Effective Missions and Evangelism

Steve Walter

Priorities for Christ's Church • Sermon • Submitted 3 years ago

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Scripture Reading

Luke 4:14–30 ESV

14 And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and a report about him went out through all the surrounding country. 15 And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all. 16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. 17 And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written, 18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” 20 And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. 21 And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” 22 And all spoke well of him and marveled at the gracious words that were coming from his mouth. And they said, “Is not this Joseph’s son?” 23 And he said to them, “Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, ‘ “Physician, heal yourself.” What we have heard you did at Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well.’ ” 24 And he said, “Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown. 25 But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens were shut up three years and six months, and a great famine came over all the land, 26 and Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. 27 And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.” 28 When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. 29 And they rose up and drove him out of the town and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff. 30 But passing through their midst, he went away.

Effective Missions and Evangelism

Five Priorities for the New Testament Church

Christ-Centered Worship - Worship is the awed response to the saving acts and praiseworthy character of God, as revealed in creation, the Old Testament, the New Testament, and the life, death, burial, resurrection, ascension, and promise of return of Jesus Christ.

Authentic Discipleship - the real, genuine life-long process of following Jesus’s life, learning Jesus’s teachings, representing Jesus’s authority, imitating Jesus’s holiness, receiving Jesus’s righteousness, depending on Jesus’s lead, and benefitting from Jesus’s love and trust.

Effective Missions and Evangelism - the fruitful and successful sharing of the gospel message, through biblical methods, and dependent upon Spirit-led authenticating witnessing.

Engaging Fellowship

Tangible Ministry

Evangelism Simply Defined

Evangelize, Evangelism. Basic Definition.

“To evangelize” is to proclaim the good news of the victory of God’s salvation.

“Evangelism” is the noun denoting that activity.

This biblical concept is expressed through a Hebrew verb (bāśar) and a Greek verb and noun (euangelizō and euangelion). Euangelion is normally translated “gospel,” denoting the content of the good news. But it can also be a noun of action, describing the activity of telling that news (e.g., 1 Cor. 9:14; 2 Cor. 2:12; Phil. 1:5).

Misconceptions of Evangelism

Only professionals should evangelize.

Success is measured by results.

Spiritually superior people are successful.

Evangelism Biblically Developed

Evangelism Seen in the Old Testament

General Use

In family matters, one may “bring news” to a father that a male child is born (Jer. 20:15).

Jeremiah 20:15 ESV

15 Cursed be the man who brought the news to my father, “A son is born to you,” making him very glad.

In military matters, “to evangelize” is to bring news of the outcome of a military engagement, usually a victory (1 Sam. 31:9; 2 Sam. 18:31; 1 Kings 1:42; but cf. 1 Sam. 4:17).

A Word of Victory (even for the Lord’s enemies):

1 Samuel 31:9 ESV

9 So they cut off his head and stripped off his armor and sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines, to carry the good news to the house of their idols and to the people.

2 Samuel 18:31 ESV

31 And behold, the Cushite came, and the Cushite said, “Good news for my lord the king! For the Lord has delivered you this day from the hand of all who rose up against you.”

1 Kings 1:42 ESV

42 While he was still speaking, behold, Jonathan the son of Abiathar the priest came. And Adonijah said, “Come in, for you are a worthy man and bring good news.”

A Word of Defeat (Eli, Israel’s Priest)

1 Samuel 4:17 ESV

17 He who brought the news answered and said, “Israel has fled before the Philistines, and there has also been a great defeat among the people. Your two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God has been captured.”

Evangelism and Worship

David uses “evangelism” terminology even in the context of worship, as he describes his confession before the God of divine deliverance: “I proclaim righteousness in the great assembly” (Ps 40:9-10).

Psalm 40:9–10 ESV

9 I have told the glad news of deliverance in the great congregation; behold, I have not restrained my lips, as you know, O Lord. 10 I have not hidden your deliverance within my heart; I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation; I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness from the great congregation.

The message proclaimed is that God has acted in accordance with his character, his righteousness.

He explains God’s actions further by referring to God’s character:

God’s faithfulness

Truth

Covenant loyalty and love

Salvation

What is true on a personal level is true for the nation as the people return the ark of the covenant to its rightful place at the center of Israel’s worship (1 Chron. 16:23–25/Ps. 96:2–4).

1 Chronicles 16:23–25 ESV

23 Sing to the Lord, all the earth! Tell of his salvation from day to day. 24 Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples! 25 For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and he is to be feared above all gods.

In an act of worship the whole earth is exhorted to continually proclaim good tidings. The message is an announcement of the salvation, glory, and mighty deeds of the supreme God, who is great and greatly to be praised. The messenger, the message, and the audience all have a universal quality.

Evangelism in/from Isaiah

Isaiah makes the most extensive and significant contribution to understanding the proclamation of the victory of God’s final salvation in its Old Testament promise form (40:9–11; 52:7; 60:6; 61:1).

Isaiah 40:9–11 ESV

9 Go on up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good news; lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good news; lift it up, fear not; say to the cities of Judah, “Behold your God!” 10 Behold, the Lord God comes with might, and his arm rules for him; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him. 11 He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.

Isaiah 52:7 ESV

7 How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.”

Isaiah 61:1 ESV

1 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;

This prophet’s teaching is not only foundational for seminal New Testament passages, but it is also the source for the New Testament use of the term “gospel.”

William J. Larkin Jr., “Evangelize, Evangelism,” in Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology, electronic ed., Baker Reference Library (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1996), 216-7.

Evangelism Displayed in the Early Church

Evangelism is defined here in the narrow sense of the verbal proclamation of the good news of salvation with a view of leading people to a right relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ.

David S. Lim, “Evangelism in the Early Church,” ed. Ralph P. Martin and Peter H. Davids, Dictionary of the Later New Testament and Its Developments (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1997), 353.

Three Greek word-groups

Euangelizō (“to share good news”)

Kēryssō (“to preach”)

Martyreō (“to bear witness”)

Euangelizō - the message’s content

In reference to the act and/or process of telling others about Jesus Christ, the first is used most frequently in its verbal form accompanied by a word or phrase that describes the content of the news, such as “the kingdom of God” (Acts 8:12; see Kingdom of God) or “Jesus” (Acts 11:20), hence emphasizing the message’s content.

Acts 8:12 ESV

12 But when they believed Philip as he preached good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.

Kēryssō - the method used

The second highlights the method of public proclamation, as it originally denoted what a kēryx (“herald”) did.

Herald, one who announces messages on behalf of another (2 Chron. 36:22; Ezra 1:1). In Isa. 40:9; 41:27 the herald is sent by God is to bring “good tidings” to Zion and Jerusalem. In Dan. 3:4 a herald announces the demands for allegiance to the golden statue on behalf of Babylon’s king Nebuchadnezzar. In 2 Pet. 2:5 Noah is characterized as a “herald of righteousness,” and in the Pastoral Letters Paul is described as a herald (1 Tim. 2:7; 2 Tim. 1:11).

Mark Allan Powell, ed., “Herald,” The HarperCollins Bible Dictionary (Revised and Updated) (New York: HarperCollins, 2011), 375.

Referring to John the Baptist

Matthew 3:1 ESV

1 In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea,

Mark 1:7 ESV

7 And he preached, saying, “After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie.

Referring to Paul

1 Corinthians 1:21–25 ESV

21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. 22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

Martyreō - the messenger emphasized

The third emphasizes the veracity and credibility of both the message and the messenger, for it was a legal term that referred to the attestation to facts and events based on the personal experience of the testifier.

Witnessing is dependent upon the Holy Spirit.

Acts 1:8 ESV

8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

2. Witnessing is designed by God the Father.

3. Witnessing is authenticated by personal experience.

Acts 22:12–15 ESV

12 “And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, well spoken of by all the Jews who lived there, 13 came to me, and standing by me said to me, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight.’ And at that very hour I received my sight and saw him. 14 And he said, ‘The God of our fathers appointed you to know his will, to see the Righteous One and to hear a voice from his mouth; 15 for you will be a witness for him to everyone of what you have seen and heard.

Evangelism Modeled by Jesus: Luke 4:14-30, John 4:1-45

Jesus Evangelized to Groups - Luke 4:14-30

Luke 4:14–30 ESV

The Context

Jesus returns to Nazareth having endured successfully the extended season of temptation in the wilderness.

Sometime after returning, He enters into His “hometown” Jewish synagogue.

The Nazarean synagogue account exemplifies Jesus’ teaching and claims. It is the second step in a three-part introduction to Jesus’ ministry.

The summary was in 4:14–15, while the example of Jesus’ ministry of healing and service appears in 4:31–44.

The account’s major features are Jesus’ declaration that he fulfills the promise of Scripture, the local rejection of Jesus, Jesus’ warning that God’s wonders can be limited (as in the period of Elijah and Elisha), the Jewish hostile reaction to that warning, and Jesus’ departure from that hostility.

In fact, this account is one of Luke’s most detailed events and contains many themes that he will continue to develop. Luke 4:16–30 is a representative sample of Jesus’ ministry, a paradigm for his ministry.

The passage portrays God’s plan and Jesus’ role in it.

It also shows how Jesus’ teaching exposes the reaction of human hearts to that plan (2:34–35; Tiede 1980: 23–33).

In this case, the response is wonder along with rejection.

The note of the people’s failure to respond to God’s plan recalls the message at the end of Deuteronomy, as well as the OT theme of how the nation treated God’s prophets.

Luke will return again and again to this parallel with the prophets, the outstanding examples being Luke 11:47–51 and Stephen’s speech in Acts 7.1

The nation misses a significant opportunity if it rejects Jesus’ message.

Darrell L. Bock, Luke: 1:1–9:50, vol. 1, Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 1994), 394.

The Content

Jesus Read from Isaiah’s Prophecy (Luke 4:16-19)

He read from Isaiah 61:1

Isaiah referred to the Anointed One or Messiah

The Anointed One or Messiah had a mission and message.

The mission: to proclaim good news.

The recipients: the spiritually poor, enslaved, blind, and oppressed.

The message: true transformation comes through Jesus the Christ.

Jesus Applied the Scripture (Luke 4:19-21)

Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament based on Semantic Domains 33.199 πληρόω; πληροφορέω

33.199 πληρόωe; πληροφορέωb: to relate fully the content of a message—‘to proclaim, to tell fully, to proclaim completely.’

Luke 1:1–9:50 b. Cycle 1: Scripture Reading and Its Exposition (4:18–21)

Jesus will do what Israel was rebuked in Isaiah 58 for not doing: Jesus will meet in love the needs of those who need God. The picture again is of Jesus reaching out to the needy and giving them aid. It is a declaration of injustice reversed (Pilgrim 1981: 70).

The Crowd Considered His Application (Luke 4:22)

Bock: The crowd gives a twofold response: they recognize Jesus’ rhetorical skill and gracious words, but they also remember his ancestry.

Jesus rhetorical skills were recognized and appreciated!

Jesus Preached the Message (Luke 4:23-27)

Jesus’s mission and message had more at stake than mere appreciation for his rhetorical skills.

A crowd’s flattery would not distract Jesus’s focused task.

His message:

A proverb

A prophecy

A maxim

A history lesson

The Crowd Rejected Him and His Message (Luke 4:28-29)

The manner of their rejection - wrath.

The reason for their rejection - Bock: “Jesus’ comparison to the ministries of Elijah and Elisha did not bring a positive reaction. The crowd knew their biblical history and got the point. The idea that Jesus might reach out to outsiders produced anger. In effect, Jesus was saying that the Nazareans were worse than Syrian lepers and Phoenician widows (Hendriksen 1978: 258; Ernst 1977: 174).”

The “outsiders” will be brought in while the “privileged” will be left out.

Jesus Escaped the Crowd’s Fury (Luke 4:30)

Bock: “Jesus walks away from his second encounter with the edge of a high locale (cf. 4:9–12). It is debated whether a miracle is implied here, and it is hard to tell.

But Jesus escapes this threat, since it is not yet his time to suffer at the hands of rejecters.

This event is but the first act of conflict and the first of several conflicts on the Sabbath.

Darrell L. Bock, Luke: 1:1–9:50, vol. 1, Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 1994), 420.

Jesus Evangelized to Persons - John 4:1-42

John 4:1–42 ESV

1 Now when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John 2 (although Jesus himself did not baptize, but only his disciples), 3 he left Judea and departed again for Galilee. 4 And he had to pass through Samaria. 5 So he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 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. 7 A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” 8 (For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.) 9 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.) 10 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.” 11 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? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.” 13 Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14 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.” 15 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.” 16 Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.” 17 The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; 18 for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.” 19 The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.” 21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. 22 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 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. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” 25 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.” 26 Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he.” 27 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?” 28 So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people, 29 “Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?” 30 They went out of the town and were coming to him. 31 Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.” 32 But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” 33 So the disciples said to one another, “Has anyone brought him something to eat?” 34 Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. 35 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. 36 Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. 37 For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ 38 I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.” 39 Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me all that I ever did.” 40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. 41 And many more believed because of his word. 42 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.”

The Context

The passage has a clear structure, dominated by two dialogues of Jesus.

After the introduction in vv 1–6 we have in 7–26 the dialogue of Jesus with the Samaritan Woman.

This contains two distinct themes; in 6–18 the living water from Christ, in 19–26 the worship that the Father seeks.

The dialogue of Jesus with the disciples in 31–38 is set between two paragraphs, 27–30 describing the witness of the Samaritan woman to the people of Sychar, and 39–42 recounting their conversion.

George R. Beasley-Murray, John, vol. 36, Word Biblical Commentary (Dallas: Word, Incorporated, 1999), 59.

Jesus’ return trip from the Jerusalem Passover back to Galilee led him, by divine necessity (4:4), through Samaria.

Samaritans occupied a middle position between Jews and Gentiles, considering themselves Jews but being viewed by Jews as Gentiles.

This middle position required that the early church be a witness not just in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and then to the ends of the earth, but also in Samaria (Acts 1:8; cf. Acts 8).

Andreas J. Köstenberger, John, Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2004), 141.

The Content

The Background (John 4:1-3)

The Setting (John 4:4-6)

Köstenberger: The words “it was necessary” (ἔδει, edei) may indicate divine necessity: Jesus’ going through Samaria was according to the plan and will of God (cf. 9:4; 10:16; 12:34; 20:9).

Hence “through Samaria” was the usual trek taken by travelers from Judea to Galilee (see Josephus, Ant. 20.6.1 §118; cf. J.W. 2.12.1 §232; Life 52 §269).

Strict Jews, however, sought to bypass Samaria by opting for a longer, less direct route, which would have involved crossing the Jordan and traveling on the east side.

The reference to Jacob’s well and the later mention of Mount Gerizim (John 4:20) place Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman in the framework of “holy geography,” which Jesus is shown to transcend.

Apparently, Jacob’s well was a convenient stop for pilgrims traveling between Galilee and Jerusalem.

The Conversation (John 4:5-26)

Jesus’ conversation with the Samaritan woman has two major topics:

The “living water” that Jesus offers (4:7–18)

The worship sought by the Father (4:19–26) (Dockery 1988: 129).

Jesus the Living Water: John 4:7-18

Who is this woman?

This Samaritan woman came alone, and she came in the heat of the midday sun.

Both observations suggest that this woman was looked down upon in her community on account of her low reputation (Neyrey 1994: 82; see 4:16–18).

What did Jesus just do?

Jesus’s initiation - By asking for a drink from a woman who had come to the well alone (δός, dos, give [indicates a request; Wallace 1996: 478–88]), Jesus, himself being alone (4:8), broke all rules of Jewish piety (see below).

The Samaritan woman (the article before γυνή, gynē, in 4:9 is anaphoric [Wallace 1996: 218]) was well aware of the ethnic gulf that separated Jews and Samaritans in that day, and she expressed puzzlement that Jesus, a Jew, would ask her, a Samaritan woman, for a drink.

What did Jesus mean?

On a literal level, “living water” refers to highly coveted fresh springwater, as opposed to stagnant water (cf. Gen. 26:19; Lev. 14:6; Jer. 2:13).

Ultimately, it was God who was known to be the source and giver of life.

In Num. 20:8–11, an incident to which Jesus perhaps alludes in the present passage, water gushes out of the rock, supplying the Israelites with badly needed refreshment.

In Jer. 2:13, God laments that his people have forsaken him, “the spring of living water.”

In Isa. 12:3, the prophet envisions the joy with which people “will draw water from the wells of salvation” in the last days.

The repeated reference to thirst (“will thirst again … will never thirst again … so that I won’t get thirsty”) indicates that Jesus ministers to a keenly felt need.

Thirst in Scripture: Thirst is used as a metaphor for spiritual desire (cf. Ps. 42:2; 63:1; 143:6; Isa. 55:1; Matt. 5:6).

What did the woman understand?

The woman’s misunderstanding: The phrase οὐ μὴ διψήσει εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα (ou mē dipsēsei eis ton aiōna, will never thirst again) is an instance of emphatic negation (Wallace 1996: 468, 568).

Once again, however, the Samaritan woman transforms Jesus’ promise of a gift to come into a request that Jesus provide her with immediate physical satisfaction (Moloney 1998: 118).

Yet despite her ongoing confusion, the woman continues to engage in her quest for understanding (Ridderbos 1997: 158; cf. Moloney 1998: 123).

She clearly is interested in the water that Jesus has to offer, but is still at a loss as to the water’s origin (Carson 1991: 220).

Why did Jesus go there?

Jesus commanded her to go get her husband.

The woman’s response, “I have no husband,” seems designed to cut off further conversation along these lines (Carson 1991: 221).

Cantwell (1983: 80) aptly sees her “clinging rather pathetically to her privacy and some semblance of respectability,” using “a not very clever equivocation which Christ dramatically exposes, to reveal a life which is not so much immoral [though it is that!] as a mess, a broken series of false beginnings and shattered hopes.”

How was the woman affected?

TThe effect of Jesus’ words seems to be that the woman “is hurt and sobered by his knowledge of her secret, but is liberated from the need to go on concealing it” (Cantwell 1983: 82).

By calling Jesus “a prophet” (an indefinite qualitative noun [Wallace 1996: 265–66]; not “the Prophet” of Deut. 18), the woman acknowledges that Jesus knows her life circumstances without apparently having been told by anyone—hence, he must be “a prophet” (similarly, the formerly blind man in 9:17; cf. Luke 7:39).

The Samaritans awaited the prophet like Moses (Deut. 18:15–18; cf. 34:10–12), who was, however, not identified with the Messiah (cf. John 4:25–26; see Kippenberg 1971: 325).

Jesus - the Way of True Worship (John 4:19-26)

How did the woman respond?

In another diversionary measure, the woman switches to a religious (hence “safer”) topic: “Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain.”

Though she meant to evade the subject, however, Jesus transforms the topic into one of extreme religious as well as personal relevance.

For, indeed, the woman’s problems transcended her personal life and extended, significantly, also to her people’s illegitimate way of worship (Cantwell 1983: 83).

Just as Judaism was branded as lacking in experiential knowledge of true spiritual regeneration in John 3 (with Nicodemus serving as the paradigmatic representative), so here Samaritanism is cast as devoid of knowledge of what constitutes the true worship that God requires.

What does Jesus say?

In response, Jesus points out that geographic locale soon will be a matter of indifference as far as worship is concerned.

Jesus’ response indicates, first, that the woman would no longer be faced with a choice between two places of worship.

Second, that the Samaritan worship at Mount Gerizim was based on ignorance regarding Israel’s role in God’s plan of salvation.

Third, that such worship is not true worship (Ridderbos 1997: 162).

His main point: Jesus’ point here is that since God is spirit, proper worship of him is also a matter of spirit rather than physical location (Jerusalem versus Mount Gerizim).

Thus, true worship is not a matter of geographical location (worship in a church building), physical posture (kneeling or standing), or following a particular liturgy or external rituals (cf. Matt. 6:5–13).

It is a matter of the heart and of the Spirit (Talbert 1992: 115).55

As Stibbe (1993: 64) puts it, “True worship is paternal in focus (the Father), personal in origin (the Son), and pneumatic in character (the Spirit).”

What the woman finally admits?

In a final attempt to end her embarrassment (Borchert 1996: 209), the woman affirms her belief that “Messiah (called Christ) is coming” (see commentary at 1:41).

The woman’s affirmation of her belief in the coming of the Messiah in the presence of just this Messiah constitutes an instance of supreme Johannine irony.

The woman’s affirmation, “He will explain everything to us,” is consistent with the fact that rather than looking for a royal Messiah from the house of David (as did the Jews), Samaritans apparently expected a “teaching” Messiah (Bowman 1958: 298–308).

What Jesus rarely admitted?

In a momentous self-disclosure that is unique to any Gospel narrative prior to Jesus’ trials, Jesus now acknowledges frankly that he is the Messiah.

The phrase ἐγώ εἰμι (egō eimi, I am) here initially serves as a vehicle of self-identification.

What all of this means?

Jesus’ conversation with the Samaritan woman constitutes a paradigm for sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with those ignorant of Jesus’ true identity and claims (Witherington 1995: 123–25; Burge 2000: 160–61).57

It also shows how Jesus is ready to reveal himself to those who are open to his revelation, including non-Jews (though ministering to Samaritans is proleptic of the post-Pentecost mission [see Acts 1:8; 8:4–25]).

Nevertheless, in the present context it is Jesus the Jew who bears witness to a Samaritan in a salvation-historical, eschatological setting.

Remarkably, though Jesus generally is reluctant to identify himself openly as Messiah to the Jews (perhaps owing to the nationalistic overtones often associated with the term “messiah” in Jewish life), he apparently has no such hesitation in the case of the Samaritan woman (R. Brown 1966: 173; cf. Morris 1995: 241).

The Disciples Return (John 4:27-38)

The disciples’ private questions (John 4:27)

Upon their return, Jesus’ disciples were surprised to find him talking with a woman (Seim 1987: 59).58

As Neyrey (1994: 82) remarks, “It is bad enough that a female is conversing with an unrelated male in a public place at an unusual hour. Worse, the reader is told that she considered the most significant item in this conversation Jesus’ remarks on her shameless sexual behavior” (cf. Pazdan 1987: 148).

Perhaps the reason why they refrain from questioning Jesus here is that the woman is still there, so that an open challenge would have created an awkward situation (Carson 1991: 227).

Also, the disciples’ restraint may have been motivated by respect for Jesus (though not necessarily agreement with his judgment or practice).

Generally, it was considered acceptable in first-century Judaism for disciples to question their rabbi’s actions, as long as this was done respectfully and appropriately. Leaving behind one’s natural occupation for the sake of witnessing to Jesus is also the mark of a disciple. This, too, stands in contrast to Nicodemus, who in 7:50–51 speaks out for fairness but does not positively witness to Jesus in front of his fellow Sanhedrin members.

The woman’s public witness (John 4:28-30)

“Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did; he couldn’t be the Christ, could he?”

Leaving behind one’s natural occupation for the sake of witnessing to Jesus is also the mark of a disciple.

This, too, stands in contrast to Nicodemus, who in 7:50–51 speaks out for fairness but does not positively witness to Jesus in front of his fellow Sanhedrin members.

This indicates that the woman, though clearly showing progress, has not arrived at an assured confidence regarding Jesus’ identity (cf. 4:25); in fact, her testimony identifies him essentially as a prophet (4:29; cf. 4:19).

“Come and see” (δεῦτε ἴδετε, deute idete) resembles Jesus’ invitation to his first followers in 1:39 (cf. 1:46).

The disciples’ distracted efforts (John 4:31)

The disciples’ urging their “rabbi” to eat something (see commentary at 1:38) is in keeping with disciples’ customary care for the physical well-being of their master.

This is a concern that extended from buying food to tending to him when he was sick and burying him after he died (Köstenberger 1998a: 122–23).

Jesus’s focused reply (John 4:32)

In response, Jesus asserts that fulfilling his mission is more important to him than physical food (cf. Matt. 6:25; Mark 3:20–21; see Schnackenburg 1990: 1.445).

See Luke 4 - His response to Satan’s temptation.

The disciples’ apparent misunderstanding (John 4:33)

The disciples, for their part, misunderstand, just as the Samaritan woman (and Nicodemus) did earlier (Carson 1991: 228; Ridderbos 1997: 167).

Yet the Samaritan woman failed to recognize what Jesus could offer her; the disciples do not understand what Jesus himself lived by: the satisfaction of doing his Father’s will and of carrying out his mission (cf. 5:19–47; see Beasley-Murray 1999; Carson 1991: 229).

Jesus’s enhanced explanation (John 4:34-38)

Jesus explains to his followers that others have done the hard work; his followers are the beneficiaries of the labors of others (cf. 14:12; Matt. 13:16–17; see Ridderbos 1997: 171).

These “others” are Jesus and his predecessors, most immediately John the Baptist, who was the final prophet associated with the OT era (Köstenberger 1998b: 180–84; cf. Carson 1991: 231; Morris 1995: 249).

The general principle stated by Jesus here is that a fruitful harvest often is contingent on the labors of others.

The Impact (John 4:39-42)

The woman’s fellow townspeople appear to progress beyond the woman’s understanding of Jesus.

The woman’s testimony provided the initial impetus for them to come to Jesus, but now they have heard for themselves and have drawn their own conclusion (cf. 4:42; see Barrett 1978: 243–44).

In fact, secondhand testimony is no substitute for a direct personal encounter with Christ (Morris 1995: 250–51).

Moreover, faith overcomes any scandal that may be given by the external circumstances of the revealer’s origin (contrast 6:42; 7:27, 41–42, 52; see Schnackenburg 1990: 455).

Many had believed in Jesus on account of the Samaritan woman’s testimony (4:39). Many more believed on account of Jesus’ word.

Andreas J. Köstenberger, John, Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2004), 141-64.

Effective Evangelism Summarized

Effective evangelism must be grounded upon the right message: God, in keeping with His character, has delivered any and all of His people, in the person and work of His Son, Jesus Christ.

Effective evangelism must exhibit the right methods: sharing the good news through witnessing, preaching, teaching, and writing.

Effective evangelism must be expressed by the right messenger: a Spirit-dependent authentic witness to what one knows to be true through faith.

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