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Pentecost,
commonly called Whitsunday.
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. 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. 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 Jesus
saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he. (John
4:19-26)
It is certainly true God is a Spirit. He was also made flesh and
dwelt among us, and He is the Progenitor of all that is. But there are Three
Persons in One in the Trinity. We must become one with that Trinity if we seek
to be Christians for our Lord Prayed that we would be One with Him as He is One
with the Father. It is only in the mystical math of God that great numbers
combine to become One.
We have hitherto observed the Church Season from Advent to
Whitsunday (today) of the present year. The entire church year is like the
budding of a beautiful rose in revealing the completed works of Christ for us –
its beauty increasing with each petal of revelation.
In today’s text, Jesus had begun his
ministry on Jordan Banks at His baptism, performed His first Miracle at a
Wedding Feast at Cana of Galilee, and then determines that “He must needs go through Samaria.”
This is more than a quaint phrase from Shakespearean English. Why did Jesus
NEED to go through Samaria when this would have been a diversion to the normal
course of travel to Galilee? Perhaps we might posit that question much earlier:
why did Jesus find it necessary to come to Bethlehem as a babe, or to be
baptized like unto us, or to do so many marvelous works and wonders among us,
or to readily go to the cross and die in our stead? The answer, of course, is
that He must satisfy the foreordained purpose and grace of God the Father in
saving us…..and, as well, a poor and sinful woman at Jacob’s Well, and at an
insignificant city in Samaria. Christ must needs go through Samaria because He
knew of a woman whose heart was pierced with many wounds that sin had caused in
that heart. And He came not only for that particular woman, but all of the
other men and women of Samaria who would be drawn to Him through the testimony
of that woman whom no one would have believed prior to her coming to know
Christ. Is this not marvelous to know - that He came, two thousand years ago,
to a manger in Bethlehem to save multitudes of that land, but also you and me
in particular!
Christ had a rendezvous with an unsuspecting woman whom He had
watched many times, through the eyes of the Holy Ghost, come to draw water at
an inopportune time of noon to the Well. She thirsted for water, but she knew
not that Water which would satisfy not only her thirst but her soul. She brings
an empty bucket to be filled, but she also brings an empty heart that needed
filling more.
Our Lord Jesus Christ is foremost a gentleman. The Spanish say:
“Jesus es el Senor” He will not impolitely impose upon our hearts without a
proper opening. The Lord insightfully engages the woman with a marvelous
exchange of wisdom and insight into her character and present circumstance.
Doesn’t He engage us in the same manner? Have we ever gone through the usual
exercise of the day when, suddenly, we meet someone, or have an experience,
that is totally unplanned but which changes our whole day? The woman got out of
bed as usual that day. She avoided the women of the city and their gossip by
going to the Well at the unusual hour of greatest heat – Noon. But
there she met someone whom she considered to be a Stranger. Perhaps He had been
to her, but she had been no stranger to Him for He knew of every secret of her
heart. He knows the secrets of our hearts as well and nothing is hidden from
His understanding.
As the two discuss the matter of water, the poor woman’s heart is
focused on water that lies fifty feet or so beneath the surface in the bottom
of a Well; but Christ makes reference to that Water which comes down from
Heaven – the Water of Life which He freely offers. An empty heart can hold much
of this Water once it opens to the Giver. Our hearts are also made to be
receptacles of that Water of Life if we open them to the Giver.
The woman claims not to have a husband, and Jesus confirms that
she does not have, for the five she has had before are not her husbands, and
the one with whom she lives now is not her husband. The woman is mystified by
this Stranger whom she can not deceive. He knows too much of her to be one of
those kinds of men she has known in her past. That is one of the
characteristics of Jesus – He mystifies us with His grace, His love, and His
Wisdom towards us.
The woman recognizes that none other than a great prophet could
utter such words of understanding. Her sin-dimmed mind is beginning to receive
a small and glowing light that leads to an even greater suspicion of who this
Figure might be. She says that Our fathers worshipped in
this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to
worship. Now her mind is turned from earthly water to that which Christ
offers. She is curious to know more.
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. Has that hour yet come for the moslem-infested land of Samaria?
Truly it has. We, too, can know what and Whom we worship for Christ
has taken upon His perfect Person the flesh of men such as we are. Being
sinless, He suffered every pain and temptation that we are heir to. There is no
longer any geographic limitation to the worship of God; however, we must
worship in Spirit and, at the same time, in Truth. If we have great spirit, but
depart from truth, we are not worshipping the True God. If we worship rigidly
in Truth but lack the attendant Spirit of Love, we are amiss in our worship.
Truth and Spirit combine to the glory of God in worship.
So, the lesson of John’s Gospel text reminds us of the fullness of
the ministry and Person of Christ. He came in the flesh to minister to us and
to be Light unto our path. He died for us sealing the redemption promised to
Abraham and his Seed. He was, in fact, that Promised Seed. He rose on the Third
Day, according to the Scriptures, and then what? He ascended into Heaven where
He sits on the right hand of God to be our constant Advocate and Intercessor.
Having physically departed, Christ promised not to leave us comfortless (Greek
meaning: orphaned). He must send the Spirit to be our Comforter and Guide in
leading us into an understanding of all the truth of Christ revealed in
Scripture. A Spirit is not limited in physical properties. The Holy Spirit has
the nature to be in a billion hearts at once and leading all in the particular
way the Spirit determines. Christ went away in bodily form and sent the Spirit
to be a comfort to all of God’s people regardless the distance and time that
separates them from one another. This is the Glory of Pentecost and Whitsunday!
Do you have that Water of Life poured out in your heart by that Holy Spirit of
God in Christ today?
