John 4:1-3. When 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.
Our Lord knew that the Pharisees would assail him now that he was prospering, and gathering disciples. He, therefore, went away from them; as he did on other occasions. Whenever the cause of God grows, Satan is sure to be violent against it. Notice that our Saviour did not himself baptize his followers. Now, if baptism depended upon the character or the office of the baptizer, Jesus would certainly have done it; but to show us that the person baptizing does not impart any grace to the person baptized, our Lord baptized not, but left that work to his disciples.
John 4:4. And he must needs go through Samaria.
Men say that, «'Must' is for the king;» but our King puts himself under an imperative «must», under a divine necessity. Though obliged to do nothing, yet he obliges himself to do deeds of mercy and grace.
John 4:5-6. 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.
Holy men often impart an interest to the very place, which they inhabit. We should not have cared anything about Sychar, or its well, if Jacob had not been there. Where godly men have been, the ground is sacred. How much more so where the God of men comes to visit us!
John 4:6. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour.
Only half a day spent on his journey, yet he is weary. See, brethren, how he was compassed with infirmity. Our Great High Priest so truly took our flesh, that he was wearied with his journey. He that rolls the stars along was weary in the middle of the day. So weary was he that he sat in the very attitude of weariness, as best he could, on the curb of the well: «Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well.»
John 4:7. There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink.
Wonderful words of condescension! The Creator is asking drink of his creature. Perfect holiness is asking of a sinner, He, without whom there were no clouds, or rain, or springs, or wells, saith to a sinful woman, «Give me to drink.»
John 4:8-9. (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.
In effect, the woman said, «Now that you are thirsty, you can ask drink of me; but at another time, proud Jew that you are, you would not speak to a Samaritan.» Surely, this was rather a brusque answer, if not really rude. If she had known who it was to whom she was speaking, she would not have answered him thus.
John 4:10. 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.
Something better than the water from Jacob's well. Though thou hast denied him a simple draught of water, he would not have denied thee something infinitely better, namely, living water. She little knew what that living water was.
John 4:11-12. 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?
That last word, «cattle», lets us see wherein the water of Jacob's well could never be compared to the living water that Jesus gives. If beasts can partake of it, it is not that high and spiritual thing which immortal souls need, which Jesus came to give. Unwittingly, the woman had answered her own question, «Art thou greater than our father Jacob?»
John 4:13-14. 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.
If Christ gives you grace, it is eternal life that he gives you; it is not a life that can die; it is not a grace that you can lose. It is everlasting life; a supply of living water, which turns to a spring or well, and always remains within the heart that receives it.
John 4:15. The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.
She had caught the Lord's meaning so far as the perpetuity of the water was concerned, but still she did not know what the living water was. It was all a riddle to her, as I am afraid it is to some of you. There is many a Doctor of Divinity who cannot explain what the living water is.
John 4:16. Jesus saith unto her,
As she had apparently learned nothing by his instruction, he now tried another plan with her, and began to deal with her conscience.
John 4:16-17. Go, call thy husband, and come hither. The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband:
Praise people whenever you can. There was nothing good about this woman, but she had spoken the truth: «Thou hast well said, I have no husband.» Our Lord purposely laid the emphasis on the last word.
John 4:18. For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly.
What an exposure of the life she was living! Jesus laid bare what she and her companion in sin may have thought that no man knew: «He whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly.»
John 4:19. The woman. saith unto him, Sir,
She is getting more respectful now. When conscience begins to work, men treat the ministry with greater deference.
John 4:19-20. I perceive that thou art a prophet. Our fathers worshipped in this mountain:
How pleased she was to get away from that unpleasant subject of her five husbands and the man who was not her husband! How anxious people are to salve their consciences by discussing religious matters of a general character! When you come a little too close to them, they edge off if they can; so this woman said, «Our fathers worshipped in this mountain.»
John 4:20-21. And ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. Jesus saith unto her, Woman believe me,
Our Saviour gave the woman good gospel advice, «Woman, believe me»
John 4:21-22. The hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem worship the Father. Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.
They have the oracles of God. The Saviour comes of the Jews. They are right as far as they follow the instruction they have received; and you Samaritans are wrong in keeping to the law of Moses alone, and rejecting the rest of the Scriptures.
John 4:23-24. 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. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth
All the true worship in the world is of God's seeking. None would ever worship him aright if he did not lead them to it. He seeks them, and then they seek him.
John 4:25-26. The woman saith unto him I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things. Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he.
Now were her eyes opened. That last word had made her see.
John 4:27. And upon this came his disciples, and marvelled that he talked with the woman.
How big they were, how wise in their own conceit, to be astonished that Christ was talking with a woman! The followers of Christ often get much too big for their places, and too big to please their Master, too. Though «they marvelled that he was speaking with a woman,» as the Revised Version translates it,--
John 4:27. Yet no man said, What seekest thou? or, Why talkest thou with her?
They dared not do that; they had too much awe of him. But, do you know, I have often wished that they had done so? I should like to have read what Christ would have said to them. How he would have reproved them for thinking that he had degraded himself by talking with a woman, or with anybody. Our Saviour would have vindicated woman's place in the world in a way that one might have liked to have heard.
John 4:28. The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city,
Why should she stop any longer? The faces of the disciples did not look pleasant; but their Master had comforted her. She would not stop to lose that comfort by hard words from the disciples: she «went her way into the city.»
John 4:28-42. And saith to the men, Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ? Then they went out of the city, and came unto Him. In the mean while his disciples prayed him saying, Master, eat. But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of. Therefore said the disciples one to another, Hath any man brought him ought to eat? Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work. Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest. And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together. And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth. I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours. And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him for the saying of the woman, which testified, He told me all that ever I did.
Two days of Christ's personal ministry-what might not come of that?
John 4:41-42. And many more believed because of his own word; And said unto the woman, Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world.
Would God that many might be brought to know that Christ, the Saviour,
tonight! Amen.