Sermon Tone Analysis
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We’ve been taking a journey through the Gospel of John, and looking at the various encounters that Jesus had with people, and what they reveal to us about the person of Jesus, about humankind, and about ourselves.
Last week we were in Chapter 3, and we read of Jesus interaction with Nicodemus, a Pharisee (that is a teacher of the Law) and a ruler of the Jews.
In other words he was a man of high stature among the Jews.
It is in his conversation with Nicodemus that Jesus shares perhaps the most famous verse in all of Scripture, John 3:16.
This verse and the one that immediately follows is central to John’s Gospel.
John’s Gospel was written to both Jews and Gentiles living in the larger Greco-Roman world in Ephesus and beyond toward the close of the first century.
Now as we study this passage what we discover is when Jesus says, “the world”, he means that.
Everything in the created world.
That would include the good people, the bad people, those that would be considered “righteous” and those that would not.
Last week we had a ruler of the Jews, a man.
This week, in chapter 4, we have a woman, and not only a woman, but a Samaritan (they were hated by the Jews).
This woman is not only a Samaritan, but she is one who’s life has been lived in ways less than acceptable by the religious people of the day.
So with that as our introduction, let’s pray and ask God to open to us His Word in John chapter 4.
PRAYER
So much we could discuss, so we’re going to hit some highlights this morning.
First of all we have that statement in vs. 4 “And he had to pass through Samaria”.
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This was the most direct route, but a strict Jew would take a longer route that involved crossing the Jordan and traveling on the east side to avoid defilement.
So, was Jesus need to go through Jerusalem because it was shorter or was it a divine appointment.
I think it was the latter, it was an example to his disciples, to the woman, and now to us.
The next statement that stands out to me is in verse 6
I love the idea of knowing that Jesus can relate to when we get tired and weary.
Then we get into this conversation at the well.
Jesus asks a Samaritan woman for a drink - this doesn’t necessarily strike us as odd, but notice v. 9
The cultural boundaries that Jesus is violating by merely having this conversation are huge.
He’s talking to a woman - for a strict Jew you would not even talk to a woman other than your wife in public.
Jesus is a Jew and He’s talking to a Samaritan - do you remember the parable of the Good Samaritan?
The reason that was so striking to Jesus’ audience was because the Samaritans were thought to be the lowest of the low.
They were hated by the Jews.
She recognizes that this Jew asking her for water is not normal, and Jesus shifts the focus up a level.
She’s doesn’t get it yet.
She is not yet comprehending what Jesus is talking about.
Jesus attempts to lift her focus again in vs. 13-14
Again, the woman doesn’t rise up to Jesus level.
She is still only seeing the here and now.
She responds with “Give me this water, so that I will not have to come here to draw water.”
Jesus is about to go deep, and it’s going to hurt.
Remember what Jesus said in John 3:20?
She is about to be exposed.I love how John Piper phrases this when he titles a section on this chapter “To the Heart Through The Wound”.
Ouch!
Her sin is laid bare.
In our story here we see so much of ourselves in her very human response.
When we get caught, what do we do?
Change the subject.
And if it’s our own sin that we’re caught in and exposed for, well then let’s make it sound like a righteous theological conversation.
That’s exactly what she does!
She raises the controversy about where is the right place to worship.
It defies all logical sense: “As long as we are talking about my adultery, what is your stance on the issue of where people should worship?”
She knows that Jesus knows the truth about her, but she doesn’t initially want to face what that will mean for her.
Look at vs. 21-24
The Samaritans rejected all the Old Testament except for their own version of the Torah - the first 5 books of the Bible.
Their knowledge of God was incomplete, and so Jesus tells the woman just that.
It’s about who you worship, not where you worship.
I believe it was Soren Kierkegaard who once quipped, “At the end of a worship service we should not ask, ‘How was it?’
but instead, ‘How did I do?’
In vs. 25-26 the woman reveals that she does understand that the Messiah is coming.
And Jesus reveals that he is the Messiah.
We don’t see the woman’s reaction until vs. 28
Think about that statement.
“Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did.”
The town no doubt knew much of what she had done.
She was coming to draw water in the middle of the day, for a reason (normally people would draw water in the cool of the morning).
It is likely her reason for not doing so was because of her shame, and now she speaks openly about it!
Where’s your sin?
Be willing to bring it into the light instead of changing the subject
Confess it to a trusted Christian friend.
Don’t minimize it or excuse it; turn away from it.
Pray
As the story goes on we discover that this woman with the reputation she had, and a Samaritan, is the first recorded missionary in John’s Gospel.
From a ruler of the Jews to an adulterous woman from a hated race of the Jews, John demonstrates that Jesus brings salvation to whoever will believe in him.
AMEN
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