WEBVTT 00:00:00.360 --> 00:00:03.500 As we enter this Lenten season, we're in week 00:00:03.500 --> 00:00:07.580 three. We want to continue our thoughts of our 00:00:07.580 --> 00:00:12.179 Lord's sufferings and for us ourselves for our 00:00:12.179 --> 00:00:16.660 repentance as we get to know him better. So now 00:00:16.660 --> 00:00:19.239 let us go before the Lord and ask for his blessing 00:00:19.239 --> 00:00:22.640 of the preaching of his word. We give you thanks 00:00:22.640 --> 00:00:26.120 and praise, Heavenly Father, that you have given 00:00:26.120 --> 00:00:28.980 us your Son to be the revelation of your glory. 00:00:29.160 --> 00:00:31.760 and to come and to take a bride for himself. 00:00:32.439 --> 00:00:34.899 We ask that you help us look to him for all things 00:00:34.899 --> 00:00:38.840 that we need. Help us every day to honor him 00:00:38.840 --> 00:00:41.780 as the faithful King and Savior. Hear all our 00:00:41.780 --> 00:00:44.119 prayers for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord. 00:00:44.539 --> 00:00:53.600 Amen. So just as a note in our gospel reading, 00:00:53.740 --> 00:00:56.520 what you saw published in our communications 00:00:56.520 --> 00:00:59.969 this week was a little bit longer. for the sake 00:00:59.969 --> 00:01:03.770 of people and children paying attention. I've 00:01:03.770 --> 00:01:06.409 taken out several portions of that, both in our 00:01:06.409 --> 00:01:09.090 reading and today. I'll try to make note of it 00:01:09.090 --> 00:01:11.170 as we go through today. Although I am starting 00:01:11.170 --> 00:01:15.650 several verses earlier, just two lines to provide 00:01:15.650 --> 00:01:17.870 some context. So today we're reading from John 00:01:17.870 --> 00:01:22.489 chapter four, beginning in verse three. And the 00:01:22.489 --> 00:01:26.409 he here is Jesus. He left Judea and departed 00:01:26.409 --> 00:01:29.609 again to Galilee. But he needed to go through 00:01:29.609 --> 00:01:32.890 Samaria. So he came to a city in Samaria which 00:01:32.890 --> 00:01:36.450 is called Sychar, near a plot of ground that 00:01:36.450 --> 00:01:39.549 Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Now Jacob's well 00:01:39.549 --> 00:01:42.629 was there. Jesus therefore, being weary from 00:01:42.629 --> 00:01:45.989 his journey, sat thus by the well, and it was 00:01:45.989 --> 00:01:49.969 about the sixth hour. A woman of Samaria came 00:01:49.969 --> 00:01:52.730 to draw water, and Jesus said to her, give me 00:01:52.730 --> 00:01:55.730 a drink. For his disciples had gone away into 00:01:55.730 --> 00:01:58.890 the city to buy food. Then the woman of Samaria 00:01:58.890 --> 00:02:01.489 said to him, How is it that you, being a Jew, 00:02:01.890 --> 00:02:05.450 ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman? For Jews 00:02:05.450 --> 00:02:09.409 have no dealings with Samaritans. Jesus answered 00:02:09.409 --> 00:02:12.289 and said to her, If you knew the gift of God 00:02:12.289 --> 00:02:14.650 and who it was who says to you, give me a drink, 00:02:15.110 --> 00:02:17.430 you would have asked him, and he would have given 00:02:17.430 --> 00:02:21.689 you living water. The woman said to him, Sir, 00:02:21.849 --> 00:02:24.990 you have nothing to draw with, and the well is 00:02:24.990 --> 00:02:28.620 deep. Where then do you get living water? Are 00:02:28.620 --> 00:02:30.919 you greater than our father Jacob who gave us 00:02:30.919 --> 00:02:34.379 the well and drank from it himself, as well as 00:02:34.379 --> 00:02:38.060 his sons and his livestock? Jesus answered and 00:02:38.060 --> 00:02:41.280 said to her, whoever drinks of this water will 00:02:41.280 --> 00:02:44.039 thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water 00:02:44.039 --> 00:02:47.960 that I shall give him will never thirst. But 00:02:47.960 --> 00:02:50.520 the water that I shall give him will become in 00:02:50.520 --> 00:02:53.520 him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting 00:02:53.520 --> 00:02:58.400 life. The woman said to him, Sir, give me this 00:02:58.400 --> 00:03:01.020 water that I might not thirst, nor come here 00:03:01.020 --> 00:03:04.939 to draw. Jesus said to her, Go and call your 00:03:04.939 --> 00:03:08.740 husband and come here. The woman answered, I 00:03:08.740 --> 00:03:11.879 have no husband. Jesus said to her, You have 00:03:11.879 --> 00:03:14.840 well said I have no husband, for you have had 00:03:14.840 --> 00:03:18.400 five husbands, and the one whom you now have 00:03:18.400 --> 00:03:21.479 is not your husband, in that you spoke truly. 00:03:22.030 --> 00:03:24.370 And the woman said, Sir, I perceive that you're 00:03:24.370 --> 00:03:27.030 a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, 00:03:27.050 --> 00:03:29.610 and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place 00:03:29.610 --> 00:03:34.430 where one should worship. And Jesus said to her, 00:03:34.530 --> 00:03:37.189 Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you 00:03:37.189 --> 00:03:40.229 will neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem 00:03:40.229 --> 00:03:44.409 worship the Father. You worship what you do not 00:03:44.409 --> 00:03:47.509 know. We know what we worship, for salvation 00:03:47.509 --> 00:03:51.129 is from the Jews. But the hour is coming. It 00:03:51.129 --> 00:03:53.310 is now when true worshipers will worship the 00:03:53.310 --> 00:03:56.349 Father in spirit and in truth, for the Father 00:03:56.349 --> 00:03:59.789 is seeking such to worship him. God is spirit, 00:04:00.250 --> 00:04:02.849 and those who worship him must worship him in 00:04:02.849 --> 00:04:10.530 spirit and in truth. The woman said to him, I 00:04:10.530 --> 00:04:12.569 know that the Messiah is coming who is called 00:04:12.569 --> 00:04:15.969 the Christ. When he comes, he will tell us all 00:04:15.969 --> 00:04:21.720 things. Jesus said to her, I, who speak to you, 00:04:22.040 --> 00:04:26.339 am He. These are the words of Almighty God. Receive 00:04:26.339 --> 00:04:32.180 them in your hearts. There's three things that 00:04:32.180 --> 00:04:36.379 I want you to look at and understand about this 00:04:36.379 --> 00:04:38.920 passage. There's three things. And by the way, 00:04:39.079 --> 00:04:41.720 for those of you who might have seen it on the 00:04:41.720 --> 00:04:43.899 realm already this morning, I've put these three 00:04:43.899 --> 00:04:47.819 points into our communications. As well as all 00:04:47.819 --> 00:04:50.980 of the supporting verses that I reference in 00:04:50.980 --> 00:04:55.079 the sermon today So these three things are this? 00:04:55.660 --> 00:05:00.060 God has purpose to save his bride the church 00:05:00.060 --> 00:05:05.779 God has purpose to save his bride the church 00:05:05.779 --> 00:05:14.500 Second worship matters worship matters And the 00:05:14.500 --> 00:05:18.829 third thing is this Jesus' springs of living 00:05:18.829 --> 00:05:22.810 waters is gifted to us that we may be springs 00:05:22.810 --> 00:05:28.370 of life to others. That is, Jesus' springs of 00:05:28.370 --> 00:05:32.769 living waters is gifted to us that we may be 00:05:32.769 --> 00:05:38.370 springs of life to others. As we look at today's 00:05:38.370 --> 00:05:40.370 text, there's a few things that must be understood 00:05:40.370 --> 00:05:45.230 before we look deeply into it. First, our text 00:05:45.230 --> 00:05:48.170 is part of the entire theme of the scriptures. 00:05:49.490 --> 00:05:53.189 As one commentator says, boy meets girl. And 00:05:53.189 --> 00:05:58.509 I would say boy meets girl by water. Adam meets 00:05:58.509 --> 00:06:01.110 Eve in a garden that is watered by a river flowing 00:06:01.110 --> 00:06:04.910 out to the four corners of the world. Isaac's 00:06:04.910 --> 00:06:08.410 wife was discovered at a well. Jacob met his 00:06:08.410 --> 00:06:13.939 wife at a well. Moses met his wife. At a well. 00:06:14.899 --> 00:06:18.300 In the last book of the Bible, Revelation, we 00:06:18.300 --> 00:06:21.100 see the marriage supper of the lamb. This is 00:06:21.100 --> 00:06:23.600 Christ's marriage to his bride, the church. So 00:06:23.600 --> 00:06:27.100 from beginning to end, there's this narrative 00:06:27.100 --> 00:06:35.319 of a man finding his bride at waters. It is important 00:06:35.319 --> 00:06:37.620 for us to understand the connection of living 00:06:37.620 --> 00:06:41.160 waters from wells symbolizing marriage covenants 00:06:41.160 --> 00:06:45.360 and the fidelity to the covenant. We know that 00:06:45.360 --> 00:06:48.220 Jesus is faithful, but Solomon in the book of 00:06:48.220 --> 00:06:53.240 Proverbs chapter 5 also emphasizes to men this, 00:06:53.339 --> 00:06:56.439 and Solomon teaches his son this, drink water 00:06:56.439 --> 00:07:00.000 from your own cistern, your own well, and running 00:07:00.000 --> 00:07:03.300 water from your own well. Should your fountains 00:07:03.300 --> 00:07:06.600 be dispersed abroad and streams of water in the 00:07:06.600 --> 00:07:11.420 streets, let them be only your own and not for 00:07:11.420 --> 00:07:14.339 strangers with you. Let your fountain be blessed 00:07:14.339 --> 00:07:17.980 and rejoice with the wife of your youth." So 00:07:17.980 --> 00:07:21.839 here, this cistern, this well of water, right? 00:07:21.839 --> 00:07:25.699 It's representative of the covenant and how you 00:07:25.699 --> 00:07:28.240 as a man shouldn't share your waters with others 00:07:28.240 --> 00:07:31.519 and you shouldn't try to drink from any other 00:07:31.519 --> 00:07:35.860 source of water than your own wife. Our passage 00:07:35.860 --> 00:07:40.560 this morning, so, oh, excuse me. It is important. 00:07:40.959 --> 00:07:43.100 For us to remember this, here's a connection 00:07:43.100 --> 00:07:45.399 to us, because this is always the question, what 00:07:45.399 --> 00:07:48.860 does this mean to me? Right? Jesus meets his 00:07:48.860 --> 00:07:51.680 bride, that's us, the church, and the living 00:07:51.680 --> 00:07:54.720 waters of baptism which are overshadowed by the 00:07:54.720 --> 00:07:59.180 Spirit. Again, Jesus meets his bride and the 00:07:59.180 --> 00:08:02.779 living waters of baptism overshadowed by the 00:08:02.779 --> 00:08:08.879 Spirit. So there's an emphasis here as Jesus 00:08:08.879 --> 00:08:13.189 comes to this woman at the well, that Jesus finds 00:08:13.189 --> 00:08:16.709 a Samaritan woman at the well and she is in need 00:08:16.709 --> 00:08:20.790 of a true and faithful husband. I think we can 00:08:20.790 --> 00:08:25.829 agree with that. There's also here as a foundation 00:08:25.829 --> 00:08:29.290 a serious lesson in Bible study methods that 00:08:29.290 --> 00:08:33.970 needs to be understood. We often read our own 00:08:33.970 --> 00:08:39.019 prejudices, experiences, and some of our former 00:08:39.019 --> 00:08:41.679 tutoring or teachings into our understanding 00:08:41.679 --> 00:08:46.460 when we read the Bible. And in this way, we certainly 00:08:46.460 --> 00:08:49.399 skew and make our own crooked ideas into the 00:08:49.399 --> 00:08:53.700 text as if they're fact, but they're simply not 00:08:53.700 --> 00:08:56.879 there. This is real important. It's normative. 00:08:57.059 --> 00:08:59.519 We all have a lens of our experience and what 00:08:59.519 --> 00:09:03.289 we've heard. Right, but we must guard ourselves 00:09:03.289 --> 00:09:05.830 when we look at the scriptures not to see it 00:09:05.830 --> 00:09:08.269 as we've always heard But what is in the text 00:09:08.269 --> 00:09:11.610 we must use scripture to interpret scripture? 00:09:13.029 --> 00:09:15.730 Even if you have your favorite Bible teachers 00:09:15.730 --> 00:09:20.409 and preachers even myself included What's in 00:09:20.409 --> 00:09:23.009 the text? What is the Bible itself? Tell us about 00:09:23.009 --> 00:09:27.029 the text and don't put it in put in your own 00:09:27.029 --> 00:09:31.299 ideas These false ideas and mischaracterizations 00:09:31.299 --> 00:09:34.940 are taught and sometimes repeated so much that 00:09:34.940 --> 00:09:38.980 it just becomes the common but untrue reading 00:09:38.980 --> 00:09:43.200 of God's Word. This woman at the well is a great 00:09:43.200 --> 00:09:46.399 example of this. It has been common to assume 00:09:46.399 --> 00:09:48.799 that this woman is guilty of living her whole 00:09:48.799 --> 00:09:52.720 life as sexually immoral. It is understood by 00:09:52.720 --> 00:09:55.879 having so many husbands, and now that she's living 00:09:55.879 --> 00:09:59.690 with a man that is not her husband. This is simply 00:09:59.690 --> 00:10:03.649 not in the text first Jesus who has never been 00:10:03.649 --> 00:10:07.990 bashful about pointing out sins that people need 00:10:07.990 --> 00:10:12.009 to repent of Only points to the fact in sin that 00:10:12.009 --> 00:10:14.590 she is living with a man that is now not her 00:10:14.590 --> 00:10:22.509 husband We're not given any explanation for why 00:10:22.509 --> 00:10:25.809 she had had five husbands She could certainly 00:10:25.809 --> 00:10:28.190 just be what we call in the modern day a black 00:10:28.190 --> 00:10:30.309 widow. She gets married and somehow they die. 00:10:30.669 --> 00:10:32.590 Now I know a lot of times we look at that with 00:10:32.590 --> 00:10:38.190 suspicion. But I want to point out to you, right, 00:10:39.090 --> 00:10:42.389 that the Puritan minister John Flavel had four 00:10:42.389 --> 00:10:46.590 wives. His first three wives just died by various 00:10:46.590 --> 00:10:49.549 things that happened to them. We don't look at 00:10:49.549 --> 00:10:52.870 that Puritan great and say, Well, he must have 00:10:52.870 --> 00:10:55.029 been poisoned all his wives or why did he have 00:10:55.029 --> 00:11:00.850 so many wives? No. We need to treat the Samaritan 00:11:00.850 --> 00:11:04.929 woman simply with the facts in the text. It's 00:11:04.929 --> 00:11:08.149 also important for us to remember that at that 00:11:08.149 --> 00:11:10.850 time divorce was initiated only by the husband. 00:11:11.629 --> 00:11:14.370 We don't know the reasons that she was divorced. 00:11:15.090 --> 00:11:18.629 It could have been that she was a serial adulterous 00:11:18.629 --> 00:11:22.629 woman or It's just as likely, because of the 00:11:22.629 --> 00:11:25.330 corruption of the rabbinical teachings, a man 00:11:25.330 --> 00:11:28.210 could divorce his wife for any reason, and this 00:11:28.210 --> 00:11:30.509 was actually the rabbinical teachings, for burning 00:11:30.509 --> 00:11:37.389 his dinner. It sounds like today, that's right, 00:11:37.649 --> 00:11:44.129 divorce for any reason. Now it's really important 00:11:44.129 --> 00:11:46.009 for us to know, farther down in the text, in 00:11:46.009 --> 00:11:48.350 verse 39, we read that many of the Samaritans 00:11:48.350 --> 00:11:52.519 of the cities believed in Jesus because of the 00:11:52.519 --> 00:11:56.419 testimony of this woman. If she were a woman 00:11:56.419 --> 00:12:00.320 scorned and ostracized because of her wickedness, 00:12:01.279 --> 00:12:04.179 her testimony would not have likely counted for 00:12:04.179 --> 00:12:11.320 much. Now what the text does show is this. It 00:12:11.320 --> 00:12:14.750 does show that this woman who has experienced 00:12:14.750 --> 00:12:18.250 a lot of hardship in her relationships had found 00:12:18.250 --> 00:12:21.669 no long -term help in her five husbands. And 00:12:21.669 --> 00:12:24.549 it seems that now she has given up on marriage 00:12:24.549 --> 00:12:27.769 and is now definitely living in sin with a man 00:12:27.769 --> 00:12:32.610 who is not her husband. As you know, this is 00:12:32.610 --> 00:12:36.789 like the people of Samaria and Judea. They look 00:12:36.789 --> 00:12:40.049 to other gods and idols and now for many in those 00:12:40.049 --> 00:12:42.950 lands They are spiritually living with the man 00:12:42.950 --> 00:12:48.049 who is not their husband So as we consider God's 00:12:48.049 --> 00:12:50.509 word at any time let us be careful to look to 00:12:50.509 --> 00:12:54.450 the scriptures to interpret Itself, let us guard 00:12:54.450 --> 00:12:57.509 ourselves not to read into the scriptures what 00:12:57.509 --> 00:13:00.750 it's not there With these points as a foundation. 00:13:00.850 --> 00:13:03.740 Let us turn to our passage first of all It says 00:13:03.740 --> 00:13:07.139 this, that Jesus left Judea and departed Galilee. 00:13:07.460 --> 00:13:11.480 But he needed to go through Samaria. And so it 00:13:11.480 --> 00:13:14.500 says that he came to a city of Samaria. And we 00:13:14.500 --> 00:13:16.980 heard about this city, Sychar. It's kind of sort 00:13:16.980 --> 00:13:20.919 of on the lower half of Samaria. So you got Judea 00:13:20.919 --> 00:13:24.759 down here. You got Galilee up here. And you have 00:13:24.759 --> 00:13:28.279 Samaria kind of situated in the middle. It's 00:13:28.279 --> 00:13:32.059 important for us to realize. That Jesus had been 00:13:32.059 --> 00:13:34.820 in Jerusalem. He had cleansed the temple. Then 00:13:34.820 --> 00:13:38.240 he had a meeting with Nicodemus Right the great 00:13:38.240 --> 00:13:41.779 teacher of Israel about the necessity to be born 00:13:41.779 --> 00:13:45.120 of the spirit and of water and His disciples 00:13:45.120 --> 00:13:49.120 then went out from there and were baptizing disciples 00:13:49.120 --> 00:13:53.200 and followers of Jesus and it is in that Characterization 00:13:53.200 --> 00:13:56.259 that he comes in it is in that way that he comes 00:13:56.259 --> 00:14:02.600 in he says I need to go to Samaria. Now, this 00:14:02.600 --> 00:14:06.799 word need is better understood as this, as the 00:14:06.799 --> 00:14:10.179 necessity to do what is required to attain some 00:14:10.179 --> 00:14:14.779 end. It is the necessity to do what is required 00:14:14.779 --> 00:14:18.960 to attain some end. Now, someone could say, well, 00:14:19.259 --> 00:14:22.919 his end was I got to get to Galilee, right? But 00:14:22.919 --> 00:14:26.679 he says, I need to go to Samaria. Most of the 00:14:26.679 --> 00:14:28.779 Jews in those days, they would actually do this. 00:14:28.799 --> 00:14:30.919 Again, I kind of made this map for you and here's 00:14:30.919 --> 00:14:33.159 the River Jordan kind of on the edge. They would 00:14:33.159 --> 00:14:39.039 actually go out of Judea and over on the other 00:14:39.039 --> 00:14:42.220 side of the Jordan River and go all the way up 00:14:42.220 --> 00:14:45.539 and then back over. They were so eager to come 00:14:45.539 --> 00:14:50.500 into no contact with the Samaritans that they 00:14:50.500 --> 00:14:55.250 went the long way around. Jesus says, no, I need 00:14:55.250 --> 00:14:59.990 to go to Samaria. That's where I'm going. What 00:14:59.990 --> 00:15:06.149 is Jesus' end that he is trying to attain? Jesus 00:15:06.149 --> 00:15:10.190 came to seek and save that which was lost. What's 00:15:10.190 --> 00:15:15.470 lost? Jesus' bride is lost. Like the prophet 00:15:15.470 --> 00:15:18.889 Hosea who was commanded by God to marry an adulterous 00:15:18.889 --> 00:15:21.909 woman, prostituting herself with many lovers. 00:15:22.269 --> 00:15:26.029 Jesus seeks out his bride first from the descendants 00:15:26.029 --> 00:15:30.549 of his covenant people, Judah, Israel, and this 00:15:30.549 --> 00:15:35.309 would have included many of the Samaritans. So 00:15:35.309 --> 00:15:38.090 remember, Jesus' purpose since the foundations 00:15:38.090 --> 00:15:41.370 of the world to redeem his bride, the church, 00:15:42.110 --> 00:15:45.490 all y 'all who are baptized and living a repentant 00:15:45.490 --> 00:15:49.230 life. That's who he has purposed to come see. 00:15:50.030 --> 00:15:52.870 Jesus has pursued you as you know that while 00:15:52.870 --> 00:15:55.629 you were yet sinners Christ died for you our 00:15:55.629 --> 00:15:58.590 passage in Romans 5 told us this for if when 00:15:58.590 --> 00:16:01.190 we were enemies we were reconciled to God through 00:16:01.190 --> 00:16:04.129 his the death of his son much more having been 00:16:04.129 --> 00:16:07.830 reconciled we shall be saved by his life and 00:16:07.830 --> 00:16:11.110 Not only that but we also rejoice in God through 00:16:11.110 --> 00:16:13.990 our Lord Jesus Christ through whom we have now 00:16:13.990 --> 00:16:19.169 received that reconciliation Jesus purposed to 00:16:19.169 --> 00:16:22.750 attain in the end all those whom he has called 00:16:22.750 --> 00:16:27.009 and redeemed and reconciled to be his bride. 00:16:28.309 --> 00:16:30.149 So this is real important. The Christian life 00:16:30.149 --> 00:16:34.629 is framed by joy in that Jesus has purpose to 00:16:34.629 --> 00:16:38.549 save his bride. Whatever you're dealing with 00:16:38.549 --> 00:16:41.809 in your life right now, you need to understand 00:16:41.809 --> 00:16:46.480 this. Your life is framed by the joy that Jesus 00:16:46.480 --> 00:16:48.980 has purposed to save his bride, which includes 00:16:48.980 --> 00:16:55.559 you. Dearly beloved, rejoice, for we have been 00:16:55.559 --> 00:16:59.279 reconciled and saved, because Jesus is the faithful 00:16:59.279 --> 00:17:02.919 husband. Jesus sat by the well and encountered 00:17:02.919 --> 00:17:05.980 this Samaritan woman, and Jesus said to her, 00:17:06.500 --> 00:17:10.140 give me a drink. Now this phrase, if we look 00:17:10.140 --> 00:17:12.660 at the grammar, is not a command like give me 00:17:12.660 --> 00:17:17.559 a drink, woman. No. This word give in the Greek 00:17:17.559 --> 00:17:21.900 can be understood as bestow a gift to me. Jesus, 00:17:21.980 --> 00:17:24.460 he's hot. It's the sixth hour. That's noon in 00:17:24.460 --> 00:17:26.880 our time. It's hot. The sun is bearing down. 00:17:27.099 --> 00:17:29.579 He came in from a journey. He paused and rested 00:17:29.579 --> 00:17:34.259 there. He was like, give me this gift of water. 00:17:34.720 --> 00:17:41.859 I'm hot. I need to be refreshed. She's astonished 00:17:41.859 --> 00:17:45.019 that Jesus a Jew would ask her for a drink for 00:17:45.019 --> 00:17:49.099 she's both a Samaritan and a woman Many Jews 00:17:49.099 --> 00:17:51.759 as I said before wouldn't travel through Samaria 00:17:51.759 --> 00:17:54.160 Because they didn't want to come into contact 00:17:54.160 --> 00:17:57.900 to become with Samaritans and become unclean 00:17:57.900 --> 00:18:01.019 and at that time women were not elevated and 00:18:01.019 --> 00:18:03.180 so a woman was considered even lower than just 00:18:03.180 --> 00:18:09.359 a regular Samaritan man and They certainly Here's 00:18:09.359 --> 00:18:11.460 the thing, they certainly would not have drank 00:18:11.460 --> 00:18:15.660 out of the same container as a Samaritan. And 00:18:15.660 --> 00:18:18.319 Jesus answered her and said, if you knew the 00:18:18.319 --> 00:18:21.500 gift of God and who it is that says it to you, 00:18:21.559 --> 00:18:24.299 give me a drink, you would have asked him and 00:18:24.299 --> 00:18:27.319 he would have given you living water. Jesus' 00:18:27.700 --> 00:18:31.339 context here is in that he is the gift that gives 00:18:31.339 --> 00:18:35.019 living water. Waters that are not dead but are 00:18:35.019 --> 00:18:39.900 moving, springing up and flowing out. Much like 00:18:39.900 --> 00:18:42.559 Nicodemus that we heard about last week, this 00:18:42.559 --> 00:18:46.119 woman sees the practical problems with what Jesus 00:18:46.119 --> 00:18:50.519 is saying and so lacks understanding. Jesus must 00:18:50.519 --> 00:18:54.119 correct her misunderstandings not just about 00:18:54.119 --> 00:18:56.619 getting a drink of water, but much more about 00:18:56.619 --> 00:19:00.160 her life and the lives of the whole world. She 00:19:00.160 --> 00:19:03.259 questions Jesus, what are you using to draw these 00:19:03.259 --> 00:19:06.480 living waters? And now she begins to show that 00:19:06.480 --> 00:19:09.480 she's not an ignorant woman, but one with some 00:19:09.480 --> 00:19:12.980 thoughtful spiritual ideas and questions. She 00:19:12.980 --> 00:19:15.740 says, are you greater than our father Jacob, 00:19:15.859 --> 00:19:18.220 who drank here along with his sons and his livestock? 00:19:20.119 --> 00:19:23.759 Here, she's making a distinction about the historicity 00:19:23.759 --> 00:19:27.480 of her Samaritan religion and all their practices. 00:19:30.380 --> 00:19:33.349 Jesus answered and said to her, Whoever drinks 00:19:33.349 --> 00:19:37.369 of this water will thirst again But whoever drinks 00:19:37.369 --> 00:19:39.910 of the water that I shall give him will never 00:19:39.910 --> 00:19:43.289 thirst But the water that I shall give him will 00:19:43.289 --> 00:19:46.009 become a fountain of water springing up into 00:19:46.009 --> 00:19:49.670 everlasting life The waters of life that spring 00:19:49.670 --> 00:19:53.269 and flow up out of him make us never to thirst 00:19:53.269 --> 00:19:58.450 again, and it is a gift Just like the water he 00:19:58.450 --> 00:20:01.619 turned into wine a few chapters earlier we are 00:20:01.619 --> 00:20:06.960 transformed right from dead waters that stink 00:20:06.960 --> 00:20:09.920 and do not give life into fountains of waters 00:20:09.920 --> 00:20:14.059 springing up to everlasting life not for ourselves 00:20:14.059 --> 00:20:19.720 but these gifts are for true life for all those 00:20:19.720 --> 00:20:24.220 whom the Lord places in your life right so so 00:20:24.220 --> 00:20:26.660 the spirit comes he transforms you he gives you 00:20:26.660 --> 00:20:29.519 eternal life he gives you his promises in the 00:20:29.579 --> 00:20:32.059 His covenant promises of marriage and baptism. 00:20:32.700 --> 00:20:34.940 And then he gives you his spirit at baptism and 00:20:34.940 --> 00:20:39.420 he says, I'm giving you life. And these waters 00:20:39.420 --> 00:20:41.160 of life that I've given you, you're gonna give 00:20:41.160 --> 00:20:49.059 to others. That is the Christian life. Every 00:20:49.059 --> 00:20:52.000 person that God puts in our life. And of course, 00:20:52.000 --> 00:20:54.880 this woman is excited and declares, sir, give 00:20:54.880 --> 00:20:57.799 me this water that I might not thirst or come 00:20:57.799 --> 00:21:02.470 here to draw. and listen to Jesus answer, right? 00:21:03.589 --> 00:21:05.710 She's still thinking, all right, I've got to 00:21:05.710 --> 00:21:09.509 sort out some stuff here. I'm not quite understanding, 00:21:10.289 --> 00:21:14.430 so give me this water. And Jesus, knowing her 00:21:14.430 --> 00:21:16.750 heart, knowing her life, knowing every one of 00:21:16.750 --> 00:21:19.730 us as he does, he starts to say, okay, we got 00:21:19.730 --> 00:21:22.890 to deal with the foundational issues. What's 00:21:22.890 --> 00:21:27.089 separating you from God? So he says, go and call 00:21:27.089 --> 00:21:30.279 your husband. And of course she says she doesn't 00:21:30.279 --> 00:21:34.880 have a husband. Jesus knows as the man that knows 00:21:34.880 --> 00:21:38.440 her that she's had five husbands and the sixth 00:21:38.440 --> 00:21:41.640 one is not her husband that she lives with now. 00:21:43.420 --> 00:21:45.900 Jesus is showing her that she needs a faithful 00:21:45.900 --> 00:21:50.359 husband, that she must turn from her sin. She 00:21:50.359 --> 00:21:53.359 has served five legal husbands and now has a 00:21:53.359 --> 00:21:59.559 false husband. And Jesus... the complete, the 00:21:59.559 --> 00:22:07.700 mature, the one who is faithful. So too all of 00:22:07.700 --> 00:22:10.539 Israel, Judea, and Samaria and the whole Gentile 00:22:10.539 --> 00:22:13.960 world must turn from all their unfaithful husbands, 00:22:14.759 --> 00:22:19.059 that is all their gods and idols. They must be 00:22:19.059 --> 00:22:21.319 reconciled to God through the Son by the power 00:22:21.319 --> 00:22:24.279 of the Spirit which flows from the throne out 00:22:24.279 --> 00:22:28.089 of heaven to the whole earth. as we see and we've 00:22:28.089 --> 00:22:31.349 talked about many times out of Ezekiel 47. And 00:22:31.349 --> 00:22:34.569 in Ezekiel 47 where God's sitting on his throne 00:22:34.569 --> 00:22:37.490 and the waters, the Spirit is flowing out to 00:22:37.490 --> 00:22:41.309 all the world, it reveals that the water heals 00:22:41.309 --> 00:22:47.130 wherever it goes. Understanding that Jesus is 00:22:47.130 --> 00:22:50.609 actually greater than Jacob is the central issue 00:22:50.609 --> 00:22:54.670 from which every other issue in her life and 00:22:54.670 --> 00:23:00.089 in our lives flows. And so, led by Jesus, she 00:23:00.089 --> 00:23:04.630 asks about worship. She says, you know, our fathers, 00:23:04.650 --> 00:23:06.950 they worship on this one. And you Jews, you say 00:23:06.950 --> 00:23:09.730 you got to worship in Jerusalem at the temple. 00:23:12.450 --> 00:23:17.170 And Jesus points out that the hour is coming. 00:23:18.269 --> 00:23:20.990 Well, you'll neither worship in Jerusalem or 00:23:20.990 --> 00:23:24.920 on this mountain. And Jesus does of course say 00:23:24.920 --> 00:23:33.359 that the, excuse me, he does say that salvation 00:23:33.359 --> 00:23:35.420 belongs to the Jews, but that was because they 00:23:35.420 --> 00:23:38.400 were given the instructions by God in the Old 00:23:38.400 --> 00:23:40.640 Testament. Remember when he set them up as a 00:23:40.640 --> 00:23:44.119 people? Almost the entire book of Leviticus is 00:23:44.119 --> 00:23:46.640 all about how to worship. He sets that all up, 00:23:46.660 --> 00:23:49.299 he gives it to them. They were to be the priests 00:23:49.299 --> 00:23:51.500 of the world, but they kept going after all of 00:23:51.500 --> 00:23:54.259 the world's idols and gods, and so they corrupted 00:23:54.259 --> 00:24:00.480 it. And Jesus says that a time is coming where 00:24:00.480 --> 00:24:02.960 we need to worship the Father in spirit and in 00:24:02.960 --> 00:24:05.880 truth. And of course, she's beginning to understand. 00:24:05.960 --> 00:24:07.759 She says, well, we know the Messiah is coming, 00:24:07.799 --> 00:24:09.539 and when he comes, he'll tell us all things. 00:24:09.680 --> 00:24:11.859 And then Jesus, listen to this, says to her, 00:24:12.319 --> 00:24:16.559 I who speak to you am he. Who does Jesus sound 00:24:16.559 --> 00:24:19.819 like? If we were to look at the Greek, it would 00:24:19.819 --> 00:24:27.039 say, I am who I am. Jesus sounds just like Yahweh 00:24:27.039 --> 00:24:31.240 speaking to Moses. Jesus answers directly that 00:24:31.240 --> 00:24:33.819 the Samaritans are not worshiping God correctly. 00:24:34.599 --> 00:24:36.839 Their religious practices were formed out of 00:24:36.839 --> 00:24:39.839 the sins of their first king, Jeroboam, who was 00:24:39.839 --> 00:24:44.059 given the northern kingdom of Israel by God and 00:24:44.059 --> 00:24:47.539 immediately desired to retain the kingdom for 00:24:47.539 --> 00:24:52.160 himself and for his children. So what did he 00:24:52.160 --> 00:24:56.420 do? He was worried that God divided the kingdom, 00:24:56.480 --> 00:24:59.000 gave it to him, and then said, okay, you're the 00:24:59.000 --> 00:25:02.640 king now. And he looked and said, man, three 00:25:02.640 --> 00:25:05.059 times a year it's commanded that all the men 00:25:05.059 --> 00:25:08.900 in Israel go to the temple and worship. Man, 00:25:08.900 --> 00:25:11.640 if I do that, if I let them keep going to worship 00:25:11.640 --> 00:25:15.079 God at the temple, that's gonna be a problem. 00:25:16.069 --> 00:25:20.369 He sees that in Christ men are unified. And so 00:25:20.369 --> 00:25:24.930 what does he do? He sets up idol worship. He 00:25:24.930 --> 00:25:27.289 sets up two golden castes, one in the north and 00:25:27.289 --> 00:25:29.349 one in the south of his kingdom. And he said, 00:25:29.430 --> 00:25:31.289 this is how we worship. That's really the God 00:25:31.289 --> 00:25:36.069 who led us out of Egypt. And so the Samaritans 00:25:36.069 --> 00:25:39.349 began to worship in other places and followed 00:25:39.349 --> 00:25:42.099 idolatry. which led to them having all kinds 00:25:42.099 --> 00:25:43.880 of other idols and idolatries. And there's a 00:25:43.880 --> 00:25:45.759 lot of story there, but I want to point out to 00:25:45.759 --> 00:25:52.220 you this, that Jeroboam decided that he wanted 00:25:52.220 --> 00:25:54.940 to retain his kingdom for himself, his life for 00:25:54.940 --> 00:25:58.960 himself, more than he wanted to himself and others 00:25:58.960 --> 00:26:04.099 to worship Yahweh. And so what does he do? He 00:26:04.099 --> 00:26:08.400 leads the people into idolatry. Dearly beloved, 00:26:08.680 --> 00:26:12.599 We cannot worship God as we wish. God defines 00:26:12.599 --> 00:26:16.319 what worship is. He is the only one that can 00:26:16.319 --> 00:26:18.799 set the parameters about how to approach Him. 00:26:19.779 --> 00:26:22.680 Many like Jeroboam place their own desires above 00:26:22.680 --> 00:26:26.839 serving God and do not worship God as God defines 00:26:26.839 --> 00:26:30.680 worship. And so, in the corruption of worship 00:26:30.680 --> 00:26:34.339 comes crooked teachings in how we're to live. 00:26:35.640 --> 00:26:39.400 As Paul says to Timothy, in 2 Timothy chapter 00:26:39.400 --> 00:26:41.420 4, for the time will come when they will not 00:26:41.420 --> 00:26:44.460 endure sound doctrine. But according to their 00:26:44.460 --> 00:26:46.480 own desires, because they have itching ears, 00:26:46.819 --> 00:26:49.420 they will heap up for themselves teachers, and 00:26:49.420 --> 00:26:51.440 they will turn their ears away from the truth, 00:26:51.900 --> 00:26:55.359 and be turned aside to fables. Remember what 00:26:55.359 --> 00:26:57.960 did Satan do? Hath God really said, question 00:26:57.960 --> 00:27:00.200 the word of God? And don't you want to be like 00:27:00.200 --> 00:27:03.339 God? Those are the two questions. So when you 00:27:03.339 --> 00:27:05.740 go around saying, I get to worship God any way 00:27:05.740 --> 00:27:10.680 that I want, In any fashion, with whatever whim 00:27:10.680 --> 00:27:15.400 you have, that's a serious problem because it 00:27:15.400 --> 00:27:20.240 will bring corruption. If your worship is defined 00:27:20.240 --> 00:27:22.579 by your whims or what is comfortable for you 00:27:22.579 --> 00:27:25.779 instead of the Word of God, then the idols you 00:27:25.779 --> 00:27:28.599 serve will consume you to your very destruction. 00:27:31.160 --> 00:27:33.640 Now here back in our passage, we see that Jesus 00:27:33.640 --> 00:27:38.089 is the great gift giver. But as He gives of Himself, 00:27:38.329 --> 00:27:42.990 He makes us gift -givers. In John 19 at the crucifixion, 00:27:43.029 --> 00:27:45.450 we see that a soldier, in order to confirm Jesus' 00:27:45.710 --> 00:27:49.150 death, pierced Jesus' side, and we are told that 00:27:49.150 --> 00:27:54.309 blood and water flowed. Jesus died, and water 00:27:54.309 --> 00:27:57.309 flowed, representing the coming flow of the Spirit 00:27:57.309 --> 00:28:01.670 as predicted in Jesus' words in John 7. It says 00:28:01.670 --> 00:28:03.829 this, Jesus stood up and cried out saying, if 00:28:03.829 --> 00:28:05.869 anyone thirsts, this is a different story, if 00:28:05.869 --> 00:28:08.490 anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. 00:28:09.369 --> 00:28:11.829 He who believes in me, as the scripture said, 00:28:12.210 --> 00:28:16.289 out of his heart will flow rivers of living water. 00:28:17.869 --> 00:28:20.190 And of course it says this, but he spoke concerning 00:28:20.190 --> 00:28:23.150 the spirit whom those believing in him would 00:28:23.150 --> 00:28:25.569 receive for the Holy Spirit was not yet given 00:28:25.569 --> 00:28:30.299 because Jesus was not yet glorified. Jesus, the 00:28:30.299 --> 00:28:32.599 final and faithful husband, gives the gift of 00:28:32.599 --> 00:28:36.039 living waters, the transformative waters that 00:28:36.039 --> 00:28:40.700 would spring up and flow out of us to bring life 00:28:40.700 --> 00:28:44.380 and light to those who are in our life. The Samaritan 00:28:44.380 --> 00:28:47.359 woman at the well becomes, just as Jesus said, 00:28:47.680 --> 00:28:50.400 a fountain of life -giving water to the whole 00:28:50.400 --> 00:28:56.559 town. She doesn't keep it to herself. Let me 00:28:56.559 --> 00:29:00.619 ask you this. Are you a spring of refreshing, 00:29:00.660 --> 00:29:03.599 life -giving waters to those in your household? 00:29:04.480 --> 00:29:10.019 To your wife? To your husband? To your children? 00:29:11.900 --> 00:29:15.839 What about your community? Are you life -giving 00:29:15.839 --> 00:29:20.519 waters to them? Your extended family? What about 00:29:20.519 --> 00:29:24.539 here at church? Are you a fountain of joy and 00:29:24.539 --> 00:29:28.440 life? During this Lenten season, many of you 00:29:28.440 --> 00:29:31.500 have taken to fasting, prayer, and repentance. 00:29:32.819 --> 00:29:35.740 Remember that all of these, fasting, prayer, 00:29:35.859 --> 00:29:40.980 and repentance, are of no value without a change. 00:29:42.299 --> 00:29:46.380 First, towards God, and then towards others. 00:29:47.039 --> 00:29:49.880 In Isaiah 58, God through the prophet Isaiah 00:29:49.880 --> 00:29:53.519 warns this. Is it a fast that I have chosen? 00:29:53.579 --> 00:29:55.420 Because they were complaining, God, you're not 00:29:55.420 --> 00:30:00.640 seeing our fast. And God responds, is it a fast 00:30:00.640 --> 00:30:03.539 that I have chosen, a day for a man to afflict 00:30:03.539 --> 00:30:07.680 his soul? Is it to bow down his head like a bull 00:30:07.680 --> 00:30:12.519 rush and to spread out sackcloth and ashes? Would 00:30:12.519 --> 00:30:16.240 you call this fast an acceptable day of Yahweh? 00:30:17.960 --> 00:30:21.769 Is this not the fast that I have chosen? to loose 00:30:21.769 --> 00:30:27.029 the bonds of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, 00:30:27.990 --> 00:30:31.529 to let the oppressed go free, and that you break 00:30:31.529 --> 00:30:36.910 every yoke. That is the spirit of living waters 00:30:36.910 --> 00:30:41.849 proceeding forth. That is what God desires. Jesus 00:30:41.849 --> 00:30:46.269 has met you all at the well of baptism. He is 00:30:46.269 --> 00:30:49.130 the faithful husband, and through the gift of... 00:30:49.289 --> 00:30:53.369 of water and spirit, you are to be gift givers 00:30:53.369 --> 00:30:58.589 of the springs of living water. Now here it is. 00:31:00.150 --> 00:31:05.069 Do you think you're tapped out? Do you think 00:31:05.069 --> 00:31:08.089 that the spring in you is dry or maybe it's just 00:31:08.089 --> 00:31:11.950 a trickle? So that you're just sort of making 00:31:11.950 --> 00:31:17.309 it? Hear the words of God out of Isaiah 58, just 00:31:17.309 --> 00:31:22.190 a few verses down. Yahweh will guide you continually 00:31:22.190 --> 00:31:24.990 and remember Yahweh is the covenant name of God 00:31:24.990 --> 00:31:29.690 Yahweh will guide you continually and Satisfy 00:31:29.690 --> 00:31:33.529 your soul in drought he will satisfy you these 00:31:33.529 --> 00:31:36.470 springs will flow forth even when you feel like 00:31:36.470 --> 00:31:41.730 you're in a drought and He will strengthen your 00:31:41.730 --> 00:31:47.210 bones You shall be like a watered garden like 00:31:47.210 --> 00:31:52.130 a spring of water whose waters do not fail. Let 00:31:52.130 --> 00:31:56.809 us pray. Heavenly Father, help us give thanks 00:31:56.809 --> 00:32:00.089 and rejoice in your provision, for you have given 00:32:00.089 --> 00:32:03.970 us the one thing we need, Jesus our Savior. Help 00:32:03.970 --> 00:32:07.589 us to follow Jesus and worship you, for you have 00:32:07.589 --> 00:32:10.390 given us all things necessary to be springs of 00:32:10.390 --> 00:32:13.549 living waters to the world. We ask all this for 00:32:13.549 --> 00:32:16.309 the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord, who reigns 00:32:16.309 --> 00:32:19.480 with you in the Holy Spirit. World without end.