John 4:1-25: “Jesus Goes To A
Woman Of
By
1.
INTRO:
1.1.
In our last study we looked at verses 17-36 of chapter 3.
1.1.1. Jesus finished His
conversation with Nicodemus by telling him that God’s motive in sending His Son
into this world was not that the world might be judged by Him but rather that
He might save the world.
1.1.2. We also looked at an event
in John’s gospel where some jealousy erupted in John the Baptist’s disciples
because of the success of Jesus’ ministry.
1.1.3. We observed some principles
that we ought to apply in our own life from how that John the Baptist dealt
with this eruption of jealous that had broken out.
1.2.
In our study today, we are going to look at verses 1-25 of John chapter
4.
1.2.1. In this story we will see
that as Jesus decides that it will be best for Him to take His disciples and
relocate to Galilee that He decides that they must go through Samaria, the land
of that half-breed of Jews who were compromised in all areas of their worship,
and He does this so that He might reach a woman and a city with the
life-transforming and saving message of the gospel.
1.2.2. In the previous chapter we
saw that Jesus had preached the good news to a ruler of the Pharisees named
Nicodemus, and it is important for us to realize that all through the
scriptures that the Holy Spirit places stories and teachings together for very
strategic reasons. Lets observe some of
the many contrasts between this man Nicodemus and this woman of
1.2.2.1.Nicodemus was a man. She was an unnamed woman (I wonder if Jesus’
disciples at the time were so calloused towards this Samaritan woman that no
one even bothered to remember or learn her name).
1.2.2.2.Nicodemus was a Jew. This woman was a Samaritan, a half-breed
idolater.
1.2.2.3.Nicodemus was a very
important high ranking leader in Israel, and a member of the Sanhedrin, the highest
ruling party in Israel who established all rule, law and policy. This woman was a member of the lowest caste
of people to the Jews, the Samaritan.
That she was the lowest caste is seen in that she came in the middle of
the day to draw water.
1.2.2.4.Nicodemus was a very moral
man, at least on the external of his life.
The woman of
1.2.2.5.Nicodemus was a very
religious man. This woman knew about the
worship of the Samaritans but it does not appear that she was a worshipper
herself.
1.2.2.6.Nicodemus came to Jesus
secretly by night. Jesus sought out the
woman of
1.2.2.7.Nicodemus needed to be
confronted with the fact that a person must be born again to see the kingdom of
heaven (understand spiritual truth). The
woman of
1.2.3. So, Nicodemus and the woman
of
1.2.3.1.They both were slow to catch
on to spiritual truth.
1.2.3.2.They both were people in
need of a Savior.
1.2.4. The story of the woman of
1.2.5. We will see how that Jesus,
the Master evangelist, uses every day situations to share the gospel with those
who are lost, and does so in the most natural way.
2.
VS 4:1-3 - “When therefore the Lord knew that the
Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than
John (although Jesus Himself was not baptizing, but His disciples were), He
left Judea, and departed again into
2.1.
In
2.2.
Jesus’ omnipotence is again seen here in that He
realized what the Jewish leaders were thinking about and planning concerning
Him. He did not need for anyone to tell Him
what was in man but He realized all that was going in each person’s heart and
mind. Truly nothing about our lives ever
comes as a surprise to the Lord.
2.3.
The Greek word for ‘left’ is only used here in
the New Testament and is extremely strong, implying that He abandoned
2.4.
Not only was Jesus acting to protect Himself and His
followers He also knew that the people in
3.
VS 4:4 - “And He had to pass through
3.1.
It says
here that the Lord ‘had’ to go through
3.2.
Jesus was desiring to go to Galilee where He had
performed His first miracle (turning the water into wine at Cana) and where He
would set up His ministry base, in the city of
3.3.
This
history of
3.3.1. The tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, the sons of
Joseph, were allotted the land. Joseph
through his sons received a double inheritance (Josh. 16-17).
3.3.2. Jeroboam, the wicked king of the northern kingdom,
introduced idolatry in the form of two golden calves, and thus the people in
the area of Samaria fell into idolatry (1 Kings 12:25-33).
3.3.3. After most of the people in the northern kingdom had
been taken into
Assyrian captivity the king of Assyria relocated many idolaters from various
nations into Samaria in order to dilute the religious fervor and nationalistic
zeal of the Israelites (2 Kings 17:24), making a total of perhaps 2/3rd
of the people pagan idolaters.
3.3.4. When the people of Judea returned from Babylonian
captivity, the Samaritans offered to make an alliance with
3.3.5. Arthur Pink credits the Roman historian Josephus the
following on how the temple of worship at Mt. Gerizim in Samaria came to be
erected by the Samaritans, “…at a later date Manasseh, the son of Jaddua the
high priest, contrary to the law, married the daughter of Sanballat, the chief
of the Samaritans, and when the Jews insisted that he should either repudiate
his wife, or renounce his sacred office, he fled to his father-in-law, who gave
him an honorable reception, and by the permission of Alexander the Great built
a temple to Jehovah on Mount Gerizim, in which Manasseh and his posterity
officiated as high priests, in rivalry to the Divinely instituted ritual at
Jerusalem.”
3.3.6. The Samaritans
believed the first five books of the Old Testament only were inspired, and they
didn’t accept any of the books of the prophets or poetry of the Old Testament.
3.4.
So, when
we consider the history of how virulent was the hatred of the Jews for the Samaritans,
and visa versa, there are a few things that become much more striking about
Jesus and His ministry, including:
3.4.1. Jesus taught the parable of “The Good Samaritan”
in which a Jewish man traveling through
3.4.2. When the enemies accused Jesus to His face of being a
Samaritan in John 8:48, we understand more clearly what an insult that really
was.
3.4.3. Forsaking the feelings of hatred and prejudice of His
countrymen, Jesus in our study was compelled to go to the people of
3.5.
And as it turned out, the Samaritans were the most
receptive to the gospel of all the people groups that Jesus preached to.
3.6.
Are you O’ Christians compelled, as Jesus was to
forsake prejudice against all people groups and go to people of all
nationalities and backgrounds so they might hear the glorious gospel of the
kingdom and be saved through faith in Christ?
4.
VS 4:5-6 - “So He came to a city of Samaria, called
Sychar, near the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph; and Jacob’s well was there. Jesus being wearied from His journey, was
sitting thus by the well. It was about
the sixth hour.” - Jesus came to a city in
4.1.
The country Jesus went to on this day was called
4.2.
As was mentioned, the people of Samaria consisted of
the families of some of the poorer Jews that had not been transported away
during the Jewish deportation by the Assyrians, as well as some people from
various nationalities that had been placed there during and after the
deportation of that area. The people of
that country had combined a version of the Jewish religion with the paganism of
the Assyrians.
4.3.
Its says in these verses that Jesus was wearied from
His journey. Jesus and His disciples are
never mentioned to have camels for their travels, but rather they walked
everywhere they went. Thus, they would
often have been tired, hungry, sore, and thirsty. The Word of God brings out the humanity of
Jesus in the gospels. He got tired here,
He was hungry during His temptation in the wilderness, and thirsty upon the
cross. As with every man, Jesus
experienced fully the limitations of humanity, for He was fully man and fully
God. In the book of Hebrews we read of
Jesus that, ‘He was tempted in all ways as are we, yet without sin.’
4.3.1. We
Christians need to realize that Jesus understands and emphasizes with our
weaknesses because of His humanity. He
therefore can always succor and comfort us when we are in various trials and
temptations. As Hebrews also states, He
is a faithful high priest, for He will always give us the very help we need
whenever we come before His throne for help and grace. We need to take to heart the exhortation of
Hebrews to ‘come boldly before the throne of grace in order to obtain help
in time of need,’ and bring every burden and trial to Jesus to meet.
4.4.
It is amazing in the scriptures how often the Lord
used wells in His people’s lives, for instance:
4.4.1. The angel
spoke to Hagar at the well and encouraged her (Gen. 16).
4.4.2. Abraham made
an oath to Abimilech at a well (Gen. 21).
4.4.3. Isaac’s wife Rebekah was found by Isaac’s servant at a
well (Gen. 24).
4.4.4. Jacob went
on a journey to the people of the east and ended up at a well (Gen. 29).
4.4.5. Moses fled
Pharaoh and wend to the
4.4.6. Etc., etc.
4.5.
So, the ‘well’ is a type in scripture
symbolizing salvation and provision by the Lord.
4.6.
This was no ordinary well however, for we are told
here that this is the very well which Jacob purchased. The half-breed idolatrous people of
5.
VS
4:7 - “There came a woman of
5.1.
There have been many people who have written books
about evangelism who have used this story as an example of how to do effective
evangelism. In this story, Jesus uses a
common everyday situation and conversation to lead the discussion to His gospel
message. Truly, He was the Master
evangelist!
5.2.
In the story, Jesus knew that this woman was of the
lower class of people since it was uncommon at this time for a woman of higher
class to come to draw water from a well.
Jesus also knew that this woman was involved in a life deeply steeped in
sin, for she was a harlot. This story is
a tremendous illustration of the mercy and grace of God that He shows to
sinners because of the fact that of all the people in
5.3.
Jesus begins this conversation by asking the woman for
a favor. Most of God’s people would
never ask someone whose lifestyle is so contrary to God’s character, to perform
for them a favor. But, this is can be an
effective way to draw someone to yourself , and to open up conversation with
them.
5.3.1. We
Christians need to try as much as is possible to have ‘normal’
friendship relations with the people of this world who are living a life of
sin. Like Jesus, we will draw people to
ourselves and also to the Lord if we treat them in a cordial manner, accept
their offers of hospitality, and even ask them for helpful favors.
5.4.
We Christians should never have the attitude towards
unbelievers that we do not want to get too close to them for fear that we might
become soiled or be seen associating with a certain type of people.
5.5.
When Jesus asks the woman for a drink there is a much
greater reference that He is making than just physical refreshment. He is querying this woman to help her see her
need for the refreshing that salvation brings.
In that sense, in asking for water Jesus is asking this woman to do the
impossible. The refreshing Jesus implies
here only He can provide.
6.
VS 4:8 - “4:8
For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.” - John tells
us that Jesus’ disciples were not around at this time because they had gone
away to buy some food
6.1.
The disciples had gone into the Samaritan city in
order to buy food. It is no accident
that this woman is found alone with Jesus for her need was not for Jesus’
company disciples but to be alone with Him, just as was the case with
Nicodemus.
6.2.
John the apostle, our author of this gospel, may alone
have been with Jesus.
7.
VS 4:9 - “The Samaritan woman therefore said to
Him, ‘How is it that You, being a Jew, ask me for a drink since I am a
Samaritan woman? (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.)” - The
Samaritan woman asks Jesus how it could be that He being a Jew could ask her
for a drink since she is a Samaritan woman?.
7.1.
Notice here that this Samaritan woman does not speak
to Jesus with respect initially, as she does not (as would be proper) begin her
question with, ‘Sir.’
7.2.
The woman was astonished however that Jesus would
speak to her since she was a Samaritan because the Jews would avoid any
conversation with Samaritans. Plus,
Jewish men would not normally take conversation with a woman of any heritage as
it was believed that women were merely possessions and of a lower echelon.
7.3.
Isn’t it sad to consider that here within the land of
Israel was a unreached people group, one that even had an Israeli heritage, and
yet instead of the religious leaders of Israel trying to win them to the Lord
they instead harbored prejudice and hatred towards them and didn’t want to see
them enter the temple and worship the Lord?
8.
VS 4:10 - “Jesus answered and said to her, ‘If you
knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘’Give me a drink’’, you
would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water’” - Jesus
responds to the Samaritan woman’s question by telling her that if she knew who
He truly was that she would be asking Him for a drink of water, not the other
way around
8.1.
Jesus tells the woman that if she really knew the ‘gift
of God’ and who He was, she would have asked Him for Him for ‘living
water,’ and He would have given it to her.
8.2.
The Greek word translated here as ‘living’ is ‘zoa’
from the noun for ‘life,’ and thus the water that Jesus would give to
her is that water which continually flows from God, like an artesian well. This water is salvation in Christ and the ‘eternal
life’ in the Holy Spirit which believers in Christ will enjoy in eternity
and can enjoy here and now.
8.3.
The ‘gift of God’ mentioned by Jesus here I
believe is salvation itself, that which cannot be earned and is not deserved by
any, but rather comes simply through the grace of God. Some people say that it refers to eternal
life or to the Holy Spirit which is given to believers. Both are a gift and are mutually exclusive,
being received at the same time, and in John 7:37, Jesus said, ‘If any man
is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.
He who believes in Me, as the scripture said, ‘’From His innermost being
shall flow rivers of living water.’’’
However, I believe that this story is the revelation of the need for a
Savior by this woman which comes through Jesus.
She is brought to realize that she needs a Savior, and salvation itself
brings the refreshing water symbolizes, a refreshing through the agent of the
Holy Spirit.
9.
VS 4:11-12 - “She said to Him, ‘Sir You have nothing
to draw with and the well is deep; where
then do You get that living water? You
are not greater than our father Jacob, are You, who gave us the well, and drank
of it himself, and his sons, and his cattle?’”
- The woman of
9.1.
This woman of
9.2.
Like Nicodemus, this woman of
9.3.
It is obvious from her comments that this woman of
9.4.
You can tell that this woman of
10.
VS 4:13-14 - “Jesus answered and said to her,
‘Everyone who drinks of this water shall thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I shall
give him shall never thirst; but the
water that I shall give him shall become in him a well of water springing up to
eternal life’.” - Jesus tells the woman of Samaria that whoever
drinks of the water which she has shall thirst again, however the water that He
shall give shall become a well of water springing up to eternal life
10.1. It is
interesting to note that whenever Jesus speaks in this chapter of the ‘well’
to this woman He uses the word for a ‘spring,’ but whenever the woman
speaks, she uses the word for ‘well.’
The Holy Spirit in the believer is a ‘spring’ which has a
constant source that bubbles up from deep within. ‘Wells’ are just holes in the ground,
but a ‘spring’ is water that bubbles up to the surface from within the
earth.
10.2. The ‘wells’ of this world do not bring lasting
satisfaction. There is the passing
pleasure of sin that we experience when we live in sin, but quickly living that
kind of lifestyle turns into a life of misery and quiet desperation. Only the life of one who knows that salvation
that Jesus gives experiences lasting satisfaction.
10.3. Whoever
drinks of the water of salvation through Christ shall find that the true thirst
of his soul is finally satisfied, for the person who drinks of this water ‘shall
never thirst’ again. There is also
an implication of eternal security for the believer in Christ in this phrase.
10.4. A man shall
only be content when He has his sins forgiven and he is made a new creature in
Christ and has his spirit united with the Holy Spirit as he is regenerated in
the Holy Spirit. This ‘living water’
will last for all eternity, thus it will be ‘springing up to eternal life.’
10.5. Jesus never
expects us to get our lives cleaned up and put together before we begin to
experience the fullness of God through the Holy Spirit in our lives. We will never be able to clean up our lives
without the Holy Spirit working within us.
If you do not know the Lord as your personal Lord and Savior today I
invite you to come and experience this fullness as you have a have repentant
heart and trust that Jesus’ death upon Calvary’s cross is the full payment for
all of your sins for eternity. Ask Jesus
to come into your heart and regenerate you through the Holy Spirit, and He will
begin to work the character of Christ within you.
11.
VS 4:14 - “The woman said to Him, ‘Sir, give me
this water, so that I will not be thirsty, nor come all the way here to draw’.” - The woman
asks Jesus to give her this water which He says He can provide
11.1. This woman
is now beginning to realize how really thirsty her soul is, however she is
still confused thinking that this ‘living water’ is still a physical
thing that will alleviate her physical needs of thirst, as well as having to
come all the way to the well to draw water a few times a day.
11.2. This woman
is a seeker however she must first come to have conviction of her sins before
she can be ready to receive a Savior. We
do great disservice to people if we try to lead them to pray a sinner’s prayer
to receive Christ as Savior before we have explained to them what sin is and
made them realize that they are presently under condemnation before the Lord
because of breaking His laws. People
have to flee to the Savior with a sense of fear of impending judgment for their
sins in order to realize and receive the salvation that has been provided for
them.
12.
VS 4:16-19 - “He said to her, ‘Go, call your husband,
and come here’. The woman answered and
said, ‘I have no husband’. Jesus said to
her, ‘You have well said, ‘’I have no husband’’; for you have had five husbands, and the one
whom you now have is not your husband;
this you have said truly’. The
woman said to Him, ‘Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet’.” - Jesus
tells the woman of Samaria to go and call her husband, then He reveals to her
that He knows that she has already had five husbands and that the present man
that she is with is not her husband
12.1. This woman
asked Jesus for the water which He had to offer to her, but in reality she was
not yet ready to receive it. Still
thinking that He was speaking of physical things, Jesus exposes her sins and
thus brings conviction to her.
12.2. Jesus
reveals to this woman that He supernaturally knows all of the seamy details of
her sinful life, from the very beginning, and thus He touches immediately upon
that very thing that was most painful to her.
12.3. The woman
responds truthfully to Jesus in saying that she does not have a husband,
however she tries to hide from Jesus that she is currently living in sin with a
man. However, Jesus does not end the
conversation with her at this point, but perseveres in revealing to her His
knowledge of her sins. She has had five
husbands, marriages that have either failed as a result of some human weakness
on her part or their part, or, as a result of death.
12.4. Now that
this woman’s sins have been revealed to her by Jesus, she shall be able to
repent and have those sins washed away so that she will be able to receive
salvation and have the Holy Spirit come and fill up her life. She responds back to Jesus with the title, ‘Sir,’
and tells Him that she admits that He does indeed have accurate knowledge of
her life.
12.5. As was
mentioned, the Samaritans believed the first five books of the Old Testament,
yet rejected the prophets. However, in
those first five books Moses had promised that a prophet would come who would
reveal to them all things, and they were to listen to Him. This person was in reality ‘the Jewish
Messiah,’ and in the woman telling Jesus that she perceived Him to be a
prophet, she seems to be wondering if He is indeed ‘the Messiah’ whom
she believed was to come.
13.
VS 4:20 - “Our fathers worshipped in this mountain,
and you people say that in
13.1. When Jesus
has just brought this woman under conviction of sin, she throws the attention
away from herself as she asks Him a theological question. The Samaritans had their own mountain where
they worshipped God,
13.2. Today, many
will ask an identical question as this woman of
14.
VS 4:21-24 - “Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, believe Me,
and hour is coming when neither in this mountain, nor in
14.1. Jesus tells
this woman that there is no such thing as a ‘holy’ place where God may
be worshipped. God is everywhere present,
and to properly worship Him, you have to worship Him in ‘spirit,’ for He
is spirit, and in ‘truth,’ for He knows all things. One must worship the Lord with the ‘light’
(or truth and knowledge) which they have received (and in reality).
14.2. One must be
born again and thus indwelt with the Holy Spirit in order to worship God in ‘spirit,’
with the type of worship which is pleasing to Him. Also, one must be yielded to the ‘truth’
which God has revealed to man, that which is contained in His word, in order to
worship in a way He will accept.
14.3. Jesus does
on this rare occasion align Himself with the Jews saying ‘salvation is from
the Jews,’ for God was revealing His salvation through the Jews. Through the Old Testament books the Jews had
the most perfect revelation of God that could be obtained, and the Messiah
(Jesus) was of Jewish heritage.
14.4. If we as
Christians are not filled (which means controlled and empowered) with the Holy
Spirit when we worship God, our worship shall also not be acceptable to God. If we are having trouble breaking through in
our worship to God, it could very well be that we have left the Holy Spirit out
of our worship.
14.5. What are you
doing with the ‘truth’ that the Lord has already revealed to you? Are you submitted to the truth, doing the
revealed will of God in your lives, or is there a contradiction between what
God has revealed to you, and what your life’s actions are? You need in that case to repent in order that
your worship may be acceptable to God.
14.6. Our purpose as
Christians is to worship God in spirit and in truth.
15.
VS
4:25 - “The woman said to Him, ‘I know that Messiah is coming (He who is
called Christ); when that One comes, He
will declare all things to us’. Jesus
said to her, ‘I who speak to you am He’.”
- Jesus tells the woman that He is
indeed the Messiah
15.1. Jesus tells
the woman that He is in fact the Messiah prophesied as ‘the prophet’ by
Moses in Deuteronomy. It is an amazing
thing that to this Samaritan woman, Jesus reveals Himself to be the Messiah,
yet to the people of
15.2. The Lord
will reveal His will and nature to those souls who are willing to do His will
and to heed the words which He speaks to them.
This woman, and the Samaritans themselves, as we will see in the next
study, were much more willing to listen and heed His word, and thus to them He
reveals more of Himself than He revealed to His own Jewish kinsmen.
16.
CONCLUSIONS:
16.1. Do you know the waters of
refreshing from the well that Jesus speaks of, the waters that once you drink
from them you shall never thirst again?
16.2. Have you come to realize the
fact that you have broken God’s laws, broken them in deed as well as thought
(lusting after a woman is to commit adultery in your heart, to hate your
brother is to commit murder in your heart) and sins of omission (not doing
things that you ought to do like helping out someone in need, going to church,
reading your Bible, praying, etc.)
16.3. If you know that you have
not come to the waters of salvation in this way, or you are not sure whether or
not you have done so, I encourage you to come to Jesus in surrender to His
Lordship and with a repentant heart, and trust Him to save you based upon that
work that He performed on your behalf on Calvary’s cross.
16.4. O Christian, have you set
aside all of your prejudices against people and now like Jesus you are one who
seeks out the lost wherever they may be found?
If this is not true of you, I encourage you today to make such a
commitment.
16.5. Are you worshipping the Lord
in spirit and in truth?