The Main Thing

Tony Gulbrandsen

The Gospel of John • Sermon • Submitted 7 years ago

John 4:1–42

Salvation

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Through Jesus discussion with the woman at the well, we see that God saves sinners

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John 4:1–42 ESV

Now when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John (although Jesus himself did not baptize, but only his disciples), he left Judea and departed again for Galilee. And he had to pass through Samaria. So he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there; so Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well. It was about the sixth hour. A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” (For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” The woman said to him, “Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.” Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.” Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.” The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.” The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.” Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things.” Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he.” Just then his disciples came back. They marveled that he was talking with a woman, but no one said, “What do you seek?” or, “Why are you talking with her?” So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people, “Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?” They went out of the town and were coming to him. Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.” But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” So the disciples said to one another, “Has anyone brought him something to eat?” Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest. Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.” Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me all that I ever did.” So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. And many more believed because of his word. They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.”

and PRAY…

The Main Thing

and PRAY…

In 1993, a man by the name of T.F. Tenney published a book. Now, I have not read the book, so please do not take this as either an endorsement, nor a warning. I can honestly say I have no idea what’s in the book. Now, you are probably asking, why is he telling us about a book that he knows nothing about? Well, I know one thing about this book, the title. And the title is what I want us to think about as we work through this rather long account from the Gospel of John. The title of T.F. Tenney’s book is The Main Thing … is to Keep the Main Thing the Main Thing.

You see, there are tangents, or rabbit trails, that could be chased from almost every verse that I read a moment ago. Yet, I don’t believe the Holy Spirit inspired the Apostle John to write a story that had 40 different thoughts to be chased. Not that those thoughts are trivial, they just don’t really have a basis in this text. So, I’m going to tell you the main thing before I even get into the meat of this sermon, then I will attempt to show you how every detail of this story applies to the main thing, and then I will tell you how the main thing should apply to your life. In other words, I am going to work at keeping the main thing, the main thing. So, the main thing about this story is this, God saves sinners.

Before we dive into the story, let me remind you of the context of this book. The Gospel according to John is unique among the Gospels as it does not even claim to lay out the events of Jesus life in order. Matthew, Mark, and Luke all do that. But John is writing to convince his readers. - but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. The whole point of the book is so we can know that this Jesus is the Christ, the promised hope of Israel. That He is the Son of God, and that we might have life by believing those things about Him. So, every story, every passage is intended to show us how Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God and that by believing that we can have life. This familiar story of the woman at the well shows us that as the Christ, Jesus offers life to those who believe. Or, that God saves sinners. Let’s take a closer look at the verses I read a moment ago.

John 3:1–6 ESV

Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

1. Jesus goes

1.1. In the context of keeping the main thing, the main thing, Jesus goes to where He knows He will meet someone. The comment about Him being weary from the journey is not a mistake. Being fully man, Jesus was tired. But being fully God, Jesus knew He was going to a meeting. So, Jesus sits down by a well outside of the city of Samaria to rest from the journey around noon.

John 4:7–9 ESV

A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” (For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.)

2. Jesus engages

2.1. It should go without saying, but in our culture, I have to show you. The main thing is that God saves sinners. In the book of Romans, Paul makes it clear that God saves sinners through the spoken word. And that means that we have to talk to people. Jesus gives us a perfect example of this here. He is tired, and probably thirsty also. So when she comes to draw water from the well, Jesus asks her for a drink.

2.2. She simply asks Jesus why He would ask her for anything. She is a Samaritan, the race hated by the Jews and a woman, in those days, a second-class citizen. In other words, to a Jewish man, she would be a nobody and not worth talking to much less asking a favor of. She is giving Jesus every reason to walk away from the conversation.

John 4:10–15 ESV

Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” The woman said to him, “Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.” Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.”

3. Jesus goes deeper

3.1. Instead of walking away, Jesus tells her that He is more than just some random Jewish man sitting by a well. He has living water. And if she would just ask, she could have it. Of course, Jesus is not talking about some special formulation of H2O. The water He is talking about is the water of life. It is, perhaps, the same water He was talking about in - Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. She needed the water that led to the kingdom of God. The water that would lead to eternal life. Not a temporary quenching of thirst, but a permanent, eternal solution to a thirst of the soul.

3.2. But she just wants a drink (v. 11). She expects Jesus to give her a magic potion. He will draw the water out of the well and then add something so that it becomes living water. Then she realizes, He can’t draw water from the well. He doesn’t have even the basic implements to get water from the well. So then she wonders if He considers Himself too good to drink from this particular well. Are you greater than Jacob who gave us this well and drank from it?

3.3. Jesus doesn’t take the bait. He lets her know that the water He is talking about can’t come from a well. Because water from a well is only a temporary solution. We know that the human body can survive for about 3 weeks with no food. However, without water, no one has lasted longer than 1 week. Water is essential to every function of our body. We just can’t live without it. But Jesus goes on to say that this living water can sustain forever. In fact, the water Jesus is talking about will become a living spring that continues forever.

3.4. Remember, she went out to the well to get water. It is very likely that she is thirsty. And this man tells her about water that will last forever. What would your response be? She says, “I want that water that will not let me be thirsty ever again.” She still doesn’t get that Jesus isn’t talking about a physical thirst. She wants her thirst quenched. Jesus has begun to go deeper with her, but she doesn’t yet see just how deep Jesus will take her.

John 4:16–20 ESV

Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.” The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.” The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.”

4. Jesus probes

4.1. Jesus tells her to go get her husband. Notice how He completely disregards her question about wanting this eternal water. He just tells her to go get her husband.

4.2. She honestly replies that she doesn’t have a husband.

4.3. Jesus gets right to the point. He agrees with her statement that she does not currently have a husband. And then Jesus goes from informing to meddling. He tells her He knows that she has had 5 husbands, and that she is currently in a relationship with a man who is not her husband. He tells her that He knows she is telling the truth.

4.4. She responds with words that I think are humorous. Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. There is no earthly way Jesus could know what He knows about her. So she calls Him a prophet. But she wants to know what kind of prophet He is, so she asks Him about worship. Where is the right place to worship? In Jerusalem like the Jews say, or here on this mountain like our ancestors say?

John 4:21–26 ESV

Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things.” Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he.”

5. Jesus defines worship

5.1. Jesus tells her that the time has come when WHERE you worship is not important. Rather, it is WHO you worship. In the past, the Samaritans were confused about their worship, but the Jews knew that proper worship was only to be found at the Jerusalem temple. Now, however, the time has come when true worshipers will worship God in spirt and truth. Do you see? God is Spirit and those who worship Him must worship in Spirit AND in truth. You must worship God for who He is, not because of what He will give you. You must worship in the truth of your Creator. You must worship in the Spirit of Him who knows everything there is to know. He must be worshiped in spirit and in truth.

5.2. The woman does not miss the fact that Jesus is completely redefining worship, and probably the prevailing religious thoughts of the day. He is changing everything. So, she surmises, he is not just a prophet. Rather, could he be the promised Messiah, the Christ?

5.3. Jesus confirms that He is indeed the Christ. So, here we have John’s purpose fulfilled. Jesus has said that He is the Christ. He has redefined worship as only the Son of God can. We have to ask the question, do you believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of God?

John 4:27–29 ESV

Just then his disciples came back. They marveled that he was talking with a woman, but no one said, “What do you seek?” or, “Why are you talking with her?” So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people, “Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?”

6. A life transformed

6.1. The disciples come back from town. They see Jesus talking with a woman and while they were confused that He was, no one dared to ask Jesus what He was doing. Nor did they ask her why she was talking to Jesus. They just weren’t sure what was going on.

6.2. She runs back into town. She leaves her water pot which makes us think she must be coming back. She came to the well to drink water. She has been told about the living water. This stranger has redefined worship and claimed to be the Christ. This is just too much to keep to herself, so she runs to town to tell others.

6.3. Those who hear her decide they need to see for themselves. Is the Christ out by the well they all knew? Has the promised hope of Israel come to Samaria? They have to go see.

John 4:31–38 ESV

Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.” But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” So the disciples said to one another, “Has anyone brought him something to eat?” Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest. Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.”

7. Jesus explains

7.1. The disciples were trying to get Jesus to eat, but He said He had food they knew nothing about. So they start to wonder if someone else had given him food.

7.2. Jesus tells them that His food is to do the will of God and to accomplish His work. From the food to the harvest. Jesus is drawing parallels with what they know to explain what is happening in this woman and in those coming out from the city. When you sow the seed and everything works just perfectly, you can expect to begin harvesting in 4 months. But now, look up, the fields are already white for harvest. I didn’t know what that meant until I was pastoring in a farming community. And I was driving to a Bible study one night when I looked out across a field that had been green the week before, but now it was white. I later found out it was a field of oats and when they are ready to be harvested, they turn white.

7.3. Back in verse 30, we saw that the people from the town were coming out to see Jesus. And now He tells His disciples to look at the ripe harvest field coming their way. In a way, Jesus has reaped the harvest field of the woman. She, at least at some level, has believed in Him. Now, look, the town is coming out to meet Him. And the disciples are going to have a chance to tell people about the Messiah, the Son of God. Jesus did the sowing with the woman at the well, but they will all get to participate in the harvest of souls coming to faith. Jesus had begun the work, now they are to continue leading people to Him.

John 4:39–42 ESV

Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me all that I ever did.” So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. And many more believed because of his word. They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.”

8. Many lives transformed

8.1. Many people believed in Jesus because of her testimony. So they asked Jesus to stay so even more people could be taught and believe. So Jesus stayed 2 days and many more people believed. They were no longer believing because of what the woman said about Jesus, they were believing because they heard it themselves. And, based on what they heard, they believed that Jesus is indeed the Savior of the world!

What about me?

And with that, the story comes to a close. So, the main thing is that God saves sinners. In this passage we have the perfect example of that in Jesus. Let me run back quickly over His method. He goes to the well, but even though He is tired from the journey, Jesus engages in a conversation with the woman. It starts off kind of superficial. And then Jesus takes it deeper. When it is obvious she is not getting it, Jesus probes into her life. When she starts to perceive there is more to Him than she first thought, Jesus redefines worship. That redefinition makes her realize that He is more than just a prophet, so she states what she knows about the Messiah. Jesus confirms who He is. Her life is transformed and she runs back into town to tell others. Jesus tells His followers that the work is about to begin. Look up and see the harvest is coming to us! And as a result of one truly transformed life, many others believe.

So here is what you should do. Go and be ready to engage. She was just going about her business, but Jesus engaged her in a conversation that was based on what she was doing at the moment. Don’t miss that. He was engaging her right where she was. He was willing to take the conversation deeper. He was willing to even probe into her life and help her see her own sinfulness. We can do all of that with people we meet. But this next part, only Jesus can do. Because, you see, it is God who saves sinners and not us. When they begin to wonder, like the woman did, about who God really is, God has to show Himself to them. And, just like Jesus told His disciples, we have to know that we are joining in a work with God when we seek to tell others about Jesus. God prepares the heart. God opens the mind. God saves the soul. We are merely witnesses to what He has done for us. Based on her testimony, many start to seek Jesus. And He reveals Himself to them and they believe. Many believe.

So, as you go, be ready to engage, go deeper, probe, point them to Jesus, recognize that God is the one who will save, and rejoice when He does and many people believe.

What is Jesus saying to you today?

Can you see how this story is exactly what John tells us he is writing? - but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. Do you believe that Jesus is alive? Do you believe that He will save you from your own sin?

- for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

- but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

- For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

- because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

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