The Gospel of John (11-11-12)
Lesson 10 – John 4:1-30
Chapter 4
The Lord knowing that the Pharisees had taken notice of His
ministry for the wrong reason departs from Judea and travels to Galilee. The
Pharisees were no real friend to John the Baptist in reality only tolerating
John’s message and ministry because of the people. Now that the Christ that
John spoke of had arrived, and seeing Jesus’ ministry considerably expand the
base of this movement they now considered Jesus a threat to the status quo.
In going from Jerusalem or Judea to Galilee there was only
one direct route and that was through Samaria. It was customary for the Jews to
avoided Samaria altogether taking a longer route first crossing over the Jordan
River and traveling northward east of the Jordan up to Galilee. However, for
whatever reason Jesus chose the most direct route taking Him through Samaria on
His way to His destination.
One could argue the reasons that Jesus chose the most direct
route on this trip. Some would argue that there was no other way but to take
the road that led through Samaria. Others may argue that He chose this route on
purpose knowing the encounter that was waiting for Him at the water hole.
However, the text does not tell us for sure His reasoning. What we do know is
that there was someone waiting for Him when He got there.
Samaria was an interesting mix of background and history
that adds some interesting dynamics to this passage and this encounter. To the
Jews the Samaritans were considered half breeds because they were not full
blooded Jews having Gentile blood as part of their ancestry. The Samaritans
were descendents of Jewish colonists that had been planted by the Assyrians
following the fall of the Northern Kingdom of Israel in 722 BC. Because of this
the Jews considered Samaritans unclean and avoided them pretty much like the
plague. If they happened to encounter them they would go to great lengths to go
out of their way to avoid having any contact with them. So, if for some obscure
reason the Jews had to take the road through Samaria they would certainly go
out of their way to avoid any contact with them, especially avoiding any
conversation with them.
Another interesting part of this region was that the
patriarchs of the OT had traveled this region and like the Jews, the Samaritans
claimed connection to them. Some of their connection to the OT patriarchs was
justified the Samaritans having some Jewish blood in them. However, having also
Gentile blood in them they also had connection to a Gentile past and in
combining the two not only did their heritage get a little mixed up, but so
also did their religious practices and beliefs. As we will see in a minute
Jesus will spend some time attempting to straighten out some of the Samaritan
woman’s mixed up beliefs.
An interesting dynamic in this passage was that Jesus
actually talked with the woman at all given the circumstances. Having a
conversation with a woman at the watering hole at this time of day would not
have been looked upon very favorable in that day, especially a woman that was a
Samaritan. We read this recorded in Jn. 4:27 where His disciples were perplexed
upon returning from getting food finding Him at the well talking to her. A
woman coming to the watering hole at this time of day would have been most
likely an outcast coming to the well at the heat of the day when everyone else
would be laying low due to the heat. We know that this was the case because we
find out later after Jesus’ inquisition that she had had at least five husbands
and at the present was living with one that at that time was not her husband. Jn.
4:17-8
However, knowing all of this Jesus still encounters the
woman asking her for a drink of water v. 7 striking up a conversation with her
that eventually leads to her apparent conversion. In v. 7 we see Jesus asking
her for a drink. In v. 9 we see her reply to Jesus’ request stating everything
to Him that we just discussed. She states that she is perplexed and puzzled
that He being a Jew would even make such a request to her she being a Samaritan
and a woman at that. She was well aware of how Jews treated Samaritans. They
would usually not have even recognized their presence. However, in Jesus taking
the initiative and striking up this conversation with her Jesus had been kind
to her and she responded inquisitively to His request.
Jesus responds in v. 10 with further kindness to her by
instead of receiving the drink that He had requested He offered her a drink of
His Living Water instead. Like Nicodemus in chapter 3 she does not make the
spiritual connection to His offer at first. She states physical or earthly
reasons why He cannot make good on His offer, like Him having nothing to draw
from the well with and the well being too deep to get the water any other way.
However, she seems to understand that this water that Jesus
offers her is somehow special and has greater properties and possibilities than
the water and the source of the water that she is use to. In v. 12 she states
the dependability of the source that she has been use to and that it has
produced consistently for hundreds of years sighting that even Jacob drank from
this well. Water was life to a region like this and was not to be taken
lightly. A dependable water source was hard to come by. Her question to Him
asking Him if He was greater than Jacob was appropriate. Even though it took
effort to get the water from this source it was dependable. However, she
understood that what Jesus was offering her was a step up from what she was use
to. However, she could not see how He was going to make good on His offer.
In v. 13 and 14 Jesus clarifies His offer. He uses the term
water, but in actuality He was not offering to her physical water. His offer
was the life that water offers and gives. The offer of life… that was His offer
to her. Life that kept giving and giving… never having to be replenished or
renewed. She was smart. She saw the practical value of this valuable commodity.
She wanted to believe Him. She wanted what He had said He could provide. But,
there were still some questions that had to be answered. There were some
details to be worked out in the deal.
Jesus must have been believable in His presentation because
in v. 15 she demonstrates her belief by asking Him for this water beginning to
believe that He may actually be able to deliver on His offer. This was the
beginning of her faith in Jesus. In v. 16-8 Jesus begins to lay out the terms.
He asks her to go and get her husband. In her reply to His request she does not
come clean not offering to Him the details related to His request. She had
learned how to avoid the unpleasantries of life burying them instead of being
up front about them because they were too painful to admit openly. After all,
over time she had learned how to navigate life in what in reality could be
termed as survival mode skirting around the gray or even black issues of life,
making life work the best she knew how in spite of the social obstacles.
Jesus’ offer was an answer so to speak for one of her
uncomfortable parts of life. Because of her life style she was forced to come
to get a necessity of life (water) at a very inconvenient and emotionally
embarrassing time. But, Jesus’ offer came with strings. Would she be able to
face the sticker price? Yes Jesus had offered to her Living Water, and yes He
offered her this Living Water for free, but it would do her no good if she did
not make some changes in her life. You see, this Living Water that was offered
to her was only beneficial to someone that was willing to apply it in the right
way making it beneficial to their life.
Living water or no living water, continuing to live the same
old way as one did before receiving Living Water in reality offered little to
no benefit. In receiving Living Water, or eternal life, it comes with an
accompanying owners and user’s manual containing related and associated
instructions. Life was not meant to be used the way she was using it. In vs.
16-8 Jesus made a point of pointing out and clarifying the difference between
just plain water and Living Water. As we will see in many of Jesus’ encounters
in which He shares the message of the Kingdom and eternal life with He will
make it clear and will point out man’s sin problem in living life without
Christ. Jesus did not come to patch her up, but to heal her.
In response to Jesus’ words in vs. 16-8 she tells Him in v.
19 that she perceives that He might have something and that maybe she should
listen a little closer to what He is saying to her. She has now come to the
point of calling Him a prophet, or in other words someone she should pay
attention to. In vs. 20-6 Jesus and the woman begin to have a serious spiritual
conversation. However, the reality of how this spiritually really works is a
little one sided. From her perspective and understanding she really did not
know much, only bits and pieces that she had picked up along the way that in
actuality really only amounted to here say which did not have any real
substantial truth associated with it.
She had her opinions as to how this spiritual part of life
worked. And, from her vantage and viewpoint her views were as good as the next
guys, maybe even better. But in the next few verses Jesus begins to share with
her the realities of how God sees it and the truth of how it really is. These
are truths that are necessary for man to deal with and receive if he, or she,
is going to be able to bring down the barrier between God and man and bridge
the gap of the spirit world to God reestablishing fellowship with Him.
This dialog is the same exact dialog that we would have in
sharing with those in our current culture. The woman talked about so called
spiritual things and awareness, but in reality the so called knowledge that she
held was of little real benefit to her, in this life and from an eternal
perspective. And, in v. 22 being up front with her Jesus tells her just how it
is sharing with her the real truth.
In v. 20 the woman reveals what she has been taught and has
picked up along the way, but admits that she questions inside herself what is
really true. In the next few verses Jesus tactfully, but clearly tells her the
narrow truth telling her in reality there is only one way and that the way to
God is not a composite and collage or combination of men’s thoughts and ideas.
This right here is the watershed as to whether or not someone is actually
looking for the truth. When confronted in the right way with the truth one will
either continue the dialog with sincere concerns or questions, or they will
turn away denying the truth attempting to justify their life without God. This
is where the Pharisees turned against Jesus and the rich young ruler turned and
walked away. But, the woman at the well was looking for truth and continued the
dialog.
In v. 22 Jesus confronts her with the reality that the truth
is actually found in a culture that her people are not on the best of terms
with. This by itself would turn someone away who is not actually seeking out
truth. But, this does not detour this woman. In v. 25 she continues to probe
for more answers. In vs. 21-4 Jesus shares with her some truths that even the
Jewish religious leaders would not receive and could not understand sharing
with her the concept and possibility of having an intimate and personal
relationship with God.
In v. 25 she asks the next right question for someone
seeking the truth asking about the Messiah. I wish I could have been there to
see the look on her face when Jesus told her that He was that Messiah. Just
then Jesus’ disciples come back from town and the woman leaves leaving her
waterpot behind. She had all the answers that she needed now to believe. She
had made her decision. In v. 29 we see that she had received the Gospel message
and had already begun to share that message with a lost world, beginning with
her town, bring those who needed the Savior personally back to Him.
No comments:
Post a Comment