Sermon
A Life-Changing Encounter
November 4-5, 2000
Pastor Donald Sheley

Let's take our Bibles. If you're using the pew Bible, it's page 716 I think today. Last Lord's Day we spent our time in kind of a history lesson searching out some of the information that is the background to this wonderful story of the conversation that Jesus had with the woman at the well. So I'm going to ask you to take your notes from your bulletin, and I'm going to read a portion of the conversation that we learned the historical background to last week. John 4:9, Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, "How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?" For the Jews have no dealings with Samaritans. 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 to you living water." The woman said to Him, "Sir, You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where then do You get this 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?" Jesus answered and said to her, "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."

Let's stop there. Time is short today so I'm going to have to hurry. We begin our message by saying, what a picture! Here was the Son of God, tired, weary and thirsty. And here was the holiest of men listening with understanding to a sorry story. Here was Jesus breaking through the barriers of nationality and orthodox Jewish custom. And here is the beginning of the universality of the gospel: here is God so loving the world, not in theory, but in action. Now in our previous lesson, we observed that for many centuries, Jews had little to no fellowship with Samaritans. This was due to their rejection centuries before. A rejection that came about when they had offered their help in rebuilding the temple in Jerusalem under Ezra, and because of the mixed nationality, the Jews refused their help. This feud had lasted over four hundred years and the bitterness was still great.

Now in the verses just before our text, Jesus had come to this well in Sychar, near Sychar in Samaria, and was resting while His disciples had gone into the village to buy some food. A lady from Samaria had come to draw water and He did the unthinkable. He asked the Samaritan woman for drink. A Jew asking a Samaritan for a drink when for centuries Jews would not drink from a cup that had been used by a Samaritan. Now in the text in many of the translations it says, that little parenthesis says, for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. And really, what that says, possibly more clearly in the original: for the Jews do not use vessels together with Samaritans. The implied is that because the Jewish people were so particular in the way they ate and the vessels that they used in the preparation for their meals, it was considered an impure thing to eat from the vessels of a Samaritan who did not follow those regulations of purity. And thus, what the lady just simply is saying is, Sir, it seems exceedingly strange that You, a Jew, who have never drunk from our vessels for 450 years, why you should ask me for a drink.

Now let's take just a moment here to get acquainted with the Samaritans. We did briefly last Lord's Day. But the Samaritans were formally composed of a few of the ten tribes and a mixture of foreigners. Remember, we learned that when kings took over or conquered new countries they took mostly the people out of those conquered countries, transported them back to their own nation, and then repopulated that country. And that's exactly what happened in this area known as Samaria. When the ten tribes were carried away into captivity to Babylon, the King of Assyria sent people, and it lists the four countries, to inhabit this new area called Samaria. These people at first worshiped the idols of their nations; but, being troubled with lions, which had increased greatly while the country remained uninhabited, they supposed it was because they had not honored the God of the country. And so a Jewish priest was therefore sent to them from Babylon to instruct them in the Jewish religion. And they were instructed partially from the books of Moses, but they still retained many of their old rites and idolatrous customs, and they embraced a religion made up of Judaism and idolatry.

You can understand, if the Jewish priest comes from Babylon and he only brings with him the first five books, (the Pentateuch: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy), they're going to have a limited knowledge of Jehovah God. So they chose to mix whatever they learned from that Jewish priest with their customs and their rituals, and the result was they had a mixture of religion. Now about the controversy between the Samaritans and the Jews, Barnes, in his great little commentary, says: The Jews, after their return from Babylon, set about rebuilding their temple and the Samaritans offered to aid them. The Jews, however, perceiving that it was not from the love of true religion, but they might obtain a part of the favors granted to the Jews by Cyrus, rejected their offer. Now I found that interesting. That was the first commentator who made that observation. He moves away from the idea that the rejection was based upon their mixed nationality. He said really what was the concern was when those Jewish people came back from Babylon, Cyrus the King had made some large provisions for them, for the rebuilding of the city. And the Jewish people did not want to share any of those provisions, thinking that the Samaritans were coming down, they would want a portion of what Cyrus the king had given to them. And thus, the rejection was based on an economic decision not primarily upon a religious decision. That's his point of view. The consequence was though that a state of long and bitter animosity arose between them and the Jews. And while Nehemiah was engaged in building the walls of Jerusalem, the Samaritans used every art to thwart that great undertaking.

I'm at the top of page 3. Barnes continues that the Samaritans at length obtained leave, that is, they got the permission, from Cyrus the Persian monarch to build their own temple. And that was in the year about 400. This was erected on Mount Gerizim. That's just near the town there of Sychar, and they strenuously contended that this was the place designated by Moses as the place where the nation should worship. Now Sanballat was the leader of the Samaritans and he him constituted his son-in-law, Manasses, and made him the high priest. Now remember, Manasses was the rebel Jew who left Jerusalem, went up to Samaria, and he married the daughter of Sanballat. Now that really complicated the problem, and so they decide that they're going to build a temple that's going to be in their place, which was never allowed in Jewish thought. You always went back to Jerusalem to worship, but Manasseh goes up there 30 miles from Jerusalem and he builds a temple on Mount Gerizim. That’s what she's referring to. So as a result, the religion of the Samaritans thus became perpetuated, and an irreconcilable hatred arose between them and the Jews.

And here's his conclusion; Afterward Samaria became a place of resort for all the outlaws of Judea. They received willingly all the Jewish criminals and the refugees from justice. The violators of the Jewish laws and those who had been excommunicated, betook themselves for safety to Samaria. I mean, it became a place where all the rebels, all the criminals, all the violators of justice made up the inhabitants of Samaria. Down to the bottom; From these causes arose an irreconcilable difference between them, so that Jews regarded them as the worst of the human race and thus had no dealings with them. Now you've got a picture of who these people are, and you now can see why this Samaritan lady was so shocked that a Jew would ask a drink of her. Now here at the well, Jesus strikes up His conversation with the Samaritan woman. And as we read through the New Testament, it's interesting to follow the teaching method of Jesus. This is fascinating because as you read through the Gospels you'll find that He follows almost a similar pattern in each of His conversations. First of all Jesus makes a statement. The statement is misunderstood and taken in a wrong sense. Jesus makes the statement in an even more vivid way, and it's still misunderstood and then Jesus compels the person with whom He is speaking to discover and to face the truth for himself or herself. That was Jesus’ way of teaching.

Now you might want to write down on the side there of your personal notes, I've noted there are three distinctive characteristics of the way Jesus taught. First of all, it's obvious that He taught as one having authority. All the rest of the teachers in Jesus’ time would always say, Rabbi so-and-so said this centuries ago, or it's the tradition that has been carried down from the fathers. In other words, their teaching was always secondhand. They got it from some previous rabbi. Jesus comes on to the scene and He says, it is written, but I say unto you. And He takes the position of authority and Matthew tells us in chapter 7 that when He finished that great sermon they were astonished at His doctrine because He taught them as one having authority. Surely, when He sat there beside the well, that little lady knew she was in the company of someone she couldn't understand.

Secondly, His determination to make people think for themselves. Often He refused to give a direct answer. Often when I read the conversations that Jesus had with people, you'd think that He's on one page and they’re on another because most of the time the answer in no way seems to correlate. But what Jesus does He takes the question, He knows where He wants to go with the answer, so He comes here almost to the answer and He starts coming back from here, because He wants this person to start thinking for themselves. And as they do, then they will come to the point of discovering the truth, and when they discover it, it's theirs. So Jesus very seldom ever gives them a direct answer to their question.

Thirdly, He did not give ready-made answers to each and everyday problems of life. That's interesting to me. Jesus dealt with each individual, each personality, each situation. He just didn't have cut answers, cookie cutting answers I should say, that just simply--we oft times as Christians have when people seek information from us. We sometimes use religious jargon and religious words that mean nothing to them, and that's our answer and somehow they get lost in the conversation. We lose them. Jesus was cautious enough to take the conversation and let it develop. And I wrote down one more, Jesus lived what He taught. He's sitting there beside the well, we're back to the notes, and Jesus makes the issue, living water. Her desire was just to get a jug of water and go home.

Some commentators suggest that the woman could have gotten water at a well located closer to her village, but she selected this well and an unusual time of the day to avoid meeting other women. Now just so you understand why there is a discrepancy in some commentator’s words on timing. There is Jewish timing, and there is Roman timing. Jewish people started their day at six o'clock in the morning. So the sixth hour would be 12:00 noon. If you're using Roman time, the Roman day began at 12 noon. As a result, the sixth hour would be six o'clock in the evening. It's interesting, I picked up yesterday Warren Wiersbe’s little book on the book of John and Warren chose to use Roman time, and he said the lady came to the well at six o'clock in the evening. Well whether it was 12:00 noon or six o'clock at night, she got to the well. All right? Now remember, this woman had a very bad reputation in the village and it just could be most of them would have come early or late in the afternoon to avoid the hot noonday sun. And she may have made the choice, I'll go there when very few, if no, ladies are at the well. That may have been her reasoning for going to the well at 12 noon. She'd not have to face a crowd. You see, she had five husbands and she was living with another. Now that may be acceptable in this day, but it sure wasn't then. It was an absolutely unforgivable issue. And the Jews use the expression, living water to denote springs, and fountains, or running streams, in opposition to dead and stagnant water. In the Old Testament, many verses speak of thirsting after God, and thus, the whole subject of thirst referenced a man's inner desire for satisfaction and fulfillment.

What I'm suggesting, let's turn to the next page, that in the Bible, in the Old Testament as well as in the New, when it speaks of thirst the implied is that there's basically built within all mankind a reaching out, a longing for, a thirsting for something that they need desperately inside them. And so the Bible references that as the thirst. Look at what it says in Psalm 36:8 and 9, They feast on the abundance of your house, you give them drink from your river of delights. For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light. Isaiah 55:1, Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the water, and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without money, without cost. The implied, the thirsty and the hungry can find satisfaction in God. Look at Jeremiah 2:13, My people have committed two sins; they have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water. Now when Jesus offered living water, this woman knew He was making an unusual claim. She did not yet understand what the claim was, but she knew He was getting at something. In the Old Testament living water is sometimes associated with Jehovah. He is called the fountain of living water as we have noted in the above verse. She had listened to Jesus say: "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." She still did not know the "who" she was talking to, and she did not understand this whole matter about the gift.

Now get the picture. She comes; she's disturbed that there is a violation of custom that has lasted 450 years; He asks for a drink; something a Jew never did; He brings up the subject of living water. Now in a Jewish mind living water related to a stream or a river or running water. So her natural question was, now just a second Sir, Jacob dug this well. It's 100 feet deep, and are You telling me that he wasn't wise enough to find this stream or this river that You're talking about? He wouldn't have gone to the trouble to dig this well. Are You claiming that You have that river? Notice down the bottom of the page four, the woman is in effect saying to Jesus, this is blasphemous talk. Jacob, our great ancestor, when he came here had to dig this well to gain water for his family and his cattle. Are You claiming to be able to get fresh running stream water? If You are, You're claiming to be wiser and more powerful than Jacob, and that's a claim that no one has a right to make. Jesus, or Sir, why are You talking that way? And then she gets caught on this whole issue of the depth of the well. She knew that it would take a bucket with long strings, with long ropes, to reach down into that well. And she said, You don't even have that. What are You talking about giving me some water?

We come now to verse 13 and I have to close, she says, Jesus says to her, woman, you keep drinking here you'll always be thirsty. That's always true. He's implying that the water of this world all that this world has to offer never does satisfy. It doesn't. If you talk with people who drink deeply of the wells of this world in their, whatever it might be, where they think they're going to have their heart satisfied, and they'll be honest with you, it only may please for a moment, but across every well that this world has to offer should be ‘this water does not satisfy’. It doesn't. Then notice the next verse, back to the front page of our notes, but whoever drinks the water that I shall give will never thirst. The water that I give him will become in him a fountain. I want to leave you with this thought today. Jesus said, little lady, listen to Me. You come to this well, but I want to give you a spring. Now there is a vast difference between a well and a spring. You can take a well, fill it up with dirt, and it becomes useless. He didn't say to the little lady, I'm going to give you a well. He said, I'm going to give you a spring. A spring is something that you can't stop as it bubbles from the earth.

Thirty some years ago, when they were building my house over here, they found a spring right behind it. They tried to cover up that spring with a lot of fill. It didn't work. Every time it rains I've got water running through my garage; thirty years later. A spring is something that God places within the ground and you can't stop a spring. You can try to cover it, but it will find its way out sooner or later. And what Jesus said, little lady, let's forget about a well, let Me talk to you about a way of life. I'm going to put, I'll put it in my words, I want to give you a gift that's like a well of joy and life springing up within you. I want to put a spring inside you. My life, My Spirit, and you'll never thirst again. That's what happens when we come to Christ. He places His Spirit within us. That's a life that He says gives us the joy of living abundantly, both here and eternally in the forever. Now there’s something interesting about a spring. You can cover a spring with a lot of dirt, but ultimately the spring will push the dirt away. You say, what are you saying Pastor? I'm saying that there are many times He puts the spring there and we cover that with sometimes sin. We live with dirt over the well, but that life that's within us there's that hunger that somehow works its way through, and sometimes God takes care of the dirt that's washed. What He does He forgives us and the well runs again.

I've watched many lives that have tried to, that by sin have covered their well with dirt. But the well is still there and ultimately that life within, churning within us brings us back to Him. When you have the well running you'll never be happy, but when you have the spring running you'll never be happy with the well. Right? Jesus said, little lady, you keep drinking here you'll thirst, but if you let me put My spring within you you'll never thirst again. Amen? Jesus, thank you for putting that spring within us, that life abundant, that sense of Your presence, that wonderful gift of Your Holy Spirit that comes to dwell within us. For truly that is the well from which we've drawn from salvation and You, Lord Jesus, make a spring within us. We thank you for that abundant life found in Christ, in Jesus’ name, and everybody said, amen. God bless you.