THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION

John: Believing On The Christ, The Son Of God, For Eternal Life

Part XIV: Believing On Christ Due To His Witness To A Samaritan Woman, John 4:1-42

A. Believing On Christ Due To His Discipling Of A Pagan In Great Darkness

(John 4:1-30)

I. Introduction

A. Jesus came to Israel in His first advent, but God planned that He eventually be a light to the ends of the earth unto all nations, the revelation of Old Testament Isaiah 49:6 and New Testament Matthew 28:19-20.

B. Thus, Christ's outreach to a pagan Samaritan woman in great spiritual darkness acts as the ultimate example of the Church's future outreach to pagan Gentiles, and testifies of Jesus' identity as the Son of God and Messiah:

II. Believing On Christ Due To His Discipling Of A Pagan In Great Darkness, John 4:1-30.

A. Jesus exampled the need for Christians later to press into unsavory parts of the world to disciple lost pagans:

1. As He withdrew from Israel's leaders in Judaea for Galilee, instead of using the Jordan Valley route that Orthodox Hebrews traveled, Jesus went through apostate Samaria, John 4:1-4; B. K. C., N. T., p. 284-285.

2. Samaria's people were of mixed Jewish and Assyrian blood who held to a Judaistic-pagan mix of religions (syncretism), so Orthodox Jews had no dealings with them, cf. 2 Kings 17:24-41 with John 4:9b.

3. John 4:4 states "it was being necessary" (edei) for Jesus to traverse Samaria -- He had an appointment there (U. B. S. Grk. N. T., 1966, p. 332; Arndt & Gingrich, A Grk.-Eng. Lex. of the N. T., 1967, p. 171), signaling the need for Christians later to press into unsavory environs of all sorts to disciple pagans.

B. Jesus exampled the need for Christians later to impress estranged pagans with acts of unusual godly love:

1. Jesus came to Jacob's well outside the city of Sycar in Samaria and sat down exhausted from His trip, John 4:5-6. The disciples left Him to enter the city to buy food, and a lone Samaritan woman walked up to the well to draw water, and Jesus did the remarkably kind thing of asking her for a drink, John 4:7:

2. In that era, men and women did not normally have public conversations, Jews and Samaritans did not converse, strangers did not speak to one another and Rabbinic law considered Samaritan women as always unclean, meaning everything this woman handled was also unclean, Bib. Know. Com., N. T., p. 285.

3. So, for Jesus to ask this woman to give Him a drink from a vessel she carried was amazingly KIND!

C. Jesus exampled the need for Christians later to fuel the positive motivation of pagans in discipling them: when the woman asked Jesus why He as a Jew would ask her for a drink from her vessel as she was a Samaritan woman, He replied in a way that ignited her motivation, saying that if she knew Who it was who had asked her for a drink, she would have asked Him, and He would have given her "living water," John 4:9-10.

D. Jesus exampled how Christians later were to start with the known and move to the unknown to disciple pagans: "living water" can mean figurative spiritual life or literal running water superior to the stale water of a well, Ibid. The woman understood the term literally, and asked Jesus how He could be greater than Jacob who dug the well in giving her running water, John 4:11-12, so Jesus explained He meant spiritual life, Jn. 4:13-14.

E. Jesus exampled how later Christians must direct pagans toward the subjects of sin and salvation in discipling: when the woman asked for Jesus' water (John 4:15), still thinking it would keep her from having to draw more literal water, Jesus knew He had to clarify His truth, so He asked her to get her husband, redirecting the conversation to deal with her many sins of immorality toward moving her to His subject of salvation, Jn. 4:16.

F. Jesus exampled the need for Christians later to keep pagans focused on sin and salvation to disciple them: once this line of conversation enabled Jesus to display His supernatural knowledge of the woman's sins (John 4:17-18), and she realized He was a "prophet" (John 4:19), she diverged into a topic of debate between Jews and Samaritans (John 4:20), but He responded by correcting the Samaritan error (John 4:21) and positively motivated her in leading her to consider becoming a true worshiper of God in Spirit and in truth, John 4:22-24.

G. Jesus exampled how Christians later were to lead pagans to commit to Christ once they understand the Gospel: as the woman mentioned the hope of Messiah in both Jews and Samaritans, Jesus instantly claimed to be the Messiah so she could trust in Him, John 4:25-26. This led her and other pagans to trust in Him, John 4:28-30.

Lesson: His great love, grace and skill to disciple the very pagan Samaritan woman reveals Jesus was vastly superior in Person to even the most conservative Jews of His era, showing He was the Son of God Incarnate.

Application: (1) May we trust in Christ as the Son of God for salvation. (2) May we Christians follow His example of discipling the Samaritan woman by the power of the Holy Spirit to reach very lost, pagan people for Christ!