A Woman At The Well

This morning we are to be looking at John chapter 4 verses 4-30 - the account of Jesus' meeting with A Woman at a Well.

John tells us that his great aim in writing this gospel is that:

you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name" (Jn 20.31)

And chapters 3 and 4 of the Gospel give you two cameos of how to believe and "have life in his name." Chapter 3 tells you about Nicodemus and what Jesus had to say to him. Nicodemus was a Pharisee and, therefore, concerned with the minutiae of rules and rituals. So Jesus spoke to him about the need first, before any religious externals, for a "new birth". That is because everyone by nature is spiritually dead and they need new life by the Holy Spirit - Pharisees included.

Chapter 4 then tells you about someone very different - a Samaritan woman. She had some religion. But it was confused. The Samaritans were theologically liberal. On the one hand they were multi-faith. They believed in all the religions as legitimate. They worshipped Jehovah (Yahweh) - the God of Israel, the God of the Bible - but also other gods. You read about that in 2 Kings 17.24 and following. On the other hand they rejected part of the Bible - or the Bible as it then was, the Old Testament. They only accepted the first five books of the Bible. So they rejected the Prophets, the Psalms and the other writings. But this woman was not only a Samaritan, she was sexually permissive. She had already got through five husbands and currently she was living with some man to whom she was not married - he was just her lover. And chapter 4 tells you how Jesus dealt with this woman.

So both chapters are vital for your thinking about evangelism and personal evangelism. Both chapters show the importance of the individual. I trust you are all praying for the growth of this church and other churches in the North East. On Wednesday evening I was able to go to the induction of Tony Jones as the new minister of Claypath in Durham in succession to Bob Fyall. That was all very encouraging. I am praying that Tony is able to build on Bob's foundation and help that fellowship there in Durham grow. But the growth of the Church depends on individual people coming to faith in Christ.

Well, this morning I want to look very simply at what John has to teach us, first, about CHRIST; secondly, about THE WOMAN; and, thirdly, about THE RESULT OF THE ENCOUNTER.

First, CHRIST

Note three things about John's teaching here.

First, he teaches about Jesus' humanity. Look at verses 4-6:

Now he had to go through Samaria. So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob's well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour.

He tells us that Jesus was tired. Some people in John's day were denying that Jesus was truly human. He only "seemed" to be human, they said. Others were denying that Jesus was "divine". John will have none of it. He made it crystal clear that Jesus was truly man - God come in the flesh. He grew tired; he wept; and he was thirsty. In that respect he was just like you and me. He also made it crystal clear that Jesus was "divine". Among other things you have in John's Gospel, those amazing "I am" sayings of Jesus - we have one later in verse 26, which allude to the divine name of God in the Old Testament. And today you still have to fight for both the humanity and the deity of Christ - the fact that he was both perfect man and perfect God. Here John stresses Christ's humanity.

Think about it. Jesus Christ, the agent in the creation of the universe, the one in whom the whole universe holds together, almighty God come in the flesh, is tired. Do you feel tired or exhausted? Is life getting just too hard for you? Perhaps it is not physical exhaustion but mental exhaustion. You have huge responsibilities at work and they tire you out. Well, Jesus understands all sorts of tiredness:

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are - yet was without sin <(Heb 4.15)

And notice also what this means. When there is an opportunity for you to work for Christ in sharing your faith, you mustn't say, "I don't feel up to it." Christ most likely didn't feel up to this conversation with the Samaritan woman. He was shattered. But he saw her need. So first John teaches about the true humanity of Jesus.

Secondly, he teaches principles regarding the way Jesus dealt with an individual. And there are three principles here. Look at verse 7:

When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, 'Will you give me a drink?

Jesus, first, wants to come across as an ordinary human being. Look at verse 9:

The Samaritan woman said to him, 'You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?' (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)

The Samaritans probably thought the Jews were almost a different species. But Jesus wants to relate to this woman not as a Jew but as a fellow human being. So he asks her for a drink - a natural thing for a normal, hot and tired person, who has no water, to do at mid-day (the sixth hour is 12 o'clock - noon). And Christians need to come across today as perfectly normal and not as religious odd balls. That is even more important for Christian workers and especially clergy. I was in Argos on Thursday. At the check out the woman persuaded me to get a customer card. As she was filling in the form she came to the box headed "job". I said I was a vicar. "What is that?" "A clergyman," I replied. "What is that - and how do you spell it?" "Well, I'm in a church". "Oh! Is that a job. Do you work?" "Of course, he does," said her colleague who was overhearing us. My woman now concluded that I was normal. Well, Jesus first wanted to come across as a normal human being.

The second principle is that Jesus took the initiative and didn't wait too long before he got round to spiritual matters. Now if you are a clergyman, although you are more likely to be thought odd to start with, it is easier to be direct with people. At the Argos check out, the woman next asked me if I believed in fortune-telling. I was taken aback, as I thought this was a box to be completed in the application form. I then realized it was her own genuine question. So I said:

"the bible makes it clear that that sort of thing is wrong and forbidden. You should turn to the living God for guidance, not to mediums."

And a conversation started. Once you become direct, people are interested. In the modern world when there is more and more confusion, it is not difficult to be direct. Take the Hutton enquiry. Why not talk about the neglected facts, namely that Dr Kelly had rejected Jesus Christ as the only Saviour, seeing him merely the equal of other religious leaders; for he had become a Baha'i. And then the fact that whatever the mitigating circumstances and the sympathy you have for the family and the rights and wrongs elsewhere in this case, one thing is certain - it is wrong to kill your self. The Bible teachers that God alone can give life and take it away. So Jesus became quite direct - but direct in a positive way. Look at verse 10:

Jesus answered her, 'If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.

In chapter 3 Nicodemus couldn't understand that Jesus' talk of "new birth" was not literal. He couldn't understand that he was not talking about a physical new birth but a spiritual one. Similarly this woman couldn't understand Jesus' talk of "living water". She thought he was referring just to a stream of running water as distinct from stationery well water - which is what "living water" in those days usually meant. Jesus, however, is talking about something very different. It is a spiritual reality he is talking about - verses 13 and 14:

Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.

But she still doesn't understand - verse 15:

The woman said to him, 'Sir, give me this water so that I won't get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.

This woman is not so unusual. She is not only a typical Samaritan. She is a typical human being. These are the people today you have to win for Christ. Like most people her life revolves around satisfying her (and her lover's) physical needs. And in Samaria that often meant water. So here is Jesus communicating the most amazing of truths - namely that almighty God, the creator of the universe, has something special on offer. And this gift, this living water, this new life - the life of the Holy Spirit in us - is not going to be temporary, it is for eternity - it is like "a spring of water welling up to eternal life." She couldn't grasp that. But do you really believe that? Do you really believe that is what almighty God is offering your family, your neighbours, your colleagues, this city, this region, this country and indeed the world? If so, you must evangelise and tell people about Jesus Christ. So, secondly, Jesus took the initiative and was soon direct about spiritual matters.

The third principle is that Jesus, while bold in taking the initiative, at the same time was wise and tactful. Notice he spoke to this woman when she was alone. He had talked to Nicodemus alone. He couldn't have had this conversation with this woman with other people listening in. So be careful that you chose the right time for speaking to someone. And be tactful in the way you speak. Jesus began the conversation with "Will you give me a drink?" He didn't begin with the statement that he was the Messiah; that he knew the will of God and that all sex outside marriage was wrong and marriage is for life; she, therefore, was a sinner and needed to repent. All of which is true and all of which Jesus wanted the woman to come round to seeing. But that was not his starting point. He starts in a gentle way. He wants her to see her problems for herself. Spurgeon once said:

"many an earnest fool has driven a soul to hell in his endeavour to drag it to heaven by force."

Be careful not to do that. So John teaches in these verses, first, that Jesus was fully human; secondly, that he gives us principles for personal evangelism and witness - you are to be normal and not to come across as a religious nut; then take the initiative and be direct about spiritual matters early on; but in taking that initiative be wise and tactful.

And thirdly, John teaches about Jesus' way of dealing with sexual sin. This is highly relevant for today with arguments about homosexual behaviour going on both in the world and in the church. It is clear that Jesus thought this woman was wrong - that she was a sinner. But as we have seen, he didn't immediately reproach her for her sin. He had compassion on her. Nor was he only like this with sexual sinners. He was like this with financial sinners - those fraudulent Tax Collectors. But - and this is a vital "but" - Jesus never muted his ethical standards. We know that his teaching on marriage and divorce was stricter, even, than the Old Testament's. And with regard to money, for all his fraternizing with the fraudsters, he never back-peddled his teaching against greed and the seductions of money. Rather he offered forgiveness for confessed sin. He died, in our place, for all sins on Calvary. We must move on - and more briefly - to my second heading.

Secondly, THE WOMAN

John highlights three things about the woman.

First, he underlines that before she can be converted, she needs to be convicted. That is true for everyone. If you have no knowledge of sin, why should you want a Saviour from sin? Everybody is different - and they rebel against God in different ways. But sin is that in-built rebellion we are all born with. And conviction is getting to the point where you realize that you have been running away from God and deserve his judgment. The risen Jesus used an interesting metaphor with Paul at his conversion. He said: "it is hard for you to kick against the goads" (Acts 26.14). Conviction comes when you realize that that is you. Is there someone here this morning and you are just like that - you are resisting God and you are in a mess for doing so. Why not give in to him? So how is this woman convicted? Look at verse 16:

He [Jesus] told her, 'Go, call your husband and come back.' 'I have no husband,' she replied. Jesus said to her, 'You are right when you say you have no husband. The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.'

She is convicted as Christ sees right through her - and all her sins. He knows the worst about her. And he knows the worst about you and me. And that brings conviction.

Secondly, John teaches that the woman needs instruction. As the conversation proceeds, Jesus first teaches about worship. He makes it clear to her that what is important about the worship of God is not the place but the manner of worship - that God's "worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth" (verse 24). There has to be heart worship, yes, but not irrational emotion. The mind has to be employed. Worship has to reflect the truth of God's word. She also needs to learn that she couldn't continue to reject large parts of the Old Testament as she was doing as a Samaritan. Jesus said, verse 22:

You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews.

And supremely she had to learn that Jesus is the Messiah. The Samaritans believed in a coming Messiah. She says, verse 25:

I know that Messiah" (called Christ) "is coming.

Verse 26:

Then Jesus declared, 'I who speak to you am he'.

Nowhere else in the Gospels does Jesus make such a clear statement of his Messiahship - that he is the promised one of God. This woman was wonderfully privileged. Do you think you have made such a mess of your life that God cannot reveal himself to you and that Christ can't use you? You are wrong. He revealed himself to this woman, who'd made a mess of her life, and then used her in a remarkable way.

For, thirdly, John teaches that the woman became a witness herself. Look at verses 27-30:

Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no one asked, 'What do you want?' or 'Why are you talking with her?' Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, 'Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?' They came out of the town and made their way toward him.

This is typical of a new convert. New converts are thrilled with the newness of the Gospel. They often are only too willing to talk. And they still have lots of friends outside the church. This woman certainly had. And what was her method of evangelism? It was very simple - verse 29:

Come, see a man.

Her goal was to introduce them to Jesus. She didn't say, "you are all sinners". She knew that Christ would set them right and in the right way. And she used the soft sell - "could this be the Christ?". She knew he was, but she wanted the people of the town to decide for themselves. Time has gone - very briefly ...

Thirdly, THE RESULT OF THE ENCOUNTER.

Look on to verses 39-42 - you are told the result:

Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony, 'He told me everything I ever did.' So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. And because of his words many more became believers. They said to the woman, 'We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Saviour of the world.

I must conclude. I do so with an observation. Both in the case of the woman and then of the people she was evangelising, the responsibility ultimately lay with the hearers. Jesus could say, "I who speak to you am he". This woman could say "Come, see ... " But he couldn't force the woman; and she couldn't force her friends.

Similarly, I can say to someone here this morning who has never yet come to Christ - come and see. But it then is your decision. I can say it is folly and eternally dangerous to reject that "living water" - that forgiveness of sins Christ offers through dying for you on Calvary and that new life he offers through his Holy Spirit.

But you have to decide to drink it and accept that forgiveness and new life.