Day 2141 – The Gospel of John – 9 – The Woman Shares the Living Water – Daily Wisdom
Podcast |
Wisdom-Trek ©
Media Type |
audio
Publication Date |
May 16, 2023
Episode Duration |
00:34:51

Welcome to Day 2141 of Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

The Gospel of John – 9 – The Woman Shares The Living Water – Daily Wisdom

The Gospel of John – Part 2 Presentation of the Word – The Woman Shares the Living Water

Today we continue our Good News series according to John the Apostle. Jesus presents us with a lesson and an example of building God’s kingdom. Today’s passage continues our last message, John 4:27-42. Just then, his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no one asked, “What do you want?” or “Why are you talking with her?” 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 Messiah?”  They came out of the town and made their way toward him. Meanwhile his disciples urged him, “Rabbi, eat something.” But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.” Then his disciples said to each other, “Could someone have brought him food?” “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. Don’t you have a saying, ‘It’s still four months until harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. Even now the one who reaps draws a wage and harvests a crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true. I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.”  Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.” So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. And because of his words many more became believers. 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 Savior of the world.” Let me back up a few verses from our last message to set the stage.  If you listened to that message, remember that Jesus appealed to the woman from Samaria six times, and each time she came back with an excuse.  Jesus could squelch each reason until he got to the core of why he was there.  It was not a coincidence.  In verses 25-26 in the NLT, The woman said, “‘I know the Messiah is coming—the one who is called Christ. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.’  Then Jesus told her, ‘I AM the Messiah!’” Jesus knew he had her now. So he basically said:  “Good! You don’t have to wait any longer. I am the Messiah, and I am here just as promised.” So the woman was now without any excuses. In verse 26, the phrase “I Am” is particularly emphatic in Greek: egō eimi. This is because it refers to God’s self-identification to Moses: “I am who I am.” The proof that this woman of questionable moral character life was miraculously changed as indicated by her subsequent actions. As the old saying...

Welcome to Day 2141 of Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

The Gospel of John – 9 – The Woman Shares The Living Water – Daily Wisdom

The Gospel of John – Part 2 Presentation of the Word – The Woman Shares the Living Water

Today we continue our Good News series according to John the Apostle. Jesus presents us with a lesson and an example of building God’s kingdom. Today’s passage continues our last message, John 4:27-42. Just then, his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no one asked, “What do you want?” or “Why are you talking with her?” 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 Messiah?”  They came out of the town and made their way toward him. Meanwhile his disciples urged him, “Rabbi, eat something.” But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.” Then his disciples said to each other, “Could someone have brought him food?” “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. Don’t you have a saying, ‘It’s still four months until harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. Even now the one who reaps draws a wage and harvests a crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true. I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.”  Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.” So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. And because of his words many more became believers. 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 Savior of the world.” Let me back up a few verses from our last message to set the stage.  If you listened to that message, remember that Jesus appealed to the woman from Samaria six times, and each time she came back with an excuse.  Jesus could squelch each reason until he got to the core of why he was there.  It was not a coincidence.  In verses 25-26 in the NLT, The woman said, “‘I know the Messiah is coming—the one who is called Christ. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.’  Then Jesus told her, ‘I AM the Messiah!’” Jesus knew he had her now. So he basically said:  “Good! You don’t have to wait any longer. I am the Messiah, and I am here just as promised.” So the woman was now without any excuses. In verse 26, the phrase “I Am” is particularly emphatic in Greek: egō eimi. This is because it refers to God’s self-identification to Moses: “I am who I am.” The proof that this woman of questionable moral character life was miraculously changed as indicated by her subsequent actions. As the old saying goes, the proof of the pudding is in the eating. 4:27–30 The return of the disciples and their apparent shock over Jesus’ obvious breach of Jewish etiquette could have been awkward, but John tells us they avoided a confrontation with Him. NLT, “They were shocked to find him talking to a woman, but none of them had the nerve to ask, ‘What do you want with her?’ or ‘Why are you talking to her?’”  In their minds, they had to be thinking, ‘Teacher, you are not following the rules.  She has three strikes against her.  She is a woman, she is a woman of questionable reputation, and she is a Samaritan.  None of that mattered anymore to this woman; it never did to Jesus. Instead, we all know the woman forgot about her original task of fetching water. She left her jar and excitedly ran back the ½ mile to the town to consult with the religious authorities in her hometown of Sychar. The woman left her water jar beside the well and ran back to the village, telling everyone, “Come and see a man who told me everything I ever did! Could he possibly be the Messiah?” So the people came streaming from the village to see him. The construction of the Greek sentence anticipates a negative response: Could he possibly be the Messiah? But then she presented evidence to suggest that she, in fact, did believe Jesus to be the Messiah. Remarkably, the details she so painfully avoided discussing earlier with Jesus had become a joyful confirmation of her spiritual hope. Her testimony had a positive effect. The people of her town were compelled to meet the man who might possibly be their Savior. So the people came streaming from the village to see him.  She displayed an attitude of worship, and we should be ready to share our testimony as we are told in 1 Peter 3:15, “Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it.” 4:31–34 The interlude between Jesus’ discussion with the woman and His ministering to the rest of the town allows us to see why John included this particular incident in his Gospel. This break in verses 31-34 reminds me of the old Western TV shows when they switch scenes from the bandits shooting up the town, and the narrator would say…Meanwhile, back at the ranch. Remember the odd phrase that John inserted in his Good News from last week to set the scene of this interlude. “Jesus had to go through Samaria on the way,” (4:4). So now it will become evident, He had to redeem this particular woman, who brought her entire town to Christ with her testimony. And, just as importantly, “Jesus had to go through Samaria on the wayto give His disciples crucial training in evangelism (4:34–38). In contrast, the disciples were more concerned about Jesus’s physical needs. We can’t fault them for this; it was expected of the students to take care of their teacher’s needs. Meanwhile, the disciples were urging Jesus, “Rabbi, eat something.”  But Jesus replied, “I have a kind of food you know nothing about.”  “Did someone bring him food while we were gone?” the disciples asked each other. Then Jesus explained: “My nourishment comes from doing the will of God, who sent me, and from finishing his work. As well a common theme throughout John, the disciples did not understand that reaching the lost was Jesus’ purpose for coming to earth and the destiny of His disciples. Moreover, this encounter provided a tangible lesson on the first rule of the new kingdom: Obeying the Word of God is more important and satisfying than fulfilling any physical need.  The Old Testament passage in Deuteronomy 8:3; was repeated in Matthew 4:4 and Luke 4:4. But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ 4:35–38 Instead, Jesus then turned their attention to the universal law of “planting and harvesting”  He pointed toward the fields of barley (the poor man’s grain) on the surrounding hillside and noted how their color had faded from green to light brown. “White for harvest” is an exaggeration, meaning “extremely ripe.” If the grain isn’t harvested in time, the seed pods fall off the stalks, which is the farmer’s tragic and humiliating mistake. Jesus thought evangelism was harvesting what God had nurtured and ripened, and He called the disciples to harvest the men and women God had prepared.   35-38You know the saying, ‘Four months between planting and harvest.’ But I say, wake up and look around. The fields are already ripe for harvest. The harvesters are paid good wages, and the fruit they harvest is people brought to eternal life.  What joy awaits both the planter and the harvester alike! You know the saying, ‘One plants and another harvests.’ And it’s true.  I sent you to harvest where you didn’t plant; others had already done the work, and now you will get to gather the harvest.”  This story perfectly illustrates each of us building God’s kingdom.  Some of us plant, while others harvest, and we may switch roles back and forth.  We must always be prepared to plant when we have an opportunity and harvest when the crops are ripe. Never miss an opportunity, and never underestimate your role in building God’s kingdom as a citizen of God’s kingdom. 4:39–42 John, a master storyteller, turns from Jesus’ lecture to the living illustration He had orchestrated. Many Samaritans came streaming from the village and followed the woman’s witness to discover the Savior for themselves. What an unusual “evangelist” this woman was! She had no wholesome roots. She had no seminary training. She knew little theology. She couldn’t even explain why Jesus must be the Messiah. She merely reported her personal encounter with Jesus and excitedly urged them to “Come and see a man who told me everything I ever did! Could he possibly be the Messiah?” The response of the Samaritans stands in sharp contrast to that of the religious leaders in Jerusalem. Unlike the theologically trained Jews running the temple, the hated “half-breeds” welcomed Jesus and asked Him to teach. “Many Samaritans from the village believed in Jesus because the woman had said, ‘He told me everything I ever did!’ When they came out to see him, they begged him to stay in their village. So he stayed for two days, long enough for many more to hear his message and believe.” John concludes the lesson on evangelism with a telling statement by the newly harvested Samaritans. Although, in comparison, the woman’s testimony brought them to hear Christ, their own encounter with the Word, “So the Word became human and made his home among us,” caused them to trust Jesus as their Savior. “Then they said to the woman, ‘Now we believe, not just because of what you told us, but because we have heard him ourselves. Now we know that he is indeed the Savior of the world.’” Application: John 4:1–42 The Few, the Humble, the Harvesters As John told the story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman, John consciously emphasized the sharp distinction between the attitudes and actions of Jesus and those of His disciples. Their dissimilarity is especially clear in the interlude between His conversation with the woman and His greeting the townspeople. While the woman witnessed to the town leaders, the Lord impressed upon His disciples the urgent need for laborers to harvest souls ripened by the Holy Spirit. The disciples illustrate several attitudes that frequently keep us from entering the harvest fields. Three come to mind. First, we are put off by prejudice or bigotry. The disciples saw Jesus talking to a Samaritan woman—to them, she was as low on the social ladder as one can descend—and they could not believe it.  She easily had three strikes against her in their minds, so she was not worth their time and effort to reach.  Let’s face it; we care about the salvation of some people more than others. Our Creator, however, doesn’t rank people on a scale of worthiness. We are all unworthy of salvation, yet equally loved by Him. Second, we are consumed with the mundane details of life. Yes, the disciples did show concern that their Rabbi had not eaten, which was very considerate, but the disciples couldn’t stop thinking about food long enough to notice their Master’s excitement. They left Him weary, hungry, and thirsty from travel; they returned to find Him brimming with energy. Anyone the least bit perceptive should have set aside the food and asked the Lord what made Him so cheerful. Unfortunately, for those self-serving, shortsighted disciples, this situation was so far outside their comfort zone and prejudiced upbringing that they did not understand what was happening. We spend most of our day dealing with the so-called necessities of life: fixing meals, keeping schedules, and making a living. When was the last time you set aside time to understand the hurts of others and made specific plans to share the good news at work or with someone you’ve become friends with within your neighborhood or community? Third, we are lulled into inaction by the promise of tomorrow. The disciples didn’t appreciate the urgency of their call. Jesus used a popular catchphrase among farmers in His day, “Four months between planting and harvest,” to rouse them into action. He said, in effect, “Not four months…NOW! The time is now!” We procrastinate. We presume upon tomorrow. In the meantime, death continues to reap. Moreover, the time before the return of Christ to establish the Global Eden is growing closer. People actively building God’s kingdom through evangelism lack many attitudes that destroy churches. The joy of their call keeps them from arguing over the worth of people. The priority of their call inspires them to handle the details of life quickly and move on to more pressing matters, such as the ingathering of souls. The urgency of their call prods them to overcome procrastination and make the most of the present opportunities. As we are told in Ephesians 5:15-17, “So, be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do. As citizens of God’s kingdom, we should have neither the time nor the energy to waste on anything but the call to reap the harvest.  We must assist and welcome the immigrants crossing the border from Satan’s kingdom to God’s kingdom. If you allow me to switch metaphors, people actively engaged in evangelism are like people on the front lines of battle. I read a quote from a member of the Marine Corps, who had seen more than his share of combat; he remarked, “The men on the front lines never complained about the food; it was the guys farthest from the battle who grumbled the most when standing in the chow line!” Life-and-death struggle has a way of keeping things in perspective. The principle remains the same for evangelism. We will never enter the harvest if we wait until prejudice, pettiness, or procrastination are no longer issues. We are called to harvest; therefore, we must obey. Once we have moved into the front lines, nagging hindrances quickly fade. Next we will learn how Jesus Heals at a Distance. Please read John 4:43-54 in preparation. Thank you so much for allowing me to be your guide, mentor, and, most importantly, your friend as I serve you through this Wisdom-Trek podcast and journal. As we take this trek together, let us always:
  1. Live Abundantly (Fully)
  2. Love Unconditionally
  3. Listen Intentionally
  4. Learn Continuously
  5. Lend to others Generously
  6. Lead with Integrity
  7. Leave a Living Legacy Each Day
I am Guthrie Chamberlain reminding you to Keep Moving Forward, Enjoy Your Journey, and Create a Great Day Everyday! See you next time for more wisdom from God’s Word!

This episode currently has no reviews.

Submit Review
This episode could use a review!

This episode could use a review! Have anything to say about it? Share your thoughts using the button below.

Submit Review