The Gospel of John - part 11

preached Dec 2, 2018

Today’s sermon is part 2 in the story of the Samaritan Woman. Click here for part 1.

John 4:27-42

The woman's testimony sends the town out to the well

Just then his disciples came back. They marveled that he was talking with a woman, but no one said, “What do you seek?” or, “Why are you talking with her?” So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people, “Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?” They went out of the town and were coming to him.

John 4:27-30

The woman turns from fearful to bold.

When the disciples return, they 'marvel' or are surprised to see Jesus talking with the woman. The word is translated 'marvel' or 'astonished' in several places. The gist is the disciples are both confused and astounded to find Him there. It further illustrates the 'out of the ordinary' situation we find Jesus. But, notice: no one asks what he is doing. Either as Morris notes "they had learned enough to know that, while Jesus did not always respect the conventions of the rabbis, he had good reasons for what he did" (Morris 243), or they were simply so dumbstruck, they had nothing to say. In either case, the whole situation is a bit humorous.

While the disciples stayed quiet, the woman went proclaiming. She leaves the water pot and heads into town to let everyone know who she found. Her testimony is she found a man who "told [her] everything [she] ever did". When she asks, "Could this be the Christ?", we need to note the Greek has a negative connotation there. In other words, though she is greatly impressed by their conversation, she is still hesitant to believe. Another phrasing could be, "This isn't the Christ, is it?"

We must always remember the fear that is involved when first meeting with Jesus. It is a healthy fear that occurs when someone knows their life will be forever changed. Think of the last time you knew your life was going be completely different--whether because of a move, a new life or death in the family, or perhaps a career change. These can be very frightening times. It is healthy for us to remember that when Jesus takes hold of us, it can be very frightening. But there is a great peace that will soon follow.

Church, if your faith hasn't scared you a bit in awhile, you may not be exercising it well enough.

Jesus' food is to do the will of the Father.

Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.” But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” So the disciples said to one another, “Has anyone brought him something to eat?” Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.

John 4:31-34

Jesus is sustained by His mission.

"Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds from the Father".

Matthew 4:4

We must always remember that our sustenance comes from the Father. Not just in the sense of daily bread, but also, the thing that will sustain us during our service is the Father's provision. Whenever we attempt something for God, we have to allow Him to keep us going at times. If we come to a place where we want to give up, we must lean on Him.

The harvest is white.

Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest. Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.”

John 4:35-38

"Do you not say, 'There are four months, then comes the harvest'?"

This is a play on a rural proverb that will have a transformed meaning.

Evidence from the Talmud (the Jewish law code, think "Catholic Canon Law” but for Jews) suggests the Hebrews divided the agricultural calendar into 6 two-month sections: seedtime, winter, spring, harvest, summer, and extreme heat (Morris 246). The meaning is this: there is no hurry to do a task, just as there is no hurry to harvest just after you've planted.

However, Jesus rejects this mentality saying, "the fields are white for harvest" or, if you're reading from the NIV or others, "the fields are ripe unto harvest". The word for 'white' or 'ripe' is leukos which can translate as 'white' or 'bright'. Now, since I'm from Louisiana, when I read "white for harvest" I think 'cotton'. You know when cotton is ready to harvest, because you see white puff balls all over the place. And, cotton is grown in Israel. However, there aren't many other crops that are white when ripe. So some translations take the meaning 'bright' or 'light' as a figure of speech for 'ripe'. Whatever word you use, the point is simply this: the disciples should not wait to harvest the people. The planting has already been done in the hearts of the people, it is time to harvest.

There is another part of the proverb that says, "one planted and another reaped". That part holds true for Jesus. The Word of God has already been planted in Samaria, through the ages of the prophets and Moses, and into recent times with John the Baptist's ministry. Now is the time for the disciples to harvest. The woman at the well has already joined in the harvest by telling others she found Jesus. It was time for the disciples to join as well.

The one witness becomes a town witness.

Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony, “He told me all that I ever did.” So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. And many more believed because of his word. They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.”

John 4:39-42

Faithfulness leads to a spiritual harvest.

The town embraces Jesus pressing him to stay awhile longer. They went from hearing about Jesus to believing. They no longer needed second-hand testimony, because they saw for themselves who Jesus is. They received the living water He promised the woman.

That last phrase is most telling for what they believed. "The Savior of the World" is found in the Bible in various places, but it is also found in the secular ancient world. Emperors, especially Roman Caesars, would give themselves the title 'Savior of the world'. Its a boastful phrase that feeds their ego and the people's emperor worship. The Samaritans are making both a spiritual and a political statement here.

Jesus is the rightful King of the World. He is the Savior.

It's a quick jab from John, who seemed to like slipping in extra jabs at people's wrong beliefs.

It also shows an interesting contrast. Earlier Jesus spoke with Nicodemus who struggled to embrace the truths of Christ. The educated, sophisticated man was hesitant to see the Truth. Here, Samaritans, the outcasts of the Jewish nation, embrace Jesus whole-heartedly. It illustrates a timeless truth: those most proud of their position in life will forever miss out on what Jesus has to offer.

We've seen it in other places:

"He must increase, I must decrease"

The servants at the wedding feast saw Jesus' miracle while the celebrated ones missed it.

And we'll see again and again in John's Gospel. As the proverb says "pride comes before a fall" or as James puts it "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble".

Church! Do NOT let your pride keep you from Jesus!

Points to Consider

As we close, I have two lessons from the story I would like you to consider.

1. We are harvesters.

Remember, with metaphors there is always a bit of word play to bring out the truth. Here we see God has sown into the hearts of the Samaritans for some time. They are a nation with the same tradition as the Jews, only they were rejected for their willingness to embrace foreign gods. Though corrupted, they still trace their lineage back to Abraham. The seeds of faith were sown through Moses, the prophets, and the Old Testament. Then, in the time of Christ, John the Baptist sown more as well.

The Harvest came through Jesus, but also the testimony of the woman. Once Jesus met the woman, she went from ready-to-harvest to a harvester herself. It's an odd way to look at it, but that's the cycle of discipleship. The harvester shares the Gospel with someone who receives it in faith. Then, they became another harvester.

It's a little like the game "Sharks and Minnows". The one shark goes around tagging the minnows, and then they become sharks and tag others also. That's how the Christian faith spreads. It started very small with a few people who followed Jesus. Then, it grew and grew as more people surrendered in faith to Jesus.

That's why Jesus says in verse 36, "The one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that the sower and reaper may rejoice together."

We are the harvesters. We are gathering fruit for eternal life.

Now, almost 2000 years later, we stand on the shoulders of all the Christians that have come before us. We continue the Commission given to them. This church has been around for 120 years now. For 120 years, Chilhowee Baptist has stood in this town to be salt and light in Chilhowee. I've learned a fair amount about her history, and some of it is good, some bad. But the mission of this church has stayed the same: to share the Good News of salvation to the town of Chilhowee and her surrounding areas.

Church, the harvest is white! It is not time to give up for winter. It's time to go to work.

2. The outcast was the channel for salvation.

Social conventions pointed to the brokenness of society while the willingness to break them led to its salvation.

If Jesus had "followed the rules", then Samaria would have perished to hell.

Now, I'm not advocating we dive into chaos and see what happens. What I am saying is this: God can use, and sometimes does use, the most off-the-wall, out of left field, never in a million years would you have seen it coming, things and people to bring about a harvest of salvation.

Remember Gideon, the smallest guy from the smallest family and tribe. Remember Jesus was from Nazareth, the town not in any literary evidence until after He was resurrected. The disciples were a motley group of fishermen, a tax collector, and others we don't even know much about, because at the end of the day, it's not about who you are, it's about how you've served your King.

Maybe you think a lot of yourself, and then I'd say "be careful with that". Pride comes before a fall.

Maybe you don't think much of anything about yourself. Then I'll remind you that God doesn't need much to make a big splash. He made the Universe out of nothing, and my friend you are not nothing. You are made in His image, and He loves you so much he sent His Son to die on a cross for your sins. And, just as He was resurrected, you too will live eternally if you will trust in Him.

And if we continue to trust in Him, God will show us the steps to take to reach others for Christ as well. It is God's will that we tell others about Christ and they are saved. Now, whether or not they surrender to salvation is not up to us, but it is up to us to do something, to speak the Gospel.

The disciples' time with Jesus was not training before they went to work. It was on the job training. Follow where God is leading you, and He will prepare you as you go. Every great leader in the Bible, except for Jesus, had the same response when God called them to step up: "You want me to what?"

So don't be afraid. Take courage. Lean on the Holy Spirit to guide you, and go for it!

God can use you, too!