Date: March 8, 2020

Text: John 4:5-26

This year for Lent we are focusing on Jesus as a Warrior. I will carry this idea into many of my messages this year because it is a good way to talk about how he defeated sin, death, and the devil for us. Today we see it from a little different angle. Jesus is an interesting warrior. He certainly doesn’t fight like any other soldier. Today we see his tactical wisdom. He is very careful in the way he presents the message. He knows exactly how to speak to the heart of the Samaritan Woman. We wish we had that advantage. We can’t read hearts. But we can follow his example. Today we look at how he communicates and we want to Follow Jesus’ Strategy.

Part 1: Don’t be afraid to talk to people about God

As we look at Jesus talking to the Samaritan Woman at the well, we see that he gives us a good example to follow for our own personal witnessing opportunities. There are many interesting parts of the account. You can tell that Jesus was being strategic in how he was operating. Even the timing of his visit to the well was meant to help him encounter someone who was ready to hear the good news of the gospel of forgiveness. Usually, the women from the village would have come to the well as a group earlier in the day. This woman came by herself later in the day. That fact shows that she would have been a bit of a social outcast. She was someone who was having a tough time in her life and now Jesus was waiting at the well.

It was culturally inappropriate for a Jewish man to be speaking to a Samaritan woman but Jesus didn’t worry about social customs. He was concerned about saving souls. He starts by making small talk. They are at a well, so it makes complete sense to ask for a little bit of water. However, we know that he is doing that simply to bring up the gospel. Since the topic of water is already mentioned, he talks about the special water that can only be found in the gospel. He talks about the living water. Naturally the woman is confused by what he means but she wants to know more. He talks about how the water will lead to eternal life. This water sounds amazing. She definitely wants some of this water. He has laid the ground work for further conversation by using a simple gospel illustration

But before he talks more about the gospel, he uses the rebuke of the law. He tells the woman to call her husband and then come back. She has to admit that she doesn’t have a husband. Jesus has an advantage that we don’t have. He knew her thoughts. He knew what was going on in her life. Jesus said, “You are right when you say that you have no husband. The fact is you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true” (John 4:17-18). We know that she has committed Sixth Commandment sins.

We only know what the text says but it is natural to assume that these 5 divorces were more than likely unscriptural divorces. Maybe one or two could have been because of marital unfaithfulness on the part of her husbands but the odds of all five being that way would be pretty crazy. And Jesus even points out that they man she is now with is not her husband. She acknowledges the sin by pointing out that Jesus must be a prophet. She knows that she hasn’t been following God’s law. And yet, she still wants to follow God. She feels the rebuke of the law and she stays talking to Jesus. She even starts asking him about worship.

The Old Testament lesson and the Epistle lesson today both talked about Abraham. Abraham was more obedient to God’s law than the woman at the well. Abraham obeyed God, even when it was difficult. He left his home and moved to the Promised Land simply because God told him to. He waited a long time for God to fulfill his promise. God had promised to send him a son. Even after God fulfilled that promise, Abraham was asked by God to endure another difficulty. God asked him to sacrifice his son. Abraham was ready to do it because he loved God and he trusted God’s promises.

Abraham followed God’s laws even when it was difficult. This does not mean however that Abraham was perfect. There were times that he lied and was caught in his lies. There was even a time that he broke the Sixth Commandment because he thought he should fulfill the promise of having a son through a woman that was not his wife. Even though Abraham sinned in these ways, God still used him for the good of all. God called him to repentance and Abraham kept following God. Abraham focused on the promise of the coming Messiah. The woman at the well also focused on the Messiah.

In this account we can think of ways that we should be like Jesus and we can think of ways that we are like the Samaritan woman. We should be like Jesus and take advantage of every opportunity to try to share the good news of Jesus. He gives us an example. He talks about an illustration that related to getting water from a well. We should use illustrations from everyday life that can easily resonate with people. Have you ever seen someone getting water at the grocery story? Did you decide to talk to them about the living water of Jesus? Jesus knew about her sin. There are times when we know about people’s sins. Do we talk to them about it? We can do that with the plan of also sharing the gospel.

When we are confronted with our sin like the woman, what is our response? Do we make excuses for why our sin is ok? Do we think that the person rebuking us is wrong and we should just ignore them? Do we refuse to listen to the Word of God? Or do we listen and repent? We ought to love to come here to listen to the gospel. Yes, the law will sting us. But then the gospel will comfort us. May we seek the gospel encouragement. Then we will better be able to encourage others.

Part 2: See the opportunities to build up and encourage

It seems like the woman might be trying to deflect the sting of the law by changing the conversation but I don’t think that is what she is doing. She starts talking about worship. Worship at that time was especially focused on sin. Think about all the sacrifices. These sacrifices were meant to point to the fact that sin led to death. They were also meant to point to the fact that we were going to need a Savior. Jesus uses the opportunity to talk about true Worship. Worship isn’t just about a building. Samaritans and Jews worshipped at different buildings. Jesus pointed out that true worship was in spirit and in truth.

God didn’t really want people who just went through the motions of worship. Rather than being focused on the outward sacrifices, God wanted hearts that were in the right place. In the psalms it mentions how the true sacrifices of God are a broken and contrite heart. The heart that recognizes sin and seeks salvation through Jesus is the proper believing heart. That is the person that worships in spirit and in truth. That person believes in the true God and focuses on the true message of salvation.

God looks at faith in the heart rather than outward obedience. Faith can lead to good outward obedience but that is not our focus and our outward obedience doesn’t mean anything without faith. God isn’t happy with people who just come to worship and go through the motions. You don’t get bonus points for saying all the prayers and singing all the hymns. God is looking at your heart. He is happy when there is faith in your heart. You could remain silent the entire service but if there is faith in your heart, you are worshipping properly.

The Romans lesson today highlighted the faith of Abraham. Verse 3 said, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” Faith saved Abraham. He had faith in the coming Messiah. Yes, Abraham had many times that he followed God’s laws. But that obedience did not save him. He was saved through faith in Jesus. The woman at the well was saved through faith in Jesus. When Jesus revealed himself, she was joyful. She went and told others about him.

Again, we can follow Jesus example. After sharing the law, we can take the conversation deeper. He kept talking about worship and the importance of worship. Even if someone brings up what seems like an objection, use that to talk more about Jesus. Invite them to come and see what we have here. Invite them to come and see worship that is focused on the Savior.

Come here to be strengthened. You are broken down because of your sin. You live in a world that opposes Jesus and his gospel. Come here for gospel encouragement so that you can be like the woman at the well. Listen to Jesus. Take in that living Water and then tell others.

Conclusion

It is interesting to watch Jesus and his strategy. Of course he does it perfectly. He is the Son of God. But we can learn from what he does. Meet people where they are in their life. Talk about the joy of Jesus. Talk about sin when you need to and then talk about the wonderful gospel of forgiveness that is found only in Jesus. Talk about the warrior Jesus who went to the cross to defeat the devil so that we would be saved. We have this message and as we grow in our faith, we are strengthened to share Jesus.