Now, if you recall, last week we began looking at an encounter that Jesus had with a Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well in Sychar in Samaria. We ended our look with the woman saying that she wanted this “living water” that Jesus was telling her about, but her understanding wasn’t exactly what we might think of at first. We ended with the woman telling Jesus to give her this water. Well, she did say that and it was the proper response, but her thinking at this point is only in the physical sense. She is thinking here about not having to endure the hardships of fetching water and transporting it any more. Jesus, however, doesn’t allow her the chance to misinterpret or underestimate his words to her. He seemingly changes the subject rather abruptly. He tells her to go get her husband. Now, this isn’t done because he will only speak with another male, but he is setting the stage for what comes next. The woman tells Jesus that she doesn’t have a husband. Jesus says, “I know, you’ve had five, and now the guy who you’re living with isn’t even your husband. So, yes, you’re right you don’t have a husband.”
Think about the surprise that this woman has to be feeling at this time. She’s never met Jesus, nor are they from the same area. She could understand if he lived in this area and had heard from others about her past, but being a Jew it is likely that his time in Sychar would have been limited at best. Also, it’s not as if there is some sort of database or courthouse that kept marriage records on file so that Jesus could have done his research beforehand. It’s even likely that at this point the woman has yet to reveal her name to Jesus, so how could he know anything about her past prior to this event here at Jacob’s well? Not only does he know something about her, but he knows the thing that she probably most wants to hide from. At this point, she has to be on alert and I would imagine that her attention has completely turned to her conversation with Jesus if it wasn’t there already.
Wanting to steer the conversation away from here faults, which she’s doesn’t deny, she thinks Jesus to be a prophet. She knows that his information about her must have come from God, and prophet is all that she can imagine. So she decides to try and distract this man of God a little with some theological questioning, “Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.” You see, the Jews and the Samaritans had theological differences. We mentioned last week that the two groups had little to do with one another from a cultural perspective, and much of that stems from their theology. The Samaritans rejected the entirety of the Old Testament except for the Pentateuch (Torah, Law, etc.), or the first five books of the Bible. Their holy place was Mount Gerizim, the site of Israel’s celebration after entering into the Promised Land of Canaan at the conclusion of their 40 years in the wilderness. The Jews, who accepted the whole Old Testament, with Mount Zion as their holy place, had their temple in Jerusalem. While she may have actually been interested as to whether Mount Zion or Mount Gerizim was the proper holy place, it is most likely that she just wants Jesus to talk about something other than her past and her shortcomings.
Jesus doesn’t really fall for it. He goes on to talk about his hour coming, and that Mount Zion or Mount Gerizim doesn’t matter, and true worshippers worshiping the Father. And it almost seems that at first glance that he’s saying that both Jewish and Samaritan worship will give way to this new, coming worship, but that’s not exactly the case. Yes, Jesus is saying that the place itself won’t matter, but we have to deal with this statement “for salvation is from the Jews.” If the notion that both faiths were falling away was true, Jesus wouldn’t be able to make such a statement. Jesus himself even makes mention of the Samaritan woman and those like her not understanding what they worship whereas the Jews do know about what they worship. After all, the Jews are descended from the nation of Israel, the chosen people of God.
As Jesus continues to talk about faith and worship that flows from this “living water”, it becomes evident here that when we truly worship God, that we ought to seek to know him to the best of our abilities. And it’s this notion that I think that many Christians in this day-and-age are missing. There are many Christians today that are Old Testament ignorant. There are many Christians today who have little-to-no knowledge of the New Testament beyond the Gospels. How can we worship God to the fullest extent when we don’t know who He is? The Old Testament tells us who God is; it lays out for us why the events of the New Testament, in particular the Gospels, must occur. About this notion, R.C. Sproul writes, “We somehow think that Christianity centers exclusively around Jesus. Obviously we are called to honor, exalt, and worship Christ, but we need to remember that Christ came in the first place to reconcile us to the Father.” We must strive to grow in our biblical knowledge if we are going to fully worship God. I’m well aware that God can reach to us without us “studying” His Word, but He gave us this Word for a reason. It is our sword and shield against the forces of evil in this world.
In our world today, there are numerous snares and traps out there waiting for us to slip up. Several years ago, Amy and I went out to Bandera, TX with her family. While driving out there, we passed through San Antonio. As we’re driving through San Antonio, we went by this building that looked like a church with a big sign out front that said “30 Minute Worship.” My attention was grabbed, so I began to do some research after we got home. This was a place that confined worship to 30 minutes: 15 minutes for the sermon, 10 for songs, and 5 for prayer. Their motto was “Fitting in worship when you don’t think you have the time.” Excuse me! You mean to tell me that worship is so far down on the priority list that we have to make time for it. It seems pretty clear to me, especially with the emphasis that Jesus is placing on worship here, that worship ought to be the priority. It ought to be that if we can fit other things in around our worship, then that’s alright, but we ought to place worship as the top priority. I’m no fool; I well know that in today’s world that is a much easier statement to make from the safety of this pulpit than from where you are sitting. My own children aren’t old enough to take part in sports or other activities that would cause them to neglect worship. We haven’t gotten to that point yet. How will Amy and I handle that when the time comes, we really don’t know. I can tell you this however, we will handle it with prayer in spirit and truth. We will handle it by the principles laid out for us in God’s word.
This Samaritan woman follows these words by Jesus about properly worshipping God by admitting that she knows that the Messiah is coming. She knows that when this Messiah comes, he will tell everyone what they are to do and who worships the right way and there will be no more confusion. Jesus responds to her, “I who speak to you am he.” When I read these words, I’m imagining Jesus standing there, looking at this woman just saying, “HELLO!” This Samaritan woman finally seems to get the message; a fact that we will revisit next week. She finally understands what Jesus has been talking about this entire time. She even takes this message back to the city. Meanwhile, the disciples return from the city only to find Jesus talking to this woman. They are just as confused by this site as the woman was when Jesus first spoke to her, but notice that none of them rebuke Jesus or vocalize their confusion in any way.
Thus far in our look at this series of events at Jacob’s well, we have seen a complete 180. We’ve seen a woman go from avoiding Jesus to a woman who just wants to be drawn closer to him. We’ve seen a woman who thought Jesus to be crazy transform into a woman who admits that he is the promised Messiah. There is no mistaking the truth; the Messiah has come and his name is Jesus. A truth for this woman just as much as it is a truth for us. In just a few moments, we will celebrate Jesus’ coming, specifically his ultimate sacrifice, with the Lord’s Supper. As we partake of this sacrament, this sign and seal of the covenant of grace, I want all of us to remember the saving work of Jesus Christ. For it is only because of this saving work, that we call allow this “living water” that we have been talking about flow freely in our hearts. Glory be to God; in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
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