What is the Gospel? John 4:4-42
Can a person know they are right with God and if so how can they be sure? There is certainly a false assurance, where people think that because they belong to a certain organisation, church or hold certain doctrines that they are safe or saved. A Barna survey in the United States revealed that 75% of those asked said they were Christians. Yet Jesus said that at the last judgment there will be many such people who will be disillusioned.
“Not everyone who says to me ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the kingdom of heaven . . . Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me you evildoers!” Matthew 7:21-23
How tragic it would be to go through life thinking you are saved only to get the ‘Thumbs down’ at the final judgment.
A lady recently interviewed on the radio said,
“What I value is sacramental assurance.”
In other words she believed that because she took Christian sacraments regularly in her church she was assured of salvation. However it is possible to receive the sacraments without being personally committed to Jesus Christ. The only basis for assurance is to ‘have the Son’ which means to believe in or be committed to the Son.
John wrote his first letter to remind readers how they could be sure that their name is written in the lamb’s book of life.
“He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.” 1 John 5:12-13
In his gospel John selected just seven of the many miracles Jesus performed and linked these with selected portions of his teaching in order to convince people who Jesus was.
“Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” John 20:30-31
This verse makes it clear that we need to be convinced of who Jesus is, so that we may put our trust in him. It is this personal relationship that results in us being given eternal life. This has been described as the ‘ABC’ of the gospel.
Acts of Jesus - lead us to
Believe in who Jesus is – leads us to
Conversion to Christ and the gift of eternal life
We will see this same ABC in chapter four of John’s gospel where Jesus has a remarkable private discussion with a woman of Samaria.
JESUS’ AGENDA
1. “Now he (Jesus) had to go through Samaria.” John 4:4
The reason for this was the deep-seated antagonism between the Jews and Samaritans. The Jews considered Samaritans ‘unclean’. Yet the land of Samaria separated Judah in the south from Galilee in the north. People travelling north from Judah to Galilee had one of two options. They could camp overnight in North Judea, near the border of Galilee, get up early and rush through Samaria talking to no-one. The alternative was to make a detour to the east and travel north on the eastern bank of the river Jordan, so keeping well away from Samaria.
Yet Jesus chose to defy protocol and travel openly through the land of Samaria. There he stops to speak to a woman! Why? The only possible answer was that he intended to meet with this woman. This is a major theme of the Bible. God himself seeks out individuals to belong to his kingdom.
2. “Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour.” John 4:6
Jesus was very human. It was midday, and in the heat of the day he felt hot, tired and thirsty. It is important to remember that Jesus was just as human as we are, he faced all the temptations and problems that we face. Yet he always behaved as his heavenly Father wanted him to.
3. “When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus says to her, ‘Will you give me a drink?” John 4:7
Here Jesus breaks with Jewish convention and speaks to an unclean person, and a woman at that! The disciples had been sent into the city to buy some food, again contrary to standard religious practice. The woman picks up on these irregularities.
4. “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 do not associate with Samaritans).” John 4:9
Jesus had a purpose that transcended religious protocol. Jesus longed that this woman should understand who he is, believe in him and so receive eternal life.
5. “If you knew the gift of God and who it is who asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.” John 4:10
The greatest gift God has given us is his Son, the Lord Jesus. He can give living water, eternal life, to whoever he wills. The woman therefore needs to understand who Jesus really is.
The recurrent problem of God’s people is that we turn away from a close walk with our heavenly Father to go our own independent way. We have our own religions that neither satisfy nor have eternal benefit. Around 600BC the prophet Jeremiah warned God’s people about this problem of relying on their religion for protection.
“My people have committed two sins; they have forsaken me, the spring of living water and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.” Jeremiah 2:13
The ‘spring of living water’ that God’s people had forsaken was God himself. The cisterns they had built were man-made religions. This message is so important. If I enter into a relationship with Jesus as my Lord and Saviour, he becomes the source of eternal life – the spring of living water.
Alan Godson loved the Lord Jesus and longed to point people of all faiths and religious groups back to Him. One day he was talking with a man who had won an Olympic Gold Medal in the mile race. After gaining the athlete’s confidence he asked a straight question,
“Are you going to spend the rest of your life running round in circles?”
“What do you mean?” the athlete replied.
This led into a discussion about the purpose of life and the importance of recognising who Jesus is from his life, death and resurrection. This gold medallist did come to believe in Jesus and consequently was given eternal life. He was later ordained so that he could spend his whole life passing on the glorious message of salvation through Christ.
The response of the woman at Samaria was strange. Was she trying to change the subject or had she completely misunderstood? She was thinking literally. How could Jesus give her holy water, magic water, if he had no bucket?
“’Sir’, the woman said, ‘you have nothing to draw water with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself?’” John 4:11-12
Her question asking about Jesus’ identity is the most important question ever. “Are you greater than our father Jacob?”
Jesus explains that he is speaking spiritually. He is not talking about literal water that just temporarily satisfies a physical thirst.
“Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst again. Indeed the water I give him will become in him a spring of living water welling up to eternal life.” John 4:13-14
Yet still she misunderstands. She seems to think that eternal life means an easier life now.
“Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.” John 4:15
There is clearly something about Jesus that makes his offer attractive, even though she has not understood. Many like the idea of eternal life but, like this lady, need to understand more.
THE WOMAN’S NEED
The next lesson she needs to learn is the horrendous implications of sin.
“Go, call your husband and come back.”
“I have no husband.”
“”You are right when you say you have no husband. The fact is that you have had five husbands and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.” John 4:16-18
No-one can mislead God. Jesus knows all about her private life, just as he knows about the private lives of you and me. He knows exactly what we think and do. He knows what is on our conscience. This revelation clearly had a deep impact on the woman. Later she said to inhabitants of the town,
“He told me everything I ever did.” John 4:39
This is an astonishing discovery. Jesus somehow knows all about her private life. She clearly felt God’s finger pointing at her. Jesus does this to the people he confronts, even today. He reveals our primary need. Later Jesus said to Martha who was concerned that her sister Mary was sitting listening to Jesus when she was doing all the work,
“Martha, Martha, . . . you are worried and upset about many things, but only thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:41-42
Nothing is more important to God than that Jesus should be central to our lives. To the rich young ruler who was concerned about how he could inherit eternal life, Jesus said,
“One thing you lack, ‘Go, sell all you have . . . Then come follow me.” Mark 10:21
Most of us find it very hard to face up to our failings and particularly our need for God’s forgiveness. Deep down we do admire ourselves. A Mexican was arrested when standing outside a police station. He was admiring a ‘Wanted’ poster with his own picture on it.
The Samaritan woman needed to face up to her sin.
THE WOMAN’S WRONG RELIGION
The woman recognised that Jesus was a prophet but this caused some concern because she was a Samaritan.
“Sir, . . . I can see that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshipped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place we must worship is in Jerusalem.” John 4:20
She was looking at externals. She has not understood that God wants heart centred worship but that must be based on the truth of God’s complete Word, the Bible. The Samaritans only recognised the first five books of the Bible as authoritative and even these were understood in a partisan way. Today there are many pseudo-Christian groups, such as the Jehovah Witnesses and Mormons, who say that they follow the Bible but in practice their ruling authorities proscribe how the Bible is to be understood.
In today’s post-modern era, it seems strange for Jesus to be so critical of this woman’s religious beliefs. Today most radio and television programmes suggest that all faiths are equally valid because they all have a strong ethic that their people are encouraged to live by. This view that all religions have similar value is called ‘syncretism’. But Jesus totally rejects such thinking. All roads do not lead to God. He alone is the answer to our sin. There is no-one else who can give us the status of being righteous. Yet how many people today try to avoid facing up to the claims of Jesus by hiding behind their religion or denomination?
Jesus simply says that her religion is wrong.
“You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews.” John 4:22
This is striking as a large part of the gospels is spent showing that orthodox Judaism, typified by the Pharisees, have also missed the point. Jesus is saying that the basis of Jewish belief, the Scriptures is the right basis; they are all God’s Word. Salvation is from the Jews. Jesus himself, the Saviour of the world is Jewish. However the Jews had failed to recognise that Jesus as God’s Messiah and they had overlooked that the whole of the Old Testament is building up to his coming. However temple worship is not the means of salvation.
“Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father, neither on this mountain not in Jerusalem. . . Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshippers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshippers must worship in spirit and in truth.” John 4:21-24
This teaching is so profound. The question needs to be asked why Jesus shared this vital information with a Samaritan woman whose morals were lacking. It does demonstrate that the God of the universe is concerned for and loves a wayward Samaritan woman. Jesus clearly knew that this conversation would be recorded in the Scriptures so it mattered little to whom he told these truths.
Jesus knew that the temple in Jerusalem would be destroyed in 70 AD. The temple, just like some cathedrals and churches, was concerned with majestic externals of music, dignity, liturgy, architecture and dress. Yet God says that true worship must be ‘in spirit and in truth’.
‘In spirit’ means it must be based on a personal submission to God – I must repent and commit myself to trusting, following and obeying God.
‘In truth’ means that God has revealed himself in Jesus Christ. We only know of the character and teaching of Jesus through what his apostles have written in Scripture. These are ‘the very words of God’ (Romans 3:2. There is therefore no true worship if the Scriptures is not the sovereign overriding authority. No church authority or church leader is over Scripture.
THE WOMAN NEEDS JESUS
The kingdom of God that Jesus introduced is so named because God’s king had come to earth. Without the Lord Jesus being my king, I cannot be a member of his kingdom.
As this chapter was read through, did you notice how the woman’s understanding develops?
v. 6 Jesus is seen as just a man, tired and thirsty.
v. 9 Jesus is different from others – he speaks to a Samaritan woman.
v. 13 Jesus is an intriguing teacher
v. 19 Jesus is a prophet - ‘Sir, I can see that you are a prophet.’
v. 25 She acknowledges that a Messiah is coming
v. 26 Jesus tells her who he really is, “I who speak to you am he.” Jesus could not be clearer.
v.39 She believes in Jesus and passes the message and evidence on.
v. 42 The Samaritans from the town spend two days listening to Jesus and they also believe.
“They said to the woman, ‘We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves and we know that this man really is the Saviour of the World.”
This is the Bible’s message, salvation is for all people, whatever their nationality or religion, whatever their moral past is like. A new start is available to all. Anyone can worship the King in spirit and in truth.
The following imaginary conversation, between an early Christian living in Rome and her neighbour, demonstrates the radical difference in thinking Jesus introduced.
“Ah,” the neighbour says, “I hear you have become religious. It is a great thing to be religious. Where is your temple or holy place?”
“We do not have a temple. Jesus is our temple.”
“No temple? But where do your priests work and do their rituals?”
“We don’t have priests to mediate the presence of God. Jesus is our priest.”
“No priests? But where do you offer your sacrifices to acquire the favour of your God?”
“We don’t need any more sacrifices. Jesus was our one and only sacrifice.”
“What kind of religion is this?” the pagan neighbour splutters.
“It’s no kind of religion at all.”
Such a conversation could occur today. People still cannot understand who Jesus is, what he achieved on that cross as our substitute for sin and that what he expects of us is a personal relationship with him as our Saviour and Lord.
Verse 39 has the same three threads of the gospel ‘ABC’ that run throughout John’s entire book about Jesus.
“Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, ‘He told me everything I ever did.’ John 4:39
The woman gave her evidence concerning the Activities of Jesus, the result was that many Believed. Jesus stayed two more days and because of Jesus’ teaching many more believed. The result of their believing is Conversion to Christ with the gift of eternal life.
“Indeed the water I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” John 4:14
The main lessons we must all learn from this account are therefore,
We are all sinners – yet God still loves you and me, as the very best of Fathers does, and calls each of us to follow him.
Jesus is the only source of eternal life. This is his gift to all who turn to him and ask him to be in charge of their lives. Only a spiritual, personal, Christ-centred faith is acceptable to God. Outward religion itself does not impress the maker of the universe. There must be a spiritual link with Jesus who alone is the truth. Without this relationship with Jesus religious sacraments only give a false hope.
If we really believe in Jesus we will share with others the great news about him, just as this woman of Samaria did.
The lessons Jesus teaches here are very simple but also very important.
BVP
