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The Third Sunday after The Epiphany.
The Collect.
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LMIGHTY and everlasting God, mercifully
look upon our infirmities, and in all our dangers and necessities stretch forth
thy right hand to help and defend us; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
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hen therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and
baptized more disciples than John, (Though Jesus himself baptized not, but his
disciples,) He left Judaea, and departed again into Galilee. And he must needs
go through Samaria. 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. 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. There cometh a woman of
Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink.
(For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.) 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. 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. 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? Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the
well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle? Jesus
answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh
of this water shall thirst again: 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. (John 4:1-14)
We are studying today about a
seemingly chance meeting of a woman with the Lord her Savior; but there is less
chance involved in this meeting than that of two meteors colliding in space
heading in the opposite direction from each other.
Though the Gospel text today covers only
the first fourteen verses of Chapter Four of the Gospel of Saint John, we may
not do justice to the text without covering the first 42 verses.
Thirst is a powerful hunger – a hunger
for water. A man or woman cannot live more than a few days, or even hours,
without the benefit of water. Water is necessary for life. This principle holds
true across both the physical and spiritual realms. Men will run, walk, and
finally crawl across the desert sands to find water. The desire for physical
life is quite strong. Should the desire for that spiritual life that is eternal
not be more so?
Water is a compound comprised of two
elements – Oxygen and Hydrogen. Oxygen is essential for fire (combustion) and
hydrogen is an explosive gas, yet, when combined as H20, water is
capable of extinguishing fires. Spiritual Water can extinguish the fires of
Hell itself.
You may recall poor Hagar, the concubine of Abraham, being sent out
alone with her young son into the desert Wilderness with only a bottle of water
upon which to survive. And Abraham rose
up early in the morning, and took bread, and a bottle of water, and gave it
unto Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, and the child, and sent her away: and
she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba. And the water was
spent in the bottle, and she cast the child under one of the shrubs. And she
went, and sat her down over against him a good way off, as it were a bowshot:
for she said, Let me not see the death of the child. And she sat over against
him, and lift up her voice, and wept. And God heard the voice of the lad; and
the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her, What aileth
thee, Hagar? fear not; for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is.
Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thine hand; for I will make him a great
nation. And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went, and
filled the bottle with water, and gave the lad drink. (Gen 21:14-19)
It is noteworthy Hagar was oblivious to the well of water until God
opened her eyes to see it though it was there all along.
In today’s text, we see that Jesus has made it a particular point to
divert the journey from the usual circumvention of Samaria to go directly to a city
at the base of Mount Ephraim called Sychar (Sheckham in the Old Testament) .
This is the burial place of Joseph and the city of Jacob to whose Well Jesus
arrives at the noon hour and sits upon the stone casing of the Well. He came to
this place wittingly for He knew that He would meet a particular Woman here
today. And he must needs go through
Samaria. 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. 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.
A Samaritan Woman of ill-repute approaches at the unusual hour of noon
with her water bottle to draw from the Well. Jesus asks the Woman for a drink
of water. The woman is taken aback by the request of Jesus because He appears
to be a Jew and the Jews hate the Samaritans. But this man seems somewhat
mysterious. She wonders at His appearance. There
cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to
drink. (For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.) 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.
Have you ever wondered why Christ, the Lord of Heaven cares for you and
will request your love? Have you wondered why He would bother to give you the
time of day?
We may learn from the approach
of Christ to this Woman in personal evangelism which resulted later in broader
evangelism to the entire village at Sychar. We may sometimes feel
‘uncomfortable’ in raising the subject of Christ to a stranger. Here, Christ points
the way. Put the person at ease with a casual remark as Jesus’ request for
water. We all want to share the blessings of Heaven. Here is our best example
of personal evangelism.
There seems to be seven principles of personal evangelism represented in
this exchange with the Woman:
1.
We must have face-to-face contact with the
sinner. Though the Jews had no contact with Samaritans, Christ harbored no such
prejudice or resentment. He traveled across a great distance and over dry and
dusty roads for this meeting. If Christ did not go to the place where the Woman
was, she would never have received Him or known Him.
a.
If we are to be fishers of men, we will catch
few in a barrel. We must go to the Sea of Life.
b.
Our problem in planting seed may not be the lack
of good ground, but that we have left the seed in the silo. Is the seed yet in the barn? (Hag 2:19)
2.
Do not equate separation with isolation. Christ
talked to sinners far more than those who were Godly. Even in war, we must mix
with the enemy in battle. However, Be ye
not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath
righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness.
(2 Cor 6:14)
a.
Our contact must be across age considerations as
well as social concerns. Jesus said in Mark 16:15 – “Go into all the world.”
3.
Establish a common interest. See how Christ does so with the Woman. She
came desiring water to quench her thirst. Christ also indicates a desire for
water. “Give me to drink.” This demonstrated to the Woman a common interest
shared by the two of them.
a.
Christ immediately built a bridge which
connected the interest of the Woman with His own. Once a bridge is built, much
traffic may cross thereon.
b.
One common interest may expand into others of
greater import. Jesus has a special kind of water – the Water of Life. It is
precisely the kind of water this Woman thirsts after even without knowing.
4.
Emphasize the spiritual over the physical. Every
human needs temporary benefits for life but, to a greater extent, we need
everlasting provision for eternal life. We may accomplish this through
a.
Our example – Jesus speaks with courtesy to the
woman and she can detect His great sincerity.
b.
Our actions – Christ treated even abject sinners
with compassion and respect. The words of Christ drew at first on the physical,
but transitioned smoothly to the spiritual (from physical water, to water of
life).
c.
Measure your pace – do not get ahead of the
understanding of your party. See how Jesus teaches from the known to the
unknown: Well Water to Heavenly Water; Worship at Mt. Ephraim to Jerusalem; the
perfect means of worship (Spirit and in Truth)
5.
Do not be judgmental.
a.
Jesus did not dwell unnecessarily on the fact
that this woman was an adulteress. He came to save and not to condemn.
b.
Preach against sin, but do not close the door to
salvation to the sinner. The Door belongs to Jesus. The emphasis must be on the
seriousness of sin, but also the availability of forgiveness.
6.
Keep the Main Thing the Main Thing!
a.
Be persistent in adhering to the point.
b.
The Samaritan Woman tried to turn the
conversation from her sins and need of forgiveness to worship. Christ answered her question but went
straight back to her need of Him as the Savior
7.
Be Direct – people do appreciate honesty. If we
try to be politically correct, we will not be good witnesses of Christ. He is
exceptional and exclusive (not common and inclusive).
a.
Do not argue over issue beyond the party’s
ability to comprehend (ie prophecies of Revelations).
Please consider the result of
Jesus’ encounter with the Woman at the Well: it led to many of the Samaritans
accepting Christ. One Seed planted begets much fruit.
Remember, sharing the Gospel
releases us from personal liability for a soul. We plant the Seed. Leave its
germination to God and Hos Holy Spirit. We may witness to one today and
seemingly lose that person to the devil, but years later, the seed sprouts and
that person comes to Christ because of that word you shared years ago.
Have you shared with one at the
Well of Christ lately?
