Jesus, the Christ of God

Please turn with me in your Bibles to John chapter 4, verses 1 to 30.

John 4:1–30

We've been going through various passages in the Gospel of John for this Advent season

to talk about who Jesus is. And we're in John chapter 4 today.

John 4 · chapter mention

And let me pray for the reading and preaching of God's Word.

Heavenly Father, as John the Baptist prepared the way for the Lord in the wilderness.

So it is our desire that this Advent season, as we go through the Gospel of John,

as we sing Christmas carols, that we're preparing room for Christ the King.

In our hearts, in our lives.

That you may reign over our lives more fully.

It is our desire to submit to you.

And so we incline our ears to you again this morning.

Speak to us, address us from your Word.

Reveal Jesus to us in all his glory.

That we might behold him.

Worship him.

Bow before him.

It's in his glorious name we pray.

Amen.

If you are able, please stand for the reading and preaching of God's Word.

I will read John 4, 1 to 30.

Now, when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John,

although Jesus himself did not baptize but only his disciples,

he left Judea and departed again for Galilee.

And he had to pass through Samaria.

So he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph.

Jacob's well was there, so Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well.

It was about the sixth hour.

A woman from Samaria came to draw water.

Jesus said to her,

Give me a drink.

For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.

The Samaritan woman said to him,

How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?

For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.

Jesus answered her,

If you knew the gift of God and who it is that is saying to you, give me a drink,

you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.

The woman said to him,

Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep.

Where do you get that living water?

Are you greater than our father Jacob?

He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.

Jesus said to her,

Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again.

But whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again.

The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.

The woman said to him,

Sir, give me this water so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.

Jesus said to her,

Go, call your husband and come here.

The woman answered him,

I have no husband.

Jesus said to her,

You are right in saying I have no husband,

for you have had five husbands,

and the one you now have is not your husband.

What you have said is true.

The woman said to him,

Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet.

Our fathers worshipped on this mountain,

but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.

Jesus said to her,

Woman, believe me,

the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father.

You worship what you do not know.

We worship what we know,

for salvation is from the Jews.

But the hour is coming and is now here

when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth,

for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.

God is spirit,

and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.

The woman said to him,

I know that Messiah is coming.

He was called Christ.

When he comes,

he will tell us all things.

Jesus said to her,

I,

who speak to you,

am he.

Just then his disciples came back.

They marveled that he was talking with the woman,

but no one said,

What do you seek?

Or,

Why are you talking with her?

So the woman left her water jar

and went away into town

and said to the people,

Come,

see a man who told me all that I ever did.

Can this be the Christ?

They went out of the town

and were coming to him.

This is God's holy and authoritative word.

Please be seated.

The classic Chinese historical novel,

Romance of the Three Kingdoms,

begins with these famous words,

The empire,

long divided,

must unite.

Long united,

must divide.

Thus,

it has ever been.

A nation weary of wars

and divisions

tend to unite under a single strong leader.

While a nation weary of the abuses of a leader

with too much power

tends to divide into factions.

It's a cycle

that has been observed over and over again

throughout human history.

As people living in the democratic West,

we are the children of the French Revolution

and the American Revolution.

We're familiar with the rallying cries

of liberty, equality, and fraternity,

and no taxation without representation.

And the U.S. in particular

has historically clashed

with Nazi Germany

and Soviet Russia

and today increasingly

with communist China.

And for these reasons,

we're acutely aware

of the dangers

of absolute monarchs,

dictators,

and tyrants.

But probably because of this background,

it's harder for us

to appreciate

a desperate people's longing

for a king.

Why people living in

an impoverished

and immoral

and embattled society

crave the steady leadership

of a strong ruler?

Now, don't hear

what I'm not saying.

I'm not endorsing

authoritarian governments.

I share

Winston Churchill's sentiment

that, quote,

many forms of government

have been tried

and will be tried

in this world

of sin and woe.

No one pretends

that democracy is perfect

or all-wise.

Indeed, it has been said

that democracy

is the worst form of government,

except for all those other forms

that have been tried

from time to time.

Division of power

and a system of checks

and balances

is probably the best way

to govern

in a sinful, fickle world.

But of course,

it's a different story

when Christ,

the perfect,

sinless king,

is on the throne.

The book of Judges

captures that longing

for a strong ruler

in a disordered,

uncertain society.

And the refrain

and thesis statement

of the book of Judges

that comes up again

and again is this,

quote,

in those days

there was no king

in Israel.

Everyone did

what was right

in his own eyes.

To each his own.

Do what you want.

You do you.

That's the mantra

of a free-for-all society

that has no king.

Judges describes

Israel's downward spiral

of sin and decadence

and the divinely inspired author

laments that this is because

there was no king

in Israel.

In this way,

the book sets up

an expectation

and gives the rationale

for the rise

of the Davidic monarchy.

That's the way

the world is

when Jesus comes

on the scene.

People are both

theologically confused

and therefore

morally confused

and much like our times.

They don't know

what to believe.

They don't know

how to live.

People are also

politically confused

due to their idolatry

and unfaithfulness

to God.

They had been conquered

and oppressed

by foreign nations,

the Assyrians,

the Babylonians,

the Persians,

the Greeks,

and at the time of Jesus

by the Romans.

Israel has not had

a king,

a true Davidic king

on its throne

since Jehoiachin

who was captured

and exiled to Babylon

by Nebuchadnezzar

in the 6th century BC,

600 years ago

before Jesus' coming.

All of this happened

despite God's covenant

promise to David

in 2 Samuel 7

that David's throne

shall be established

forever.

So God's people

had been asking

and waiting

for 600 years,

where is the promised

son of David?

Where is the Christ,

our king,

who will liberate us

from oppression,

who will bring

steady leadership,

guidance,

knowledge of God,

who will restore

the true worship of God,

who will show us

the way of God?

Where is the Messiah

who will establish

his eternal kingdom?

And it's in this

season of ferment

and expectation

that Jesus comes

on the scene

and we see him here

in John 4.

And John tells us

in no uncertain terms

that Jesus is

the messianic king

who gives us

eternal life

in the spirit.

We're going to talk

first about

the water of the spirit

that Jesus gives

and then secondly

about the worship

in the spirit

that Jesus

as the Christ enables.

Verse 1 tells us

that Jesus learned

that the Pharisees

were starting

to take notice

of his increasing popularity

and that's ominous

because the Pharisees

were already wary

of John the Baptist

and they were trying

to kind of marginalize him

and so if they're noticing

that Jesus is becoming

even more popular

than John,

baptizing even more people

than John,

then that's a threat.

And so Jesus knows

that it's not his time yet

to go to the cross,

to die

and so he leaves,

he goes to another place

toward Galilee.

And it says in verse 4

that as he went to Galilee

that he had to pass

through Samaria.

That's an interesting way

to phrase that

because while not,

while it's the normal route

from Judea to Galilee

did pass through Samaria,

strictly speaking,

Jesus didn't have to

pass through Samaria.

As I will explain

further later,

Jews believed

that keeping company

with Samaritans

caused ritual defilement

and so strict Jews

would go around Samaria

by crossing the Jordan

and traveling around

on the east side.

So Jesus didn't really have to

go through Samaria.

And yet John writes here

that he had to pass

through Samaria.

This is an expression

that recurs throughout

the Gospel of John

and it's John's way

of indicating

divine necessity.

He uses this Greek word

which means he had to

or it was necessary to.

For example,

in John 3, 7

when he says,

you must be born again.

It is necessary

that you be born again.

John 3, 14,

and as Moses lifted up

the serpent in the wilderness

so must,

it is necessary

for the Son of Man

to be lifted up.

Or John 20, verse 9,

John 20:9

for as yet they did not

understand the Scripture

that he must,

that it was necessary

for the Son

to rise from the dead.

John always uses that word

in these ways

to indicate something

that has been ordained

by God's sovereign will,

something that had to happen.

So likewise,

Jesus had to pass

through Samaria

because he had

a divinely made

appointment there,

a divinely ordained

mission to fulfill

there in Samaria.

So there must be

some really important

work to do,

some very important

person to meet.

And we find out

what this appointment

was all about

in verses 7 to 9.

He says,

a woman from Samaria

came to draw water.

Jesus said to her,

give me a drink,

for his disciples

had gone away

into the city

to buy food.

The Samaritan woman

said to him,

how is it that you,

a Jew,

ask for a drink

from me,

a woman of Samaria?

For Jews have no dealings

with Samaritans.

Three times

in three verses

we are told

that this was a woman

and that this was

a Samaritan.

That's not one strike

but two strikes

in the historical

and cultural context

of this time.

in several ways,

women at this time

were second class citizens.

For example,

Jewish rabbis

did not accept

women disciples.

First century

Jewish rabbi Eliezer

expressed a popular

cultural sentiment

of the day

when he said,

rather should the words

of the Torah

be burned

than entrusted

to a woman.

Whoever teaches

his daughter the Torah

is like one

who teaches her

lasciviousness.

That's why

later in verse 27

when Jesus' disciples

returned from buying food,

it said that they marveled

that he was talking

with a woman.

And she wasn't

only a woman,

she was a Samaritan woman.

Verse 9 tells us

that Jews have no dealings

with Samaritans.

The verb translated

as having,

have dealings with,

more specifically means

to use together with,

to share a vessel

or cup or bowl,

something like that

with someone else.

It was not true

that Jews had

no dealings whatsoever

with Samaritans

because obviously

his disciples

went into the Samaritan city

to buy food

so they're having

some dealings with them.

It's referring

to sharing vessels

which strict Jews,

observant Jews

at the time

believed caused

ritual defilement.

And so,

there was a historical reason

for this enmity

between Jews

and Samaritans.

Samaria was the capital

of the northern kingdom

of Israel

during the era

of the two kingdoms,

the northern kingdom

and southern kingdom

of Judah.

And the name

of the capital

came to be known

to refer to

the entire northern kingdom

sometimes called Samaria.

And when the Assyrians

captured Samaria

in 722 BC,

they deported

all Israelites

who had means,

who had status,

who had wealth.

And then they left

the rest of the people,

the rest of the Jews

there in Samaria.

And then they resettled

the land with foreigners

who then intermarried

with the remaining Jews.

And so,

what happened was,

what resulted

was some syncretized religion.

Not orthodox religion,

but heterodox religion.

And so,

because of this,

Jews who had been deported

and later returned

to the land of Israel

viewed Samaritans

not only as children

of political traitors,

but also as ethnic

half-breeds

whose religion

had been adulterated.

So,

we think of

politics,

religion,

or racial tension

or ethnic tension,

these things.

Even one of those things

is enough to divide a family

to cause tension

among the holidays.

Between Jews and Samaritans,

there's all three.

Political tension,

religious tension,

ethnic tension.

Samaritans only accepted

the first five books

of the Bible,

rejected the rest

of the Old Testament,

and they worshiped

not on Mount Zion

in Jerusalem

where the temple is,

but on Mount Gerizim.

And sometimes,

this hostility

bubbled over

into real conflict,

violent conflict.

And as recently

as 400 B.C.,

a Jewish ruler

had destroyed

the rival temple

on Mount Gerizim,

the Samaritans' temple.

And so,

they hated each other.

A Jewish oral commentary,

Mishnah,

it says this,

the daughters

of the Samaritans

are menstruants

from their cradle,

implying that they're

in a perpetual state

of uncleanness.

So, it is no wonder

then that this woman

reacts this way

to Jesus' request.

How is it

that you,

a Jew,

ask for a drink

from me,

a woman of Samaria?

What this Samaritan woman

doesn't realize

is that Jesus

is no ordinary Jew.

Jesus answers

in verse 10,

if you knew

the gift of God

and who it is

that is saying to you,

give me a drink,

you would have asked him

and he would have

given you

living water.

John is fond

of word plays

throughout his gospel.

He often imbues words

with double meanings

as we see here.

And so,

Jesus had asked

the Samaritan woman,

give me a drink.

He was probably thirsty,

but

unless this passage

is omitting that detail,

the Samaritan woman

never actually gives

Jesus any water.

water.

That wasn't

Jesus' primary purpose,

to get water.

As a 19th century

Swiss theologian

Frederick Louis Gaudet

remarks,

Jesus is not unaware

that the way

to gain a soul

is often to ask

a service of it.

Sometimes when

we are in the position

of helping unbelievers,

a position of superiority,

so to speak,

there can be

unexpected barriers

to openness,

to sharing the gospel.

But sometimes

when we are actually

receiving help

in a position of weakness,

that can open

unexpected doors

of conversation

for the gospel.

And that is

what Jesus is doing.

This is not him

primarily wanting

some water.

Jesus' request

to the Samaritan woman

is a gracious overture.

It is an invitation.

And what an honor

it would have been

to be able to offer

Jesus water.

And though Jesus

was the one who asked,

give me a drink,

it's not ultimately

the Samaritan woman

that has something

to offer him.

Jesus is the one

who offers

the gift of God.

And even though

it is Jesus

who asked for water,

Jesus is the one

who can offer her

living water.

What's that?

Living water

can refer in a literal sense

to fresh running water

from the springs

in contrast to water

that's been stored up

and stagnant,

sitting in cisterns.

And so running water

was valuable in those days

because in some cases,

according to Jewish law,

for example,

Leviticus 14,

purification,

ritual purification

required running water,

fresh water.

But the meaning

of the word,

the expression living water

goes even deeper than that

because sometimes

in the Old Testament,

the Lord God

describes himself

as living water.

So God declares

in Jeremiah 2,

Jeremiah 2:13

verse 13,

my people have committed

two evils.

They have forsaken me,

the fountain of living waters,

and hewed out cisterns

for themselves,

broken cisterns

that can hold no water.

God says that he himself

is the fountain

of living water.

He himself

is the source of life,

an unending supply

of fresh running water,

but his people

have instead abandoned him.

and chosen instead

the stagnant water

of cisterns.

And not even cisterns

that work,

broken cisterns

that can hold no water.

If God is the fountain

of living waters

and Jesus here

offers the Samaritan woman

living water,

you can make the connection.

What is Jesus claiming to be?

He is making himself

out to be God.

He's assuming for himself

the prerogative

of God himself.

And this living water

that flows from

the fountain of God

is nothing less

than the Holy Spirit himself.

Jesus had already

connected these images

of water and spirit

in chapter 3,

verse 5,

saying that unless one

is born of water

and of the spirit,

he cannot enter

the kingdom of God.

And later in chapter 7,

John makes this connection

even more explicit.

He says,

Jesus stood up

and cried out,

if anyone thirsts,

let him come to me

and drink.

Whoever believes in me,

as the scripture has said,

out of his heart

will flow rivers

of living water.

Now this,

he said about the spirit

whom those who believe in him,

believed in him,

were to receive.

For as yet the spirit

had not been given

because Jesus

was not yet glorified.

So the living water

that Jesus offers

is the spirit

of the living God.

The thirst that Jesus

promises to quench here

is not of a parched throat

but that of a withered

and dry soul.

The Samaritan woman,

however,

doesn't quite catch on

to all of this yet.

She thinks that Jesus

is speaking of literal water,

H2O.

And so she replies

in verses 11 to 12,

Sir,

you have nothing

to draw water with

and the well is deep.

Where do you get

this living water?

Are you greater

than our father Jacob?

She's saying,

Jesus,

you don't have any

equipment

to draw water with.

And by the way,

this is the well of Sikhar,

the very well that Jacob,

the great patriarch,

dug for his family

and his descendants.

You think you can provide

better water,

better source of water

than this?

Do you really think

that you're greater

than our father Jacob?

And Jesus' response,

is an emphatic,

yes,

yes,

I am.

He says in verses 13 to 14,

everyone who drinks

of this water

will be thirsty again,

but whoever drinks

of the water

that I will give him

will never be thirsty again.

The water that I will give him

will become in him

a spring of water

welling up

to eternal life.

Have you guys ever

reflected on this fact?

No matter how much

water you drink,

it could be the hard

tap water of Cambridge

or the premium $5 water

you get from your pharmacy.

It doesn't matter

how much you drink,

you're going to get thirsty again.

There's this cyclical aspect

of life,

a kind of futility,

a transience,

a vanity,

and a striving

after the wind,

as the author

of Ecclesiastes

puts it.

We eat,

and then we get hungry again.

The wind blows south,

and then it blows north.

The sun rises,

and then it goes down again.

People are born,

and then people die.

All streams flow to the sea,

and yet it rains,

and the streams flow again,

and the ocean is never full.

Buildings are built,

and then they are torn down,

peace is won by war,

and then peace is broken by war.

The eye is not satisfied

with seeing,

nor the ear filled with hearing.

What has been

is what will be,

and what has been

has been done

is what will be done,

and there is nothing new

under the sun.

Ecclesiastes 1.8-9.

People live to be remembered,

but all are eventually forgotten,

and yet Ecclesiastes 3.11 says,

God has put eternity

into man's heart,

yet so that he cannot find out

what God has done

from the beginning to the end.

The futility and vanity of life

is frustrating and wearying.

We feel that there's gotta be more

to life than this cycle.

That's what it means

to have eternity in our hearts.

We feel that there's gotta be more than this,

and yet we can't quite figure out

what all this changing of seasons

and cycles of life are all about.

We can't quite figure out

what God is up to

outside of what God

has revealed to us in Jesus.

C.S. Lewis writes in his book,

Mere Christianity,

quote,

Creatures are not born with desires

unless satisfaction

for those desires exists.

A baby feels hunger,

well, there is such a thing as food.

A duckling wants to swim,

well, there is such a thing as water.

Men feel sexual desire,

well, there is such a thing as sex.

If I find in myself a desire

which no experience in this world

can satisfy,

the most probable explanation

is that I was made for another world.

If none of my earthly pleasures satisfy it,

that does not prove

that the universe is a fraud.

Probably, earthly pleasures

were never meant to satisfy it,

but only to arouse it,

to suggest the real thing.

Jesus is saying to the Samaritan woman,

I am offering you the real thing

that all the desires and pleasures

of life suggest and point to.

I am not offering you water

that will only temporarily satisfy you

and your thirst

and sustain you only for this temporal life.

I am offering you living water

that will give you eternal life.

It will satisfy you forever.

But the Samaritan

misunderstands Jesus

and thinks that he is offering

some kind of miracle water

that will never make you

physically thirst again.

And she says in verse 15,

Sir, give me this water

so that I will not be thirsty

or I have to come here

to draw water.

And we are too often

like this Samaritan woman.

We settle for less

than what Christ offers us.

I am going to quote C.S. Lewis again,

this time from a different essay

called The Weight of Glory.

He writes,

If we consider the unblushing promises

of reward

and the staggering nature

of the rewards promised

in the Gospels,

it would seem that our Lord

finds our desires

not too strong but too weak.

We are half-hearted creatures

fooling about with drink

and sex and ambition

when infinite joy is offered us.

Like an ignorant child

who wants to go on

making mud pies in a slum

because he cannot imagine

what is meant

by the offer of a holiday at the sea.

We are far too easily pleased.

Have you settled for the wearying cycle

of thirst and drink?

Thirst and drink.

Thirst and drink.

Earn and spend.

Earn and spend.

Earn and spend.

Work and rest.

Work and rest.

Work and rest.

And ultimately,

birth and death.

As if that's all there is to life.

Jesus offers you living water.

Imperishable wealth.

Everlasting rest.

Eternal life.

Jesus offers you a relationship,

communion with the triune God

who has life in himself.

If you're not yet a follower of Jesus

and you do not have the spirit

of the living God indwelling you,

then this very day,

Jesus offers you the same thing

he offered to the Samaritan woman.

Whoever drinks of this water

that I will give him

will never be thirsty again.

The water that I will give him

will become in him

a spring of water

welling up to eternal life.

Will you take his cup?

Prophet Isaiah spoke of a time

when God's people

will draw water

from the wells of salvation

when they will not hunger

or thirst anymore.

And God had invited his people

in Isaiah 55,

come everyone who thirsts,

come to the waters

that your soul may live.

And that day has come in Jesus.

He's a fulfillment of that promise.

So if you feel that there's more

to life than this,

come to Jesus

and drink of his living water.

Receive his spirit

that you may live.

Because the Samaritan woman

still doesn't quite get it.

Jesus takes a slightly

different approach.

In verse 16,

he says to her,

okay, go.

Call your husband.

Then come back.

But the woman responds,

I have no husband.

And Jesus,

who already knew this,

answers her,

you are right in saying

I have no husband.

For you have had five husbands.

And the one you now have

is not your husband.

What you said

what you have said is true.

That got awkward really fast.

Jesus is,

his insight into this woman's

relational history

touches her right to the core,

which is why later

she goes back to town

and says,

come see a man

who told me all that I ever did.

At this moment,

she's awestruck

and she manages

to stammer this response.

Sir,

sir,

I perceive that

you are a prophet.

Yes.

And with her

checkered past

and her ongoing sins

exposed,

she abruptly

diverts attention

away from herself

into this religious question

that reestablishes

the distance

between Jesus the Jew

and her the Samaritan.

She says,

our fathers worshipped

on this mountain,

but you say

that in Jerusalem

is a place

where people ought to worship.

Now some of the details

of the narrative

begin to fall into place.

Now that makes sense.

Not only is this woman

a woman of Samaria,

she is also promiscuous.

Verse 6 told us

that this woman

came to draw water

at about the sixth hour.

The Jews count their hours

from sunrise

and so the sixth hour

would be about noon

when the sun

is at its highest point

where the heat

is its strongest,

especially in this

Middle Eastern desert.

Why in the world

would a woman

who comes to draw water

from the well

come at the hottest

point of the day

to do a work

that is labor intensive,

carrying heavy jugs

of water.

And women also

usually traveled

in groups

for company

and for the sake

of security.

We see examples

in Genesis 24-11.

It says that evening

was a time

when women,

plural,

go out to draw water.

So everything is off

about this picture.

This woman is going alone

to draw water

and she is going

at a time

when no one else

would go.

She is intentionally

avoiding company.

She is a social outcast.

John includes

these details

intentionally.

Because of her

sexual history,

because of her

failed marriages,

since she has had

five husbands

and is now

cohabiting with a man

who is not her husband,

this woman's sin,

her past was no secret

and her sin

was not a respectable kind.

She was what some people

nowadays would call

a slut,

a home wrecker,

a sexually available woman

that men can have

without the responsibilities

and obligations

of the covenant

of marriage,

a threat

to other women's

families

and marriages.

And not only that,

this woman is a heretic.

she worships

on the wrong mountain.

Jesus corrects her

very clearly

in verse 22

that it is Jews

who know God.

Remember what I said

to you earlier

from verse 4

that Jesus had to pass

through Samaria.

Divine necessity.

Jesus had a divinely

made appointment

here,

a divinely ordained

mission to fulfill

here.

It must be some

very important work.

It must be some

very important person

and it's her.

It's a woman,

a Samaritan woman,

a promiscuous

Samaritan woman,

a heretical,

promiscuous

Samaritan woman.

Jesus had to

pass through Samaria

so that he could

meet her,

so that he could

tell her about

the gospel,

so that he could

tell her that he

is the Messiah,

so that he could

tell her to go

into town

and tell the whole

town about him,

so that he could

make a worshiper,

a true worshiper

out of her.

This is the grace

and mercy of our

king.

Maybe you too

are a man

or woman

with a past.

Maybe you,

maybe you've been

a heretic,

a blasphemer,

believing wrong

things about God.

Maybe you haven't

worshipped God

or have had

anything to do

with God

for many years.

But if you are

hearing this sermon

right now,

if you're sitting

here right now,

Jesus has an

appointment with

you,

he wants to

replace your

mud pies in a

slum with a

holiday at the

sea.

He wants to

satisfy you with

living water,

that you might

have life more

abundantly,

that you might

have eternal

life.

Jesus says,

you too can

be the true

worshiper of

God.

But how?

Jesus directs

our focus back

to himself and

to the promise

he has made.

He says in

verses 20 to

24,

woman,

believe me,

the hour is

coming when

neither on this

mountain nor in

Jerusalem will you

worship the

Father.

The hour is

coming and is

now here when

the true

worshippers will

worship the

Father in spirit

and truth.

For the Father is

seeking such people

to worship him.

God is spirit and

those who worship

him must worship

in spirit and

truth.

Jesus announces a

new age that

will soon obliterate

the debate about

the proper location

for worship.

He says in

verse 21,

the hour is

coming when

neither on this

mountain nor in

Jerusalem will you

worship the

Father.

Father,

that pronoun

you is plural

indicating it

includes all

Samaritans.

So Jesus is

here saying that

the time is

here when even

the Samaritans

will truly

worship the

Father.

That day is

here,

the hour is

here when the

privileged position

of the Jews in

God's saving

plan is

fulfilled and

brought to an

end.

Jesus says that

that hour is

coming and is

now here because

Jesus is the

one who brings

that hour.

It's kind of an

oxymoron, right?

It's coming but

it's already here.

It's like the

new age has

decisively dawned

and you already

see the sun

gleaming on the

horizon, glowing

orange and red.

The sun is already

here but it's also

coming.

It's still rising

in its fullness.

Jesus brings about

this new age through

his life, death,

and resurrection.

And with his

arrival, the hour

glass has been

turned over.

The hour is here

and it's coming

in its fullness.

In this new age,

the true

worshipers will not

be Jews or

Samaritans but all

who worship the

Father in spirit and

truth.

And the reason for

that is that God is

spirit.

What does that

mean?

It means that God

is not confined to

space, time,

existence like we

are because he is

spirit and not

flesh.

imagine that you

had a meeting

scheduled with me

and I'm waiting

for you on my

computer on Zoom

and you are

waiting for me

at my co-working

space.

If one person is

virtual while the

other person is in

person, that meeting

will not happen.

This is obviously an

imperfect analogy

because the

spiritual world is

even more real than

our physical world.

But God is spirit.

So those who

worship the Father

must do so in

spirit and truth.

This really should

be translated as

worship the Father

in the spirit and

the truth.

There is no

definite article here

but in Greek it's

common to leave off

the definite article

when it's governed by

a preposition.

And a similar

phrase in John 3,

5 is translated with

the definite article

even though it's not

there.

In John 3,

5 it's unless one

is born of water

and the spirit.

He cannot enter

the kingdom of God.

So it's referring

to not our spirit,

it's referring to

the spirit,

the Holy Spirit

whom Jesus gives,

God's very presence.

The true worshipers

worship the Father

in the truth also.

And we also know

from the context of

John what that

truth is.

Christ's true identity

is the question,

the major focus of

the Gospel of John

all throughout.

And Jesus is

described throughout

the Gospel as

the true bread,

the true shepherd,

the true son,

the true resurrection

and the life,

the true vine.

And later in

John 14,

John 14:6

verse 6,

Jesus explicitly says,

I am the way

and the truth

and the life.

No one comes

to the Father

except through me.

So to worship

the Father

in the spirit

and the truth

is to worship

Him by the means

of Jesus

through faith

in Jesus,

in union

and communion

with Jesus,

in the spirit,

in Jesus.

So our worship

is Trinitarian.

When we gather,

and this is a

staggering reality,

when we gather

for worship

in the name

of God's Son,

Jesus Christ,

God Himself

is present

in His spirit.

We worship Him

in spirit and truth.

We're not just

listening to a sermon

or singing some songs

or carols

and saying some prayers.

No, we are listening

to God

speak from His word.

We're listening to Him

and we're praising Him

in return,

singing His praises,

adoring Him,

and we are pleading

with God

directly in our prayers.

God is here.

We're gathering

in the very throne room

of God

when we gather

in His name

and that's why

it is such a privilege.

We worship Him

in the spirit

and in the truth.

But how can we,

sinners

and rebels,

enjoy this kind

of staggering privilege?

Early in chapter 2,

Jesus referred to His body

as the temple of God

and He said,

destroy this temple

and I will raise it

in three days.

He was predicting

His death

and His resurrection

on the third day.

Jesus had to die

on the cross

for our sins

because we had defiled

the temple of God.

We had adulterated

His worship.

Instead of living for God,

we have lived for ourselves

in a sinful rebellion.

We have worshipped

false gods

and we have worshipped

the true God falsely.

We have been unfaithful

to Him

by whoring after

the desires

of our sinful flesh.

And that's why

Jesus came

as the Lamb of God

who takes away

the sin of the world

as we talked about

two weeks ago

to make atonement

for our sins

as the ultimate

once and for all sacrifice.

And it's by His death

and resurrection

that Jesus wins for us

the gift of God,

the very spirit

of the living God.

And so in John 1934,

after Jesus' death,

when a Roman soldier

pierces his side

with the spear,

John specifically notes

that at once

there came out

blood and water.

The blood of Jesus

that pours from His body

is the blood

that cleanses us

from our sin.

It's the atoning blood

of the Lamb of God.

And likewise,

the water

that pours out

from Jesus' side

represents the living water,

the spirit of God

who rinses us

and revives us

and renews us

and regenerates us.

It's when we repent

of our sins

and believe in Jesus

that we are born again

into this family of God

by the Holy Spirit

and by the blood of Jesus.

Zechariah 14.8

prophesied

of a day

when the Lord God

will come

to redeem His people

and He said

that on that day

living waters

shall flow

out of Jerusalem.

Whenever the Bible

describes a temple,

the dwelling place

of God in Scripture,

whether it's the Garden

of Eden at the beginning

or the new temple

of God

in the New Jerusalem

at the end

in Ezekiel

in Revelation,

there's always

water,

living water

flowing from that temple.

And so it is no wonder

then that now Jesus,

the new temple

of God,

flows with living water

of the Holy Spirit

who gives us

eternal life.

Now by this point

of the conversation,

the Samaritan woman

gets the drift

of what Jesus is saying

and she concludes

that the only person

who could decisively

bring about

such a spiritual revolution

is the long-awaited Messiah.

She says to Jesus

in verse 25,

I know that Messiah

is coming,

He who is called Christ.

When He comes,

He will tell us

all things.

and Jesus responds,

I who speak to you

am He.

The Samaritan woman

finally realizes

the gift of God

and who it is

that is saying to her,

give me a drink.

And so He says

in verse 28

that she leaves

her water jar

there at the well

and she goes back

into town

to tell people,

come see a man

who told me

all that I ever did.

Can this be the Christ?

Christ,

because she has found

the fountain

of living water.

Christ,

as I've mentioned before,

is the messianic title

that means anointed one

because back in the day,

kings were anointed

with oil

and consecrated

for service to God.

But Jesus was not anointed

with ordinary oil.

He says in Acts 10, 38

that Jesus was anointed

with the Holy Spirit.

So at the beginning

of His ministry,

Jesus,

in Luke 4,

Jesus cites Isaiah 61

and says that He has fulfilled

the prophecy

that the Spirit of the Lord

is on me

because He has anointed me

to proclaim good news

to the poor.

Jesus,

the King,

Christ the King,

who is anointed

with the Holy Spirit,

now shares that anointing

of the Holy Spirit

with all of God's people,

Jews and Samaritans,

man and woman,

slave and free,

after His death

and resurrection

and ascension.

Do you know this King?

My King brings order

into the chaos

and confusion

of this sinful world.

Do you know this King?

He brings us

into fellowship

with the living God

and enables us

to worship Him

in spirit and truth.

He brings light

into this dark world

and shows us

the way to live.

He gives us

the eternal life,

spiritual life,

and promises

resurrection life

in His second coming.

Instead of coming

to condemn the world,

He comes to save the world.

My King deserved

more than anyone else

in the whole world

to be carried

on a soft,

luxurious carriage

so that His feet

never touched

the bare earth.

but instead He carried

His own cross

on this lonely path

to Calvary.

My King deserved

more than anyone else

in human history

to be seated

on the most regal

and grand

and golden throne

of them all

but instead

His throne was

a wooden cross,

the cursed cross

upon which He was hung.

My King deserved

more than anyone else

to wear the most

bejeweled,

bespeckled crown

of them all

and instead

He wore a crown

of thorns.

He deserved

to be served

but He came

not to be served

but to serve

and to this day

our King

proclaims good news

to the poor

and liberty

to the captives.

He approaches

the ostracized,

the promiscuous,

the sordid

and despised

and He pours out

His love,

His atoning blood

and His anointing water

to set us apart

for Himself.

Will you follow

this King?

Will you pledge

allegiance

to this King?

Will you lay down

your life

for this King?

He is worthy

of it all.

Let's pray.

Lord,

that is our

greatest boast,

our greatest

flex

that we can point

to the cross.

We can point

to the empty tomb.

That we can point

to Jesus

and say

that

is our

King.

That

is my

King.

thank you for

coming,

Lord Jesus.

Thank you for your

love,

for your

salvation.

Reveal yourself

to us more

and more.

Reveal yourself

to our neighbors,

our families,

our friends.

So that

every

tongue

confesses

that you are

Lord.

So that

every knee

bows before you.

We worship you.

in your

name we

pray.

Amen.

Amen.