The Woman at the Well
A sermon by
John 4:5-42
If you have problems
printing this sermon, click here
FOR MORE RESOURCES on the Gospel of John, click the links below:
Sermons (No password required)
Hymns (No password required)
Concise Exegesis (No password required)
Complete Exegesis (SermonWriter password required)
Children's Sermons (SermonWriter password required)
SERMON: The Woman at the Well
The story of the woman at the well may surprise you. The way it's commonly told goes like this: Jesus meets a Samaritan woman at Jacob's well and asks her for a drink of water. They talk. In the process, she confesses to have been married five times. He confronts her sinfulness. She recognizes him as the Christ, repents, and rushes off to tell the others, shouting, "Come, see a man who told me everything that I did."
That's the literal understanding of the text. There's also a figurative understanding. It lies just below the surface. It draws on the power of symbolism. It's John's way of proclaiming the gospel to those who have eyes to see Jesus as Lord and Savior.
Fred Gealy, one of my seminary professors, first introduced me to the symbolism of John's gospel. I offer the sermon this morning in his honor, and to his memory. The story begins,
"He (Jesus) left Judea, and departed into Galilee.
He needed to pass through Samaria." (John 4:3-4)
Actually, there are two ways to get from Judea to Galilee. One takes you up the Jordan Valley. It's soft and flat. The other takes you up through Samaria. It's rocky and mountainous. To borrow a line from Frost, Jesus took the road less traveled. He was on a mission. John goes on:
"So he came to a city of Samaria, called Sychar, near the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son, Joseph." (John 4:5)
Sychar was the site of Jacob's well. In the Old Testament, this was where Jacob met Rachel. It was love at first sight. (Gen. 29)
This is our first clue as to what this story is about. Back when Jacob first met Rachel the Jews and Samaritans were one people. They shared a common faith, a common heritage and a common devotion to Yahweh. That was back before they went their separate ways.
So, Jesus came back to where it all started. Like his forefather, Jacob, he came with a proposal in hand. But not a marriage proposal. His proposal had to do with reconciliation. That was his mission – to reconcile the world to God. (2 Corinthians 5:19) And in order to do that, he first had to reconcile the Jews and the Samaritans. That's what this story is about. John says,
"Jacob's well was there.
Jesus therefore, being tired from his journey, sat down by the well.
It was about about the sixth hour." (John 4:6)
Noon is the time of day when the sun is high overhead. It's the brightest part of the day – a perfect moment for God's self-revelation.
It's also the part of the day when you weren't likely to find many women at the well. Women drew their water in the cool of the morning or late afternoon. It took a strong woman to draw her water in the heat of the day – an independent and resolute woman – a woman with a mind of her own – a woman like Rachel – who, if you remember, also came to the well at noon the day she met Jacob. (Genesis 29:7)
Jesus was sitting at the well when the woman arrived. He got right to the point. He said, "Give me a drink."
Sure, it was noon. Sure, he was hot and thirsty. But that's beside the point. The point is Jews and Samaritans didn't mix. They didn't drink from the same cup. They didn't commune with each other as brothers and sisters of a common faith. He's pushing the envelope.
"The Samaritan woman therefore said to him, "How is it that you, being a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?" (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.)" (John 4:9)
"Jesus answered her, 'If you knew the gift of God,
and who it is who says to you, "Give me a drink,"
you would have asked him,
and he would have given you living water.'" (John 4:10)
He's not talking about water. He's talking about life – real life – life in all its abundance – eternal life – life in the Spirit.
Like Nicodemus last week, the woman didn't get it. It went right over her head. She said,
"The woman said to him, 'Sir, you have nothing to draw with,
and the well is deep.
From where then have you that living water?
Are you greater than our father, Jacob,
who gave us the well,
and drank of it himself,
as did his children, and his livestock?'" (John 4:11-12)
Here's another clue: She refers to Jacob as our father. That's an important step in reconciling your differences: Agree on what you have in common. The Jews and Samaritans shared a common history and the same ancestors. Jesus said,
"Jesus answered her, 'Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again,
but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him
will never thirst again;
but the water that I will give him
will become in him a well of water
springing up to eternal life.'" (John 4:13-14)
Again, she didn't get it. She said, "Sir, give me this water, so that I don't get thirsty, neither come all the way here to draw." (John 4:15)
Another clue: It's embedded in the language. The same word for "sir" – kurios – is the same word for "Lord". It's also the same word for "husband," and that's where this conversation is going.
Jesus said, "Go, call your husband, and come here." (John 4:16) To which the woman replied, "I have no husband." (Which is to say, "I have no lord.") (John 4:17)
Jesus said, "You said well, 'I have no husband,'
for you have had five husbands;
and he whom you now have is not your husband.
This you have said truly." (John 4:17-18)
To which the woman replied, "Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet." (John 4:19)
THIS SERMON is brought to you courtesy of SermonWriter.
A SUBSCRIBER SAYS: "Dear Dick, I cannot remember when I began receiving your comprehensive mailings but it occurred to me that its time I said "thank you". Without fail, I find them inspiring, thought provoking and easily adaptable to local and current cultural issues. The exegesis I enjoy - I enjoy unpacking scripture and looking for pearls....... So... keep up the good work, and THANK YOU!"
TRY SERMONWRITER! A user-friendly resource for busy pastors!
GET YOUR FOUR FREE SAMPLES! Click here for more information
|
John assumes you know the background. Since you don't, I'll fill in the blanks: Back in the days of Hoshea, the Samaritans abandoned the faith. Scripture says, "They forsook all the commandments of Yahweh their God." (2 Kings 17:15-16)
They fell into the hands of Assyria, and the king of Assyria brought in peoples from five different regions to occupy Samaria. They brought their own gods to worship and built shrines for them. (2 Kings 17:24, 29-31)
The Samaritans began worshiping these false gods, and so, drifted farther and farther from the one true God – Yahweh – creator of the heavens and the earth.
In other words, Jesus isn't confronting the woman's adultery; he's confronting the Samaritans' idolatry. He's not asking her, "Who have you been sleeping with?" but "Who do you bow down to?" This is brought out in the verse that follows. The woman said,
"Our fathers worshiped in this mountain,
and you Jews say that in Jerusalem
is the place where people ought to worship." (John 4:20)
Here's the missing piece of the puzzle: Back when the Jews and the Samaritans went their separate ways, they established their own centers of worship. The sacred mountain for the Samaritans was Mount Gerazim in Samaria. The sacred mountain for the Jews was Mount Zion in Judea. If they were to be reconciled, one would have to come over to the other's place of worship.
The woman's statement implies a question: "Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship." You'd think Jesus would have said, "Yes! That's precisely what I'm asking you to do." But, no, he said,
"Woman, believe me, the hour comes,
when neither in this mountain, nor in Jerusalem…
But the hour comes, and now is,
when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth,
for the Father seeks such to be his worshippers.
God is spirit,
and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth."
(John 4:21-24)
The woman still didn't get it. She said,
"I know that Messiah comes," (he who is called Christ). "When he has come, he will declare to us all things Jesus said, "I am he, the one who speaks to you." (John 4:25-26)
The woman left her jar and ran into town shouting, "Come, see a man who told me everything that I did. Can this be the Christ?" (John 4:29)
The people of Sychar followed her back to Jacob's well. John says,
"…they begged him to stay with them.
He stayed there two days.
Many more believed because of his word.
They said to the woman, 'Now we believe,
not because of your speaking;
for we have heard for ourselves,
and know that this is indeed the Christ,
the Savior of the world.'" (John 4:40-42)
So, did the Jews and Samaritans ever reconcile their differences? Did they ever get back together? In a manner of speaking, yes, they did. Here's what happened:
Jesus took his message to Jerusalem, where he was rejected and crucified. On the third day he rose from the dead. It was God who would have the last word.
Fifty days later – on the day of Pentecost – God poured out his Spirit on Jesus' followers, and the church was born. Jews by the thousands accepted Jesus as the Promised Messiah.
The Jewish leaders struck back. They persecuted Christians wherever they could find them. When they stoned Stephen to death, they scattered to the four winds.
One – a deacon named Philip – went to Samaria. The Samaritans greeted him with open arms and they, too, professed Jesus as the Christ. And so, it was in this way – through their common faith in Jesus Christ – that the Jews and Samaritans – and, in time, the Gentiles – were reconciled as one.
So, what does this have to do with us today? Simply this: The secret of living in unity with others is to share a common devotion to Jesus Christ.
• If you want to have a happy marriage …
• If you want to have peace and harmony in the home …
• If you want to get along with your friends and neighbors … turn to Christ.
It holds true at every level: There will never be lasting peace and reconciliation in the community, in the nation or in the world apart from the saving grace of Jesus Christ.
Contracts, compacts, covenants and constitutions may bind us together legally, but they can never resolve our differences and make us one. Only Christ can do that. Paul told the Galatians,
"For as many of you as were baptized into Christ
have put on Christ.
There is neither Jew nor Greek,
there is neither slave nor free man,
there is neither male nor female;
for you are all one in Christ Jesus." (Galatians 3:27-28)
I had a church member once who was on the verge of leaving his family and filing for divorce. He had a list of complaints a mile long. But before he packed his bags, he prayed, "Dear Lord, I need your help. If this marriage is going to last, I need you to do something, and fast."
He said he woke up the next morning with a change of heart. He saw his wife and children in a new light. He appreciated the little things they did for him – things he'd taken for granted. He realized how much he had to be thankful for.
Long story, short, he didn't leave. Nor did he make any special demands. Instead, he put Christ first in his own heart and treated his wife and children with the respect they deserved.
Today he's a happily married man … and he'd be the first to tell you: Be reconciled to God, and you'll soon be reconciled to those around you.
Reconciliation was the mission of Jesus Christ. It's the mission of the church today. It's our calling. And this is our vision:
In Christ there is no East or West,
In Him no South or North;
But one great fellowship of love
Throughout the whole wide earth.
In Him shall true hearts everywhere
Their high communion find;
His service is the golden cord,
Close binding all mankind.
Join hands, then, brothers of the faith,
Whate'er your race may be!
Who serves my Father as His child
Is surely kin to me. (William Dunkerley)
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.
Copyright 2011, Philip McLarty. Used by permission.
SCRIPTURE QUOTATIONS are from the World English Bible (WEB), a public domain (no copyright) modern English translation of the Holy Bible.
YOU MIGHT ALSO BE INTERESTED IN these resources for the Gospel of John:
Sermons (No password required)
Hymns (No password required)
Concise Exegesis (No password required)
Complete Exegesis (SermonWriter password required)
Children's Sermons (SermonWriter password required)