The Woman at the Well
INTRODUCTORY WORDS
As we enter this remarkable story, we wish to suggest three distinct things concerning our Lord.
1. The Lord weary and worn. We read that "being wearied with His journey, [He] sat thus on the well." This picture of Christ is a picture of Him in His humanity, that is, in His body which was similar to our own and which knew the same hunger, weariness, and exhaustion which we know. We cannot but think of Him as the Holy One, and yet He was the Holy One manifest in the flesh.
To me there is something sublime in this vision of Jesus sitting at the well. It makes me think that there is one up yonder with the Father, who once was down here "in all points tempted like as we are," but apart from sin.
"Jesus fainting trod up Calvary's
Rough and rugged road;
Yet tired and worn He turned not back,
But pressed on, up the blood-marked track"
Whenever we faint by the way, or are weary, let us remember that we have a sympathetic High Priest.
2. The Lord natural and unsophisticated. This whole story of Christ speaking to the woman of Samaria reveals the simplicity of Christ. He did not approach her as though He were better than she. He carried no airs of superiority of any kind. He was God; she was woman. He was holy; she was unclean. He knew all things; she was uncircumscribed in knowledge. In every way there was contrast, and yet in His mien and attitude toward her, He put Himself upon a level.
Perhaps, you have read that little poem which runs something like this:
"The parish priest of Austerlitz
Climbed up on a high church steeple
To be near to God so that he might
Drop down God's Word on his people.
In sermon script he daily wrote
What he thought came down from Heaven,
And he let it fall on his people's heads
Two times one day in seven.
In his old age he had to die,
So, he cried out from his steeple,
"Where art Thou, Lord?" The Lord replied,
"I'm down among the people."
I am not sure that we have quoted this poem correctly. However, it will give the same thought. So many of us move around on stilts cognizant of our assumed authority, while our Lord, Himself, mixed and mingled with the people. We read in Luke 15:2, "This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them." He did not enter, in any way, into their sins, or even their thoughts, but He did sit in the midst of them.
3. The Lord humble and holy. As we think of Christ worn and weary, and natural in His movements among men, we remember that He was the meek and lowly Christ. We wish to stop just long enough to suggest the deeper meaning of Bible separation.
To be separated from the world does not mean that we should not enter into the world with a message of light and life and love. To be separated from sinners does not mean that we should refuse to walk down the street with them as we seek to bear testimony to the Saviour.
We would like also to bear one other thought: the deeper meaning of Christ's mission on earth. He came to seek and to save the lost. He came to meet every need of the human heart.
I. THE WOMAN APPROACHED (John 4:7)
As the woman of Samaria came down to the well to fill her waterpot, she found what she supposed to be a common everyday Jew sitting at the well.
1. The request. As she came near Christ said unto her, "Give Me to drink." Little did this woman expect the Jew to speak to her, let alone to ask of her a favor. She supposed if there was anything said, it would be a word of scorn; or, if He looked at her, it would be with proud disdain, but not so. The Lord quietly said, "Give Me to drink."
There is a far-reaching meaning to the little expression, "Give Me." To think that the Son of God, by whom all things were created, and in whom they all consist, should say to a woman who was a sinner, "give Me to drink." Me-thinks that we can all give Him something. He seems to look at us now, as He says, "Give Me your confidence, your trust," and then He must add, "Give Me your praise."
2. The query. The woman quickly said, "How is it that Thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria?" The expression, "How is it?" shows the very throbbings of her heart. She was altogether surprised, and taken aback. She had supposed that an argument might be started, but certainly not a favor asked. We wonder if the unsaved know that the Lord desires to come into a conference with them and that He is still seeking to draw near.
3. The challenge. Jesus said, "If thou knewest * * who it is that saith to thee." She did not know. Neither do the unsaved know. If they did know the Lord, they would have trusted Him; they would have believed in Him. Even now He stands knocking, knocking. Who will let Him in?
II. THE WOMAN AND THE WELL OF WATER (John 4:9-10)
As Christ spoke to the woman He said, "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." Christ, in effect, said, "I asked for water and received it not; if thou hadst asked Me for water, I would have given Living Water unto thee."
1. Christ's willingness to help. The words still ring in our minds: "If thou hadst, I would." We cannot but think of Christ speaking to the Jews and saying, "How often would I have gathered * * and ye would not." May we suggest to everyone who is not saved that Christ long ago would have given you the Living Water, if you had been willing to receive it.
2. The well of Living Water. The well by which Christ sat was a well of water that had lasted a long time. It had been dug, according to the woman, by Jacob centuries before. She said that Jacob drank from it, as also did his children and his cattle. The Lord, however, told her of another well of water that would be living, from which, if she should drink, she would never thirst again. When we think of Christ as the Water of Life, our minds go to Isaiah 55:1-13, where the marvelous invitation is given: "Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters." Our minds run on to the 7th chapter of John where Christ said, "If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink." Then we remember that last great appeal in the Bible: "Let him take the Water of Life freely."
God grant that every one who is thirsty may come to this Water and drink.
III. THE WOMAN CONVICTED OF SIN (John 4:16-18)
1. The Lord's omniscience. After the conversation concerning the Living Water had lulled, Jesus turned the woman's mind away from the Water of Life, to her own sinful heart. He knew that if she should drink of this Living Water, so pure and clean, that she must herself be cleansed. Therefore, Christ said, "Go, call thy husband, and come hither."
As we read these words we realize that we stand before an omniscient Christ. "Man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart."
2. The woman's confession. "I have no husband," said she. This was a confession of her sin. If Christ had come out boldly, and condemned her scathingly, He would never have had such a response. However, He approached her wisely, and even kindly. He did not at first tell her that she had no husband, but He led her on to confess that fact with her own lips.
3. The woman's truthfulness commended. Jesus said unto her, "Thou hast well said, I have no husband; For thou hast had five husbands: and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly."
To us this Scripture shows such profound consideration and wisdom that we must consider it for a moment. Think of it! In a woman living in sin Christ found something that was good. He said, "Thou hast well said." And again, "Saidst thou truly." In other words, in showing her the depth of her depravity and her sin, He conceded that which was "worthy" in her.
Would that every one of us had this same spirit. Before Christ gave unto His seven churches His words of just reproof, He bathed every one of them in an ocean of love. He told them first of the good things, saying, "I know thy works, and thy patience," etc. Then He said, But "I have a few things against thee."
IV. THE WOMAN'S ESTIMATE OF CHRIST (John 4:19-25)
1. She confessed, saying, "I perceive that Thou art a Prophet." At last she beheld in the One who sat at the well more than a common, everyday Jew. She perceived that He was a Prophet. It was because He had revealed unto her, her own private history and her own evil heart. The woman, however, sought quickly to start an argument. The contention between the Jews and the Samaritans was not only a contention of race, but also of religion. She began to say, "Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship." The Lord quickly threw her off of her effort to change the subject, and said, "The hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father." Then came one of the most astounding things found in this chapter. "Ye worship ye know not what."
The woman was by no means an ignorant woman. She knew much about the Bible. This she had already revealed, and she revealed it again further on. However, Christ plainly told her: "Ye worship ye know not what." How many there are today who have no definite conception of Christ, or of the God they worship.
2. The Messias cometh. This was the second estimate of the woman concerning Christ. She candidly admitted that she expected the coming of the Messias, who was called Christ. She said, "When He is come, He will tell us all things." Jesus quickly replied, "I that speak unto thee am He."
At that juncture the disciples came up. No more words, so far as the records go, were spoken. The two: Christ and the woman, stood for the moment looking deep into each others eyes. In her, Christ saw a sinner who needed a Saviour. In Him, she must have seen a Saviour seeking a sinner.
V. THE CONFUSED DISCIPLES (John 4:27; John 4:31-38)
1. The disciples marveled that Christ talked with the woman. They said nothing, but they thought a great deal. They knew that Christ had said a little while before, I "must needs go through Samaria," but they did not know why. Now, it began to dawn upon them that this woman may have had something to do, or perhaps all to do, with His passing that way.
2. The Lord spoke to His disciples of the other meat which He had to eat. "His disciples prayed Him, saying, Master, eat." He replied, "I have meat to eat that ye know not of." We have just been learning about two kinds of water: the water in Jacob's well, and the Living Water. We now find that there are two kinds of meat. When Christ said, "I have meat to eat that ye know not of," He was rebuking them in a loving way, just as He had before rebuked the woman. He had told the woman, "Ye worship ye know not what"; now, He tells the disciples, "I have meat to eat that ye know not of." They thought that some one must have given Him meat, therefore Christ said to them, "My meat is to do the will of Him that sent Me. and to finish His work." May God grant that we may not labor for the meat that perisheth.
3. The whitened harvest. As Christ sat that day speaking to the disciples, He said, "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." Here were the disciples oblivious to the fact that a city sunk in sin was about to be reaped for God. Oh, that we might thrust in the sickle and reap!
VI. THE WOMAN BEARING TESTIMONY TO CHRIST (John 4:28-29)
While Christ was talking to the disciples about the ripened harvest, the woman had in the meantime returned to the city.
1. She had left her waterpot. She had come to get water, but evidently had forgotten it in her joy of another water of which she had been able to drink. Besides that, she could not have hastened so readily had she taken her waterpot with her. It would have proved her main consideration, perhaps, and would have hindered her in her new task.
Let us, also, leave our "waterpots" at this moment to follow Christ. Matthew left the receipt of customs. We are told to leave all and to follow Him.
2. She went into the city and gave testimony. Here are the words she said: "Come, see a Man, which told me all things that ever I did." Then she added, "Is not this the Christ?" She realized that the Messias of which she had spoken had come, and she rejoiced, and rejoicing she told the good news to others.
Would that every one of us who have met the Lord would acclaim Him from the housetops, and in the city streets, and wherever we go.
Bishop Thoburn said, "During my early years in India, I spent several months in a village and gained only thirteen converts. I returned there two years later and found eight hundred converts. No missionary had been there since I left. Every Christian had been a witness for Christ."
"That is the way souls were won in the first century. It is the way the message should be carried today."
VII. REAPING THE HARVEST (John 4:30; John 4:39)
1. In John 4:30 we read: "Then they went out of the city, and came unto Him." We remember how years before when the angels gave the annunciation to the shepherds saying, "For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord," that the shepherds said. "Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass."
The difficulty with the average unbeliever is that he is unwilling to seek the Saviour. He loves darkness, and will not come into the light. Oh, that men might turn unto God!
2. In John 4:39 we read, "And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on Him for the saying of the woman, which testified." So it was that believing the words of the woman, they came to Christ and heard Him. Then they besought Him that He would tarry with them, and He abode there two days. What a wonderful two days were those. Of them we read, "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."
3. In Acts there is a little verse which runs like this: "And many that believed came, and confessed, and shewed their deeds."
My friend who knows not God, if you would only come and see the Saviour, you, too, would believe, and believing would confess His worthy name. To know Him is to love Him. To love Him is to serve Him. If you have come to Him, are you willing to do what this woman of Samaria did, and what these Samaritans did to confess Him to others?
Christ has said to all of us, "Ye are My witnesses." Let us, therefore, give our testimonies. When we think of the woman of Samaria, and how her testimony turned the tide of a city toward Christ, we wonder what your testimony may do.
AN ILLUSTRATION
Christ knew the value of a soul, when He dealt as He did with the woman of Samaria.
"The famous Madonna by Botticelli was painted on a wooden panel at least four hundred years ago. Recently the wood began to crack, and it was feared that the painting would be ruined; but a restorer was found who said he could save it. His first step was to paste thin strips of tissue paper on the face of the picture, pressing the paper into the uneven surface of the paints. He added layer after layer, until a thick body of paper concealed the picture. Then the restorer turned the picture over and began to sandpaper the board away. After many months of careful work he had all the wood removed, and nothing but the paint adhered to the paper. Next he glued a piece of linen canvas very carefully to the paint, and slowly and patiently removed the paper bit by bit. The work took nearly a year, but when it was finished the painting was in a condition to last another four centuries.
It was the value of this painting that justified such extreme care and the expense in restoring it. How patiently the great Master deals with human souls in order to save them! The value of the soul is proved by the fact that He gave His precious life for it.