Author Archives: RB3

All Glory to God the Father and to our Savior Jesus Christ

We are starting a new chapter, John 5, today. Jesus had healed the royal official’s son and thereby delivered a potent lesson of faith to all that witnessed it. The scripture states that he and his entire household believed. (John 4:53) Households in those days, for somebody of this man’s status, could be quite large. We know he had slaves, because that is referred to in John 4:51. It is quite possible that we are talking in the neighborhood of 30 to 40 people. And we know that God quite often comes to those who would be looked at as downtrodden, servants and slaves. We saw in John 2 verse 9, the servants who had drawn the water knew that Jesus made it into wine. Now these slaves in the royal official’s household knew that this Rabbi had healed the master’s son with a word from afar. We find in Luke 5:31 “It is not those who are well who need a physician, but those who are sick.” You would not necessarily think of a slave being sick, unhappy but not sick.

This is where metaphors and a casual perusal of the scripture can cause us to miss the point. The sick Jesus was talking about were those whose hearts were sick with sin. In this, all of us would qualify and yet none of us are slaves. Or are we? We seem to have many masters these days, just listen to what you hear from various governors on the news to verify what I am saying. Slaves in those days lived in their master’s house and did what they were told. From what I hear from our political class, they wish to have that same power. My point is, this servant class knew what hopelessness was and there were many more of them than the owner class. These people saw what Christ had done, and that lesson went right to their heart and they shared it. Who wants to keep good news bottled up inside themselves? Slaves talked to slaves and the good news got spread around. It was slaves that handled the kids and next thing you know, the whole household has the good news. This is how God works. If you truly believe that Christ is Lord and our Saviour, and because of His sacrifice, we who believe will live forever in His Glory, why are you keeping that to yourselves?

Jesus went up to Jerusalem, for the feast of the Jews. (John 5:1) The North entrance of old Jerusalem was known as the Sheep Gate. The map gives you a good look at all the gates in the Old town of Jerusalem which is kind of a small area. There was a pool near that gate named “Bethesda,” in Aramaic. It means “House of Mercy.” This pool had five porticoes or entrances. In these porticoes lay a multitude of those who were sick, blind, limping, or paralyzed. (John 5:3 )The covered colonnades would have provided shade for the disabled who gathered there, but there was another reason for the popularity of the Pool of Bethesda. Legend had it that an angel would come down into the pool and “stir up the water.” The first person into the pool after the stirring of the water “was made well from whatever disease with which he was afflicted” (John 5:4) You can see the pool of Bethesda is close to the Temple, so if you come to Jerusalem from the North, which Jesus had done, coming in from Cana of Galilee, He would have probably walked right by the pool. And we know that He did because the scripture tells us He saw a man that had been ill for 38 years, laying there. (John 5:5) Our God is a loving God. He has compassion and mercy on a people that don’t deserve it. In fact He sent His only begotten Son to die on a cross so that we who believe will live. Jesus, fully Man and fully God, (Titus 2:13-14) sees this guy and knows he has been in this condition a very long time. Our Savior has compassion on this man and asks him if he wants to get well?

Imagine you are this individual laying at the water’s edge. You’ve been sick for a very long time, and you know if you can get to the pool first after the stirring, your life will be so much better. Some man walks up to you and asks you if you want to get well. You’ve been concentrating on the pool, watching it intently and now some random stranger strides up and asks the obvious. Because He who is questioning you is healthy and standing upright on his own 2 very mobile legs, you are polite in your response to him. “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, but while I am coming, another steps down before me.” (John 5:7)

This would be a good time to remember what Grace and Mercy are. Grace is receiving what you don’t deserve and Mercy is not receiving what you do deserve. Jesus gives Grace to this man and tells him to “Get up, pick up your pallet and walk.” (John 5:8) The scripture does not say if this man was a believer before his healing, hence the Grace of our Lord having compassion on this poor man who was ill for so long. The man immediately became well, picked up his palette and began to walk. Are you still imagining that you were this man? How would you feel now?

You know what’s coming next, don’t you? What day do you suppose it is? Jesus made a habit of healing people on the sabbath. For the very reason of showing the Pharisees that the sabbath was made for Man, not Man made for the sabbath. (Mark 2:27) The Pharisees had gotten that turned around badly. In their mind, it was against the law to do many things on the sabbath. (John 5:10) The scripture says that the Jews stopped this guy and indignantly asked him what he was doing. “It is a Sabbath, and it is not permissible for you to carry your pallet.” The healed man had a ready answer for them. “He who made me well was the one who said to me, ‘Pick up your pallet and walk.’” (John 5:11) I guess he figured that anybody that could heal with a word was worth listening to more than these busybody Jews with all their rules. These Jews became more indignant and demanded to know who this law breaker was. The healed man didn’t know, for Jesus has slipped into the crowd while the man was enjoying being able to walk again. (John 5:13)

Afterward, Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, “Behold, you have become well; do not sin anymore, so that nothing worse happens to you.”(John 5:14) Interesting that this man was in the temple after his healing. I would expect it of most Jews of that time period, but what of us? Where would you be found if your cancer was suddenly cured? In church praising God or at home thinking how lucky you are? Something to think about. I consider ALS a blessing given to me, for it saved my life. My eternal life. And being given this blessing, I took the warning of not slipping back into my old ways, so that nothing worse happens to me. Things could truly be worse.

The healed man now goes off and tells the Jews that it was Jesus who healed him. And it was for this reason that the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because he broke their sabbath rules. (John 5:17) But He answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working.” (John 5:18)
God the Father is working, Jesus our Lord and Savior is working, what are we doing? Are you working for the Lord? That good news that you have, are you sharing it or keeping to yourself? The last bit of Matthew 28, verses 18 to 20, Jesus, just before He ascended into heaven, He gave us our marching orders. “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to follow all that I commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

This is our Lord, who died on a cross and was resurrected again, at the request of the Father. All this for you who believe. In the above scripture verses, did you see an exemption for old age, infirmity or whatever? I didn’t, because there is none. You are not exempt, none of us are, so let’s get busy. This may come as a shock to you, that you’ve suddenly been told that you have a job to do, as defined by Christ, instead of sitting on our tails thinking it was somebody else’s job. Where ever did you get that notion, that all this God business was somebody else’s job or there is a job at all? We all want to go to heaven, but now you are telling me we have to do something to get there? Yes, believe. Once you believe, truly believe, your life is changed and the Spirit will start working through you. This is why it is called the fruits of the Spirit. (Galatians 5:22-23) You on your own would not do a thing. Our natural inclination would be to run from this idea. (1 Corinthians 2:14) Do you still feel like running?

Before this virus panic, you may have gone to a church that preached light stuff, Love and inclusiveness, that sort of thing. God loves you just the way you are. Yes He does, but here’s the thing. We are sinners and all prone to sin. He wants us to be Holy, like He is Holy. (1 Peter 1:16) How we do that is to obey Him and turn from sin. (Deuteronomy 6:24)The Spirit helps with this, (John 14:26) if you let Him. However, if you choose to be lazy about your salvation, maybe you’re old and lame or just too busy for God, God is going to let you just skate by in life and many people are. (2 Pet. 3:9) It is up to you to believe and be discerning (Proverbs 3:5–6) about what you do and where you go. This includes church. If all you are getting from your church is milk, you will never mature in your Faith or hear the idea that Christ wants us to share the Good News.

Find a church that preaches from the Bible, the whole Bible. Not many do anymore. If you can’ get to Church, turn on the radio. There are good preachers out there on the air waves. Stay away from TV preachers, as most of them are preaching a false gospel of prosperity. Be discerning! Read the Bible, all of it. If you’ve done those 2 things and are still mystified at all this, examine your salvation with fear and trembling. (Philippians 2:12) Mostly have Faith and Trust in the Lord for all things, for no good thing comes to you that does not come from above. (James 1:17)
Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13)

Today we are at the bottom of John 4 and Jesus has finished His work with the people of Sychar. We left off last week with the scripture telling us “Many more believed because of His word” (John 4:41). It is telling that with our Savior doing the work of the Father, many but not all believed, because of His word. Darkness lives in the hearts of men. We see it every day in our society. It is the same now as it was back then. And we have the unparalleled luxury of having a complete Bible that we can read and know what God wants of us.

For most of our history man could not read, or if he could, the Bible was available only to the Church. The Church at the time was Catholic and they didn’t want you to read the bible. In fact they would quite often burn you at the stake for preaching what the Bible actually said and did so with great regularity. This started in the early 11th century when 1022 people who were considered heretics, were burned at the stake. This continued until the late 1700’s when they switched over to hanging people. The Catholic church is still not a fan of you actually reading the bible.

My point in this is, we have it so easy to know what God wants of us. Most everybody can read and has a Bible in their possession. Nobody is burning you at the stake for your Faith. We live in a golden age of wealth, comparatively, and knowledge and up until the last 2 months, mostly free of persecution for that faith. 

The people of Sychar had none of those things. They came with the knowledge of their ancestors, which turned out to be mostly wrong, but came to the well to hear a man who turned out to be God, and many of them listened and believed. Not all, but many. God wants none to be lost but knows the darkness that lives in men’s hearts. Jesus, when He was here, said the path is narrow and few find it. (Matthew 7:1) Therefore work out your salvation with fear and trembling. (Philippians 2:12) Don’t be content with sitting in your pew and letting salvation slip away from you. Many people have spent their whole adult lives going to church, most of the time, happy to let the preacher say what they say, but never doing anything about it themselves. Faith without works of the Spirit is a dead Faith. (James 2:26)

After 2 days, Jesus leaves the people of Sychar and heads to Galilee. (John 4:43) The Galileans receive him, not for what He has said, but because they have seen what He did, for they were at the Jerusalem Passover Feast. (John 4:43)

 From Matthew Poole’s Commentary, we get this insight: 

When he came not to Nazareth, but to some parts of Galilee, the Galilaeans entertained him hospitably; and this they did because of those miracles they had seen wrought by him at the passover feast, where Christ was, John 2:1-25. For these Galilaeans, though they lived at a great distance from Jerusalem, yet were observant of the law which commanded all the males of the Jews to be present at that solemnity. The Samaritans saw no miracle, but believed Christ upon his word. The Galilaeans also received Christ, but their seeing of his miracles at the feast is given as the cause of their receiving him; their faith was not so noble as that of the Samaritans. Blessed (saith our Saviour) are they who have not seen, and yet have believed.

The people of Sychar never saw what the Galileans did, but believed. These Galileans politely accepted this Rabbi into their midst, but mostly out of respect for His entertainment value. Everybody loves to see a miracle happen before them. It will give them something to talk about for days. These Jews had head knowledge of what Jesus had done, but their cultural arrogance of them being descendants of Abraham, kept that knowledge from getting to their heart. Pride of self and arrogance of who you belonged to. Look at the news and see the same thing.

Jesus testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country. (John 4:45) The Samaritans had accepted Him as Lord. His own people, the Jews, tolerated Him as an entertainment venue. 

Jesus travels on to Cana of Galilee, where His first miracle occurred. We know it as the wedding where the water got changed into wine. Here we find a royal official had heard that Jesus was in the area and went to seek him out. This royal official had a son who was sick in Capernaum. (John 4:46)

The map gives you a pretty good reference as to where Samaria, Cana and Capernaum are in relation to each other. Lots of walking but not that far apart. 

Here we find God working out His Providence in a Jew, who if everything had been going fine, would not have bothered much to seek out Jesus. Most of us would think of somebody who we know and has a sick kid, we feel sorry for him, but are kinda glad it is him not us. His bad luck to have to have a sick kid. And if we are the incurious type, that’s as far as it goes. Some of us would ponder what did this guy do to have this kind of bad luck? A sort of karma type thing. This is how the secular world works. We don’t acknowledge God working in our lives and some of us might have entertained thoughts of not being real happy at a God that would let bad things happen in this world. I’ve got news for you, God is not real happy with you and your disbelief. 

The way things work is this: God, through Providence, Grace and Mercy will test us. James says this, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” (James 1:2-4)

A very good example of testing comes from Genesis. After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here am I.” He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” (Genesis 22:1-24)

Another example of something that just happened to a friend of ours back in Kansas. This friend had a lovely wife who was a believer. She went to sleep one night and never woke up again. She was in her late 30’s and left a family and friends in shock with the sudden realization that none of us knows the span of our days. Why God chose this woman and this time, we do not know. But we do know that God works out all things for His Glory and our good. She was called home and we are left with a hard lesson of where God is in our lives and how we would use this hard lesson to further our faith, convict us of where we have strayed, and strengthen us in our Love of the Lord. Live each day like it could very well be your last and then ponder on how that would change how you live.

This royal official had a son that was sick. Because of the love for his son, he sought out the only person that would have the effect he was looking for. (John 4:47) Love conquers all, including this Jew’s reluctance to consider Jesus as the Messiah. (1 Corinthians 13:4-7)

Jesus gives the royal official a firm lesson, for He knows the hearts of men. “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you simply will not believe.” (John 4:48) Another test and at this point the royal official is ready to take his head knowledge and apply it to his heart. He tells Jesus to come before my son dies. (John 4:49). As Jesus sees into men’s hearts and sees the change that occurred and knows that this guy’s heart is now involved, He does what only Jesus could do, He heals his son. “Go; your son is alive.”

And the man believed and left to go back home and see his son. As he was going home, he met slaves that told him his son lives. (John 4:51) He inquires at what time did my son recover? They told him “Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.” (John 4:52) His heart knew that when Jesus said “Your Son Lives” it did indeed happen at that moment and he believed as did his entire household. (John 4:53)

This was the second sign that Jesus performed when He had come from Judea into Galilee. (John 4:54)

So, what did we learn from this lesson? God will test you, to see if you are wheat or weed. Sometimes this test comes at a cost to you, would you learn the lesson needed any other way? If it takes a test, and it did with me, I pray that you will be tested mightily, so that you would truly believe. Remember what was said in Revelation 3:16 ‘So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth.

I do not want you to be spit out of God’s mouth. I want you to get off the dime and truly enjoy the Grace and Mercy of God’s Love and not let your salvation slip past you by inaction and not totally accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior. The Joy of Salvation is worth the cost. You’ll have to trust me on that. Now go out and serve your King!

All Glory to God the Father and to our Savior Jesus Christ

This week, we are still dealing with the after effects of the Woman at the well’s encounter with Jesus. She and all her people had been walking in darkness and this was not a recent problem, it was one of the reasons that her people had been carried off by the Assyrians in 732 BC. You can read about it in 2 Kings 17.

Notice verses 9 to 12 of the chapter mentioned above, “The Israelis practiced secret things that were not right, offending the Lord their God. In addition, they built high places for use by all their towns, watchtowers, and fortified cities. They set up pillars and Asherim on every high hill and in the shade of every green tree, where they made offerings on all the high places, as did the nations whom the Lord had expelled before them. They also practiced other wickedness, provoking the Lord to become angry, and they served idols, a practice that the Lord had warned them, ‘You are not to do this.’”

The Lord had told them quite explicitly “You are not to do this”, and while they had ears, they were no longer listening. Sure they had prophets giving them the lowdown on how they strayed from the path. Amos (Amos 1:1) was a sheep herdsman, and prophet that foretold the destruction of the northern kingdom of Israel. He was known as a prophet of doom, mostly because he was given a hard message from God to deliver. But who wants to listen to some sheep herder coming in from the hinterlands and giving you the bad news? Amos 5:4 “For this is what the Lord says to the house of Israel: “Seek Me so that you may live.” For a people told this and rejecting it, well, there is nothing new under the sun. (Ecclesiastes 1:9)

In fact they had not been listening for a long time. We could go back to Joshua, (Joshua 1:1-9) who had been chosen by God to lead the people after Moses had been given unto Heaven. One of his first tasks was to deal with Jericho, which was a favorite story of mine from Sunday School. Just before the walls of Jericho came down, we find in Joshua 7:1 that “The sons of Israel acted unfaithfully regarding the things designated for destruction”. The tribe of Judah kept some things that God had said to destroy. While not one of the specific tribes of Israel that were eventually carried off to Assyria, bad friends make bad company. You learn from those you surround yourself with. The whole chapter of Joshua 7 is fascinating, I encourage you to pursue it.

The entire Jewish people had been prone to hard headedness and rebellion from the very word go. We see we are not all that different today as way back then. America’s spirit of Individualism can be seen biblically as rebellion. Does that make us Jews in spirit? Does it even make you wonder?

I bring up the Joshua story here to illustrate the rebellion of people and also because we have another very important person in the Jericho story. Another harlot, Rahab. No, I don’t have a thing for harlots, God uses the downtrodden, the hopeless, the weak. Jesus said in Mark 2:7 “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” 

She did the very opposite of the woman at the well, she turned from her idolatrous people, to faith in the Lord. Such a faith that she saved her family while risking her life for these Jews and also became a mother in the line of David. Boaz was her son, and Boaz married Ruth (Ruth 2) and that’s where I enter into this story. Ruth was my very first Bible Study about a year and a half ago. Interesting to me, but a big yawn from you who are wondering where I am going with this. 

These Samaritans that had turned out for Jesus on the words of a harlot, were Gentiles that had been put in this land when the 10 tribes of Israel were carried off. They are known as the lost tribes of Israel because they were never granted a right of return from God. Judah was also carried off to Babylon but Daniel had read the scripture that stated 70 years of exile were almost up. He prayed diligently to God and was answered by an angel. (Daniel 9:20-22) We know from Ezra and Nehemiah how that went. 

We’ve had a nice trip through the Old Testament and now we come back to these people called the Samaritans. Certain people from the nation of Israel stayed behind when the rest were carried off into Assyria in 732 BC. These people intermarried with the Assyrians, Gentiles introduced to the land to replace those that were carried off, producing the Samaritans. The Samaritans had their own temple, their own copy of the Torah – the first five books of the Old Testament – and their own religious system. There was an issue among the Jews and Samaritans as to where the proper place of worship was. The following exchange took place between Jesus and the Samaritan woman. (John 4:19-23) And now we are just about back where we started. The Bible states that many from the city believed in Him because of the word of the woman. (John 4:39) They asked Jesus to stay with them and He did for 2 days. (John 4:40) Many more believed because of His word; and they were saying to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this One truly is the Savior of the world.” (John 4:41-42)

They came because the woman at the well had told them something of herself and the man she had talked to. They more than likely knew that she was a harlot, but she posed the question that these men of the city felt they had to judge for themselves. And when they came, they stepped out of that haze of darkness that had hung on them for generations and entered into the light. And many believed; not all, but many. We find this in 2 Peter 3:3-9 Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue just as they were from the beginning of creation.” For when they maintain this, it escapes their notice that by the word of God the heavens existed long ago and the earth was formed out of water and by water, through which the world at that time was destroyed by being flooded with water. But by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly people. 

But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not willing for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance.

God wants none to be lost, but He knows the darkness of men’s hearts. Jesus knew those that came to him at the well came with willing hearts. It is likely that some, hearing back from those that had been to the well and the good news they had heard there, some did not believe. Considering it foolish talk or not willing to betray their long held beliefs of their countrymen. It is not said why but the Bible tells us why. Jesus said it in Matthew 7:13-14: Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is narrow and the way is constricted that leads to life, and there are few who find it.

Are you on that wide path? Taking life as it comes, looking out for number 1? None of us knows the span of our days. Jesus told us to be disciples and to make disciples. Specifically “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20) Yes, he was talking to His disciples, but were his disciples to do all the work? They have been gone for some 2000 years and yet raise your eyes and observe the fields, that they are still white for harvest. (John 4:35) It is our job, as this book was written for us to read and obey. Listen to Christ Jesus and find someone to come alongside and encourage. Hospitality and fellowship is a good start. Surely this is something that even the aged and infirm can do. 2 Corinthians 12:9 “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.”

Let the Holy Spirit lead you as to what you can do. And have Faith that God is above and loves you. Go forth and serve your King.

All Glory to God the Father and to our Savior Jesus Christ

At the end of last week’s study, Jesus had told the Woman at the well that I am He. In fact, He had given her, in that short time together, knowledge of everything she needed to be saved. These are in verses 10 and 13 of John 4. They boil down to one thing, belief in Him. It really is that simple. Belief in Christ, that He was sacrificed for our sins and rose again from the dead to sit on a throne on the right hand of the Father. Confirmation of this is found in Luke 22:69, Romans 8:34 and many other places in the Bible, both in the old and new Testament. Jesus Himself told Matthew “But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.” (Mat 26:4) God prophesying to His Disciple of what is to come.

Those are all things you can trust in, believe in with all your heart. We let so many things get in our way of belief. The secular world insists that we believe their “Experts”. Evolution, The big bang theory of the start of the universe, Vaccines to cure what has so panicked the whole world that nobody in a position of authority is able to think with any shred of common sense. You’ve only to listen to the news to verify that. Christ is our only truth. (John 14:6) And belief in Him will let you, after your last breath, stand before our Savior and bask in His radiant Love and Glory. (Revelation 7:17) I bet you don’t hear that on the news. The prince of this world (satan) wants you to believe in this world, not the One that created it.

Let us continue with our lesson.

The disciples show up, coming back from buying food in town, and find their Rabbi talking to a woman. Jesus had picked these guys from whatever they had been doing in the world. And they came to Him with all their prejudices and preconceptions. Meaning they were men of the world. Keep in mind that men and women of that day did not act in the way that we do today. The two genders, yes there are only 2, (Genesis 1:27) if they were not married or family, were kept at arm’s length. This came from the Old Testament patriarchs who knew that only trouble came from unrestrained access to females. We seem to have forgotten that bit of common sense. 

So finding your teacher, the Messiah, talking to a woman might have raised some eyebrows. I grew up as a blue collar working man and worked among similar men. If I and my buddies had come upon that scene, we would have said something, but these disciples did not. The bible states that they had been amazed that he was speaking with this woman, yet no one said, “What are You seeking?” or, “Why are You speaking with her?” (John 4:27) Here we find that in just that little bit of time spent with Jesus, they had been changed. If you seek the Lord, He will let you find Him, Deuteronomy 4:29, but don’t expect to remain the same old sinner you were. You were walking in darkness, and now this brilliant light is shining upon you. We see this in the previous lesson when Jesus told the woman to “Go, call your husband and come here” and the woman said “I have no husband.” She didn’t have to do that. I am sure she was used to lying to conceal her shame. But now, she was standing in the Light and she could no longer conceal her shame from the One who knew all. (John 4:16-18) It is the same with us. Churches that say Christ loves you just the way you are have either not read the bible or choose to interpret the bible in a very unbiblical way. They have in fact opened their doors to darkness. (John 1:5) Your soul is at peril if you believe that stuff. 

We continue…

The woman, this harlot that had stood in the Light, again John 1:4, left her water jug and went off to her village to speak to her people. She wanted to share the Good news. I feel the same thing. I want to share the Good News. What I find curious is people that say they are Christians have spent a good portion of their adult lives going to church most every Sunday, and feel no compunction to share the Good News. They seem content to go to church and leave the rest of that stuff to the preacher. First let me direct you to Matthew 7:14 where Christ, Him crucified for our sins said “For the gate is narrow and the way is constricted that leads to life, and there are few who find it.” Then we go to James 2:18-20 “But someone may well say, ‘You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.’  You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.  But are you willing to acknowledge, you foolish person, that faith without works is useless?” What is this works that James is talking about? Surely not just sitting in the pew, letting the Pastor do all the heavy lifting. If you are currently going to a church that is content to let you just sit there, you are going to have to pick up the bible, blow the dust off and read it. Then find a bible preaching church. Your soul is at peril.

The woman at the well went to her people and told them “Come, see a man who told me all the things that I have done; this is not the Christ, is He?” (John 4:29) I have heard it said, you can talk to a man, but you can’t tell him anything. There is some truth to that. This woman, who I am sure all knew as a harlot, used her own shame to make them listen to what she said. Clever girl. Most times you are not going to credit a woman of shame telling you anything of worth. But when the Holy Spirit is involved, you listen. And they did, the bible states “They left the city and were coming to Him.” (John 4:30) Jesus was sent to save the lost. The Jews, for the most part, weren’t having it, but this village of Samaritans were coming to him on the say so of this harlot. 

Meanwhile back at the well, the disciples are telling Jesus “Rabbi, eat something.” (John 4:31) But He tells them “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” The disciples were puzzled at this, bumbling around like the innocent sheep they had become, asking if He had been fed by somebody else? (John 4:33) Jesus sets them down and gives them a lesson in the Fruit of the Spirit. 

“My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to accomplish His work.  Do you not say, ‘There are still four months, and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I tell you, raise your eyes and observe the fields, that they are white for harvest. Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and is gathering fruit for eternal life, so that the one who sows and the one who reaps may rejoice together. For in this case the saying is true: ‘One sows and another reaps.’ I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored, and you have come into their labor.” 

Raise your eyes and observe the fields. The fields in our day are still white for harvest and there you are sitting in your pew, or maybe not even going to church at all, because the government has said it’s scary out there. Who you are going to believe, the government or Christ? We do not have a timid God, so why are you timid? Repent your sins, (Acts 3:19) read your bible, (Joshua 1:8) and then get out there and serve your King. (Revelation 19:13, 16).

All Glory to God the Father and to our Savior Jesus Christ

We’ve come to chapter 4 of John’s epistle where Jesus has caught the attention of the Pharisees. It became known to them that Jesus was baptizing more people than John the baptist. We find in John 4:2 a clarification that Jesus was not actually baptising people, but his disciples were. This may cause some of us confusion, because of our assumptions of what the bible says. Always use your bible as the authority of God’s word if you have questions. 

There are a couple of reasons why Jesus would not actually baptise people, but let his disciples handle that task. 

1. By not doing so He presented baptism as being apart from Him. 
2. People were less likely to put salvation into the meaning of water baptism, as many people have done down through time, including today, and have been misled as to their eternal status. To be saved, one must exercise faith alone in Christ alone, not rely upon some outward act.
3. Christ demonstrated that baptism is not the chief end of the Christian experience.

Jesus had decided to move from Judea in the South, to Galilee in the North. (John 4:3) Making this move, He had chosen to travel through Samaria, which is what most if not all Jews traveling that way would not do. Jews and Samaritans were not friendly to each other. Samaritans were known as half breed Jews and that caused the authentic full blooded Jews to look down on them and travel way out of their way to avoid setting foot in their land. 
These half Jew half Gentiles were actually descendants of the Northern Israelite tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, who survived the destruction of the Kingdom of Israel (Samaria) by the Assyrians in 722 BC. 

Jesus had none of His people’s prejudices, so took the shorter path and for good reason, He had a woman to talk to. I do not believe that there are any Old Testament prophecies concerning the woman at the well, but God’s plans are His plans. 

Jesus and His disciples had traveled through Samaria and stopped at a well near a town named Sychar. (John 4:6) It is in the lower middle of the map, to the right of Mt. Gerizim. This place is full of history. Mt. Gerizim is where God blessed His people in Deuteronomy 11:29 and the well that they had stopped at was Jacob’s well. Known universally as Bir Ya`qub, the well of Jacob. This is only mentioned in John’s gospel and not in the Old Testament. The traditional site of Jacob’s well cannot be located by finding Sychar, as that city is no longer in existence. However, the site thought to be the biblical Shechem, called Tel Balata by archaeologists, is near a well. This is important because the Bible says Jacob bought land from Shechem and lived at that place for a long time (Genesis 33:19). He would have required a well, and it is perfectly reasonable that he dug one. 

Jesus is hot and tired and since it’s around noon or the sixth hour in the land of Samaria, He decides to stop near a well. (John 4:6) His disciples went off to town to buy food, while Jesus rested by the well. A woman approached the well to draw water and Jesus said to her “Give Me a drink.” (John 4:8) Reading this, 2000 years later, we would think nothing of this, other than Jesus was sorta abrupt with His request for water. Couple of things here; first, the English language quite often gives us a poor understanding of what the bible is actually telling us, and two, our morality is not anywhere close to what it was 2000 years ago. A woman coming to a well is no big thing. Nobody had indoor plumbing back then and since it was the task of women to get water, yes, men and women had different roles to play back then, the reputable women all went together, in the morning, to get water. Here we have a single woman, at noon, coming to draw water. Why she did it then and not with her fellow sisters in the morning will soon be evident. The important thing here is God knew why she was coming for water at noon, just like God knows you and what you do. (Psalm 139:1-24) Is this troubling to you or reassuring?

As for why Jesus was there alone, while His disciples went to get food, God knew that a sinner would be there, a sinner who would accept the conviction of her life and would listen with an open heart. His disciples still had their prejudices and would probably be an interference rather than silent observers. 

The main thing here is, you search for God, God will let you find Him (Proverbs 8:17) and don’t expect to be unchanged, to keep living in sin, once you’ve found what was never lost. This woman had a need for salvation and on some level, knew it. After all she’s in the bible and talking to Christ.

This woman, who was asked for a drink, must have wondered if this man had been in the sun too long. Surely He must be aware that she is a Samaritan and He is a Jew. (John 4:10) Jesus gets right to the heart of the matter. “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who is saying to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.” (John 4:10)

Here she starts the negotiations, I am thinking. Sure she’s a woman coming for water at noon and all that that means, but she’s not stupid. She’d like to know where this gift of Living Water is coming from and is talking to Him in a way that a man and a woman that are not family or married, would talk. Pointing out the obvious, (John 4:11) some name dropping and reference to an important person in Samaritain lives, (John 4:12) all this is dancing around what I think she is drawn to. Jesus knows this, after all, it is why He made the trip. He answers her in His very direct way, as there is no need for artifice when talking about salvation. “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again;  but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never be thirsty; but the water that I will give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up to eternal life.” (John 4:14)

Have you ever heard something so astounding, so good that it can’t possibly be true, but you really want it to be? In every other situation it would be too good to be true, but not when God comes calling. She is in this very position, (John 4:15) she asks Him to give her this water, for practical reasons, but as I said, she’s not stupid, I think she is probably tingling with “It can’t be true, but it might” at this point. However there is a condition to this Living Water. This would be the C portion of the ABC’s of salvation. If you’ve not heard, spreading the Good News of Christ can be hard for some people. They claim they don’t know what to say. Funny, prophets of old never seemed to have that problem. If you can’t do it, let the Lord do it through you. Works every time. Somebody somewhere came up with something easy to remember. ABC:
A. Accept Christ as your Savior.
B. Believe that He was crucified, dead and raised again for our sins.
C. Confess your sins.

So, as I said, she was stuck briefly at C. However, a true heart is willing to confess its sins. Jesus asked her to call her husband and come back here. (John 4:16) She confessed to Him that she had no husband. 

I ask you, do you speak the truth? Would you confess to something that was your shame as a matter of course or would you have to think about it? We have such deceitful hearts, we lie even when we are trying to tell the truth. This is what it means to be fallen. She spoke the truth to her Savior.

I think Jesus was pleased with her response. “You have correctly said, ‘I have no husband’; for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; this which you have said is true.” (John 4:16-17)

Because of all He has told her, she perceives Him to be a prophet and because prophets know things she asks Him where is the correct place to worship. We worship here at Mt. Gerizim, but your Jews say Jerusalem is where you should worship. I think she is trying to sort some things out in her mind and her cultural mindset is showing that. We worship here, you worship there, what is true? Jesus clears up her thinking and tells her that her people worship what they do not know. (John 4:22) “But a time is coming, and even now has arrived, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” (John 4:23-24)

This must have rocked her world. Being told that her people are worshiping what they do not know and salvation is from the Jews. That had to be unhappy news. But a time is coming, even now when the Father will be worshiped in our hearts, not in a place. (Ezekiel 36:26)

I think one of the more interesting things about this dialog between God and His creation is that this harlot had more than conversational knowledge of worship practices and prophecies. Could we say the same of ourselves? If you are one that says you could never give the Good News to somebody because you don’t know what to say, that pretty much says you would not be able to do what this woman had done. Read your bible, all your answers are there, so when the time comes, you will be able to do what your Lord wants of you.

The woman said she knew a Messiah was coming and He would declare all things to us. (John 4:25) Jesus tells her “I am He.” (John 4:26)

There could be no better news. She is standing before her Messiah, as he declared, with a willing and contrite heart. Someday we too will be standing before our Lord and what a glorious day that will be. My wish for you is to take your salvation seriously. Study your bible, for how else will you know how to obey God? This book was not written to be gathering dust on a shelf. It is our users manual, treat it as such. Will you measure up as this harlot did? We can hope so. Go forth and serve your King!