WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:07.679 Our reading from which the sermon will be based this morning is John chapter 4, verses 1 to 29. 00:00:09.359 --> 00:00:12.339 ! And let me ask Douglas to come and read for us. 00:00:13.720 --> 00:00:21.080 Now, when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John, 00:00:21.600 --> 00:00:25.019 although Jesus Himself did not baptize but only His disciples, 00:00:25.600 --> 00:00:28.460 He left Judea and departed again for Galilee. 00:00:28.460 --> 00:00:34.560 And He had to pass through Samaria, so He came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, 00:00:35.060 --> 00:00:38.039 near the field that Jacob had given to His son Joseph. 00:00:38.880 --> 00:00:45.019 Jacob's well was there, so Jesus, wearied as He was from His journey, was sitting beside the well. 00:00:45.560 --> 00:00:46.980 It was about the sixth hour. 00:00:47.859 --> 00:00:50.299 A woman from Samaria came to draw water. 00:00:51.079 --> 00:00:51.960 Jesus said to her, 00:00:51.960 --> 00:00:57.640 Give me a drink, for His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. 00:00:58.460 --> 00:01:00.320 The Samaritan woman said to Him, 00:01:01.060 --> 00:01:06.439 How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from Me, a woman of Samaria? 00:01:07.040 --> 00:01:09.620 For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans. 00:01:09.620 --> 00:01:11.840 Jesus answered her, 00:01:12.219 --> 00:01:16.200 If you knew the gift of God and who it is that is saying to you, 00:01:16.540 --> 00:01:17.300 Give me a drink, 00:01:17.939 --> 00:01:19.080 you would have asked Him, 00:01:19.480 --> 00:01:21.939 and He would have given you living water. 00:01:23.000 --> 00:01:24.320 The woman said to Him, 00:01:24.680 --> 00:01:27.140 Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, 00:01:27.439 --> 00:01:28.620 and the well is deep. 00:01:29.040 --> 00:01:30.939 Where do you get that living water? 00:01:31.480 --> 00:01:33.360 Are you greater than our father Jacob? 00:01:33.359 --> 00:01:36.439 He gave us the well and drank from it Himself, 00:01:36.959 --> 00:01:39.039 as did His sons and His livestock. 00:01:39.959 --> 00:01:40.840 Jesus said to her, 00:01:41.719 --> 00:01:44.780 Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 00:01:45.260 --> 00:01:48.019 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him 00:01:48.019 --> 00:01:49.960 will never be thirsty again. 00:01:50.700 --> 00:01:52.299 The water that I will give him 00:01:52.299 --> 00:01:54.640 will become in him a spring of water 00:01:54.640 --> 00:01:56.859 welling up to eternal life. 00:01:56.859 --> 00:01:58.879 The woman said to Him, 00:01:59.099 --> 00:02:00.340 Sir, give me this water, 00:02:00.459 --> 00:02:01.879 so that I will not be thirsty 00:02:01.879 --> 00:02:03.939 or have to come here to draw water. 00:02:04.780 --> 00:02:05.659 Jesus said to her, 00:02:05.920 --> 00:02:08.699 Go, call your husband, and come here. 00:02:09.539 --> 00:02:10.759 The woman answered Him, 00:02:11.020 --> 00:02:12.240 I have no husband. 00:02:13.079 --> 00:02:13.939 Jesus said to her, 00:02:14.400 --> 00:02:16.539 You are right in saying I have no husband, 00:02:17.020 --> 00:02:19.000 for you have had five husbands, 00:02:19.360 --> 00:02:22.079 and the one you now have is not your husband. 00:02:22.840 --> 00:02:24.920 What you have said is true. 00:02:24.919 --> 00:02:26.639 The woman said to Him, 00:02:26.879 --> 00:02:28.919 Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. 00:02:29.639 --> 00:02:31.560 Our fathers worshipped on this mountain, 00:02:31.780 --> 00:02:33.399 but you say that in Jerusalem 00:02:33.399 --> 00:02:35.319 is the place where people ought to worship. 00:02:36.039 --> 00:02:37.039 Jesus said to her, 00:02:37.259 --> 00:02:38.739 Woman, believe me, 00:02:38.839 --> 00:02:39.799 the hour is coming 00:02:39.799 --> 00:02:41.539 when neither on this mountain 00:02:41.539 --> 00:02:42.619 nor in Jerusalem 00:02:42.619 --> 00:02:43.899 will you worship the Father. 00:02:44.419 --> 00:02:46.159 You worship what you do not know. 00:02:46.779 --> 00:02:48.199 We worship what we know, 00:02:48.339 --> 00:02:50.339 for salvation is from the Jews. 00:02:50.979 --> 00:02:52.659 But the hour is coming 00:02:52.659 --> 00:02:53.779 and is now here 00:02:53.780 --> 00:02:55.400 when the true worshippers 00:02:55.400 --> 00:02:56.479 will worship the Father 00:02:56.479 --> 00:02:58.300 in spirit and truth, 00:02:58.460 --> 00:02:59.900 for the Father is seeking 00:02:59.900 --> 00:03:01.500 such people to worship Him. 00:03:02.099 --> 00:03:03.300 God is spirit, 00:03:03.699 --> 00:03:05.060 and those who worship Him 00:03:05.060 --> 00:03:07.740 must worship in spirit and truth. 00:03:08.280 --> 00:03:09.420 The woman said to Him, 00:03:09.740 --> 00:03:11.699 I know that Messiah is coming, 00:03:12.139 --> 00:03:13.379 He who is called Christ. 00:03:13.860 --> 00:03:14.659 When He comes, 00:03:14.920 --> 00:03:16.479 He will tell us all things. 00:03:17.199 --> 00:03:18.099 Jesus said to her, 00:03:18.599 --> 00:03:20.960 I who speak to you am He. 00:03:20.960 --> 00:03:22.520 Just then, 00:03:22.900 --> 00:03:24.159 His disciples came back. 00:03:24.620 --> 00:03:26.040 They marveled that He was talking 00:03:26.040 --> 00:03:26.640 with a woman, 00:03:26.820 --> 00:03:28.080 but no one said, 00:03:28.340 --> 00:03:29.100 What do you seek? 00:03:29.140 --> 00:03:29.379 Or, 00:03:29.520 --> 00:03:30.860 Why are you talking with her? 00:03:31.240 --> 00:03:33.180 So the woman left her water jar 00:03:33.180 --> 00:03:34.819 and went away into town 00:03:34.819 --> 00:03:36.180 and said to the people, 00:03:36.580 --> 00:03:36.860 Come, 00:03:37.260 --> 00:03:38.379 see a man who told me 00:03:38.379 --> 00:03:39.460 all that I ever did. 00:03:39.819 --> 00:03:41.379 Can this be the Christ? 00:03:42.240 --> 00:03:43.439 This is God's Word. 00:03:43.439 --> 00:03:47.259 Good morning. 00:03:47.359 --> 00:03:48.560 My name's David. 00:03:48.800 --> 00:03:50.439 I'm the associate minister here. 00:03:50.960 --> 00:03:51.859 If you've got a Bible, 00:03:52.079 --> 00:03:54.240 please turn to John chapter 4 00:03:54.240 --> 00:03:55.139 and to that passage 00:03:55.139 --> 00:03:57.379 that Douglas read for us. 00:03:59.259 --> 00:04:01.259 I think it's the Canadian writer, 00:04:01.460 --> 00:04:02.620 Douglas Copeland. 00:04:03.680 --> 00:04:05.159 In his best-selling novel, 00:04:05.300 --> 00:04:06.159 Life After God, 00:04:06.240 --> 00:04:07.939 he makes this observation. 00:04:07.939 --> 00:04:11.120 When you're young, 00:04:12.159 --> 00:04:13.139 you always feel 00:04:13.139 --> 00:04:14.800 that life hasn't yet begun, 00:04:15.979 --> 00:04:17.740 but then suddenly you're old 00:04:17.740 --> 00:04:19.899 and the scheduled life 00:04:19.899 --> 00:04:21.420 didn't arrive. 00:04:22.040 --> 00:04:23.000 And in that same book, 00:04:23.040 --> 00:04:24.620 he reflects on his own life 00:04:24.620 --> 00:04:25.639 with these words, 00:04:26.319 --> 00:04:27.339 I felt sad 00:04:27.339 --> 00:04:28.779 because I realized 00:04:28.779 --> 00:04:30.639 that once people are broken 00:04:30.639 --> 00:04:32.000 in certain ways, 00:04:32.800 --> 00:04:34.300 they can't ever be fixed. 00:04:35.100 --> 00:04:35.740 This is something 00:04:35.740 --> 00:04:36.759 nobody ever tells you 00:04:36.759 --> 00:04:37.459 when you're young. 00:04:37.459 --> 00:04:39.319 It never fails to surprise you 00:04:39.319 --> 00:04:40.000 as you grow older, 00:04:40.639 --> 00:04:41.659 as you see the people 00:04:41.659 --> 00:04:42.479 in your life 00:04:42.479 --> 00:04:44.739 break one by one. 00:04:46.099 --> 00:04:47.560 He's an interesting writer, 00:04:47.819 --> 00:04:50.539 and much of Copeland's writing 00:04:50.539 --> 00:04:53.159 underscores the undeniable reality 00:04:53.159 --> 00:04:55.279 that we live in a broken 00:04:55.279 --> 00:04:56.959 and fractured world, 00:04:57.019 --> 00:04:58.759 a world of broken lives, 00:04:58.939 --> 00:04:59.839 broken relationships, 00:05:00.659 --> 00:05:02.139 often broken dreams. 00:05:03.120 --> 00:05:04.279 As Copeland puts it, 00:05:04.279 --> 00:05:05.799 we are all broken 00:05:05.799 --> 00:05:07.919 in certain ways. 00:05:08.659 --> 00:05:09.879 And I wonder this morning 00:05:09.879 --> 00:05:11.879 if the Samaritan woman 00:05:11.879 --> 00:05:13.459 of John chapter 4 00:05:13.459 --> 00:05:15.299 might not have recognized 00:05:15.299 --> 00:05:17.879 herself in Copeland's words, 00:05:18.199 --> 00:05:19.599 because for her, 00:05:19.699 --> 00:05:20.659 that brokenness 00:05:20.659 --> 00:05:22.059 was self-evident, 00:05:23.059 --> 00:05:23.959 a broken life, 00:05:24.939 --> 00:05:26.759 a life that perhaps she planned, 00:05:26.879 --> 00:05:28.779 but simply didn't arrive, 00:05:28.779 --> 00:05:31.859 an empty and unfulfilled life. 00:05:32.979 --> 00:05:34.259 The empty jar 00:05:34.259 --> 00:05:35.959 she brought to the well 00:05:35.959 --> 00:05:37.359 day in and day out, 00:05:38.039 --> 00:05:39.899 a symbol of what had become 00:05:39.899 --> 00:05:41.639 really the story of her life, 00:05:42.319 --> 00:05:43.779 the story of a vessel 00:05:43.779 --> 00:05:45.059 that could never be filled, 00:05:45.939 --> 00:05:46.939 a thirst that never 00:05:46.939 --> 00:05:48.839 could never be quenched. 00:05:50.119 --> 00:05:50.819 It was a woman 00:05:50.819 --> 00:05:51.939 who'd hoped that love 00:05:51.939 --> 00:05:53.339 would have been the answer 00:05:53.339 --> 00:05:55.119 to her aching spirit. 00:05:55.979 --> 00:05:56.599 Like many, 00:05:56.739 --> 00:05:57.279 even today, 00:05:57.399 --> 00:05:58.659 she believed that love, 00:05:58.819 --> 00:05:59.179 marriage, 00:05:59.299 --> 00:06:00.079 a partner, 00:06:00.239 --> 00:06:01.339 a significant other 00:06:01.339 --> 00:06:03.539 would have given her life 00:06:03.539 --> 00:06:05.119 meaning and direction 00:06:05.119 --> 00:06:06.279 and fulfillment. 00:06:07.799 --> 00:06:08.579 But a string 00:06:08.579 --> 00:06:09.799 of broken relationships 00:06:09.799 --> 00:06:11.239 had shattered 00:06:11.239 --> 00:06:13.339 her romantic illusions. 00:06:14.219 --> 00:06:15.459 Each Mr. Right 00:06:15.459 --> 00:06:16.919 had turned out 00:06:16.919 --> 00:06:18.579 to be Mr. Wrong. 00:06:19.819 --> 00:06:21.379 She was a lonely woman. 00:06:21.379 --> 00:06:24.620 Despite these past relationships, 00:06:25.219 --> 00:06:26.800 nothing had seemed 00:06:26.800 --> 00:06:28.240 to fill the void 00:06:28.240 --> 00:06:29.259 that was at the center 00:06:29.259 --> 00:06:30.600 of her life. 00:06:30.659 --> 00:06:31.219 She'd been looking 00:06:31.219 --> 00:06:32.019 for the answer, 00:06:32.219 --> 00:06:33.279 but relationship 00:06:33.279 --> 00:06:34.519 after relationship 00:06:34.519 --> 00:06:35.860 after relationship 00:06:35.860 --> 00:06:37.339 had only left her 00:06:37.339 --> 00:06:38.759 feeling empty inside. 00:06:40.100 --> 00:06:41.019 You may have noticed 00:06:41.019 --> 00:06:41.800 in the text 00:06:41.800 --> 00:06:43.699 that she came alone 00:06:43.699 --> 00:06:44.579 to the well 00:06:44.579 --> 00:06:46.000 to draw water. 00:06:46.180 --> 00:06:47.800 That was very unusual. 00:06:48.779 --> 00:06:49.879 Normal for the women 00:06:49.879 --> 00:06:50.420 of the village 00:06:50.420 --> 00:06:51.120 to come to 00:06:51.120 --> 00:06:52.680 draw water together. 00:06:53.680 --> 00:06:54.840 But this woman didn't. 00:06:55.879 --> 00:06:56.899 And you may have noticed 00:06:56.899 --> 00:06:57.459 the hour 00:06:57.459 --> 00:06:58.420 at which she came 00:06:58.420 --> 00:06:58.959 to the well 00:06:58.959 --> 00:06:59.639 by herself. 00:06:59.959 --> 00:07:00.579 Verse 6, 00:07:01.120 --> 00:07:01.819 it was about 00:07:01.819 --> 00:07:02.959 the sixth hour. 00:07:03.079 --> 00:07:03.800 That was noon, 00:07:04.360 --> 00:07:05.300 sun at the highest, 00:07:05.379 --> 00:07:05.939 its highest, 00:07:06.079 --> 00:07:07.079 the hottest time 00:07:07.079 --> 00:07:07.660 of the day. 00:07:09.240 --> 00:07:09.980 Why on earth 00:07:09.980 --> 00:07:10.980 would anyone come 00:07:10.980 --> 00:07:12.079 to draw water 00:07:12.079 --> 00:07:13.060 at that time? 00:07:13.699 --> 00:07:14.500 Was it no coward 00:07:14.500 --> 00:07:15.100 once said, 00:07:15.100 --> 00:07:16.439 only mad dogs 00:07:16.439 --> 00:07:17.139 and Englishmen 00:07:17.139 --> 00:07:17.759 go out 00:07:17.759 --> 00:07:18.759 in the midday sun? 00:07:18.759 --> 00:07:20.420 Well, 00:07:20.459 --> 00:07:20.920 this woman 00:07:20.920 --> 00:07:21.620 was neither. 00:07:22.339 --> 00:07:23.240 This was a woman 00:07:23.240 --> 00:07:23.819 who was trying 00:07:23.819 --> 00:07:25.159 to avoid other people, 00:07:26.420 --> 00:07:27.159 an outcast, 00:07:27.839 --> 00:07:29.060 someone with few, 00:07:29.159 --> 00:07:29.439 if any, 00:07:29.459 --> 00:07:30.439 real friends. 00:07:31.139 --> 00:07:32.379 And her actions here 00:07:32.379 --> 00:07:33.379 hint, I think, 00:07:33.439 --> 00:07:34.139 at sadness, 00:07:34.659 --> 00:07:35.120 loneliness, 00:07:35.360 --> 00:07:36.019 and emptiness 00:07:36.019 --> 00:07:37.039 about her life. 00:07:37.800 --> 00:07:39.099 A woman familiar 00:07:39.099 --> 00:07:40.480 with feelings of shame, 00:07:40.879 --> 00:07:41.699 a reputation 00:07:41.699 --> 00:07:43.199 standing in the community, 00:07:44.000 --> 00:07:45.079 perhaps viewed 00:07:45.079 --> 00:07:45.779 as being way 00:07:45.779 --> 00:07:46.639 beyond redemption. 00:07:48.139 --> 00:07:49.299 A woman whose youth 00:07:49.299 --> 00:07:50.259 had passed her by, 00:07:51.319 --> 00:07:52.259 tired of the pain 00:07:52.259 --> 00:07:53.219 she felt inside, 00:07:53.319 --> 00:07:54.019 she felt worthless. 00:07:55.139 --> 00:07:56.399 Like the water jar 00:07:56.399 --> 00:07:57.139 she carried 00:07:57.139 --> 00:07:58.139 to the well, 00:07:58.259 --> 00:07:59.219 her life was empty. 00:07:59.559 --> 00:08:00.119 And in that, 00:08:00.239 --> 00:08:00.500 of course, 00:08:00.559 --> 00:08:01.379 she's not alone. 00:08:02.299 --> 00:08:03.399 Her life mirrors 00:08:03.399 --> 00:08:04.959 that of countless others. 00:08:05.839 --> 00:08:06.719 Because we live 00:08:06.719 --> 00:08:07.259 in a world, 00:08:07.379 --> 00:08:07.659 don't we, 00:08:07.659 --> 00:08:08.699 of lonely people, 00:08:09.199 --> 00:08:09.919 tired people, 00:08:10.059 --> 00:08:10.759 broken people, 00:08:10.979 --> 00:08:11.819 hurting people, 00:08:12.639 --> 00:08:13.479 people looking 00:08:13.479 --> 00:08:14.119 for something 00:08:14.119 --> 00:08:15.179 to fill the emptiness, 00:08:15.180 --> 00:08:16.579 people looking 00:08:16.579 --> 00:08:17.100 for something 00:08:17.100 --> 00:08:18.060 to dull the pain, 00:08:18.160 --> 00:08:19.120 another relationship, 00:08:19.459 --> 00:08:20.220 another drink, 00:08:21.459 --> 00:08:22.259 another fix. 00:08:23.220 --> 00:08:23.720 Seeking, 00:08:23.980 --> 00:08:24.360 searching, 00:08:24.579 --> 00:08:25.639 but often never finding. 00:08:27.259 --> 00:08:28.220 For the lonely trip 00:08:28.220 --> 00:08:28.960 to the well, 00:08:29.639 --> 00:08:30.620 read a lonely trip 00:08:30.620 --> 00:08:31.500 to the supermarket, 00:08:32.180 --> 00:08:33.480 or the retail park, 00:08:34.519 --> 00:08:35.360 or the bookies, 00:08:35.399 --> 00:08:35.940 or the pub. 00:08:38.000 --> 00:08:38.639 And yet, 00:08:38.740 --> 00:08:39.799 this woman's story 00:08:39.799 --> 00:08:40.659 here in John 4 00:08:40.659 --> 00:08:41.700 is not without hope. 00:08:42.360 --> 00:08:43.659 Because in this account, 00:08:43.659 --> 00:08:45.399 we see this woman 00:08:45.399 --> 00:08:47.579 meeting the one man 00:08:47.579 --> 00:08:48.500 in the world 00:08:48.500 --> 00:08:49.959 who could turn 00:08:49.959 --> 00:08:51.679 her life around. 00:08:52.439 --> 00:08:53.579 The one man 00:08:53.579 --> 00:08:54.559 who could ease 00:08:54.559 --> 00:08:55.439 her pain. 00:08:55.639 --> 00:08:56.600 The one man 00:08:56.600 --> 00:08:57.480 who could heal 00:08:57.480 --> 00:08:58.740 her brokenness. 00:08:58.899 --> 00:08:59.759 The one man 00:08:59.759 --> 00:09:00.819 who could infuse 00:09:00.819 --> 00:09:01.620 her life 00:09:01.620 --> 00:09:02.199 with meaning 00:09:02.199 --> 00:09:03.199 and purpose. 00:09:05.039 --> 00:09:06.139 And here in John 4, 00:09:06.219 --> 00:09:06.559 we are, 00:09:06.679 --> 00:09:07.059 as it were, 00:09:07.179 --> 00:09:07.659 witnesses 00:09:07.659 --> 00:09:09.939 of this Samaritan woman's 00:09:09.939 --> 00:09:10.839 encounter 00:09:10.840 --> 00:09:11.620 encounter with Jesus 00:09:11.620 --> 00:09:12.680 of Nazareth. 00:09:14.000 --> 00:09:15.500 And we see this lonely 00:09:15.500 --> 00:09:16.980 woman drawn 00:09:16.980 --> 00:09:18.360 into a relationship 00:09:18.360 --> 00:09:20.139 with the one man 00:09:20.139 --> 00:09:21.280 who changes everything. 00:09:22.500 --> 00:09:23.540 The one man 00:09:23.540 --> 00:09:24.360 who makes sense 00:09:24.360 --> 00:09:25.000 of life. 00:09:25.820 --> 00:09:26.780 The one man 00:09:26.780 --> 00:09:27.500 who brings healing 00:09:27.500 --> 00:09:28.180 and forgiveness 00:09:28.180 --> 00:09:28.899 to the broken 00:09:28.899 --> 00:09:30.280 and the burdened 00:09:30.280 --> 00:09:30.899 and the desperate 00:09:30.899 --> 00:09:31.540 and the guilty. 00:09:32.700 --> 00:09:33.940 And it's this one man, 00:09:34.040 --> 00:09:34.360 of course, 00:09:34.399 --> 00:09:35.300 who is the primary 00:09:35.300 --> 00:09:36.740 focus and burden 00:09:36.740 --> 00:09:38.060 of John's gospel. 00:09:38.059 --> 00:09:39.759 And Jesus Christ 00:09:39.759 --> 00:09:40.339 is still 00:09:40.339 --> 00:09:41.359 the one man 00:09:41.359 --> 00:09:41.739 with whom 00:09:41.739 --> 00:09:42.979 a relationship, 00:09:43.759 --> 00:09:44.559 with whom 00:09:44.559 --> 00:09:45.259 a relationship 00:09:45.259 --> 00:09:46.000 can change 00:09:46.000 --> 00:09:46.619 everything 00:09:46.619 --> 00:09:47.679 for people. 00:09:48.879 --> 00:09:49.839 And we see here 00:09:49.839 --> 00:09:51.339 really unfolding 00:09:51.339 --> 00:09:52.239 in John 4 00:09:52.239 --> 00:09:52.739 a kind of 00:09:52.739 --> 00:09:54.039 dramatic work 00:09:54.039 --> 00:09:54.639 of God 00:09:54.639 --> 00:09:55.579 taking place 00:09:55.579 --> 00:09:56.619 in this woman's life. 00:09:57.699 --> 00:09:58.639 And what I want 00:09:58.639 --> 00:09:59.479 to do just briefly 00:09:59.479 --> 00:10:00.079 this morning 00:10:00.079 --> 00:10:01.359 is to highlight 00:10:01.359 --> 00:10:02.899 a number of key elements 00:10:02.899 --> 00:10:04.239 in that work 00:10:04.239 --> 00:10:05.459 as we witness 00:10:05.459 --> 00:10:06.659 this woman's life 00:10:06.659 --> 00:10:08.259 being quite literally 00:10:08.259 --> 00:10:09.899 turned around. 00:10:11.000 --> 00:10:11.759 And the first thing 00:10:11.759 --> 00:10:12.620 I want you to notice 00:10:12.620 --> 00:10:14.259 is that this work 00:10:14.259 --> 00:10:14.740 is a work 00:10:14.740 --> 00:10:16.319 of divine instigation 00:10:16.319 --> 00:10:18.399 in the first nine verses. 00:10:18.740 --> 00:10:20.639 A work of divine instigation. 00:10:20.799 --> 00:10:21.240 There's nothing 00:10:21.240 --> 00:10:22.740 accidental 00:10:22.740 --> 00:10:24.039 or happenstance 00:10:24.039 --> 00:10:25.199 about this encounter. 00:10:25.500 --> 00:10:26.519 Notice how John 00:10:26.519 --> 00:10:27.339 tells us that 00:10:27.339 --> 00:10:28.059 in verse 4. 00:10:28.459 --> 00:10:28.939 Jesus, 00:10:29.279 --> 00:10:29.719 he says, 00:10:29.839 --> 00:10:31.259 had to pass 00:10:31.259 --> 00:10:32.639 through Samaria. 00:10:33.899 --> 00:10:34.100 Now, 00:10:34.159 --> 00:10:35.039 I think that's more 00:10:35.039 --> 00:10:37.419 a theological observation 00:10:37.419 --> 00:10:39.539 than a geographical one. 00:10:40.039 --> 00:10:40.839 Humanly speaking, 00:10:40.959 --> 00:10:42.099 there was no necessity. 00:10:42.480 --> 00:10:43.480 The route through Samaria 00:10:43.480 --> 00:10:44.959 was generally avoided 00:10:44.959 --> 00:10:45.699 by the Jews 00:10:45.699 --> 00:10:45.919 who, 00:10:46.459 --> 00:10:47.199 on no account, 00:10:47.339 --> 00:10:48.439 wanted to mix 00:10:48.439 --> 00:10:49.000 or meet 00:10:49.000 --> 00:10:50.019 with Samaritans. 00:10:51.379 --> 00:10:52.419 There's no suggestion 00:10:52.419 --> 00:10:53.059 in the text 00:10:53.059 --> 00:10:53.539 that Jesus 00:10:53.539 --> 00:10:54.039 is taking 00:10:54.039 --> 00:10:55.379 some kind of shortcut. 00:10:56.240 --> 00:10:56.899 And I think 00:10:56.899 --> 00:10:57.339 it's simply 00:10:57.339 --> 00:10:58.120 John's way 00:10:58.120 --> 00:10:58.899 of telling us 00:10:58.899 --> 00:10:59.919 that this wasn't 00:10:59.919 --> 00:11:01.039 a chance encounter 00:11:01.039 --> 00:11:01.899 for Jesus. 00:11:02.699 --> 00:11:03.379 This meeting 00:11:03.379 --> 00:11:04.299 with the woman 00:11:04.299 --> 00:11:05.019 took place 00:11:05.019 --> 00:11:05.500 in the plan 00:11:05.500 --> 00:11:05.919 and purpose 00:11:05.919 --> 00:11:06.539 of God. 00:11:07.700 --> 00:11:08.980 Jesus had to pass 00:11:08.980 --> 00:11:09.799 through Samaria 00:11:09.799 --> 00:11:11.220 because he had to 00:11:11.220 --> 00:11:12.559 meet and encounter 00:11:12.559 --> 00:11:13.179 this woman. 00:11:14.399 --> 00:11:15.519 There's a sense 00:11:15.519 --> 00:11:16.259 of spiritual 00:11:16.259 --> 00:11:17.500 compulsion 00:11:17.500 --> 00:11:18.700 about these events, 00:11:19.700 --> 00:11:21.240 just as there was 00:11:21.240 --> 00:11:22.019 about the whole 00:11:22.019 --> 00:11:23.679 of Jesus' ministry. 00:11:25.159 --> 00:11:26.340 Here's an appointment 00:11:26.340 --> 00:11:26.899 fixed, 00:11:26.960 --> 00:11:27.480 as it were, 00:11:27.700 --> 00:11:29.159 in the divine calendar. 00:11:29.159 --> 00:11:31.860 So he came 00:11:31.860 --> 00:11:32.500 to a town 00:11:32.500 --> 00:11:33.939 of Samaria 00:11:33.939 --> 00:11:35.399 called Sychar 00:11:35.399 --> 00:11:36.159 near the field 00:11:36.159 --> 00:11:36.679 that Jacob 00:11:36.679 --> 00:11:37.059 had given 00:11:37.059 --> 00:11:38.219 to his son Joseph. 00:11:38.579 --> 00:11:39.139 Verse 5, 00:11:39.199 --> 00:11:39.819 Jacob's well 00:11:39.819 --> 00:11:40.259 was there. 00:11:40.539 --> 00:11:40.819 Jesus, 00:11:41.019 --> 00:11:41.959 wearied as he was 00:11:41.959 --> 00:11:42.579 from the journey, 00:11:42.879 --> 00:11:43.699 was sitting beside 00:11:43.699 --> 00:11:44.240 the well. 00:11:44.480 --> 00:11:45.019 It was about 00:11:45.019 --> 00:11:45.799 the sixth hour. 00:11:46.959 --> 00:11:47.439 So Jesus 00:11:47.439 --> 00:11:48.360 and his disciples 00:11:48.360 --> 00:11:49.179 about halfway 00:11:49.179 --> 00:11:50.059 through their journey 00:11:50.059 --> 00:11:51.159 across Samaria, 00:11:51.279 --> 00:11:51.839 they stop 00:11:51.839 --> 00:11:52.659 at noon 00:11:52.659 --> 00:11:53.559 near this town. 00:11:53.899 --> 00:11:54.919 Jesus is tired, 00:11:55.039 --> 00:11:55.759 he's weary. 00:11:56.220 --> 00:11:56.819 The disciples 00:11:56.819 --> 00:11:57.600 go into town 00:11:57.600 --> 00:11:58.179 to try and get 00:11:58.179 --> 00:11:58.839 some food. 00:11:59.160 --> 00:12:00.060 Jesus is left 00:12:00.060 --> 00:12:00.620 on his own 00:12:00.620 --> 00:12:02.220 beside Jacob's well, 00:12:02.440 --> 00:12:03.060 but he's not 00:12:03.060 --> 00:12:04.120 on his own 00:12:04.120 --> 00:12:04.720 for long. 00:12:06.120 --> 00:12:06.600 Verse 7, 00:12:06.639 --> 00:12:07.700 a woman from Samaria 00:12:07.700 --> 00:12:08.840 came to draw water. 00:12:09.280 --> 00:12:10.139 Jesus said to her, 00:12:10.240 --> 00:12:11.120 give me a drink. 00:12:11.620 --> 00:12:12.580 The Samaritan woman 00:12:12.580 --> 00:12:12.940 said, 00:12:13.120 --> 00:12:13.920 how is it that you, 00:12:14.000 --> 00:12:14.259 a Jew, 00:12:14.340 --> 00:12:14.960 ask for a drink 00:12:14.960 --> 00:12:15.360 from me, 00:12:15.399 --> 00:12:16.320 a woman of Samaria? 00:12:17.780 --> 00:12:18.480 So the woman 00:12:18.480 --> 00:12:19.879 is shocked, 00:12:20.060 --> 00:12:21.340 surprised by Jesus. 00:12:21.519 --> 00:12:21.800 First, 00:12:22.280 --> 00:12:23.639 by his presence 00:12:23.639 --> 00:12:25.200 at the well 00:12:25.200 --> 00:12:25.879 at midday, 00:12:25.960 --> 00:12:26.600 and second, 00:12:26.879 --> 00:12:28.100 by his conversation. 00:12:28.840 --> 00:12:30.620 She's taken aback. 00:12:31.200 --> 00:12:31.460 He, 00:12:31.660 --> 00:12:32.200 a Jew, 00:12:32.879 --> 00:12:33.700 deigns to speak 00:12:33.700 --> 00:12:34.180 to her, 00:12:34.259 --> 00:12:35.700 a Samaritan woman, 00:12:35.899 --> 00:12:36.720 and ask for a drink 00:12:36.720 --> 00:12:37.220 of water. 00:12:38.879 --> 00:12:39.680 You'll notice 00:12:39.680 --> 00:12:40.879 Jesus initiates 00:12:40.879 --> 00:12:41.740 the conversation, 00:12:41.740 --> 00:12:43.580 and immediately 00:12:43.580 --> 00:12:45.460 she is left 00:12:45.460 --> 00:12:46.159 wondering what's 00:12:46.159 --> 00:12:46.720 going on. 00:12:47.440 --> 00:12:48.440 Jesus' behavior 00:12:48.440 --> 00:12:49.419 is not what 00:12:49.419 --> 00:12:50.620 she was expecting. 00:12:51.700 --> 00:12:52.659 For a Jew 00:12:52.659 --> 00:12:53.759 even to speak 00:12:53.759 --> 00:12:54.759 with a Samaritan 00:12:54.759 --> 00:12:56.500 was a surprising 00:12:56.500 --> 00:12:57.419 turn of events. 00:12:57.879 --> 00:12:58.299 It was not 00:12:58.299 --> 00:12:59.299 the done thing. 00:13:00.759 --> 00:13:01.779 And it's interesting 00:13:01.779 --> 00:13:02.879 that we see here 00:13:02.879 --> 00:13:03.299 that Jesus 00:13:03.299 --> 00:13:04.680 is not constrained 00:13:04.680 --> 00:13:06.240 by the social, 00:13:06.860 --> 00:13:07.879 racial prejudices 00:13:07.879 --> 00:13:08.460 of his day. 00:13:08.460 --> 00:13:10.840 not only that, 00:13:10.940 --> 00:13:11.560 but in speaking 00:13:11.560 --> 00:13:12.759 to an unknown 00:13:12.759 --> 00:13:14.420 woman in public, 00:13:14.980 --> 00:13:16.060 that was a very, 00:13:16.240 --> 00:13:17.759 that was very 00:13:17.759 --> 00:13:18.620 risky behavior. 00:13:19.460 --> 00:13:20.080 Some rabbis 00:13:20.080 --> 00:13:20.759 held that it was 00:13:20.759 --> 00:13:21.440 even improper 00:13:21.440 --> 00:13:22.160 for a husband 00:13:22.160 --> 00:13:23.000 to talk to his 00:13:23.000 --> 00:13:24.200 wife in public, 00:13:24.600 --> 00:13:25.519 far less a strange 00:13:25.519 --> 00:13:25.840 woman. 00:13:26.660 --> 00:13:27.259 So Jesus 00:13:27.259 --> 00:13:28.620 is pushing, 00:13:29.639 --> 00:13:30.519 indeed crossing 00:13:30.519 --> 00:13:31.300 the boundaries 00:13:31.300 --> 00:13:32.440 of social convention 00:13:32.440 --> 00:13:32.840 here. 00:13:33.120 --> 00:13:33.759 He's reaching 00:13:33.759 --> 00:13:35.060 across the barriers 00:13:35.060 --> 00:13:36.280 that are so often 00:13:36.279 --> 00:13:37.000 erected 00:13:37.000 --> 00:13:38.339 to divide people. 00:13:38.860 --> 00:13:39.519 He's crossing 00:13:39.519 --> 00:13:40.199 boundaries, 00:13:40.659 --> 00:13:42.000 Jerusalem to Samaria, 00:13:42.339 --> 00:13:43.199 male to female, 00:13:43.399 --> 00:13:44.339 Jew to Gentile, 00:13:44.620 --> 00:13:45.959 rabbi to outcast. 00:13:46.500 --> 00:13:47.459 He's not afraid 00:13:47.459 --> 00:13:49.059 to take a risk 00:13:49.059 --> 00:13:50.039 to minister 00:13:50.039 --> 00:13:51.159 to this woman 00:13:51.159 --> 00:13:52.159 and to meet 00:13:52.159 --> 00:13:53.339 her spiritual needs. 00:13:53.899 --> 00:13:55.139 Because he has come 00:13:55.139 --> 00:13:56.079 in love and grace 00:13:56.079 --> 00:13:57.879 to fill empty lives. 00:13:58.319 --> 00:13:59.339 He's come not just 00:13:59.339 --> 00:14:00.679 as Savior of the Jews, 00:14:00.819 --> 00:14:01.639 but as the Savior 00:14:01.639 --> 00:14:02.279 of the world. 00:14:03.699 --> 00:14:05.000 He's come to connect 00:14:05.000 --> 00:14:06.159 with the broken 00:14:06.159 --> 00:14:07.000 and the hurting 00:14:07.000 --> 00:14:09.039 of whatever gender, 00:14:09.259 --> 00:14:10.019 nationality, 00:14:10.039 --> 00:14:10.700 or culture. 00:14:11.960 --> 00:14:12.919 He's come to break 00:14:12.919 --> 00:14:14.039 down barriers 00:14:14.039 --> 00:14:14.820 to touch 00:14:14.820 --> 00:14:15.940 and transform 00:14:15.940 --> 00:14:16.860 people's lives. 00:14:17.500 --> 00:14:19.059 There's an old hymn 00:14:19.059 --> 00:14:19.919 of Charlotte Elliott, 00:14:20.320 --> 00:14:21.360 Just as I am, 00:14:21.879 --> 00:14:22.960 thy love unknown 00:14:22.960 --> 00:14:24.240 hath broken 00:14:24.240 --> 00:14:26.620 every barrier down. 00:14:27.580 --> 00:14:28.860 And we find 00:14:28.860 --> 00:14:30.240 in this gospel 00:14:30.240 --> 00:14:31.019 the climax 00:14:31.019 --> 00:14:32.980 of this barrier-breaking, 00:14:33.460 --> 00:14:34.580 boundary-crossing, 00:14:34.580 --> 00:14:35.700 ministry of Jesus, 00:14:36.280 --> 00:14:37.340 ministry of love, 00:14:37.960 --> 00:14:38.460 at the end 00:14:38.460 --> 00:14:39.400 of John's gospel. 00:14:40.340 --> 00:14:41.100 As you remember, 00:14:41.240 --> 00:14:41.920 Jesus hangs 00:14:41.920 --> 00:14:42.520 on the cross 00:14:42.520 --> 00:14:43.200 of Calvary, 00:14:44.460 --> 00:14:46.220 on that rough wooden cross. 00:14:46.340 --> 00:14:46.720 Again, 00:14:47.180 --> 00:14:47.820 interestingly, 00:14:48.420 --> 00:14:49.560 about the sixth hour, 00:14:50.900 --> 00:14:52.340 Jesus again 00:14:52.340 --> 00:14:53.200 cries out 00:14:53.200 --> 00:14:54.400 in thirst 00:14:54.400 --> 00:14:56.960 in order to save, 00:14:57.180 --> 00:14:57.560 rescue, 00:14:57.800 --> 00:14:58.160 sinful, 00:14:58.720 --> 00:14:59.240 fallen, 00:14:59.680 --> 00:15:00.580 broken men and women. 00:15:00.580 --> 00:15:02.240 And so, 00:15:02.320 --> 00:15:03.300 whoever you are 00:15:03.300 --> 00:15:04.020 this morning, 00:15:04.100 --> 00:15:05.340 whatever advantages 00:15:05.340 --> 00:15:06.360 or disadvantages 00:15:06.360 --> 00:15:07.740 you've had in life, 00:15:08.800 --> 00:15:09.600 Jesus Christ 00:15:09.600 --> 00:15:10.360 is not put off 00:15:10.360 --> 00:15:10.860 by them. 00:15:12.040 --> 00:15:12.800 He's not put off 00:15:12.800 --> 00:15:14.280 by a checkered past 00:15:14.280 --> 00:15:15.540 or the mess 00:15:15.540 --> 00:15:15.920 you've made 00:15:15.920 --> 00:15:16.639 of your life. 00:15:17.220 --> 00:15:18.379 You can't keep 00:15:18.379 --> 00:15:18.960 this Jesus 00:15:18.960 --> 00:15:19.620 at a distance. 00:15:20.520 --> 00:15:22.040 You can't hide away 00:15:22.040 --> 00:15:22.840 forever behind 00:15:22.840 --> 00:15:23.540 your barriers, 00:15:23.820 --> 00:15:25.620 your morality, 00:15:26.040 --> 00:15:26.680 your status, 00:15:26.900 --> 00:15:27.460 your race, 00:15:27.960 --> 00:15:28.460 sexuality, 00:15:28.460 --> 00:15:29.139 religion, 00:15:29.379 --> 00:15:29.700 culture, 00:15:29.860 --> 00:15:30.139 pride, 00:15:30.220 --> 00:15:30.519 whatever. 00:15:31.080 --> 00:15:31.860 Because Jesus 00:15:31.860 --> 00:15:32.580 has come 00:15:32.580 --> 00:15:34.040 to break through 00:15:34.040 --> 00:15:34.700 and to touch 00:15:34.700 --> 00:15:35.660 the person beneath. 00:15:37.080 --> 00:15:37.860 Here is a work 00:15:37.860 --> 00:15:38.639 in which Jesus 00:15:38.639 --> 00:15:39.360 Himself 00:15:39.360 --> 00:15:40.800 takes the initiative. 00:15:41.379 --> 00:15:41.879 It's a work 00:15:41.879 --> 00:15:43.660 of divine instigation. 00:15:44.860 --> 00:15:45.500 And that brings me 00:15:45.500 --> 00:15:46.660 to the second thing here. 00:15:48.080 --> 00:15:48.820 It's a work 00:15:48.820 --> 00:15:50.460 of divine revelation. 00:15:51.540 --> 00:15:53.000 Verses 10 through 15. 00:15:53.700 --> 00:15:54.720 I think there is 00:15:54.720 --> 00:15:55.400 a progression 00:15:55.400 --> 00:15:56.400 that takes place 00:15:56.400 --> 00:15:57.220 through this chapter. 00:15:57.220 --> 00:15:59.340 As this woman's eyes 00:15:59.340 --> 00:16:00.139 are gradually 00:16:00.139 --> 00:16:01.480 open to see 00:16:01.480 --> 00:16:02.620 just who 00:16:02.620 --> 00:16:04.220 Jesus truly is. 00:16:05.860 --> 00:16:07.240 The woman begins 00:16:07.240 --> 00:16:08.440 as all of us do 00:16:08.440 --> 00:16:09.660 from a place 00:16:09.660 --> 00:16:10.300 of blindness 00:16:10.300 --> 00:16:10.980 and ignorance. 00:16:11.340 --> 00:16:12.480 And Jesus tells us 00:16:12.480 --> 00:16:13.399 as much 00:16:13.399 --> 00:16:14.320 in verse 10. 00:16:14.980 --> 00:16:15.860 Jesus answered him, 00:16:16.000 --> 00:16:16.320 If you knew 00:16:16.320 --> 00:16:17.180 the gift of God 00:16:17.180 --> 00:16:17.759 and who it is 00:16:17.759 --> 00:16:18.519 that is saying to you, 00:16:18.600 --> 00:16:19.200 give me a drink, 00:16:19.379 --> 00:16:20.320 you would have asked Him 00:16:20.320 --> 00:16:21.139 and He would have 00:16:21.139 --> 00:16:22.180 given you living water. 00:16:23.560 --> 00:16:24.800 If only this woman 00:16:24.799 --> 00:16:26.059 had known 00:16:26.059 --> 00:16:26.979 who it was 00:16:26.979 --> 00:16:27.659 that was speaking 00:16:27.659 --> 00:16:28.079 to her, 00:16:28.279 --> 00:16:28.959 she would have been 00:16:28.959 --> 00:16:29.459 the one 00:16:29.459 --> 00:16:30.000 who was doing 00:16:30.000 --> 00:16:30.519 the asking. 00:16:31.959 --> 00:16:32.779 Not only that, 00:16:32.859 --> 00:16:33.439 but she would have 00:16:33.439 --> 00:16:34.659 received living water. 00:16:35.099 --> 00:16:35.779 That's a phrase 00:16:35.779 --> 00:16:37.719 used in the Old Testament 00:16:37.719 --> 00:16:38.719 by Jeremiah. 00:16:39.500 --> 00:16:41.019 Jeremiah 2, 13, 00:16:41.139 --> 00:16:41.719 God declares 00:16:41.719 --> 00:16:42.459 to His people, 00:16:42.959 --> 00:16:44.039 My people have 00:16:44.039 --> 00:16:45.279 committed two sins. 00:16:45.379 --> 00:16:46.500 They have forsaken me, 00:16:46.839 --> 00:16:47.519 the spring 00:16:47.519 --> 00:16:48.620 of living water. 00:16:48.819 --> 00:16:49.299 They've dug 00:16:49.299 --> 00:16:50.439 their own cisterns, 00:16:50.679 --> 00:16:51.799 broken cisterns, 00:16:51.799 --> 00:16:53.359 that cannot hold water. 00:16:53.899 --> 00:16:55.039 And so the living water 00:16:55.039 --> 00:16:56.039 really is a picture 00:16:56.039 --> 00:16:56.919 of God Himself, 00:16:57.379 --> 00:16:59.159 the life and the vitality 00:16:59.159 --> 00:17:00.859 that He brings to people. 00:17:02.399 --> 00:17:03.339 And this is the water 00:17:03.339 --> 00:17:04.279 that only Jesus 00:17:04.279 --> 00:17:05.559 can bring 00:17:05.559 --> 00:17:06.740 to empty, 00:17:06.960 --> 00:17:08.359 parched human souls. 00:17:10.240 --> 00:17:10.779 And the woman 00:17:10.779 --> 00:17:12.419 like Nicodemus 00:17:12.419 --> 00:17:13.579 in the previous chapter 00:17:13.579 --> 00:17:15.639 doesn't have a clue 00:17:15.639 --> 00:17:17.039 about what Jesus 00:17:17.039 --> 00:17:17.859 is speaking about. 00:17:17.919 --> 00:17:19.480 I think it's interesting 00:17:19.480 --> 00:17:20.419 as a way of an aside. 00:17:20.519 --> 00:17:20.799 I think there's 00:17:20.799 --> 00:17:22.319 a very definite contrast 00:17:22.319 --> 00:17:22.980 drawn here 00:17:22.980 --> 00:17:24.539 between John 3 00:17:24.539 --> 00:17:26.279 and 4. 00:17:26.379 --> 00:17:26.899 In John 3, 00:17:27.000 --> 00:17:27.700 Nicodemus, 00:17:28.299 --> 00:17:28.819 a man, 00:17:28.899 --> 00:17:29.220 a Jew, 00:17:29.319 --> 00:17:29.740 a moral, 00:17:29.899 --> 00:17:30.639 religious leader, 00:17:30.919 --> 00:17:31.879 a Bible scholar, 00:17:32.220 --> 00:17:33.039 comes to Jesus 00:17:33.039 --> 00:17:33.740 at night. 00:17:34.399 --> 00:17:35.339 Here in John 4, 00:17:35.379 --> 00:17:36.619 it's an unnamed woman, 00:17:36.940 --> 00:17:37.779 a Samaritan, 00:17:37.960 --> 00:17:38.599 someone with a 00:17:38.599 --> 00:17:39.859 mixed-up understanding 00:17:39.859 --> 00:17:40.680 of the Scriptures, 00:17:41.039 --> 00:17:42.539 a questionable past, 00:17:43.799 --> 00:17:44.859 and who meets Jesus 00:17:44.859 --> 00:17:46.419 in the middle of the day. 00:17:47.720 --> 00:17:49.259 These two individuals, 00:17:49.379 --> 00:17:49.619 you see, 00:17:49.619 --> 00:17:51.319 are polar opposites. 00:17:53.279 --> 00:17:54.539 The woman said to him, 00:17:55.739 --> 00:17:56.079 Sir, 00:17:56.199 --> 00:17:56.699 you have nothing 00:17:56.699 --> 00:17:57.639 to draw water with, 00:17:57.679 --> 00:17:58.159 verse 11. 00:17:58.359 --> 00:17:59.199 The well is deep. 00:17:59.259 --> 00:17:59.819 Where do you get 00:17:59.819 --> 00:18:00.639 that living water? 00:18:00.979 --> 00:18:01.639 Are you greater 00:18:01.639 --> 00:18:02.659 than our father Jacob? 00:18:03.079 --> 00:18:04.039 He gave us the well 00:18:04.039 --> 00:18:05.299 and drank from it himself 00:18:05.299 --> 00:18:06.239 as did his sons 00:18:06.239 --> 00:18:06.799 and livestock. 00:18:08.879 --> 00:18:09.119 Of course, 00:18:09.179 --> 00:18:09.959 the irony is 00:18:09.959 --> 00:18:10.979 that the living water 00:18:10.979 --> 00:18:12.539 that Jesus offers 00:18:12.539 --> 00:18:13.359 is not to be found 00:18:13.359 --> 00:18:14.119 in any well. 00:18:15.479 --> 00:18:16.399 It's to be found 00:18:16.400 --> 00:18:17.300 in a relationship 00:18:17.300 --> 00:18:17.900 with him. 00:18:19.100 --> 00:18:20.200 He is indeed 00:18:20.200 --> 00:18:21.759 one greater 00:18:21.759 --> 00:18:23.160 than the patriarch Jacob. 00:18:24.100 --> 00:18:25.460 He is the very water 00:18:25.460 --> 00:18:26.140 of life. 00:18:26.600 --> 00:18:27.380 He is the Word 00:18:27.380 --> 00:18:28.040 made flesh. 00:18:28.120 --> 00:18:28.840 He is the Son 00:18:28.840 --> 00:18:29.960 of the living God. 00:18:32.100 --> 00:18:32.900 Jesus said, 00:18:32.900 --> 00:18:33.700 everyone who drinks 00:18:33.700 --> 00:18:34.380 of this water 00:18:34.380 --> 00:18:35.480 will be thirsty again, 00:18:35.940 --> 00:18:36.860 but whoever drinks 00:18:36.860 --> 00:18:37.400 of the water 00:18:37.400 --> 00:18:38.400 that I will give him 00:18:38.400 --> 00:18:40.780 will never be thirsty again. 00:18:41.440 --> 00:18:41.940 The water 00:18:41.940 --> 00:18:43.080 that I will give him 00:18:43.080 --> 00:18:44.700 will become in him 00:18:44.700 --> 00:18:45.800 a spring of water 00:18:45.800 --> 00:18:46.759 welling up 00:18:46.759 --> 00:18:47.820 to eternal life. 00:18:48.980 --> 00:18:49.480 See, 00:18:49.560 --> 00:18:49.880 the water 00:18:49.880 --> 00:18:51.280 that Jesus speaks of 00:18:51.280 --> 00:18:52.220 giving 00:18:52.220 --> 00:18:53.160 is very different 00:18:53.160 --> 00:18:54.120 to the water 00:18:54.120 --> 00:18:54.700 that the woman 00:18:54.700 --> 00:18:55.540 is thinking about. 00:18:56.140 --> 00:18:56.940 The water 00:18:56.940 --> 00:18:57.980 she has in mind 00:18:57.980 --> 00:18:58.740 could at best 00:18:58.740 --> 00:18:59.600 slake 00:18:59.599 --> 00:19:00.919 a temporary thirst. 00:19:01.199 --> 00:19:01.659 The water 00:19:01.659 --> 00:19:02.980 that Jesus speaks of 00:19:02.980 --> 00:19:03.939 penetrates 00:19:03.939 --> 00:19:04.980 and satisfies 00:19:04.980 --> 00:19:06.179 that raging 00:19:06.179 --> 00:19:07.240 spiritual thirst 00:19:07.240 --> 00:19:08.419 that is at the heart 00:19:08.419 --> 00:19:09.319 of every human being. 00:19:10.259 --> 00:19:10.719 The water 00:19:10.719 --> 00:19:11.719 that Jesus gives 00:19:11.719 --> 00:19:13.179 is not to be drawn up 00:19:13.179 --> 00:19:14.679 from some stagnant well. 00:19:14.939 --> 00:19:15.459 It is given 00:19:15.459 --> 00:19:16.079 as a gift 00:19:16.079 --> 00:19:16.779 that becomes 00:19:16.779 --> 00:19:18.419 a bubbling spring 00:19:18.419 --> 00:19:19.579 of eternal life 00:19:19.579 --> 00:19:20.519 in the human soul. 00:19:21.579 --> 00:19:23.119 This life-giving water 00:19:23.119 --> 00:19:24.339 is only given 00:19:24.339 --> 00:19:24.959 by Jesus. 00:19:25.119 --> 00:19:26.480 It can't be purchased. 00:19:26.819 --> 00:19:27.899 It can't be earned. 00:19:28.159 --> 00:19:29.199 It can't be won. 00:19:29.200 --> 00:19:30.259 It can't be merited. 00:19:30.580 --> 00:19:32.019 It can only be received 00:19:32.019 --> 00:19:32.819 by faith. 00:19:33.720 --> 00:19:34.380 And it's only 00:19:34.380 --> 00:19:35.500 as our eyes are opened 00:19:35.500 --> 00:19:36.840 to see Jesus 00:19:36.840 --> 00:19:37.799 that we are drawn 00:19:37.799 --> 00:19:39.140 to rest our faith 00:19:39.140 --> 00:19:39.860 and trust 00:19:39.860 --> 00:19:40.559 and confidence 00:19:40.559 --> 00:19:41.220 in him. 00:19:42.279 --> 00:19:42.819 And it's only 00:19:42.819 --> 00:19:43.799 as we trust him 00:19:43.799 --> 00:19:44.960 that this living water 00:19:44.960 --> 00:19:45.740 is poured 00:19:45.740 --> 00:19:46.819 into our lives 00:19:46.819 --> 00:19:47.620 and we become 00:19:47.620 --> 00:19:48.860 new men and women. 00:19:51.220 --> 00:19:51.680 You'll see that 00:19:51.680 --> 00:19:52.519 by verse 19 00:19:52.519 --> 00:19:53.460 the woman's estimation 00:19:53.460 --> 00:19:54.140 of Jesus 00:19:54.140 --> 00:19:55.120 has become 00:19:55.120 --> 00:19:55.940 that of a prophet. 00:19:56.100 --> 00:19:56.960 The woman said to him, 00:19:57.299 --> 00:19:57.460 Sir, 00:19:57.519 --> 00:19:58.660 I perceive you're a prophet. 00:19:59.200 --> 00:20:00.380 By verse 29 00:20:00.380 --> 00:20:01.299 she's telling the people 00:20:01.299 --> 00:20:01.960 from the town, 00:20:02.680 --> 00:20:03.460 Come see a man 00:20:03.460 --> 00:20:04.059 who told me 00:20:04.059 --> 00:20:05.019 all that I ever did. 00:20:05.279 --> 00:20:06.880 Can this be the Christ? 00:20:08.180 --> 00:20:08.900 You see what's happened 00:20:08.900 --> 00:20:09.640 through this passage? 00:20:09.860 --> 00:20:11.259 Her eyes have been opened. 00:20:12.000 --> 00:20:13.360 The truth has dawned. 00:20:14.019 --> 00:20:15.240 This woman is being led 00:20:15.240 --> 00:20:16.279 out of the darkness 00:20:16.279 --> 00:20:17.539 into the light 00:20:17.539 --> 00:20:18.100 and life 00:20:18.100 --> 00:20:19.019 of Jesus Christ. 00:20:19.700 --> 00:20:20.600 She's being led 00:20:20.600 --> 00:20:21.440 from the well 00:20:21.440 --> 00:20:23.220 and her empty jar 00:20:23.220 --> 00:20:24.200 to that spring 00:20:24.200 --> 00:20:25.240 of eternal life 00:20:25.240 --> 00:20:26.259 that is to be found 00:20:26.259 --> 00:20:27.220 only in Jesus. 00:20:28.660 --> 00:20:29.059 Sir, 00:20:29.160 --> 00:20:30.240 give me this water 00:20:30.240 --> 00:20:31.440 so that I will not 00:20:31.440 --> 00:20:32.079 be thirsty 00:20:32.079 --> 00:20:33.319 or have to come here 00:20:33.319 --> 00:20:34.039 to draw water, 00:20:34.140 --> 00:20:34.759 she says. 00:20:36.259 --> 00:20:37.319 But before Jesus 00:20:37.319 --> 00:20:38.519 will do that, 00:20:38.640 --> 00:20:40.359 before he will complete 00:20:40.359 --> 00:20:40.960 this work 00:20:40.960 --> 00:20:42.019 of divine revelation, 00:20:43.119 --> 00:20:43.859 there is something 00:20:43.859 --> 00:20:44.519 you'll notice 00:20:44.519 --> 00:20:45.539 to be sorted out 00:20:45.539 --> 00:20:47.039 in this woman's life. 00:20:47.660 --> 00:20:48.299 And that leads us 00:20:48.299 --> 00:20:49.299 to the third thing here 00:20:49.299 --> 00:20:50.200 that we notice. 00:20:50.879 --> 00:20:51.759 Not just a work 00:20:51.759 --> 00:20:53.259 of divine initiation 00:20:53.259 --> 00:20:55.299 and divine revelation. 00:20:55.680 --> 00:20:56.960 It's also a work 00:20:56.960 --> 00:20:58.579 of divine conviction 00:20:58.579 --> 00:21:01.160 in verses 16 through 24. 00:21:02.319 --> 00:21:03.339 Look what Jesus says. 00:21:03.900 --> 00:21:05.099 Go, call your husband 00:21:05.099 --> 00:21:05.839 and come here. 00:21:06.680 --> 00:21:07.460 The woman answered, 00:21:07.559 --> 00:21:08.400 I have no husband. 00:21:09.460 --> 00:21:10.039 Jesus said, 00:21:10.119 --> 00:21:10.960 you're right in saying 00:21:10.960 --> 00:21:11.680 I have no husband 00:21:11.680 --> 00:21:13.279 for you have had five husbands. 00:21:14.079 --> 00:21:15.500 The one you now have 00:21:15.500 --> 00:21:17.539 is not your husband. 00:21:17.920 --> 00:21:19.099 What you have said is true. 00:21:19.099 --> 00:21:24.059 Before Jesus reveals 00:21:24.059 --> 00:21:25.639 the truth about himself 00:21:25.639 --> 00:21:26.619 to this woman, 00:21:27.179 --> 00:21:28.339 he first of all 00:21:28.339 --> 00:21:29.579 reveals the truth 00:21:29.579 --> 00:21:31.679 about herself. 00:21:32.959 --> 00:21:34.159 And it's an uncomfortable 00:21:34.159 --> 00:21:35.059 conversation 00:21:35.059 --> 00:21:36.839 as Jesus, 00:21:37.639 --> 00:21:38.099 in a sense, 00:21:38.159 --> 00:21:39.399 gets up close and personal. 00:21:40.259 --> 00:21:41.459 He sees right 00:21:41.459 --> 00:21:42.399 through her disguise. 00:21:42.539 --> 00:21:44.879 He exposes her sin 00:21:44.879 --> 00:21:45.959 and moral failure. 00:21:47.980 --> 00:21:48.639 And Samus says, 00:21:48.640 --> 00:21:49.020 O Lord, 00:21:49.100 --> 00:21:50.000 you have searched me 00:21:50.000 --> 00:21:50.880 and you know me. 00:21:50.980 --> 00:21:52.040 You know when I sit down 00:21:52.040 --> 00:21:53.540 and when I arise. 00:21:53.759 --> 00:21:55.140 You perceive my thoughts 00:21:55.140 --> 00:21:55.880 from afar. 00:21:56.140 --> 00:21:57.580 You discern my going out 00:21:57.580 --> 00:21:58.560 and my lying down. 00:21:58.680 --> 00:21:59.240 You're familiar 00:21:59.240 --> 00:22:00.620 with all my ways. 00:22:01.180 --> 00:22:02.740 Before a word is on my tongue, 00:22:02.820 --> 00:22:03.640 you know it completely. 00:22:05.180 --> 00:22:05.900 Here is the God, 00:22:05.960 --> 00:22:06.220 you see, 00:22:06.300 --> 00:22:07.180 from whom no secrets 00:22:07.180 --> 00:22:08.180 can be hid. 00:22:08.660 --> 00:22:09.840 Here is the Lord himself. 00:22:11.100 --> 00:22:11.840 There's nothing hidden 00:22:11.840 --> 00:22:13.259 that Jesus cannot see. 00:22:14.160 --> 00:22:15.600 Before his gaze, 00:22:16.020 --> 00:22:17.860 your life is as transparent, 00:22:17.859 --> 00:22:19.240 as a pane of glass. 00:22:19.899 --> 00:22:20.719 He sees our thoughts, 00:22:20.799 --> 00:22:21.339 our motives, 00:22:21.679 --> 00:22:22.479 our hidden secrets. 00:22:23.019 --> 00:22:24.399 He sees behind the mask 00:22:24.399 --> 00:22:25.779 just as he saw 00:22:25.779 --> 00:22:26.659 this woman 00:22:26.659 --> 00:22:28.519 somewhat murky 00:22:28.519 --> 00:22:29.639 and miserable past. 00:22:32.439 --> 00:22:33.659 And he insists 00:22:33.659 --> 00:22:35.579 that we face up 00:22:35.579 --> 00:22:38.000 to our sins 00:22:38.000 --> 00:22:38.759 and our failures. 00:22:40.179 --> 00:22:41.339 For unless we do, 00:22:41.439 --> 00:22:42.959 we will never receive 00:22:42.959 --> 00:22:44.159 the life-giving water 00:22:44.160 --> 00:22:45.460 that he alone 00:22:45.460 --> 00:22:46.200 can bestow. 00:22:47.759 --> 00:22:49.200 And Jesus puts his finger 00:22:49.200 --> 00:22:50.160 on this woman's 00:22:50.160 --> 00:22:51.360 kind of sordid past 00:22:51.360 --> 00:22:52.420 relationships 00:22:52.420 --> 00:22:53.680 and he brings it 00:22:53.680 --> 00:22:54.759 all out into the open. 00:22:55.080 --> 00:22:55.680 And we might say, 00:22:55.740 --> 00:22:55.840 well, 00:22:56.040 --> 00:22:57.540 is Jesus being cruel here? 00:22:58.320 --> 00:22:59.360 Is he trying to 00:22:59.360 --> 00:23:00.259 humiliate 00:23:00.259 --> 00:23:01.340 and shame 00:23:01.340 --> 00:23:01.960 this woman? 00:23:03.040 --> 00:23:04.060 I don't think so. 00:23:05.120 --> 00:23:06.140 He's trying to get 00:23:06.140 --> 00:23:06.620 this woman 00:23:06.620 --> 00:23:08.120 to be honest 00:23:08.120 --> 00:23:09.080 about her life. 00:23:09.079 --> 00:23:11.819 to face up 00:23:11.819 --> 00:23:12.299 to the way 00:23:12.299 --> 00:23:13.019 in which she's been 00:23:13.019 --> 00:23:14.000 trying to fill 00:23:14.000 --> 00:23:14.799 the emptiness 00:23:14.799 --> 00:23:15.579 of her soul. 00:23:16.720 --> 00:23:17.159 For her, 00:23:17.240 --> 00:23:18.299 it was relationship 00:23:18.299 --> 00:23:19.659 after relationship 00:23:19.659 --> 00:23:21.199 after relationship, 00:23:21.379 --> 00:23:22.819 but no lasting fulfillment. 00:23:23.639 --> 00:23:24.379 Her life 00:23:24.379 --> 00:23:25.399 littered 00:23:25.399 --> 00:23:26.279 with a string 00:23:26.279 --> 00:23:27.699 of broken relationships. 00:23:28.399 --> 00:23:29.199 And Jesus wants her 00:23:29.199 --> 00:23:30.179 to face the truth. 00:23:30.619 --> 00:23:31.179 And that's often 00:23:31.179 --> 00:23:32.220 an uncomfortable thing, 00:23:32.519 --> 00:23:33.740 even a painful, 00:23:33.939 --> 00:23:35.059 convicting experience. 00:23:35.379 --> 00:23:36.299 One writer puts it, 00:23:36.299 --> 00:23:37.639 she felt that her 00:23:37.639 --> 00:23:38.659 spiritual disease 00:23:38.659 --> 00:23:39.440 was discovered 00:23:39.440 --> 00:23:41.240 and for the first time 00:23:41.240 --> 00:23:41.899 in her life, 00:23:42.480 --> 00:23:43.919 she saw herself. 00:23:45.259 --> 00:23:46.819 That's a really important, 00:23:47.000 --> 00:23:47.359 vital, 00:23:47.539 --> 00:23:48.720 necessary aspect 00:23:48.720 --> 00:23:50.139 of a work of God. 00:23:50.279 --> 00:23:51.079 Our sin 00:23:51.079 --> 00:23:52.220 needs to be exposed. 00:23:53.200 --> 00:23:54.000 We have to see 00:23:54.000 --> 00:23:54.720 where 00:23:54.720 --> 00:23:57.000 our problem 00:23:57.000 --> 00:23:57.960 truly lies. 00:23:59.180 --> 00:23:59.779 And that problem 00:23:59.779 --> 00:24:00.659 is a moral one. 00:24:01.720 --> 00:24:02.200 Our emptiness 00:24:02.200 --> 00:24:02.799 is a kind of 00:24:02.799 --> 00:24:03.599 moral emptiness. 00:24:03.940 --> 00:24:04.480 Our brokenness 00:24:04.480 --> 00:24:04.899 is a moral 00:24:04.900 --> 00:24:07.040 brokenness. 00:24:07.519 --> 00:24:08.519 As Paul puts it, 00:24:08.740 --> 00:24:09.460 we've exchanged 00:24:09.460 --> 00:24:10.560 the glory of God, 00:24:11.060 --> 00:24:12.100 the immortal God, 00:24:12.160 --> 00:24:13.120 for other things. 00:24:14.180 --> 00:24:15.100 And that rejection 00:24:15.100 --> 00:24:15.620 of God 00:24:15.620 --> 00:24:16.360 is to be seen 00:24:16.360 --> 00:24:17.100 in human beings 00:24:17.100 --> 00:24:18.080 looking for fulfillment, 00:24:18.420 --> 00:24:18.860 satisfaction, 00:24:19.300 --> 00:24:19.519 meaning, 00:24:19.740 --> 00:24:20.980 in all the wrong places, 00:24:21.640 --> 00:24:22.300 in our jobs, 00:24:22.380 --> 00:24:23.100 in our ministries, 00:24:23.220 --> 00:24:24.080 in our relationships, 00:24:24.360 --> 00:24:25.040 our families, 00:24:25.160 --> 00:24:25.660 our hobbies, 00:24:26.000 --> 00:24:26.720 and it's all 00:24:26.720 --> 00:24:27.660 just idolatry. 00:24:30.060 --> 00:24:30.900 Jesus wanted 00:24:30.900 --> 00:24:31.400 this woman 00:24:31.400 --> 00:24:32.540 to see the emptiness 00:24:32.540 --> 00:24:33.519 and hollowness 00:24:33.519 --> 00:24:34.200 of her life. 00:24:34.200 --> 00:24:35.360 He wanted her 00:24:35.360 --> 00:24:36.039 to face up 00:24:36.039 --> 00:24:36.740 to the truth, 00:24:38.080 --> 00:24:38.779 a truth 00:24:38.779 --> 00:24:39.240 that she was 00:24:39.240 --> 00:24:40.000 hiding from. 00:24:41.080 --> 00:24:42.180 J.C. Ryle writes, 00:24:42.960 --> 00:24:43.799 until men and women 00:24:43.799 --> 00:24:44.259 are brought 00:24:44.259 --> 00:24:44.920 to feel their 00:24:44.920 --> 00:24:45.960 sinfulness and need, 00:24:46.259 --> 00:24:47.100 no real good 00:24:47.100 --> 00:24:47.700 is ever done 00:24:47.700 --> 00:24:48.620 to their souls. 00:24:49.640 --> 00:24:50.620 Until a sinner 00:24:50.620 --> 00:24:51.559 sees himself 00:24:51.559 --> 00:24:52.620 as God sees him, 00:24:53.180 --> 00:24:54.039 he will continue 00:24:54.039 --> 00:24:54.580 careless, 00:24:54.840 --> 00:24:55.340 trifling, 00:24:56.000 --> 00:24:57.080 and unmoved. 00:24:58.480 --> 00:24:59.759 Jesus wants us 00:24:59.759 --> 00:25:00.539 to face 00:25:00.539 --> 00:25:01.319 the uncomfortable 00:25:01.319 --> 00:25:02.980 truth about ourselves. 00:25:02.980 --> 00:25:05.880 He wants to take us 00:25:05.880 --> 00:25:06.740 to that place 00:25:06.740 --> 00:25:08.360 where we can say 00:25:08.360 --> 00:25:09.160 with a hymn writer, 00:25:10.160 --> 00:25:11.200 I tried the broken 00:25:11.200 --> 00:25:12.019 cisterns, 00:25:12.240 --> 00:25:12.519 Lord, 00:25:13.180 --> 00:25:13.799 but ah, 00:25:13.960 --> 00:25:14.720 the waters 00:25:14.720 --> 00:25:15.480 failed. 00:25:18.140 --> 00:25:18.700 Interesting, 00:25:19.059 --> 00:25:20.000 the Samaritan woman, 00:25:20.299 --> 00:25:21.400 when she's confronted 00:25:21.400 --> 00:25:21.839 with this, 00:25:21.920 --> 00:25:22.599 immediately tries 00:25:22.599 --> 00:25:23.559 to change the subject. 00:25:24.220 --> 00:25:25.120 She wants to move 00:25:25.120 --> 00:25:25.720 the discussion 00:25:25.720 --> 00:25:26.380 onto less 00:25:26.380 --> 00:25:27.839 personal ground. 00:25:27.839 --> 00:25:28.740 And, sir, 00:25:28.799 --> 00:25:29.319 I perceive 00:25:29.319 --> 00:25:30.000 you're a prophet. 00:25:30.539 --> 00:25:31.059 Our fathers 00:25:31.059 --> 00:25:31.939 worshipped on this 00:25:31.939 --> 00:25:32.339 mountain. 00:25:32.699 --> 00:25:33.220 You say that 00:25:33.220 --> 00:25:33.759 in Jerusalem 00:25:33.759 --> 00:25:34.619 is the place 00:25:34.619 --> 00:25:35.119 where people 00:25:35.119 --> 00:25:35.779 ought to worship. 00:25:36.579 --> 00:25:36.959 It's the kind 00:25:36.959 --> 00:25:37.220 of thing 00:25:37.220 --> 00:25:37.659 that people 00:25:37.659 --> 00:25:38.939 like to do 00:25:38.939 --> 00:25:39.259 when they're 00:25:39.259 --> 00:25:39.799 feeling a little 00:25:39.799 --> 00:25:40.839 threatened 00:25:40.839 --> 00:25:41.599 by the claims 00:25:41.599 --> 00:25:42.099 of Jesus. 00:25:42.099 --> 00:25:42.679 They want to 00:25:42.679 --> 00:25:44.039 steer the conversation 00:25:44.039 --> 00:25:44.939 away from 00:25:44.939 --> 00:25:45.579 the personal 00:25:45.579 --> 00:25:46.919 and the moral 00:25:46.919 --> 00:25:47.379 to something 00:25:47.379 --> 00:25:47.939 vaguer, 00:25:48.059 --> 00:25:48.759 more abstract. 00:25:50.379 --> 00:25:50.899 The question 00:25:50.899 --> 00:25:51.459 she raises 00:25:51.459 --> 00:25:52.379 is about worship. 00:25:52.500 --> 00:25:52.899 Where should it 00:25:52.899 --> 00:25:53.359 be offered? 00:25:53.559 --> 00:25:54.399 On the temple 00:25:54.399 --> 00:25:55.359 at Mount Gerizim 00:25:55.359 --> 00:25:56.219 in Samaria 00:25:56.219 --> 00:25:57.099 or in the temple 00:25:57.099 --> 00:25:57.719 at Jerusalem 00:25:57.719 --> 00:25:58.379 in Israel? 00:25:58.799 --> 00:25:59.639 Who is right? 00:25:59.699 --> 00:26:00.379 The Samaritans 00:26:00.379 --> 00:26:01.099 are the Jews. 00:26:02.559 --> 00:26:03.279 And Jesus says, 00:26:03.379 --> 00:26:04.240 Woman, believe me, 00:26:04.339 --> 00:26:05.159 the hour is coming 00:26:05.159 --> 00:26:06.359 when neither 00:26:06.359 --> 00:26:07.779 on this mountain 00:26:07.779 --> 00:26:09.439 nor in Jerusalem 00:26:09.439 --> 00:26:10.199 will you worship 00:26:10.199 --> 00:26:10.719 the Father. 00:26:11.439 --> 00:26:11.939 You worship 00:26:11.939 --> 00:26:12.899 what you do not know. 00:26:13.000 --> 00:26:13.399 We worship 00:26:13.399 --> 00:26:14.059 what we know. 00:26:14.319 --> 00:26:15.000 Salvation is 00:26:15.000 --> 00:26:15.599 from the Jews. 00:26:15.879 --> 00:26:16.759 The hour is coming 00:26:16.759 --> 00:26:17.859 and is now here 00:26:17.859 --> 00:26:19.979 when true worshipers 00:26:19.979 --> 00:26:21.099 will worship 00:26:21.099 --> 00:26:21.759 the Father 00:26:21.759 --> 00:26:22.659 in spirit 00:26:22.659 --> 00:26:23.339 and truth. 00:26:24.059 --> 00:26:24.679 For the Father 00:26:24.679 --> 00:26:25.159 is seeking 00:26:25.160 --> 00:26:25.840 such people 00:26:25.840 --> 00:26:26.580 to worship Him. 00:26:26.800 --> 00:26:27.500 God is spirit. 00:26:28.500 --> 00:26:29.400 Those who worship Him 00:26:29.400 --> 00:26:30.259 must worship 00:26:30.259 --> 00:26:30.779 in spirit 00:26:30.779 --> 00:26:31.820 and in truth. 00:26:33.740 --> 00:26:34.140 And Jesus 00:26:34.140 --> 00:26:35.360 points out to her 00:26:35.360 --> 00:26:36.720 that the time 00:26:36.720 --> 00:26:37.460 is now at hand. 00:26:38.660 --> 00:26:39.380 There will be 00:26:39.380 --> 00:26:40.220 no longer 00:26:40.220 --> 00:26:40.680 any need 00:26:40.680 --> 00:26:41.800 of a physical temple 00:26:41.800 --> 00:26:44.120 to have access 00:26:44.120 --> 00:26:44.779 to God 00:26:44.779 --> 00:26:46.279 because Jesus 00:26:46.279 --> 00:26:46.759 Himself 00:26:46.759 --> 00:26:48.000 is the true temple 00:26:48.000 --> 00:26:49.120 of the living God. 00:26:49.200 --> 00:26:50.040 It's in Him 00:26:50.040 --> 00:26:51.240 and through Him 00:26:51.240 --> 00:26:52.360 that men and women 00:26:52.360 --> 00:26:53.220 will connect 00:26:53.220 --> 00:26:53.920 with God. 00:26:53.920 --> 00:26:55.680 worship is not 00:26:55.680 --> 00:26:56.420 so much about 00:26:56.420 --> 00:26:57.039 a place 00:26:57.039 --> 00:26:57.860 as it is 00:26:57.860 --> 00:26:59.080 about a person. 00:26:59.440 --> 00:27:00.160 Salvation is 00:27:00.160 --> 00:27:01.019 from the Jews 00:27:01.019 --> 00:27:02.539 but it's not only 00:27:02.539 --> 00:27:03.160 for them. 00:27:03.920 --> 00:27:05.400 It's for the whole world. 00:27:06.519 --> 00:27:08.060 Jews and Samaritans, 00:27:08.340 --> 00:27:09.000 Gentiles, 00:27:09.380 --> 00:27:10.160 all who come 00:27:10.160 --> 00:27:11.039 to faith in Jesus. 00:27:12.539 --> 00:27:13.360 And this woman 00:27:13.360 --> 00:27:14.340 is a great example 00:27:14.340 --> 00:27:14.800 of someone 00:27:14.800 --> 00:27:15.380 who has spent 00:27:15.380 --> 00:27:16.080 their life 00:27:16.080 --> 00:27:16.920 worshiping 00:27:16.920 --> 00:27:18.180 at the wrong altar. 00:27:18.180 --> 00:27:20.279 we're all 00:27:20.279 --> 00:27:20.940 worshipers. 00:27:21.720 --> 00:27:22.480 We're all 00:27:22.480 --> 00:27:23.240 bowing down 00:27:23.240 --> 00:27:24.100 before something. 00:27:25.000 --> 00:27:26.060 Everyone worships. 00:27:26.180 --> 00:27:27.360 Everyone trusts 00:27:27.360 --> 00:27:28.140 in something. 00:27:28.539 --> 00:27:29.340 Everyone bases 00:27:29.340 --> 00:27:30.060 their life 00:27:30.060 --> 00:27:30.880 on something 00:27:30.880 --> 00:27:32.200 that requires faith. 00:27:34.720 --> 00:27:35.519 The writer, 00:27:35.680 --> 00:27:36.360 I quoted this 00:27:36.360 --> 00:27:37.340 a few weeks ago 00:27:37.340 --> 00:27:37.900 in the evening, 00:27:38.860 --> 00:27:40.240 a post-mortem novelist, 00:27:40.299 --> 00:27:41.380 David Foster Wallace 00:27:41.380 --> 00:27:42.259 once wrote this, 00:27:42.259 --> 00:27:43.720 if you worship 00:27:43.720 --> 00:27:44.900 money and things, 00:27:45.799 --> 00:27:46.460 if they are 00:27:46.460 --> 00:27:47.359 where you tap 00:27:47.359 --> 00:27:48.500 real meaning in life, 00:27:48.900 --> 00:27:49.480 then you will 00:27:49.480 --> 00:27:50.319 never have enough. 00:27:50.839 --> 00:27:51.480 Worship your own 00:27:51.480 --> 00:27:52.319 body and beauty 00:27:52.319 --> 00:27:53.339 and sexual allure, 00:27:53.619 --> 00:27:54.279 you will always 00:27:54.279 --> 00:27:55.519 feel ugly. 00:27:56.299 --> 00:27:57.019 Worship power 00:27:57.019 --> 00:27:57.759 and you'll end up 00:27:57.759 --> 00:27:58.379 feeling weak. 00:27:58.740 --> 00:27:59.740 Worship your intellect, 00:27:59.920 --> 00:28:00.920 being seen as smart, 00:28:01.180 --> 00:28:01.660 you'll end up 00:28:01.660 --> 00:28:02.379 feeling stupid. 00:28:02.960 --> 00:28:03.539 A fraud, 00:28:04.180 --> 00:28:05.180 always on the verge 00:28:05.180 --> 00:28:06.680 of being found out. 00:28:08.480 --> 00:28:09.700 Whatever you worship, 00:28:10.240 --> 00:28:10.980 if it is not 00:28:10.980 --> 00:28:11.920 Jesus Christ, 00:28:11.920 --> 00:28:13.680 it's going to 00:28:13.680 --> 00:28:14.440 disappoint you. 00:28:15.400 --> 00:28:16.400 This woman's need 00:28:16.400 --> 00:28:17.580 for a man in her life 00:28:17.580 --> 00:28:18.980 was really destroying her. 00:28:20.220 --> 00:28:20.539 I wonder, 00:28:20.660 --> 00:28:21.900 what are you looking to 00:28:21.900 --> 00:28:23.080 to complete your life? 00:28:24.060 --> 00:28:25.039 If it is not 00:28:25.039 --> 00:28:26.000 Jesus Christ, 00:28:26.560 --> 00:28:27.800 it will eventually 00:28:27.800 --> 00:28:28.880 betray you 00:28:28.880 --> 00:28:29.960 and leave you 00:28:29.960 --> 00:28:30.920 disillusioned. 00:28:31.640 --> 00:28:32.600 It will leave you 00:28:32.600 --> 00:28:33.240 empty. 00:28:34.519 --> 00:28:36.220 How important it is 00:28:36.220 --> 00:28:37.320 to understand this. 00:28:38.100 --> 00:28:39.180 If God is going 00:28:39.180 --> 00:28:40.080 to do a work 00:28:40.080 --> 00:28:40.940 in our lives, 00:28:40.940 --> 00:28:42.039 our idols 00:28:42.039 --> 00:28:43.799 need to be exposed. 00:28:45.160 --> 00:28:46.340 It's not a painless 00:28:46.340 --> 00:28:47.259 experience. 00:28:48.080 --> 00:28:49.180 But it's only then 00:28:49.180 --> 00:28:50.279 that we can become 00:28:50.279 --> 00:28:51.680 worshipers of the Father 00:28:51.680 --> 00:28:53.059 in spirit and truth. 00:28:54.279 --> 00:28:54.980 What are you 00:28:54.980 --> 00:28:55.559 worshiping? 00:28:56.860 --> 00:28:57.620 If it is not 00:28:57.620 --> 00:28:58.420 Jesus Christ 00:28:58.420 --> 00:28:59.279 and the life-giving 00:28:59.279 --> 00:29:00.440 water He brings, 00:29:00.920 --> 00:29:01.980 then it is simply 00:29:01.980 --> 00:29:03.100 a broken system. 00:29:03.099 --> 00:29:06.679 a work of divine 00:29:06.679 --> 00:29:07.339 instigation, 00:29:07.559 --> 00:29:08.439 divine revelation, 00:29:08.699 --> 00:29:09.639 divine conviction, 00:29:09.939 --> 00:29:11.259 finally here and quickly, 00:29:11.959 --> 00:29:12.799 a work of divine 00:29:12.799 --> 00:29:13.740 transformation. 00:29:14.480 --> 00:29:16.899 Verses 25 to 29, 00:29:17.399 --> 00:29:18.359 the woman said to Him, 00:29:18.399 --> 00:29:20.000 I know that Messiah 00:29:20.000 --> 00:29:20.659 is coming, 00:29:20.959 --> 00:29:21.799 called the Christ. 00:29:21.919 --> 00:29:22.519 When He comes, 00:29:22.740 --> 00:29:23.319 He will tell us 00:29:23.319 --> 00:29:23.980 all things. 00:29:24.419 --> 00:29:25.359 Jesus said to her, 00:29:25.459 --> 00:29:26.659 I who speak to you 00:29:26.659 --> 00:29:27.519 am He. 00:29:27.859 --> 00:29:28.319 Literally, 00:29:28.539 --> 00:29:29.179 Jesus says, 00:29:29.379 --> 00:29:30.719 I who speak to you, 00:29:30.720 --> 00:29:31.460 I am. 00:29:34.500 --> 00:29:35.740 It may not be 00:29:35.740 --> 00:29:36.779 a theologically 00:29:36.779 --> 00:29:38.180 loaded response here, 00:29:38.500 --> 00:29:39.620 but it's hard not 00:29:39.620 --> 00:29:40.279 to be aware 00:29:40.279 --> 00:29:41.019 that this is how 00:29:41.019 --> 00:29:42.160 Jesus speaks of Himself 00:29:42.160 --> 00:29:43.279 all the way 00:29:43.279 --> 00:29:44.079 through this gospel. 00:29:45.120 --> 00:29:46.279 Same Greek phrase, 00:29:46.559 --> 00:29:47.039 I am. 00:29:48.620 --> 00:29:49.680 Maybe a reference 00:29:49.680 --> 00:29:51.799 not just to being 00:29:51.799 --> 00:29:52.740 the Christ, 00:29:53.240 --> 00:29:54.299 but to being God. 00:29:54.740 --> 00:29:55.299 I am, 00:29:55.700 --> 00:29:56.220 Jesus says, 00:29:56.259 --> 00:29:57.079 the bread of life. 00:29:57.299 --> 00:29:58.240 I am the way 00:29:58.240 --> 00:29:58.720 and the truth 00:29:58.720 --> 00:29:59.200 and the life. 00:29:59.200 --> 00:30:00.559 I am the resurrection 00:30:00.559 --> 00:30:01.140 and the life. 00:30:01.340 --> 00:30:02.420 I am the true vine. 00:30:02.600 --> 00:30:03.720 I am the good shepherd. 00:30:05.940 --> 00:30:06.380 You see, 00:30:06.460 --> 00:30:07.120 in a sense, 00:30:07.240 --> 00:30:08.279 Jesus is the man 00:30:08.279 --> 00:30:08.960 that she has been 00:30:08.960 --> 00:30:09.920 searching for 00:30:09.920 --> 00:30:10.720 all her life. 00:30:11.440 --> 00:30:12.340 This whole passage 00:30:12.340 --> 00:30:13.759 has powerful echoes 00:30:13.759 --> 00:30:15.279 of these Old Testament 00:30:15.279 --> 00:30:16.960 well encounters 00:30:16.960 --> 00:30:18.440 where a bride 00:30:18.440 --> 00:30:19.140 is wooed 00:30:19.140 --> 00:30:20.960 by or for her husband. 00:30:21.200 --> 00:30:22.600 And this woman here, 00:30:22.680 --> 00:30:23.759 she had had six men. 00:30:23.819 --> 00:30:25.279 Now Jesus is the seventh 00:30:25.279 --> 00:30:26.220 and the last. 00:30:27.120 --> 00:30:27.840 He is the one 00:30:27.839 --> 00:30:28.839 who will lay down 00:30:28.839 --> 00:30:29.859 his life for her. 00:30:30.199 --> 00:30:30.980 Here is Jesus 00:30:30.980 --> 00:30:33.099 making this Samaritan woman 00:30:33.099 --> 00:30:34.379 part of His bride 00:30:34.379 --> 00:30:35.799 and part of His church. 00:30:37.319 --> 00:30:38.059 And it says, 00:30:38.179 --> 00:30:39.599 Jesus reveals Himself 00:30:39.599 --> 00:30:41.079 that this woman's life 00:30:41.079 --> 00:30:41.959 has changed. 00:30:42.679 --> 00:30:43.879 That is always the case. 00:30:43.980 --> 00:30:45.279 It's as we come to see 00:30:45.279 --> 00:30:46.619 who Jesus really is 00:30:46.619 --> 00:30:48.220 in all His divine glory 00:30:48.220 --> 00:30:49.019 and majesty 00:30:49.019 --> 00:30:50.919 and in all His wonderful grace 00:30:50.919 --> 00:30:51.639 and love 00:30:51.639 --> 00:30:53.079 that we are drawn 00:30:53.079 --> 00:30:54.240 to fall at His feet 00:30:54.240 --> 00:30:55.259 and worship Him. 00:30:55.259 --> 00:30:57.400 And this woman's need 00:30:57.400 --> 00:30:57.980 like ours 00:30:57.980 --> 00:30:58.900 was not for some 00:30:58.900 --> 00:31:00.039 good advice, 00:31:00.359 --> 00:31:01.799 some new religious ritual, 00:31:01.940 --> 00:31:03.379 some spiritual techniques, 00:31:03.759 --> 00:31:05.599 but for a relationship 00:31:05.599 --> 00:31:06.720 with the living God, 00:31:06.859 --> 00:31:07.559 a relationship 00:31:07.559 --> 00:31:08.339 with Jesus, 00:31:09.339 --> 00:31:11.700 a relationship 00:31:11.700 --> 00:31:12.900 with the Savior 00:31:12.900 --> 00:31:13.579 of the world, 00:31:14.960 --> 00:31:15.779 a relationship 00:31:15.779 --> 00:31:16.619 with Jesus 00:31:16.619 --> 00:31:18.079 full of grace 00:31:18.079 --> 00:31:19.160 and truth. 00:31:19.160 --> 00:31:19.300 life. 00:31:20.500 --> 00:31:22.220 And we don't have time 00:31:22.220 --> 00:31:23.000 to look at the whole 00:31:23.000 --> 00:31:24.720 rest of the chapter, 00:31:25.720 --> 00:31:27.900 but there's a profound change 00:31:27.900 --> 00:31:28.680 that takes place 00:31:28.680 --> 00:31:29.380 in her life. 00:31:30.160 --> 00:31:30.740 She becomes 00:31:30.740 --> 00:31:31.700 a true worshiper. 00:31:32.460 --> 00:31:33.680 She runs into the town 00:31:33.680 --> 00:31:34.460 to tell others 00:31:34.460 --> 00:31:35.940 and to bear testimony 00:31:35.940 --> 00:31:36.720 to Jesus. 00:31:37.460 --> 00:31:38.519 And her witness, 00:31:38.759 --> 00:31:39.440 as we discover 00:31:39.440 --> 00:31:40.380 later in the chapter, 00:31:40.480 --> 00:31:42.019 has a profound effect 00:31:42.019 --> 00:31:42.620 on the people. 00:31:43.580 --> 00:31:45.000 Her transformed life 00:31:45.000 --> 00:31:46.000 bears witness 00:31:46.000 --> 00:31:47.700 to the power of Jesus. 00:31:47.700 --> 00:31:47.940 Jesus. 00:31:48.460 --> 00:31:49.140 Bruce Millen, 00:31:49.319 --> 00:31:51.019 in his Bible Speaks Today, 00:31:51.120 --> 00:31:51.519 commentary, 00:31:51.960 --> 00:31:52.460 comments, 00:31:53.340 --> 00:31:54.299 there are no more 00:31:54.299 --> 00:31:56.100 attractive evangelists 00:31:56.100 --> 00:31:57.700 than those 00:31:57.700 --> 00:31:58.900 who have newly 00:31:58.900 --> 00:31:59.860 discovered Jesus. 00:32:02.519 --> 00:32:04.039 The disciples come back. 00:32:04.160 --> 00:32:04.920 They marveled 00:32:04.920 --> 00:32:05.580 that He was talking 00:32:05.580 --> 00:32:06.100 with a woman. 00:32:06.240 --> 00:32:06.900 No one said, 00:32:07.039 --> 00:32:07.759 what do you seek? 00:32:07.799 --> 00:32:08.420 Why are you talking 00:32:08.420 --> 00:32:08.860 with her? 00:32:09.080 --> 00:32:09.860 The woman left 00:32:09.860 --> 00:32:10.740 her water jar 00:32:10.740 --> 00:32:11.580 and went away 00:32:11.580 --> 00:32:12.100 into town 00:32:12.100 --> 00:32:13.080 and said to the people, 00:32:13.519 --> 00:32:14.759 come see a man 00:32:14.759 --> 00:32:15.340 who told me 00:32:15.340 --> 00:32:16.360 all that I ever did. 00:32:16.359 --> 00:32:18.279 can this be the Christ? 00:32:20.319 --> 00:32:21.199 It's an interesting 00:32:21.199 --> 00:32:23.079 little observation. 00:32:24.379 --> 00:32:25.179 John says 00:32:25.179 --> 00:32:25.939 that the woman 00:32:25.939 --> 00:32:28.819 left her water jar. 00:32:29.819 --> 00:32:31.259 She left the symbol 00:32:31.259 --> 00:32:33.159 of her empty life 00:32:33.159 --> 00:32:34.679 at the feet of Jesus. 00:32:35.639 --> 00:32:36.919 For she had received 00:32:36.919 --> 00:32:37.679 the living water. 00:32:38.779 --> 00:32:39.299 She had found 00:32:39.299 --> 00:32:40.219 the one person 00:32:40.219 --> 00:32:41.139 in the world 00:32:41.139 --> 00:32:43.240 who could complete her. 00:32:43.240 --> 00:32:45.000 and her life 00:32:45.000 --> 00:32:45.519 would never be 00:32:45.519 --> 00:32:46.279 the same again. 00:32:47.279 --> 00:32:48.519 Her empty life, 00:32:48.660 --> 00:32:50.200 like the empty water jar, 00:32:50.980 --> 00:32:51.920 was left 00:32:51.920 --> 00:32:53.660 at Jesus' feet. 00:32:55.480 --> 00:32:56.759 This poor Samaritan woman 00:32:56.759 --> 00:32:57.579 with her empty, 00:32:57.759 --> 00:32:58.460 broken life 00:32:58.460 --> 00:33:00.240 utterly changed 00:33:00.240 --> 00:33:01.200 and transformed. 00:33:02.259 --> 00:33:03.299 And such is 00:33:03.299 --> 00:33:04.140 that transformation, 00:33:04.539 --> 00:33:05.539 we can almost imagine 00:33:05.539 --> 00:33:06.480 her taking 00:33:06.480 --> 00:33:07.440 to her lips 00:33:07.440 --> 00:33:08.740 those famous words 00:33:08.740 --> 00:33:10.140 of Horatius Bonner 00:33:10.140 --> 00:33:11.259 with which we opened 00:33:11.259 --> 00:33:12.299 our service this morning. 00:33:12.299 --> 00:33:13.879 I came to Jesus 00:33:13.879 --> 00:33:15.099 and I drank 00:33:15.099 --> 00:33:17.180 of that life-giving stream. 00:33:17.639 --> 00:33:19.259 My thirst was quenched, 00:33:19.359 --> 00:33:20.700 my soul revived, 00:33:20.899 --> 00:33:21.539 and now 00:33:21.539 --> 00:33:22.319 I live 00:33:22.319 --> 00:33:23.119 in Him. 00:33:25.319 --> 00:33:26.220 What about 00:33:26.220 --> 00:33:26.899 your life 00:33:26.899 --> 00:33:27.480 this morning? 00:33:28.460 --> 00:33:29.059 Who or what 00:33:29.059 --> 00:33:29.779 are you really 00:33:29.779 --> 00:33:30.599 living for? 00:33:32.059 --> 00:33:33.059 Whatever it is, 00:33:33.159 --> 00:33:34.759 lay it down 00:33:34.759 --> 00:33:35.720 at Jesus' feet 00:33:35.720 --> 00:33:37.620 and discover 00:33:37.620 --> 00:33:38.519 for yourself 00:33:38.519 --> 00:33:40.940 that life-giving water 00:33:40.940 --> 00:33:41.600 that only 00:33:41.600 --> 00:33:43.100 He can give. 00:33:43.740 --> 00:33:44.900 Bring your broken life 00:33:44.900 --> 00:33:45.440 to Jesus. 00:33:46.980 --> 00:33:47.519 For Douglas 00:33:47.519 --> 00:33:48.700 Copeland was wrong. 00:33:49.980 --> 00:33:50.940 It can be fixed. 00:33:51.180 --> 00:33:52.140 It can be restored. 00:33:52.799 --> 00:33:53.960 It can be mended. 00:33:54.519 --> 00:33:55.720 It can be filled. 00:33:55.720 --> 00:33:58.420 Are you thirsty? 00:33:58.640 --> 00:33:59.460 Are you empty? 00:34:00.200 --> 00:34:00.940 Come and drink 00:34:00.940 --> 00:34:02.079 these living waters. 00:34:02.880 --> 00:34:03.799 Tired and broken, 00:34:04.019 --> 00:34:04.980 peace unspoken, 00:34:05.400 --> 00:34:06.200 rest beside 00:34:06.200 --> 00:34:07.539 these living waters. 00:34:08.199 --> 00:34:09.179 Christ is calling, 00:34:09.519 --> 00:34:10.480 find refreshing 00:34:10.480 --> 00:34:11.900 at the cross 00:34:11.900 --> 00:34:12.880 of living waters. 00:34:14.179 --> 00:34:15.300 Lay your life down, 00:34:16.000 --> 00:34:17.240 all the old gone. 00:34:18.019 --> 00:34:18.619 Rise up 00:34:18.619 --> 00:34:20.619 in these living waters. 00:34:20.619 --> 00:34:23.639 Come to Jesus Christ. 00:34:24.539 --> 00:34:25.019 Drink 00:34:25.019 --> 00:34:26.619 of the life-giving 00:34:26.619 --> 00:34:27.339 waters. 00:34:28.179 --> 00:34:29.119 Come and discover 00:34:29.119 --> 00:34:29.920 for yourself 00:34:29.920 --> 00:34:32.000 like the woman 00:34:32.000 --> 00:34:32.639 of Samaria 00:34:32.639 --> 00:34:34.679 a new life 00:34:34.679 --> 00:34:35.739 in Him. 00:34:36.319 --> 00:34:36.920 Let's pray. 00:34:39.000 --> 00:34:40.019 Almighty God, 00:34:40.099 --> 00:34:40.799 we thank You 00:34:40.799 --> 00:34:41.639 and praise You 00:34:41.639 --> 00:34:42.339 for Your goodness 00:34:42.339 --> 00:34:43.099 and grace 00:34:43.099 --> 00:34:43.960 towards us 00:34:43.960 --> 00:34:44.900 in Your Son, 00:34:45.500 --> 00:34:46.819 our Lord Jesus Christ. 00:34:47.500 --> 00:34:48.299 We thank You 00:34:48.299 --> 00:34:49.119 that He is 00:34:49.119 --> 00:34:51.559 the living waters. 00:34:52.480 --> 00:34:52.819 Lord, 00:34:52.900 --> 00:34:54.019 may we come to Him 00:34:54.019 --> 00:34:54.619 this morning 00:34:54.619 --> 00:34:56.359 and indeed every day 00:34:56.359 --> 00:34:57.679 and drink from Him. 00:34:58.920 --> 00:34:59.599 May we know 00:34:59.599 --> 00:35:00.099 what it is 00:35:00.099 --> 00:35:02.440 to have our souls 00:35:02.440 --> 00:35:04.039 filled 00:35:04.039 --> 00:35:05.659 and satisfied 00:35:05.659 --> 00:35:07.339 not with the 00:35:07.339 --> 00:35:08.839 empty things 00:35:08.839 --> 00:35:09.440 of this world 00:35:09.440 --> 00:35:10.219 and this life 00:35:10.219 --> 00:35:12.039 but with 00:35:12.039 --> 00:35:13.420 the Lord Jesus Christ 00:35:13.420 --> 00:35:14.139 Himself. 00:35:15.079 --> 00:35:15.619 And we pray 00:35:15.619 --> 00:35:16.059 these things 00:35:16.059 --> 00:35:16.679 in His name. 00:35:17.319 --> 00:35:17.719 Amen.