An Encounter with Jesus: The Story of the Transforming Power of LOVE...

John 4:1-30

New Living Translation (NLT)

⁴ Jesus knew the Pharisees had heard that he was baptizing and making more disciples than John ² (though Jesus himself didn’t baptize them—his disciples did). ³ So he left Judea and returned to Galilee. [PROOF THAT BAPTISM DOES NOT SAVE YOU, AND DIVISION WILL DRIVE JESUS AWAY!]

⁴ He had to go through Samaria on the way. ⁵ Eventually he came to the Samaritan village of Sychar [ means falsehood and drunkenness ], near the field that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. ⁶ Jacob’s well was there; and Jesus, tired from the long walk, sat wearily beside the well about noontime. [JESUS GETS TIRED TOO! The KJV says the sixth hour, which was noon, as the day started at 6 AM. She came at this time because no one else would be there to stare at her and ridicule her.] ⁷ Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Please give me a drink.” [COMMAND FROM THE LORD JESUS, he is accepting her, speaking to her regardless of her reputation and regardless of the culture, customs, or law.] ⁸ He was alone at the time because his disciples had gone into the village to buy some food.
[Another interesting point here is that customarily, men would come to the well to seek a wife because the young women would be there, Isaac and Rebecca; Jacob and Rachel. Jesus was seeking His Bride...] 
⁹ The woman was surprised, for Jews refuse to have anything to do with Samaritans. She said to Jesus, “You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. Why are you asking me for a drink?” [SHE COMPLAINS…REBELS…QUESTIONS.  She is defensive. ATTITUDE and EXCUSES…]
¹⁰ Jesus replied, “If you only knew the gift God has for you [He knows she is lost] and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water.” {Holy Spirit}
¹¹ “But sir, you don’t have a rope or a bucket,” she said, “and this well is very deep. Where would you get this living water? [AGAIN…Attitude and excuses] ¹² And besides, do you think you’re greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us this well? How can you offer better water than he and his sons and his animals enjoyed?”
¹³ Jesus replied, “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. ¹⁴ But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.” [natural, never satisfied], [supernatural, always satisfying].
¹⁵ “Please, sir,” the woman said, “give me this water! Then I’ll never be thirsty again, and I won’t have to come here to get water.” [Her thirst and seeking is what led her into the arms of men.  Men come to this well, traditionally, to find a wife because that is where the young women gather.  He came looking for His Bride. She will no longer have to work for satisfaction. Love came down and rescued her!]
¹⁶ “Go and get your husband,” Jesus told her.

[Hosea 2:14-16…He desires to be our husband.]

¹⁷ “I don’t have a husband,” the woman replied. [She is godless.  Not covered.]
Jesus said, “You’re right! You don’t have a husband— ¹⁸ for you have had five husbands, and you aren’t even married to the man you’re living with now. You certainly spoke the truth!” [REBUKE…CONVICTION…What he said concerning his grace and eternal life did not affect her, because she had not been convinced of sin: therefore, he awakens her conscience, opening the wound of guilt, and then she would accept the remedy by grace. And this is the method of dealing with souls; they must first be made aware of the burden of sin, and then brought to Christ for rest; first pricked to the heart, and then healed.]
¹⁹ “Sir,” the woman said, “you must be a prophet. [This is her confession of faith!] ²⁰ So tell me, why is it that you Jews insist that Jerusalem is the only place of worship, while we Samaritans claim it is here at Mount Gerizim, where our ancestors worshiped?” [She desired to worship God and wanted to do so rightly, so knowing that He is a prophet she used this opportunity to get the answer to her question.]
²¹ Jesus replied, “Believe me, dear woman, the time is coming when it will no longer matter whether you worship the Father on this mountain or in Jerusalem. ²² You Samaritans know very little about the one you worship, while we Jews know all about him, for salvation comes through the Jews. ²³ But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way. ²⁴ For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.”

 [True worship comes from the heart and has nothing to do with WHERE you worship but everything to do with WHERE your worship COMES FROM]

²⁵ The woman said, “I know the Messiah is coming—the one who is called Christ. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”
²⁶ Then Jesus told her, “I Am the Messiah!” [DIRECT divine revelation…revealing of Himself]
²⁷ Just then his disciples came back. They were shocked to find him talking to a woman, but none of them had the nerve to ask, “What do you want with her?” or “Why are you talking to her?” ²⁸ The woman left her water jar beside the well and ran back to the village, telling everyone, ²⁹ “Come and see a man who told me everything I ever did! Could he possibly be the Messiah?” ³⁰ So the people came streaming from the village to see him. [She recognizes not just who Jesus is but what he offers -- dignity. Jesus invites her to not be defined by her circumstances and offers her an identity that lifts her above her tragedy. And she accepts, playing a unique role in Jesus' ministry as she is the first character in John's gospel to seek out others to tell them about Jesus.]

 

Look at verse 4: He had to go through Samaria. WHY? [divine appointment]

Note what Jesus did when He met her [an unbeliever, an outcast] and let’s follow His example:

1.     He did not argue!!  The enemy tried, through her, to argue yet He never took the bait. Three arguments [most common] that the enemy will come with when you try to witness to an unbeliever:

a.     RACE ~ includes history/culture/gender ~ All of these are a manmade barrier.  Do not let any of these create a boundary.

b.     REASON ~ also known as ‘logic’ ~ Jesus is talking spiritual, not natural.  The enemy comes with ‘what about the dinosaurs’ or ‘what about science’.  It’s okay to say “I don’t know about all of that, but I do know that I was blind [sick, addicted, prideful, angry, etc] and now I can see [am healed, delivered, set free, humble, a servant, honest, faithful].  Don’t let I DON’T KNOW stop you!

c.     RELIGION ~ This is also a manmade barrier. 

                                               i.         Religion is man’s attempt to get to God.  Christ is God’s attempt to get to man.  It’s all about RELATIONSHIP

                                             ii.         Titus 3:9 says “Do not get involved in foolish discussions about spiritual pedigrees or in quarrels and fights about obedience to Jewish laws. These things are useless and a waste of time.”

2.     Just TALK!  The only reason Jesus began talking to this woman was to help her.  He could have gotten His own drink. 

a.     You can talk to anybody.  How do I know this?  Every person has a favorite subject: ME [themselves]

 

b.     We will never lead anyone into a face to face encounter with Jesus if we don’t talk.  Exodus 33:20 “But you may not look directly at my face, for no one can see me and live.”  You WILL be reborn in His Presence.

c.     Speak of Abundant Life ~ how He changed you, who you were and who you are now because of your meeting with Him. {I had cancer and now I am cancer free and I have peace and joy in my life…I was an alcoholic and I no longer drink and have peace and joy in my life…} Every person wants peace and joy [do YOU have it???] THIS does not impose religion on anyone!  No one can argue with my story.  If you weren’t on drugs [outward]…talk about your bitterness, loneliness, insecurity, rejections, torment, anger [inward]…[are you delivered?  If not, let’s get there!]

d.     Talk about eternal life.  Ecc 3:11 says “… He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end.”  DO YOUR BEST, TRUST GOD WITH THE REST

e.     Talk about sin~ It’s important to do this with love.  HOW? Look at verses 16-19.  Sin was her NEED.

f.      Talk about relationship with God. Verses 22-24

g.     Jesus talked about Jesus  verses 25-26

 

Questions for Reflection:

Do YOU have attitudes and excuses for why you can’t/won’t serve God with all of your heart, soul, mind and strength?

When you pray, do you KNOW who you are speaking to?  Do you KNOW His nature, His will? [Refer to last week’s notes on Aborted Prayers]

Are you CONFIDENT of who you are in Christ?  Who you are in Christ [your heart] determines what comes out of your mouth.  [Luke 6:45; Matthew 15:18; Matthew 12:34]  Is there sin your life that is a barrier to your intimacy with Him?  If so, repent and move forward!

Our human tendency is to judge others because of stereotypes, customs or prejudices. Jesus treats people as individuals, accepting them with love and compassion.

Do you dismiss certain people as lost causes? Have you been dismissed?

Do you see yourself/others as valuable and worthy of knowing about the Gospel?