Transcription
[Music] You. [Music] Jesus said to her, "Give me a drink." I almost wish we could put ourselves in the mentality of an ancient Jewish reader, somebody in the first century reading this. The first thing we would say to what Jesus said to her, "Jesus, don't you know that if you're a rabbi, if you're a devout Jewish man, you don't speak to women in public?" Matter of fact, this was such a fixed thing among the Jewish leaders of that time that they said, not only can you not speak to a strange woman in public, you can't even speak to your own wife or daughter in public.
This was especially strong among the Pharisees. You know, the Pharisees were sort of an elite religious movement of their day, and among the Pharisees, they gave them different sort of nicknames or titles. And one of the titles or nicknames that they gave to certain Pharisees was, they called them bruised and bleeding Pharisees. Where would you be a bruised or bleeding Pharisee? I'll tell you what, the bruised and bleeding Pharisees were the guys that as soon as they saw a woman on the street, they would close their eyes because they wouldn't want to look upon a woman. And so they would always run into a wall or a fence or a tree. Therefore, they were the bruised and bleeding Pharisees.
So there were all these sort of social constructs and taboos at that time, which, by the way, are not in the Bible but are of men. And all those social constructs and taboos said a devout Jewish man, a rabbi, he does not initiate a conversation with a woman in public, especially not a Samaritan woman. But Jesus said, "I'm gonna do it." So Jesus says to her, "Give me a drink." Now, this is especially what he wouldn't do. Not only would he not initiate a conversation, neither would he say, "Help me out with something, would you please give me a drink?"
I gotta say, in all of this, I find just some of the great mysteries of Jesus's person and incarnation all wrapped up into this little event. Think about it. Jesus is the one who gives us rest, but he's weary. Jesus is the Messiah, but he speaks to a Samaritan woman. Jesus is the one who's our righteousness, yet he breaks man's traditions. He's the one who created all things, and yet he asks her for some help. And he's the one who is the living water, but he says, "Would you please give me a drink for my own thirst?"
So Jesus says, "Would you please give me a drink?" The woman draws down her pitcher or leather pouch that they use for a bucket or whatever it was, she draws it down. And I have no doubt that between verses 8 and 9, she gave Jesus the refreshing drink that he asked for. Then she comments this. Look at it in verse 9, where she says, "Then the woman of Samaria said to him, 'Fix it that you, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman, for Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.'" John added that in just so it would be clear to us. The woman started scratching her head. "You seem nice and all. You seem like a rabbi. I can tell by the way you're dressed and the way that you speak, and you're obviously Jewish. What's going on here? How come you're even talking to me? I don't get this."
Now notice, the woman was impressed by the friendliness of Jesus for her. He imagined it might be the first time in her life that she heard a kind greeting from a religious Jewish man. Verse 9: "Jews have no dealings with Samaritans." If you think about it, of all the reasons this woman would have been despised by a religious Jewish person of that day, she would have been despised because she was a woman. She would have been despised because she was a Samaritan. She would have been despised because she had a questionable reputation. Are we not on with this? Oh, now, now, now. Let me tell you what's so strange about this kind of thing is that I had no awareness that I wasn't being heard. You people sitting in the back, could you hear me okay? While I was just using my voice. All right. Well, but you know what? Maybe I would be straining my voice and by the end of the day, it would just not be working good. Plus, from what I understand from all the young people today, it's a little bit cooler if you walk around and hold a microphone like this. So I don't know.
Again, I want you to think about all the reasons why this woman would have been despised among a religious person of that day. She was a woman. She was a Samaritan. And as we're gonna find out in the next couple verses, this is a woman of what we might call a questionable reputation. But this one, I want you to understand, Jesus deliberately engineered this connection with this woman. And I find a very impressive contrast between John chapter 4 and John chapter 3. You might remember from a couple weeks ago, we saw a conversation that Jesus had with Nicodemus, a man from the religious establishment. And Jesus said to that man, "Hey, religious establishment, God has something to say to you." And Nicodemus said, "What he says is, 'You must be born again.'"
And then I want you to notice secondarily that now Jesus has something to say to somebody who's despised by the religious establishment, and he has something to say to that person as well. And don't you think that's wonderful? That God covers all the bases? That God says to the person who's in the religious establishment, "I love you, I care about you, but I got something to say to you. Listen up." And God has something to say also to the person who's despised by the religious establishment. Friends, if you think about it, in the world today, there are people in the culture today that are pretty much despised by religious people. Do you love them? Do you care about them? Do you show them the love of Jesus? Jesus took a special care and concern to show this woman the love and the care of God.
So look at how he does it. Continuing on the conversation in verse 10, 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 said that you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water." So Jesus has taken his cool, refreshing drink from the well. He hands the pitcher, the ladle, whatever it was, back to the woman. She asks him, "Isn't it strange that you're speaking with me? I don't really get this." And Jesus said, "I imagine with a bit of a smile on his face, maybe a gleam in his eye, he says, 'You know what? If you knew the gift of God and who it is who says to you, "Give me a drink," you would have asked me, you would ask me, and I would have given you living water.'"
You see, I want you to know, Jesus drew this woman into a conversation. He made her curious. This is a real gift that you can have when you talk to people about Jesus Christ, to just simply make them curious about the things of God. You know, many times we feel like we sort of have a condemning attitude towards other people who aren't curious about the things of God. Well, look at you, you're such a wicked person, you don't even care about these things. Instead, Jesus said, "Why don't I try to make her curious about these things?" He made her curious about what God had to give, the gift of God. He made her curious about himself, about Jesus, when he said, "Who, who it is who says to you." And then he made her curious about what he could give to her. He said he could have given you living water.
Now, when Jesus mentioned living water, it's interesting. She would have thought one thing, but Jesus means another thing. What do I mean by that? Living water is the same phrase they would use in that ancient language to describe water that comes up from a spring or flowing water. Water that comes from a spring or flowing water was called living water because it was water in motion. Water that just sat in a pool or a basin, that was water. It was not living water. And he says, "You know, if you would have known something, I would have given you living water." And she, interesting, instantly thinks, "Oh, there's a spring somewhere. There's a fountain. There's a flow. There's something that comes right up from the ground. I don't have to go down into the well and draw it up. It'll come to me. Man, I want that kind of water." But Jesus means a different kind of water altogether, as he explains.
Look at verse 11. "The woman said to him, 'Sir, you have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where then do you get that living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?'"
Now notice, verse 13. "Jesus answered and said to her, 'Whoever drinks of this water,' no doubt gesturing to the well, 'whoever drinks of this water will thirst again. But whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.'"
The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw." Now again, it's interesting, she continues thinking about water in her way. Jesus begins to explain about water in his way. And the way that Jesus explains, he is trying to make it very clear to her. Look at verse 14. "Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst." Ma'am, I'm talking to you in a spiritual analogy. I'm using water as a figure of something that satisfies the soul. I'm not speaking about your physical thirst. I'm using your physical thirst as an illustration of the spiritual thirst, the inner thirst that each and every human being feels.
Friends, it's true, isn't it? Isn't it true that God has made us in such a way that we thirst after something more? God has created you with something inside of you that can't be satisfied by material things, that can't be satisfied by the American dream, that can't be satisfied by having all those other things that the world tries to tell us is success. Because you can find all the people you can who have all the money or the fortune or the fame, the rest of it that they think they should have, and they're still empty inside. Because God made each and every one of us with a thirst that can't be satisfied by those things. And it's common for people to try to satisfy this God-created inner thirst through many things, or through anything except what Jesus gives.
Friends, people are thirsty. They want, they long, they search, they reach. But only what Jesus gives satisfies to the deepest level of a man's heart and soul and spirit. Look, I know what happened out at Isla Vista this last Friday. God sent the rain, and it wasn't much of a party out there as it normally is. But I want you to think about a year when everybody's partying out at Isla Vista. It's easy for you and I to see all the lower eyes bothers, you know, young people and all what they're doing. And such. Listen, wouldn't you say that every one of them is searching for something? Every one of them is hoping to find something in the next party, in the next hookup, in the next relationship, in the next drink. They're trying to find something that is deep in their soul. And the tragedy of it is, all that they're doing is gonna be like drinking saltwater for a thirsty person. It's just gonna leave them more empty. Jesus says, "You come to me, and I'll satisfy that thirst. You come to me, and I'll bring you living water. You come to me, and everything else will change."
You know, in the Bible, drinking and thirst are very common pictures of God's supply and man's spiritual need. God says, "Here, here's my supply to you. Just drink of it." And when we drink of something like that, it's not some great, meritorious action. You can say, "Oh, look at how they drank that bottle of water. Isn't that wonderful?" You're just receiving. And that's what faith is in Jesus Christ. It's just receiving. It's just receiving what God has supplied. Look, I've met people who have walked with Jesus for a while, and they say something like this, "I drank what Jesus offers, but I feel thirsty and empty again." Here's a solution to that. Keep on drinking. Isn't it funny? Somebody drinks a bottle of water in the morning, and then by late afternoon, they go, "That bottle of water didn't do anything. I'm thirsty again." Well, friends, you got to keep drinking. And the blessing of God is this, there is for those who seek a continual supply in Jesus Christ. It's never running out. But you need to stay connected to it and keep receiving what he has to give.
So she says, "Sir, give me this water." Man, I want this water. And she's just thinking of it purely in materialistic terms. She's thinking, "Man, living water, I never need to thirst again. Great. You'll save me a trip out to the well every day. I want this water." Now Jesus is gonna speak to her in verse 16 in a way that makes us a little uncomfortable. Verse 16. He asks her, "Jesus said to her, 'Go and call your husband and come here.'" Oh, by the way, that's not a strange thing for Jesus to say. Remember, in that day, with the terms of social propriety, this was a little bit too long for a man to speak to a woman out in public that he had no interest in. And you know, it's like, you know what, lady, wouldn't it be better? Why don't I talk to you and your husband about this? I don't think she regarded this as a strange request. It would have been a normal thing to say, "Hey, go get your husband, let's all talk about this together." He asks the question simply, "Go call your husband and come here." And then notice how she responds in verse 17. "The woman answered and said, 'I have no husband.'" Jesus answered to her, "You have well said, 'I have no husband.' You have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly."
The woman said to him, "Sir, I perceive you are a prophet." Well, indeed, isn't it because Jesus, I believe, was supernatural insight given to him by the Spirit of God, saw this woman's situation? The woman's situation was that she had a very checkered past when it came to her married life and her romantic life. She claimed to have no husband, which was technically true. But Jesus supernaturally knew that there was much more to the woman's story in her marriage history. Now, I don't blame me for asking, "Jesus, why are you putting her on the spot? Why so awkward about this? Why do you even have to talk about this? It's an unpleasant thing for her to discuss." Can you imagine how much energy was given to this woman's life to keeping this stuff quiet? And I don't know if it was known in the village, it probably was in small villages. How do you keep that stuff secret? But friends, despite all of that, the simple truth is this, that she worked hard to keep it quiet, and now Jesus is talking about it publicly. And you can't blame the woman for feeling very uncomfortable. "Jesus, why are you putting somebody on the spot?" I'll tell you why he's doing it. He's answering her request in verse 15. She said, "Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst." Jesus says, "You want this water? You want the satisfaction that I can satisfy? Listen, you want this that I can bring to you? Then first, we have to deal with this in your life."
Friends, it's a very interesting point that when Jesus comes to the life, he comes through many different doors. What do I mean? Well, let me read you a quote from Charles Spurgeon, that great preacher from Victorian England. He said this: "Christ has different doors for entering into different people's souls. In some, he enters by understanding; into many, by their affections. To some, he comes by the way of fear; to another, by that of hope. And to this woman, he came by the way of conscience." Jesus knew that for him to get into her life, he needed to awaken her conscience to her past behavior and to have that put away and cleansed before God. So when he said in verse 18, "And the one whom you now have is not your husband," Jesus brought up something embarrassing, but to get it cleared out of the way so that he could satisfy her thirst spiritually, so that he could change her life.
You see, this woman was going to be faced with a dilemma. What do I love more? Do I love a sinful relationship in my life, or do I love Jesus more? Which is it going to be? I do need to add just a side point here. When Jesus said that the man that she lived with was not her husband, Jesus showed that living together and marriage are not the same thing. They're not. I'm friends, let me just say a word to you. You know, we love that you come, we love that you attend here, but look at many of you. We don't know the details of your personal life. I may be speaking to a couple right here. You love Jesus, but you're living together. Can I tell you, this is not God's best for your life, and God does not see it as the same. He wants you to get this corrected on one way or the other. You either get it right before God in marriage, or separate. But Jesus made it very plain that living together and marriage are not the same thing, because otherwise he would have said, "Well, of course, he's your husband, you're living together with him, then that's fine." I think we can say something else, and I don't have time to go into any depth on this. It also shows that just because someone might call a relationship marriage doesn't mean that it is marriage. Jesus also illustrates that here.
But look at the woman's response. Verse 19. She says, "Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet." No, that's a pretty obvious observation, don't you think? Of course, he is. Of course, he is. And he speaks to the innermost place of her life. Now, let's look at the last section here, starting at verse 20. She answers back by saying, "Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship." Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now is, where the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. For the Father is seeking such 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 tell us all things." And then look at this. Jesus said to her, "I who speak to you am He." Isn't that beautiful?
Now, notice first of all, the woman wanted to bring up a theological argument. That's in verse 20. She says, "You know, Jesus, he just called me on my sinful lifestyle. Maybe I can deflect you with a theological question. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and the Jews worship in Jerusalem. Which one is it?" Jesus now, this is very common, isn't it? When Jesus wants to deal with something morally in a person's life, it's amazing how many theological objections they can come up with. But Jesus says, "No, ma'am, we'll come back to this moral issue in your life. But as for this issue, whether we should worship God as the Samaritans do on one mountain, Gerizim, or in Jerusalem as the Jews do, let me tell you this." Verse 22. "You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews." Politely but pointedly, Jesus told the woman, "Ma'am, I'm here to tell you, you're wrong. You're wrong. What you worship, you do it in ignorance. Salvation is of the Jews."
You know, one things you need to understand about the Samaritans is the Samaritans believed the Old Testament, but only the first five books of Moses. Everything else from the Hebrew Scriptures, they threw out. They did what many people do today. They say, "Well, I'll take the parts of the Bible I like, and the parts I don't like about the Bible, I'll get rid of them." And Jesus said of that kind of worship, "You worship what you do not know. You're worshipping in ignorance." Offense. I would just make a plea. Don't get your scissors out and cut the parts of the Bible out that you don't like, but take it as a whole. Take it as a whole when it tells you how desperately Jesus loves you. And then take it as a whole when it says, "Jesus, this is how he wants you to live." Take it as a whole when he says that God calls the world to repent. But take him when it says that God died, Jesus died for the world to rescue them from their sin and their shame. You see, it's the whole Bible that we need to take together.
And then Jesus said something remarkable to the woman. He said this, verse 24. "God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth." In these words, Jesus described the basis for true worship. He said, "Lady, you know what? You want to argue about Mount Gerizim or Jerusalem? Let me tell you this. It's not about places, because God's bringing a new order into being through the work of the Messiah. And that new order that God brings into being, it's not going to be about a particular place. It's going to be about worshiping God in spirit and in truth." So, worship Him in spirit means that you're concerned with spiritual realities. You're not so much concerned with outward places or practices and cleansing and trappings, but connecting with God on a spiritual level. But then it means you worship Him in truth. I think that means two aspects. Number one, you worship Him according to biblical truth. You're honoring to His Word. God's Word gives us an attitude and atmosphere, ideas that we should have in worship. But it also means this, not just according to biblical truth, but according to the truth of you as a man or woman before God. I've said it before, and I don't tire of saying it, that when you bring the true you, the real you, not the one with the mask, not the phony one, not the church you, when you bring the true you to the true Jesus who really exists, the Jesus of the Bible, life transforming happens. And that's what God wants of you and of me.
And there, toward Jesus, ends it all in verse 26 by saying, "I who speak to you am He." Ma'am, I know your past. I know you're an outcast. I know why you come to the well alone because none of the other women want to have you in their company, and frankly, you don't want to be in their company either. I know the pain that you've lived with through five marriages and a man now who's not your husband. Ma'am, I know all of that. But you know what? I love you, and I'm the Messiah, and I've come to bring soul satisfaction to your life. I've come to fill up the empty place. I've come to satisfy your thirst. You realize that Jesus makes the same offer to you and to I today? He does.
Now, there's a sense in which this message this morning, it's really a two-parter. Next week, we're going to continue on with Jesus speaking with this woman at the well in Samaria. But I think we've got enough for us to think about right now, especially in connection with what we're going to do in just a few moments, and that's receive communion together. Are you thirsty? I hope you are. I hope, to use terminology from another passage of scripture, that you hunger and thirst after God's righteousness. Well, you know what? If you do, God has a meal for you today. He has a meal, and it's a pretty humble meal, I'll admit. It's not enough to fill anybody up physically, but it's more than enough to fill up anybody spiritually. The meal you're gonna have, or at least is gonna be offered to you, it's a little piece of bread, matzah bread, after the tradition of the Jews, and a little cup filled with what comes from the vine. Friends, that bread and that cup, you take it in faith, and you say, "Jesus, just as your body was broken for me, and your blood was poured out, Jesus, come and fill and satisfy my life." He'll do it if you ask him. And you're receiving at the table of communion can be your participant.
So I'm gonna pray, and we'll continue on in our morning service and receive from the Lord's table. Father in heaven, I pray for the thirsty among us. And Lord, I pray that every one among us is thirsty in some sense, because, Lord, this is a thirst that's never fully satisfied, but we need to keep drinking. Help us, Lord. Fill us with your living water. Do it by your grace and your glory. Thank you, Jesus, for satisfying our thirst. In Jesus' name, amen.
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