April 14, 2013 Pastor Scott Snowden
Close Calls- Conversations with Jesus.
#2. The Woman at the Well
- That the conversation _HAPPENED_AT_ALL_ is testimony to God’s amazing grace.
Now He had to go through Samaria.
John 4:4
- Jesus ignored any _RACIAL_ barriers.
(For Jews did not associate with Samaritans.)
John 4:10
- He did not let race or culture
determine a person’s worthiness.
- Jesus ignored any _GENDER_ barriers.
“You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman.”
John 4:10
deny a person an opportunity to know Him.
- Jesus ignored any _RELIGIOUS_ barriers.
“Our fathers worshiped on this mountain,
but you Jews claim the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.”
John 4:20
- He did not let religious beliefs or practices
prevent him from hearing the truth.
- Jesus ignored any _MORAL_ barriers.
“The fact is, you have had five husbands,
and the man you now have is not your husband.”
John 4:18
- He did not let immoral or illegal behavior
define a person’s character.
- Jesus demonstrates for us the _ART_ of conversation, and how to share the Gospel.
- Jesus begins by simply _ACKNOWLEDGING_ the woman’s existence.
So He came to a town in Samaria called Sychar,
near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph.
Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as He was from the journey,
sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour (noon).
When a Samaritan woman came to draw water,
Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?”
(The disciples had gone into the town to buy food.)
John 4:5-8
- Jesus, alone at the time she comes to the well,
lets her know that He _SEES_HER_.
We acknowledge one another in many ways-
a smile, a nod of the head, a wave, a simple “hello”
- The woman responds with “ _SMALL_TALK_.”
The Samaritan woman said to Him,
“You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman.
How can you ask me for a drink?”
(For Jews did not associate with Samaritans.)
John 4:9
- The woman accepts Jesus’ offer to talk,
and follows up with something obvious
and non-threatening of her own.
Talking about the weather, pop culture, sports, fashion-
something that everyone is _FAMILIAR_WITH_-
provides a safe place to start.
- Jesus leads her to next share her _THOUGHTS_ and _OPINIONS_.
“Sir,” the woman said,
“you have nothing too draw with and the well is deep.
Where can you get this living water?
Are you greater than our father Jacob,
who gave us this well and drank from it himself,
as did his sons and flocks and herds?”
John 4:11, 12
“Our fathers worshiped on this mountain,
but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship
is in Jerusalem.”
John 4:20
- Religion, politics, morality, economics, race-
we all have opinions about these topics.
The key to talking about controversial issues
is _RESPECTING_ each other’s opinions
and _UNDERSTANDING_ the thinking behind the opinion.
- After getting her to express her ideas, Jesus gets het to open up about her _EMOTIONS_ and _HOPES_.
He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.”
“I have no husband,” she replied.
Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say 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 said is quite true.”
John 4:16-18
- She obviously has relationship issues,
but Jesus does not offer a hint of _CONDEMNATION_.
The woman said,
“I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming.
When He comes, He will explain everything to us.”
John 4:25
- Hopes and dreams, whether fulfilled or frustrated,
can only be shared when a person feels _SAFE_
from ridicule, judgment or rejection.
- By the end of the conversation, the woman is unafraid to be _HONEST_ about who she really is.
Then, leaving her water jar,
the woman went back to the town and said to the people,
“Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did.
Could this be the Christ?”
John 4:28, 29
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