EXPOSITION:

1. Turn in your Bible to John chapter 4. We will rather rapidly cover 29 verses, with comments, before this morning’s sermon. And as I read these verses and comment you will see why this is a New Testament passage that is very significant for women.

2. Verses 1-3: "¹ When therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John, ² (Though Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples,) ³ He left Judaea, and departed again into Galilee."

3. The Lord Jesus Christ traveled a great deal during His earthly ministry. He was baptized by John the Baptist in John chapter 1 in the south country of Judea, near where the Jordan River empties into the Dead Sea. From there He went north to Galilee, where He turned the water into wine at a wedding feast in Cana, in John 2. In John 3 He is back in Jerusalem telling Nicodemus that he must be born again. And now He is on His way back to the north again.

4. Verse 4: "And he must needs go through Samaria." This is very unusual. Samaria is directly between Judea and Galilee, but was avoided by most Jews because of their animosity toward the racially mixed Samaritans. Depending on where in Galilee or Judea they lived, the Jews would travel along the Jordan River on the east side or a road called Via Maritima, the Roman coast road, on the Mediterranean side, to avoid having to go through Samaria. But "he must needs go through Samaria." Why? He had important business there.

5. Verses 5-8: "⁵ Then cometh he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. ⁶ Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour. ⁷ There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink. ⁸ (For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.)"

6. Three things to observe about the events that transpired while the disciples were absent fetching food: First, the Lord Jesus Christ got tired from His journey. He really was a man, was He not? And men get tired from travel. Second, this all occurs at the sixth hour, which is the noon hour. Most women would get their water in the morning and in the evening, when it was cool. But for some reason this woman fetched her water during the hottest time of the day. And finally, Jesus asked her for some water. What a surprise to her, a Jewish man asking her, a Samaritan woman, for water. It had been her experience that Jews considered anything she touched to be unclean, which was the experience of all Samaritans. So, there was a discrimination barrier between this woman and the man who asked her for water.

7. Verses 9-10: "⁹ Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. ¹⁰ Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water."

8. She is curious about this man. He asked her for water. And He must have asked her in a nice tone of voice, which she obviously didn’t expect from someone so obviously from His clothing Jewish. So, when she asked Him why He was having dealings with her He said, in effect, "If you had recognized the gift of God, and Who just asked you for a drink, you would have asked Me, and I would have given to you living water." She is curious about what He is up to, and He is drawing her attention to Who He is.

9. Verses 11-14: "¹¹ The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water? ¹² Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle? ¹³ Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: ¹⁴ But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life."

10. She asks and then asks again. "Where do you get this living water? Are you greater than the patriarch Jacob," the son of Isaac and grandson of Abraham, from whom both Jews and Samaritans were descended? In other words, "By what means do you supply this living water?" and "Where do you rank in the hierarchy?" She wanted to know if the man she was talking to was superior in rank to the man associated with the well she had come to draw water from. Jesus told her, "If you drink this water you’ll just get thirsty again. But if you drink the water I give you’ll never get thirsty again, and the result will be eternal life for you."

11. Verse 15: "The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw."

12. Up to this time the woman has probed, questioned, considered whether or not she wanted this living water offered by the unusual man sitting there at the well. But in this verse we see that she has decided. She wants what He is talking about. We would say that she wants to become a Christian. She wants this living water. She doesn’t know much, but she knows enough to know that eternal life is what she needs.

13. Verse 16-18: "¹⁶ Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither. ¹⁷ The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband: ¹⁸ For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly."

14. At this point her sin is exposed. Did Jesus humiliate her? No. He simply shined the light of truth on her sins. Now we know why she came for water at noon instead of with the other women of the village. We also know what obstacles are being overcome here. This woman has trouble with men. She is very experienced with men, but it’s the kind of experience with men no woman should have. The other women shun her.

15. She was too experienced with men not to have been hurt by them, disappointed by them, used by them, abused by them, discarded by them, lied to by them, manipulated by them, taken advantage of by them. And after five marriages she is now so far down that other women want nothing to do with her and she can’t find another man who will marry her.

16. Is she a wicked woman? Yes. Is she a foolish woman? Yes. Is she a degraded woman? Yes. Is she a dangerous woman? Oh, I’m sure she was very dangerous to men. Is she a sinful woman? Yes, by any standard she is very sinful. But she is at the same time a very tragic figure. Look what her sins have done to her. Look at what other’s sins have done to her. For all that she is she is not a woman to be despised, to be hated, to be ridiculed. She is a woman to be wept for, to be prayed for. She has looked to man after man after man after man for consolation and comfort and security, and now she stands before this man.

17. Verses 19-20: "¹⁹ The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet. ²⁰ Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship."

18. In other words, "I am disputing nothing that you have said." She then observes that there is a difference between the Samaritans and the Jews about where to worship, on their mountain or in Jerusalem, as the Jews say. How should a person worship God? Where should a person worship God?

19. Verses 21-24: "²¹ Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. ²² Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. ²³ But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. ²⁴ God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth."

20. In verse 21 the Lord Jesus Christ declares to her that there is coming a time when people will not worship "the Father" on this mountain or in Jerusalem. And this is new to her, reference to God as "the Father."

21. In verse 22 He shows that the Samaritans were completely wrong in their worship, while the Jews were informed. You see, the Samaritans held to only the first five books of the Bible as God’s Word, while the Jews had the 37 historical, poetical and prophetical books of the Bible. Then He states that "salvation is of the Jews." He refers, of course, to Himself. This reminds me of what the old man, Simeon, said when he saw the baby Jesus in Jerusalem, and declared to God in Luke 2.30, "mine eyes have seen thy salvation." Jesus is the salvation of God.

22. Verse 23 shows that the time has arrived when true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. These are the kinds of worshippers the Father wants to worship Him. Put yourself in this woman’s shoes. She can’t become who she isn’t. She is a Samaritan. She is a woman with a sordid past. She is an outcast in her own culture and society. So she will never be able to adhere to any external requirements for worship. But there just might be some means whereby she could worship the Father in spirit and in truth.

23. Verse 24: "God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth." What a discouraging statement to those who want only religion, who want merely the externals, who will settle for form and ritual. But to the outsider, to the sinner, to the downcast and downtrodden, to the person who will never measure up, to the woman who has never benefited from any relationship with a man, this is liberating.

24. This woman has been shown her need of eternal life. She has been exposed in her wretched and sinful state. Her ignorance has also been pointed out to her, indicating that she has no idea how to worship God even if she could. Something miraculous must happen in her life so that she, a physical human being and an ignorant person, can somehow worship God in spirit and in truth, which is to say spiritually and truthfully.

25. Which leads to verse 25: "The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things."

26. In the best way she knows how she is saying, "The Messiah is coming, Who is called Christ. When He arrives He’ll tell us what we need to know." And you know, she was right.

27. Verse 26: "Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he."

28. Jesus is so much as saying, "I am the Messiah. I am the Christ. The One you are waiting for, to tell you what you need to know, is Me. And what I have been telling you is what you need to hear."

29. About this time the disciples return from the village, verse 27: "And upon this came his disciples, and marveled that he talked with the woman: yet no man said, What seekest thou? or, Why talkest thou with her?"

30. They were out of the way just long enough for the Master to finish His task, for the woman to believe on Him, for the living water to be sipped by her thirsty soul.

31. Verse 28-29: "²⁸ The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men, ²⁹ Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?"

32. During her conversation with the Lord Jesus Christ this woman’s seeking faith prompted her to ask questions, to consider, and to overcome social and cultural obstacles to inquire further. When her sin was exposed she did not turn away. It’s as if her seeking faith was searching about, feeling for an object to lay hold of. And when the Lord Jesus Christ identified Himself as the Messiah, the One Who gives living water, she drank to her soul’s satisfaction, left her waterpot behind, and then went and said to the men of the city, "Come, see a man."

33. Throughout her whole life she had known men to use her, abuse her and confuse her. Only slowly had she come to realize that a woman should never place much stock in what a man says, but in what he does. However, here and now, after five husbands and living with a man, after a lifetime of tragedy and emptiness, disappointment and discouragement, sinfulness and spiritual thirst, she had finally met a man. Not a man who took from her, but a man who gave to her. And what did He give her? Life. Eternal life. Living water.

34. No wonder she ran to the city and proclaimed to the men (the women wouldn’t listen to her), "Come, see a man."

35. Now, as brother Isenberger comes to lead us in song, let’s stand before this morning’s sermon.

INTRODUCTION:

1. In the first chapter of John’s gospel we are shown that Jesus Christ is God come in the flesh, and that He is "the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." Not Savior of Jews only, but Savior of all men.

2. In the second chapter of John’s gospel we are shown that the Lord Jesus, with His turning the water in six large waterpots at a wedding into wine, is a miracle worker. He does impossible things.

3. In the third chapter of John’s gospel we see the Lord Jesus Christ confronting the well known Bible teacher, Nicodemus, with the fact that "Ye must be born again." The very highest need to be saved.

4. Here, in the fourth chapter of John’s gospel, still early on in His earthly ministry, we see the Lord Jesus Christ take a special route through Samaria to keep an appointment with a woman at a well. Why? Because the lowest sinner needs to be saved. And Jesus is both willing and capable of saving the lowest sinner.

5. The woman who came to the well didn’t know she had an appointment with the eternal Son of the living God. But the Lord Jesus Christ, Who had made that appointment for her in the council chambers of heaven before the foundation of the world, knew perfectly well what would transpire under that hot noon day sun, while His disciples were conveniently buying food and quite unable to get in the way.

6. As I direct your attention to the four words which comprise this morning’s text, I plead especially with you women to pay close attention to the words this woman spoke shortly after her encounter with the Lord Jesus Christ. She said, "Come, see a man."

7. Perhaps you are a little girl or a young woman. Maybe you are an adult female or an older woman. We don’t know this woman’s precise age, but after five husbands and living with a man it’s hard to imagine her being very young. As well, it’s hard for me to imagine her without children, and even grandchildren.

8. It’s pretty obvious from her lonely noon time trip for water that she is a women with few women friends. After five husbands it’s not likely that she has a high regard for men, or that she is held in high regard by men. I even imagine her a mother and a grandmother who is not treated well by her kids or grand kids. In short, she is a lonely woman and her life is hard.

9. She is a vulnerable woman. As she ages she feels more and more helpless. And she is more and more helpless. Her own sins are undeniable, and she did not deny them when the Savior made mention of them. She had a better idea of the damage of her sinfulness than most who knew her, but she hadn’t any idea what to do about it, and didn’t know where to turn.

10. Maybe you can identify with this woman at the well. Perhaps you’ve not sinned as she has sinned. Perhaps you’ve not been shunned the way she has been shunned. And maybe you’ve not had the experiences with men that she had. But you identify with her loneliness, her helplessness. You’ve been there. You are there.

11. You have been disappointed and discouraged and disillusioned by the way you’ve been treated, by the consequences of your own very poor choices, and by the damage caused by the sins you’ve committed. Perhaps you’ve looked to a man for relief from your problems. But your dad, or your husband, or your son has let you down, has mistreated you, has abandoned you.

12. Let me quickly review for you the events of this remarkable encounter, and you see for yourself that what happened to her can also happen to you, that what happened to her needs to happen to you.

CONCLUSION:

1. What are you looking for? What itch do you have that needs to be scratched? What longing is there to be satisfied? What hunger deep inside you needs to be fed? What thirst needs to be quenched?

2. I’m here to tell you that Jesus is the One Who satisfies the soul. You need light? He’s the light of the world. You thirsty? He’s the living water. You hungry? He’s the bread of life. You dead? He’s the resurrection and the life. Got sins? His blood washes sins away. You an orphan? He gives the Spirit of adoption whereby we cry "Abba, Father." You lonely? He’s the Friend that sticketh closer than a brother.

3. Don’t you see, woman? What you really need, what will truly satisfy your soul, is the Lord Jesus Christ. And lest you men think that Jesus is only for women, remember who this woman ran and told. To whom did she cry out "Come, see a man"? It was to men. Jesus is the satisfaction to every man’s soul, as well.

4. I urge you, dear lady, I urge you, sir, to "Come, see a man."