Patterns
It’s always interesting, I think, to find patterns or repetitions in the Bible. And some scholars see in John 3 and 4 a pattern which is repeated in the book of Acts.
At the beginning of the book of Acts, the Lord said to his apostles that they will be his witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and in Samaria and to the ends of the earth. And after the Lord’s ascension to heaven, we read in the rest of the book of Acts how the gospel was preached to Jews in Jerusalem and in Judea and to Samaritans in Samaria and to Gentiles in the rest of the Roman Empire. So, the mission, which the Lord gave to them, was take the gospel from Jerusalem and Judea to Samaria and then to the ends of the earth.
And what do we find in John 3 and 4? Well, in chapter 3, the Lord was speaking to a Jew in Jerusalem. He was speaking to Nicodemus, who was not just any Jew, but a pre-eminent Jew. He was a Pharisee and a member of the Sanhedrin and probably belonged to a prominent family in Jerusalem. The Lord announced to him the good news of the gospel. Referring to himself, he told Nicodemus that the Son of Man must be lifted up on a cross so that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. That’s what we read in John 3.
And after speaking to Nicodemus, the Lord left for Judea. And here in the first part of John 4, we read how the Lord then went from Judea to Samaria, where he met a Samaritan woman. And he announced to her the good news of the gospel. He spoke to her about living water and eternal life which he was able to give to her. And so, the Lord went from Jerusalem to Judea to Samaria.
And in the second part of John 4, we read that the Lord went to Galilee, which in Matthew 4 is called ‘Galilee of the Gentiles’. And it was known as ‘Galilee of the Gentiles’ because many Gentiles lived in that region. And there in Galilee, the Lord was approached by a royal official whose son was ill. The commentators are not agreed, but some of them believe that this royal official was a Gentile. And after the Lord healed the royal official’s son, John tells us that he and his household believed.
And so, in John 3 and 4 we see how the Lord went from Jerusalem to Judea to Samaria and then to the Gentiles. That’s what he did while he was on the earth. And in the book of Acts, we see how — from his throne in heaven — he directed his servants here on earth to follow the same pattern: from Jerusalem to Judea to Samaria and then to the Gentiles. And wherever they went, they proclaimed the good news of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God the Father, who gave up his life on the cross to pay for our sins and who was raised from the dead to give us life.
Contrast 1
It’s interesting to find these patterns or repetitions in the Bible. But it’s also interesting to find contrasts in the Bible. And we can contrast the Samaritan woman in John 4 with Nicodemus in chapter 3. As I’ve said, he was a Pharisee and a member of the Sanhedrin and probably belonged to a prominent family in Jerusalem. He was an exemplary Jew. Being a Pharisee, he was zealous for God’s law. Being a member of the Sanhedrin, he was well-respected and powerful. Being a member of a prominent family, he was probably well-off. He was a fine, upstanding man, who was probably regarded highly by the people. He had everything going for him.
By contrast, the Samaritan woman was a Samaritan and a woman. Let me explain who the Samaritans were. You might recall from the books of 1 and 2 Kings that after the death of Solomon the one kingdom of Israel was divided into two: there was the larger kingdom in the north which kept the name Israel; and there was the smaller kingdom in the south which was known as Judah. The capital of Judah was Jerusalem and the capital of Israel was Samaria. Years later, when the northern kingdom was invaded by the Assyrians, many of the Israelites living in the northern kingdom were taken away into exile. But rather than leaving the land empty, the Assyrians sent people from other nations to live there. Those blow-ins married some of the local people who were left in Israel and had families with them. And the Samaritans we read about in the gospels were descended from those mixed marriages. So, they’re half-Jew and half-Gentile. And the Jews and the Samaritans did not get on. We’re familiar with that from the Lord’s parable of the Good Samaritan and John tells us in verse 9 that Jews do not associate with Samaritans.
So, this woman at the well was a Samaritan. And not only was she a Samaritan, which was bad enough in the eyes of many Jews, but she was a Samaritan woman and therefore regarded by many Jewish men as the lowest of the low.
And as well as being a Samaritan woman, this woman at the well has had five husbands and she’s now living with another man. That’s what the Lord revealed about her in verse 18. Now, I think we should be as kind and generous to this woman as we possibly can. And we mustn’t jump to conclusions about her. Some of the commentators and preachers who write and preach on this passage say that she was an immoral woman who was perhaps even a prostitute. But we don’t really know her background. It’s possible that all five of her husbands died and therefore she’s a poor woman who was widowed five times. Or we also know that it was easy for men to divorce their wives in those days and some men would divorce their wives and remarry without giving it a second thought. And so, perhaps she’s been mistreated and abused by her five husbands. And who knows? Perhaps the decision to live with the latest man was not her decision. The point is that while we know she’s had many husbands and is now living with a man who is not her husband, we don’t know whether she’s the great sinner she’s often made out to be, or whether she’s been sinned against. But whichever it is, the fact is that her life is broken. And it’s not what it’s supposed to be. I’m sure, when she was a young girl, this is not the life she dreamed about having when she was older. But because we live in a fallen, broken world, her life is now broken. It’s a wreck.
And so, her life is very different from Nicodemus’s life. His life is well-ordered and stable. He’s a fine, upstanding Jew, whereas she’s a Samaritan woman whose life is a mess. Their lives were completely different. And yet, despite the sharp contrast between them, they both need the gospel. They both need the Saviour. A fine, upstanding religious man like Nicodemus needs the Saviour just as much as this Samaritan woman with her messed up life. And that’s because all of us are sinners. That’s what we are by birth. We’re sinners by birth, because we’re all implicated in Adam’s sin in the beginning and we inherit from him his guilt and a corrupt and fallen nature. And so, from the moment we were conceived, we were guilty in the sight of God and we deserve to be condemned and punished.
And so, we all need the Lord Jesus, who loved us despite our sin and guilt, and who came down from heaven as one of us and who suffered and died on the cross to pay for our sins with his life. And then, because he loves us, he sends his Spirit into our lives to give us the new birth so that we are made new — we become a new creation — and are able to trust in Christ for salvation. And when we trust in Christ, God the Father washes away our guilt and he forgives all our sin and he covers us with Christ’s perfect obedience and treats us as if we’ve done everything right and he renews us by his Spirit.
Despite all his good deeds, Nicodemus needed to be born again of water and the Spirit so that he could trust in Christ, who died for sinners. And despite her messed up life, this Samaritan woman could still be saved, because Christ is the Saviour of all who believe. And he’s able to take away all our guilt and shame and he’s able to renew us by his Spirit and make us whole.
And so, although Nicodemus and the Samaritan woman are very different, they’re also exactly the same, because both of them — like all of us — are sinners who need salvation from Christ.
Contrast 2
And we can contrast this passage with the passage we were reading this morning. This morning we were reading in the book of Acts about Paul’s experience on the road to Damascus. Paul — or Saul as he was called before his conversion — didn’t believe in the Saviour. And he did everything he could to destroy the church here on earth. But on the road to Damascus, he saw the Risen Lord Jesus Christ, and was appointed to be his apostle. And from that moment on, Paul believed in the Saviour. And, by the grace of God, he went from being Saul the persecutor to being Paul the preacher.
And many Christians regard what happened to Paul as the classic conversion story and they speak about having ‘a Damasus road conversion’, because once they did not believe, but then they, in a sense, encountered the Saviour. And their lives were changed dramatically.
But, none of us has experienced what Paul experienced. None of us have seen what he saw. He actually saw with his own eyes the Risen and Exalted Lord Jesus Christ. And the Lord Jesus spoke to him directly and audibly. But none of us has seen the Lord Jesus with our own eyes. One day we will see him, when he returns. But none of us have seen him yet. And none of us have heard his voice directly and audibly. One day we will, but not yet. And none of us have been appointed an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ. So, Paul’s conversion story is completely unique and it’s not the pattern for conversions today.
By contrast, what we read in John 4 matches our experience more closely. Yes, we’ve never spoken to the Lord Jesus as this woman spoke to him. However, the Lord Jesus does come to us — not in person — but he comes to us in the reading and preaching of his word and by his Spirit. And he reveals to us how our life without him is disordered and messed up and it’s not the way it’s supposed to be. And he offers us living water and eternal life. And he makes clear to us in the preaching of his word that he’s willing to give it to us. And he comes to us like that — in the reading and preaching of his word — and he offers us living water and eternal life because of his overflowing goodness and love.
So, because of his overflowing goodness and love, he came down from heaven as one of us to pay for our sins with his life. And because of his overflowing goodness and love, he comes to us in the reading and preaching of his word and offers salvation to us. And because of his overflowing goodness and love, he enables us by his Spirit to believe. He enables us, as it were, to lift up our hands and to receive from him the salvation he has won for us on the cross. Or he opens our hearts and pours living water into them, a spring of water that wells us to eternal life. And he comes to us like that, in the reading and preaching of his word, because he is love. He is full of love for sinners and his love for sinners overflows to us.
Having said all that by way of introduction to this passage, let’s turn to the text and look at it more closely.
Verses 1 to 6
John tells us in verse 1 that the Pharisees had heard that the Lord was baptising more disciples than John the Baptist. Presumably this bothered them for some reason, even though John adds the little detail that the Lord was not baptising anyone himself, but was leaving it to his disciples. But presumably this was bothering the Pharisees. And so, the Lord decided to leave Judea, where they had been baptising, and to go to Galilee.
According to verse 4 they had to go through Samaria. Now, it was possible to get to Galilee without going through Samaria. Going through Samaria was the most direct and the quickest route, but many Jews preferred to go around Samaria, because Jews do not associate with Samaritans. And so, the Lord could’ve got to Galilee without going through Samaria. But the Lord didn’t take the longer route. He took the shorter route through Samaria. And John tells us that he had to go through Samaria. It was necessary for him to go through that region.
And John is referring here to what is known as a ‘divine necessity’. It was necessary for him to pass through Samaria, because this was the will of God the Father for him. He had to go through Samaria to fulfil God’s will. And we discover from the rest of the passage what God’s will for him was. It was God the Father’s will for his Son to meet this Samaritan woman at the well. God so loved this woman that he sent his Son from heaven to earth to meet her.
And John tells us how the Lord and his disciples came to this town called Sychar where there was a well which Jacob had once dug. And we read that the Lord Jesus was tired from the journey and he sat down by the well. And later we learn that the disciples went into the town to buy some food. Here we see the Lord’s true humanity. He is God and man in one person. As God, does not tire. He does not need to rest. As God he does not change and he has all life in himself and does not need to depend on food and water. But as a man, he gets tired and he needs to rest. He needs food and water to restore his tired body. Without ceasing to be what he always was — which is God — he became like us in every way.
Verses 7 to 9
And that’s when this Samaritan woman appeared. She had come out of the city to draw water at the well. And when the Lord saw her, he asked her for a drink.
Presumably, he was thirsty. However, he didn’t have a bucket. So, perhaps this woman will draw him a little water to quench his thirst. But she’s puzzled. She knows what Jewish men think of Samaritan women. So, given what she knows, why would this man ask her for a drink. She’s puzzled.
Verses 10 to 12
And he answered her by saying that if she knew the gift of God and who he is, then she would have asked him and he would have given her living water. So, if the woman knew who the Lord Jesus is, then she would be asking him for what he can give.
And who is he? He’s the Word of God the Father, the only begotten Son of God, who has all life in himself. And he gives us our life in this world and he’s able to give us eternal life in the world to come. That’s who he is.
And he says to her that he can give her living water. And when the Lord refers to living water, he’s referring to the Holy Spirit, who comes from the Father through the Son to give us eternal life. We know he’s referring to the Holy Spirit, because in John 7 he again uses the image of living water. And John interprets the image for us and says he means the Holy Spirit. And it’s such a suitable image for the Holy Spirit, because living water is water that comes from a spring. It’s different from still water which is collected in a well or a cistern and which may become stagnant. But running water is water from a spring. It bubbles up and flows continually from its source.
And it’s a fitting image for the Holy Spirit because the Holy Spirit comes from the Father and the Son. The Father and Son are the Spirit’s eternal source. So, he comes from them. He pours forth from them. He comes from them in eternity and he comes to us in time to give us life. He gives us our life in this world. And then, he implants new life in us and he enables us to trust in the Saviour for salvation. And the life he implants in us will go on and on and on for ever, because God the Father sends his Spirit through his Son so that we might have eternal life in God’s presence.
So, if you only knew who I am and what I can give, you would have asked me for living water. And I would have given it to you. Do you see that in verse 10? Do you see the Lord’s willingness to give his Spirit and to give eternal life to whomever asks him for it? Do you see his overflowing generosity and goodness? He’s not stingy like us. We may not want to be stingy, but when someone asks us for money, we hesitate, because we might need it for ourselves. If we give our money away, then we’ll be short of money ourselves. And so, we can’t afford to give our money away. But the only begotten Son of God the Father is willing to give away the Spirit to whomever asks, because he can give the Spirit to us without suffering any loss. The Lord Jesus will never run out of the Spirit, because the Holy Spirit is eternal. He comes from the Father and the Son eternally. He proceeds from them always and for ever. And so, the Son is able to give the Spirit to whomever asks. And whomever receives the Holy Spirit from the Son will live with God for ever.
But the woman doesn’t understand what the Lord is talking about. She’s thinking of literal water. How can he give her literal water when he doesn’t have bucket? Is he greater than Jacob who dug the well? By wondering if the Lord is greater than Jacob, she might be wondering if he’s someone like Moses. I should explain that the Samaritans only accepted the first five books of the Bible as the word of God. And in the first five books of the Bible, you read about Moses, who brought water out of the rock for God’s people to drink in the wilderness. Of course, it was God who brought the water from the rock, but God gave it to them through Moses. And then in the book of Deuteronomy, God promised to send his people another prophet like Moses. So, was the Lord Jesus the prophet who was to come? Could he perform a miracle and give her water to drink?
Verses 13 to 15
And the Lord answered her by explaining that whoever drinks water from a well, or whoever drinks literal water — H2O — will be thirsty again. When Moses gave the people water in the wilderness, he quenched their thirst for a while. But the next day they were thirsty again and needed more water. But whoever drinks the water that the Lord Jesus gives will never thirst. That’s in verse 14. Indeed, the water he gives — and the water he gives is the Holy Spirit — will become in us a spring of water welling up to eternal life. The Lord Jesus gives us his Spirit. And his Spirit is the Lord and Giver of Life. He gives us eternal life in the presence of God. The life he produces in us goes on and on and on. It does not run out like water in a well or in a cistern. The life the Holy Spirit produces in us goes on and on and on for ever.
And when the woman hears about this water which flows continually, she asks the Lord to give it to her. And at first it sounds as if the Lord has made a breakthrough and she now wants what he can give. But it becomes clear that she still doesn’t understand. She’s still thinking of literal water, H2O. She asks him to give it to her so that she won’t ever be thirsty again and have to come back to this well. It’s a pain having to come out to this well every day and fill up a jar and carry it home. Give me water that will quench my thirsty completely so that I won’t need to draw water again.
Verse 16 to 18
And that’s when the Lord turns the conversation in a surprising direction. He asks her to fetch her husband. And she replied, ‘I have no husband.’ I heard another preacher point out how short her reply is to this question. She’s had lots to say before this. Every time she speaks, she’s said several sentences. Now, she says just three words in the Greek or four in English. Her brief reply suggests she’s reluctant to talk about her marital situation.
But the Lord goes on to agree with her. He knows — and presumably the Holy Spirit has given him supernatural knowledge of this woman — that she has no husband. And he knows she’s had five husbands and that she’s currently living with a man who is not her husband. The Lord knows all about her broken, messed up life. But you don’t get the impression that he’s scolding her or criticising her. That’s what we often do when we see the broken lives of the people around us. But the Lord isn’t doing that. He’s gently bringing out into the open what she already knows to be true: that her life is not the way it’s supposed to be and she wishes it were better.
And he has what she needs to enable her to sort out her life. He can give her the Holy Spirit to enable her to live a new kind of life, a better life, a life that is good and right and joyful. He can give the Holy Spirit to her. He’s ready to give the Spirit to her.
Verses 19 to 24
But she now turns the conversation in a different direction. It seems to her that he really is a prophet. And so, now she wants to discuss with him the difference between the Jews and the Samaritans. The Samaritans worshipped God in one place, whereas the Jews worshipped God in another place. Where’s the right place to worship God?
And the Lord is very patient with her. She’s trying to turn the conversation in a new direction. And instead of being impatient, he answers her question. And he tells her plainly that the Samaritans are wrong. They’re worshipping what they don’t know. They don’t know the true God. The Jews do know him, because God has revealed himself to them in history and through his word. But — and this is the important part of his answer — a time is coming and has now come when true worshippers will worship God the Father neither on Mount Gerizim in the north or on Mount Zion in the south. Instead they will worship God the Father in spirit and truth. God is spirit after all. He is not physical. He doesn’t have a body. He’s not made out of anything. He is spirit. And his worshippers must worship him in spirit and truth.
Let’s think about what he means by worshipping the Father in truth. The Jews worshipped God using symbols. For instance, they met in a man-made temple which symbolised heaven. They had Levitical priests who symbolised our Great High Priest in heaven. They offered animal sacrifices which symbolised Christ’s once-for-all sacrifice for sins. But the time has now come for those symbols to be set aside, because when we meet for worship now, we do so in the name of our Great High Priest, who offered himself on the cross as the perfect sacrifice for sins and who is now representing us before God in heaven where he is interceding for us continually. Our worship today is true worship because it’s focussed on Christ and we don’t rely on symbols.
And we worship God in spirit, because he has given us his Spirit. And it’s the Spirit who enables us to believe and who enables us to love God and to give thanks to him.
And our worship must also be Trinitarian, because the Lord says we’re to worship the Father. And when we hear of the Father, we must also think of the Son. The Father and the Son always go together. And when we think of the Father and the Son, we must also think of the Holy Spirit who proceeds from them eternally. And so, our worship must be deliberately Trinitarian. We offer praise to God the Father through Jesus Christ the Son, who died for us and who is interceding for us in heaven. And we worship the Father with the help of the Holy Spirit.
Verses 25 and 26
The woman seems to be saying in verse 25 that we’ll leave it until the Messiah comes. He’s explain these things to us. It’s as if she doesn’t want to commit herself to the Lord. She’s putting off making any decision about him.
But he declared to her: ‘I who speak to you am he.’ He’s saying that he’s the Messiah. He’s the Christ. That is to say: he’s God’s Spirit-Anointed and Conquering King, sent by God to save sinners from our sin and misery.
So, he is God’s Spirit-Anointed King. And he gives the Spirit to his people, known and loved by him from all eternity. He gives his Spirit to his people so that we are born again of water and the Spirit and are able to turn from our sin and unbelief and turn with faith to the Saviour for salvation. And the Saviour washes away our sin and guilt and reconciles us to God the Father. And by his Spirit he renews us in the image of God more and more so that we are changed for the better.
Conclusion
That’s what he was offering to do for this Samaritan woman. That’s what he’s done for many of us. We pray that he will do it for many more people connected to this church or who live in this district. We pray that the Lord Jesus Christ, God’s only begotten Son, will send his Spirit into their lives to rescue them from their sin and misery and to give them a new life in Christ which will go on and on and on for ever and for ever.
Sermons and Stuff 