

have time to go into this deep. Like, we could

literally camp here for a while to just get the

back story behind all of this. But you've got

to understand that Jacob is regarded as the father

of the Jewish people. He has an encounter with

the Lord. And scripture talks about him wrestling

all night long in this divine MMA match. And

he won't give up. He won't tap out. He won't.

He's like, nope, not happening. And finally,

the Lord... Bap! Hips him in the hip and dislocates

his hip, and forever he walks with a limp, right?

So this Jacob is renamed Israel, right? And I

believe, and so do many commentators, that Scripture

is saying this is the pre -incarnate Christ that

he's wrestling with, right? And so Jacob was

renamed Israel. And Israel means he who struggles

with God. His sons, his 12 sons formed the basis

for the 12 tribes of Israel. How cool is that,

right? His life story is this transformation

from this dude named Jacob, right? You go back

into Jacob and Esau and what Jacob, Jacob means

trickster, deceiver, right? He's posing as something

else and yet. He is transformed into this one

that all of the Jewish people would be known

as one who struggles with God. He becomes a man

of faith who trusts in God's grace. It's just

a great story. Like, really, you need to go back

in Genesis. If you don't read your Bible, like,

you need to get in there. Genesis is awesome,

the story of Jacob. So anyway, Jesus sits on

this wellhead, Jacob's well, right? He just plops

down. He's hot. He's tired. Can you imagine noon?

I don't know if any of you have ever been. I

mean, some of you have been over there. Golly,

I got to tell you, Iraq, Afghanistan, it's one

of them places I never want to go back to again.

Summertime there, 139 degree wet bulb temperature.

That's the one I saw that with my own eyes. That

means literal accurate in the heat of the sun,

no shade anywhere. Like, who would live here?

Like, why would you live here, right? So I think

when Abraham was called from Ur, like, I've literally

been in Ur, right? Like, I know why he left.

Yeah, let's go, right? Nobody wants to be there.

It's horrible, right? That's just my Western

view. But anyway, he sits on this wellhead, and

he's only halfway there, right? John is painting

this picture of Jesus's humanity. He's painting

this dualism, if you will, that he is fully God

and yet fully man. And so here he is. He's tired.

And this is the part of the story that the original

audience would have leaned in a little bit as

this begins to unfold, right? It doesn't seem

like it, but this is about to get scandalous.

A woman approaches the well. And people would

have been, oh, right? Because this don't happen.

Like, it's a dude and a gal. Like, this is not

supposed to happen, right? Under rabbinic law,

Jewish men did not speak to women in public,

right? They didn't speak to other women just

about period, right? Not even their wife. As

a matter of fact, it was a divorceable offense

for a married woman to speak to a single man.

Under rabbinic light. I mean, this is serious,

right? So here Jesus is. They didn't talk to

their wives in public. You know who they didn't

really talk to? Samaritan women, right? And this

is the woman that Jesus is about to have a conversation

with. But he doesn't worry about such things,

does he? I mean, he touches lepers. He cleans

them, right? He touches the blind. He doesn't

become unclean. He is the... agent of righteousness

and redemption and restoration, right? And so

we have this interesting fact that it's in the

middle of the day, the hottest part of the day

about noon. So why is that interesting? Because

most people don't go to the well when it's 139

degree wet bulb temperature, right? You're going

to die out there, right? You go first thing in

the morning, you go maybe in the cool of the

evening, but you don't go in the middle of the

day unless you got a real reason. Right? There's

a lot of possibilities, but given what we're

about to learn about her, it's probably because

she's trying to avoid the other women in town.

Right? She apparently is living in somewhat of

an immoral lifestyle. And so she's probably subject

or the subject of some of their conversations.

Right? Gossip. Right? They're like, hey, look,

here she comes again. I mean, can you imagine

every day going to the well and having all these

women just sitting there looking at you, judging

you as you walk by and walking? I mean, after

a while, she probably, yeah, I'm not doing that

anymore. Like, that's terrible. So she just decides

to go at noon and she doesn't have to endure

shame and scrutiny. And again, this is the woman

that Jesus decides to talk to. And so he goes

further. Give me a drink. And we could see this

was a surprise to her, right? I mean, she's probably

blown away. She's like, wait a second, how is

it that you ask me for a drink? Like, that's

not supposed to happen. The idea of Jews associating

with Samaritan goes a little further than that.

It means like, hey, we don't share utensils.

We don't sit down at meals together. Like, we

don't fellowship like that. Like, you do you,

we do it. Like, we don't, the two don't cross,

right? Like, we don't do that. Jacob's well is

100 feet deep. Jesus has nothing. How are you

going to get the water, right? So it's implied

here. He's going to drink from her stuff. And

so he's absolutely crossing barriers by asking

her this question. So Jesus is about to break

through an ethnic divide, right? As a Jew talking

to a Samaritan. The religious divide, because

they've got some different understandings, right?

And finally, the moral divide with this woman.

Jesus answered in verse 10, if you knew the gift

of God and who is saying to you, give me a drink,

you would ask him and he would give you living

water. So in the Samaritan mind, the gift of

God was the Pentateuch, the five books of the

Bible, right? That they followed and that was

it, right? That was the gift of God. And so they

have this idea of Messiah, but he's called Taheb.

To heb is a prophet like Moses who will one day

come back and explain all this stuff to us, right?

That's their idea of the Messiah, that he'll

come back and he'll fill us in, and then we'll

know what we're supposed to do kind of thing,

right? So on the other hand, when Jesus says,

if you knew, it could be that if you knew your

Bible, lady, like the stuff y 'all are choosing

to ignore, you'd know who I am, right? You might

have a better clue. But Jesus is pointing to

something even greater than that. The gift of

God being the Holy Spirit of God. And so the

living water that he is talking about is in contrast

to most wells. What's a well? It's just a collection

place, right, for water. And it just sits there

and it gets stagnant. Living water, however,

is superior. Ceremonially, just for... Better

quality all around for drinking, right? Living

water means moving water. It cleanses better.

Well, Jacob's well was actually an underground

spring that filled up, right? And it had been

there for a very long time. And so at this point,

the woman is probably not taking Jesus very seriously.

Okay, weird dude talking to me, right? Saying

weird stuff to me about living water. And so

she throws up a social barrier with these next

words. Sir. right? So this polite barrier, sir,

you don't even have a bucket, and the well is

deep. How are you going to get water? How are

you going to get this living water that you say

you're going to give to me, right? I want you

to hear a little bit of sarcasm here, because

I think that's what she's using. Really? How

are you going to do that? Live in water? And

Jesus begins now to make the first of the three

greater than statements that he's going to make

in excuse me, about him, right? She says, are

you greater than our father Jacob? And the second

and third are going to be, are you greater than

Moses? Are you greater than Abraham, right? So

John's building this case here along the way.

Are you greater than Jacob? What do you think

what she expects the answer to be? Not even close.

Like, you're not even in the same categories

here, right? I mean, absolutely not. No, you're

not. Of course you're not greater than Jacob.

You don't even have a bucket, right? How would

you be greater than him? And so here's the irony

that John brings to the story. Because in fact,

we as readers know that indeed, Jesus is greater.

Jesus is greater than Jacob. His living water,

right here with spiritual ears, is better than

the water in this well. Jesus answers in verse

13, everyone who drinks from this water, you're

going to get thirsty again, right? Meaning from

Jacob's well. But whoever drinks from the water

that I will give him will never get thirsty again.

In fact, the water I will give him will become

a well of water springing up for eternal life.

So Jesus is pointing to this idea that the needs

that you depend on for physical life every day,

you've got to keep coming back, right? You've

just got to keep coming back, coming back, coming

back. Folks, again, we don't have time, but there

is so much depth here. So the atoning sacrifice

of Christ is done once and for all. What man

could not do for himself and had to use the goat

or the sheep or the dove or whatever, time and

time, Jesus does once and for all. So this idea

that you've got to keep doing these things and

they're never going to end. And Jesus is saying,

in me, it's done. It's finished. It's categorically

different. And so there is some truth. To having

to have water when you live in the middle of

the desert, right? I mean, that's just fact.

But there's something richer for us here than

the obvious message. We live in this world of

daily routine. So much so that we give so much

of our time and our energy to it every day. We

go, we come, we go, we got to go get the milk,

we got to get the bread, we got to get to this.

And along the way, we're trying to find sources

of contentment and enjoyment and fulfillment

and you name it. So we find that with material

things, with substances, with experiences. But

Jesus is saying that as we consume those things,

they're gone. right? And there you are left again,

hungry, thirsty, tired, whatever it is, yearning

still for something. And we have to come back

and do it again and again and again, never satiated,

never fulfilled, never content. But he says that

when we drink of his water, when his spirit is

poured into us, we are changed for eternity.

Has that happened in your life? Do you find yourself

going back to the well again and again and again,

only to, I'm still thirsty, I'm still hungry,

what gives? Well, I've got good news for you.

It doesn't matter who you are. As you come to

the well today, Jesus is here to meet you. He's

here to meet you. And he wants to give you something

that truly satisfies. He wants to give you, himself

and in return all he asked for is you he wants

you but you know what so many folks do they walk

away from that offer and they choose to go back

to the stagnant well They choose to go back to

the same old thing. The backdrop for these statements

that Jesus is making would have been well known

to the Jewish people. The prophet Jeremiah says,

my people have committed two sins. They have

forsaken me, the spring of living water, and

dug their own cisterns, their broken cisterns

that cannot hold water. Later in chapter 17,

Jeremiah again says, oh Lord, the hope of Israel,

all who forsake you will be put to shame. Those

who turned away from you will be written in the

dust because they have forsaken the Lord, the

spring of living water. Perhaps some of you here

today are like that. For whatever reason, you

just continue to go and seek out the things that

pose as living water only to discover that they

never satisfy. They just, they don't. What is

that for you? Is it more stuff? Is it a new relationship?

Yeah, that's going to do it, right? Is it a substance?

Is it sex? Is it porn? I don't know what it is.

What empty, hollow thing that you think, it's

going to give me life, right? Do you find yourself

returning to even when you know it doesn't give

you life? Jesus is going to deal with that here

in a moment in our text. Once again, she says,

sir, give me this water so that I won't get thirsty

and come here to draw water. And Jesus says,

go call your husband and come back here. And

she answers, I don't have a husband. And Jesus

says, you've answered correctly. I don't have

a husband. For you've had five husbands and the

man that you are with now is not your husband.

What you have said is true. What do you think

her reaction was to this? Right? Like. He just

like laid out her dirty laundry, right? Just

met him, boom, right? And so she's got to be

taken back. Maybe she's like, I think I underestimated

this dude. Hold up, right? He clearly gets her

attention. And her follow -on response is kind

of telling. You know, there's a couple of ways

to interpret this. But I see someone that says,

yeah, I'm not really interested in talking about

all of that, so let's change the subject. Do

you ever get close to it with somebody, right?

Like where you're right there, you're talking

about the crux of the matter. You're getting

a little deeper, a little more meaningful, you

know, stepping on their toes. And just when you're

there, they switch it out, they change the subject

and deflect, right? We can all do it when we

come to a place like this. Hey, how you doing?

Good to see you today. good. How are you? Yeah,

I'm great, right? I've talked with many people.

If I get too close to the stuff, the hard stuff,

they kind of switch it up. And she says, our

ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you

say that the place to worship is in Jerusalem.

Now, again, there is some historical precedence

for this comment as alluded to earlier, but it

feels like she's pivoting, right? She's shifting.

She's deflecting. Let's throw a red herring in

there, right? You know what that is, something

to divert attention away from the real issue,

but Jesus is unfazed. He says in verse 21, Believe

me, woman, the hour is coming when you will worship

the Father neither on this mountain or in Jerusalem.

Now, you all know what that means, right? This

mountain, Mount Gerizim, or in Jerusalem, the

other temple, right? You Samaritans worship what

you do not know. We worship what we do because

salvation is from the Jews, but an hour is coming.

And is now here. When the true worshipers will

worship the Father in spirit and in truth. Yes,

the Father wants such people. I want you to underline

that. The Father wants such people to worship

him. God is spirit. And those who worship him

must worship in spirit and truth. Boom. That's

a lot. But what he's pointing at is this disparity

again between the Jews and the Samaritans that

it's actually going to be of no consequence where

you're worshiping because that whole system,

that whole thing, what Jesus is doing and about

to do, it doesn't matter if you worship at the

temple or if you worship on your mountain because

both of those are about to be overshadowed by

my work. The Jewish focus of worship was the

tabernacle. It was about to be obsolete. Jesus

is talking about this new level of worship. It's

not just about showing up to a mountain. It's

not just about showing up to a tabernacle or

even a school building and going through some

rituals. It's a heart matter. It's a spirit matter.

He wants believers to worship in spirit and in

truth, meaning he wants your heart. He wants

the real you. Right? Jesus is pressing into this

Samaritan woman. I'm here for the real you. Not

here for the fake you, the mask, the, I'm good,

how are you? Hey, what would you, right? No,

he wants the real you. Not the you that says,

yes, I believe in Jesus, but I continue to go

to the well that cannot provide what I actually

need. Not the you that says, I'm a Christian.

I believe in Jesus, yet I continue to live in

sin. Are you here in this church? That's the

kind of believers and worshipers that Jesus is

seeking and talking about. The Father wants such

people to worship him. I want to be that kind

of man. How about you? That worships in spirit

and in truth. Father, here I am. I'm a wretch.

I'm a broken man. And I need you more today than

I've ever needed you in my life. Being honest

and real with him. In verse 25, the woman seems

to make this last attempt, right? She's going

to give him the Heisman. She's trying to duck

him one last time. And she says, I know the Messiah

is coming who is called the Christ. So when he

comes, he will explain everything to us, right?

Remember this idea of Taheb that I told you about,

their idea of Messiah? So again, she's explaining

that. But Jesus says, I'm not here just to explain

things to you. But he tells her. I am who am

speaking to you now. I who am speaking to you

now am he, right? Folks, this is the mic drop.

I mean, in the original audience, they would

have been like, did he just say what I think

he said, right? So this ancient Greek form of

ego, a me, right? I am who I am, right? The I

am, which... This is the first of the sayings

in John of the I am sayings. But the original

phrase that God uses when Moses says, Lord, who

will I tell them that you sent me? He says, I

am who I am. So this idea. And Jesus is literally

equating himself to Yahweh. This is a phenomenal

revelation. And look who he's telling it to.

He could have told this to Nicodemus just a little

bit ago, right? He's this scholarly elite kind

of dude. He could have told him. But he's like,

dude, really? You're a leader and a teacher and

you don't even understand? He tells this woman

who is a nobody. He's telling her it's not someday.

It's not someday, it's today. I'm here. There's

no more putting it off. How does that strike

you? Are you all in with Jesus? Folks, this is

what he's after. Are you all in with him? Is

he your sustenance? The word Yahweh. when spoken

properly in the Hebrew, is literally an inhale

and an exhale. Listen to me. Yahweh. Yahweh.

That's literally the way that it's spoken. It's

symbolic that he is the breath in us, that he

created us and sustains us, and without that

breath, we literally die. Like, quite literally,

as a matter of fact. So right here at this heavy

moment, the disciples return. Right? They come

walking back. They probably got a couple quarter

pounders and some friends and happy meals with

them. Right here they come walking up the hill.

And so this beautiful moment has happened in

the absence of the disciples. And now it's the

disciples' turn because the woman is about to

leave. And it's just Jesus with them. So verse

27, just then his disciples arrived. And they

were amazed that he was talking with a woman.

Yet no one said, what do you want? Or why are

you talking with her? It must have just been

a look on their face, on the faces, right? I

mean, they were like, whoa, what's happening

here? So the woman left her water jar. It's kind

of important, right? This source of life for

her. She left it. She left it. Went in the town

and told the people, come see a man who told

me everything I ever did. Could this be the Taheb

or the Messiah? They left the town and made their

way to him. So she left her jar. Some of y 'all

are carrying some jars that you need to put down,

right? Clinging to it. Yep, this is my source

of life and it's my, I can get back and forth

from this thing that sustains me. You need to

bring that to Jesus. And, you know, the Holy

Spirit just has a way of convicting us on these

things, of poking us in the face when we do that.

I want you to know the temptation is going to

be there, right, to switch the subject. Or you

might say someday, right, we'll get to the bottom

of that. You know, I know, I know, I know. But

Jesus says, no, today's the day because I'm here.

So as we move towards closing and wrapping this

up, I want us to respond to Jesus on this matter,

right? I want you. I want you to respond to Jesus.

What do you need to set down and leave so that

you can go back and get that thing that you need

to give to him? He wants the real you to worship

in spirit and in truth. Maybe you need to talk

with someone today, right? Maybe, so I'm prepping

you ahead of time, right? At the end, we're going

to stand up and you're going to think, okay,

yeah, I feel you, Lord, but whoop, and I'm going

to get off the exit and I'm not today. And you're

going to go around and you're going to go right

back. Caleb's here. Josh here. I'm here. Talk

to a brother or sister right now. Talk to the

Lord yourself. Boom. Don't walk out of here today

without knowing this. Verse 31, in the meantime,

the disciples keep urging him, saying, Rabbi,

eat something. And he says, I have food to eat

that you don't know about. So you see, he just

got done teaching the woman some things. And

now he's going to teach us followers some different

things. So Jesus answers in verse 32. I have

food to eat you don't know about. Once again,

the disciples, right? They're scratching their

heads. They're looking at each other. Can you

imagine what they're saying? Like, did somebody

bring him some food we don't know about? Like,

whoa, what? Oh, my goodness, right? These guys

are kind of showing. It's kind of like the bread

thing. And, you know, how are we going to do

it? And, you know, again and again and again.

And Jesus keeps showing up. And so this ought

to remind us of the conversation that Jesus had

with Nicodemus. Wait a second. How's a person

going to be reborn? Are they going back in? Like,

stop, Nick. No, that's not what's happening.

No disciples. Nobody else brought Jesus some

food in your absence, right? So he's talking

about something different. He's talking about

mission. He's talking about doing the Father's

will. My food, we continue, is to do the will

of him who sent me to finish his work. Don't

you say there are still four more months than

comes harvest, right? He goes into this harvest

language, right? I'm telling you, open your eyes.

Look, the fields are ready for harvest. Do you

think the fields are ripe for harvest here in

the valley? There are people walking around that

do not know Jesus. There's a whole lot of people

that say, oh yeah, I know Jesus, and they keep

going right back with their pot, right back to

the same well that never sustains, never satisfies,

never fulfills. The reaper is already receiving

and gathering fruit, eternal life, so that the

sower and reaper can rejoice together. For this

case, the saying is true. One sows, another reaps.

I sent you to reap what you did not labor for.

Others have labored, and you have benefited from

their labor. He moves from a person that needs

to know. So there's two messages in here, two

different audiences. He's speaking to this woman

that absolutely does not know Jesus, not in the

way that he wants her to. She has some ideas

and some thoughts and the highs. So she needs

to hear the gospel truth about Jesus. But then

there's some followers of Jesus that need to

hear something else. Disciples inherently make

disciples. He's conveying the urgency of the

mission. Those who are born again. Share with

those who are lost, and Jesus is setting the

example right before their eyes with this host

of people that is making their way back up to

the well. It's the power of the gospel to change

lives. Here's my encouragement to you this morning.

It's not your slick tongue, your presentation.

It's not your ability to debate theological or

philosophical things, deep things. You know what

it is? It's you telling people what Jesus has

done in your life and pointing them to him. Like

all I can tell you is I used to be this broke

dude and now I'm different. All I can tell you

is that I used to be blind to the things of God

and now I see. You know, I used to be hungry

and filled my heart with all this garbage that

couldn't do anything. And now I feast on the

word of God and fellowship and worship and his

spirit. Like, that's all we need to do. Tell

your story, right? Point them to Jesus so that

others may see his work in us and that he might

be glorified as they come to know him. Now, many

Samaritans from that town believed in him because

of what the woman did, right? What she said when

she testified. He told me everything I did. So

when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him

to stay with him, and he stayed there two days.

Many more believed because of what he said. They

told the woman, we no longer believe of what

you said since we have heard for ourselves and

know that this really is the Savior of the world.

Again, that's a lot. But do you hear what she's

doing or what's happening here, what Jesus is

doing? Do you share your faith in Christ with

others? If not, you probably need to ask yourself

why. Is it because you're like the woman at the

well? And that's okay. It's okay. It really is,

right? Is it because you're just not sure and

maybe someday you'll have it figured out? Maybe

someday you'll have it, okay, now I got it, but

that day is not yet, right? Someone will explain

it all to you. Today is the day that you don't

have to have those kinds of questions anymore.

We confess with our mouth and believe in our

heart that Jesus Christ is Lord and he saves

us. Do you know that to be true for yourself?

Do you know that? Is there fruit in your life?

Fruit, I never used to be there. Is the spirit

of God working in you and redeeming and restoring?

Do you know that to be true? If not, don't leave

today without working that out. Don't take the

exit ramp. Don't go around. Don't throw the red

herring out there and change the subject because

you have to. You have to. The Father wants such

people to worship him. Amen? If you don't share

your faith with others, is it because you're

just not sure how to do it or maybe you're not

sure you should do it? I want to tell you this

is the will of God. This is clear in the scriptures.

Go, make disciples. It's assumed. It's not just

a good idea. Who else can I share this with,

right? That's what a Christian missionary mindset

is. Like, I gotta tell somebody. That's what

the woman did. She's like, y 'all gotta come

back and see this, right? I mean, does that happen

in your life? All you gotta do is point them

in the right direction. You share your story,

and by God's grace and power, The power of his

gospel. You know what we hope they end up saying?

It's not because of what Bob told me. Like, that

drew me in, right? It's now because I've experienced

him for myself that I believe. He changed me.

Folks, Jesus is our hope. He is greater. The

father Jacob, he's greater than that thing that

you keep returning to, hoping that this time

that it will satisfy you. Or what's even sadder

is you know it ain't going to satisfy you, but

you go back there anyway, right? Yet you return

to it again and again, and it doesn't matter

who you are, how educated or uneducated. How

good or bad you see yourself as being, we're

all sinners and we fall short of the glory of

God. That is the good news of the gospel. He

meets us right where we are. He meets us at the

well of life and he's never satisfied to leave

us there. Here at Radiant, we live as a family

of servant missionaries, right? We do. Learning

to be and make disciples by being radiant reflections

of Jesus. That's what we're about. So I'm literally,

if the band would come up, our worship team,

that's a better way to say it. This ain't a show

here. This is a worship team leading us in worship

and in response. What is the Lord prompting in

your heart today? I hope something, right? There

is a message here for all of us, whether you're

the woman or you're the disciple, right? There

is a message here for us that Jesus is saying,

like, how is this with you? I hope that his Holy

Spirit is poking around in your heart and saying,

yeah, I'm talking to you. I'm talking, are you

giving him the highs? That's not Bob, guys, right?

The last thing in the world, Lord, anything that

I've said here today that would detract from

you, let them forget it before we even sing a

song, Lord, but anything that's real that you

would stick, stick in their craw today that like,

I have to. Bob doesn't change anything. The Holy

Spirit? I'm going to close with this. When Jesus

engages with this woman at the well, she first

catches sight of a thirsty man, then a Jew, then

a rabbi. After a bit, she sees a prophet, and

last of all, the Messiah. She tried to get the

better of the thirsty man. She showed dislike

of the Jew. She even heckled the rabbi, but she

was swept off her feet by the prophet, and ultimately,

she adored Jesus. That's all of our stories.

Along the way from beginning to end, that's all

of us. Where are you? Do you adore him? Because

he adores you. And he wants, the Father wants

such people to worship him. So as we move to

response through communion and song, I pray that

the Lord would do real work in your heart and

that you would respond to the one who knows everything

you ever did. And yet he still loves you. I encourage

you today as we stand, as we leave, please stand

with me. Like right now, don't hesitate. We're

going to move off to the side and then the back.

If that's you and you're just like, I want to

pray about this thing. I want to move action

on this thing today. Don't leave this place without

it happening. Lord bless you. As we move to...