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| Jesus' temptation reveals His human nature. Afterwards, angels ministered to Him. |
Pastor Gregory L. Jackson
The Hymn # 195 Christ Jesus Lay in Death's Strong Bonds
The Order of Vespers p. 41
The Psalmody Psalm 14 p. 124
The Lections The Passion History
The Lections The Passion History
John 4 - The Woman at the Well
The Sermon Hymn # 347 Jesus Priceless Treasure
The Sermon Hymn # 347 Jesus Priceless Treasure
The Sermon – Jesus, Son of Man - His Human Nature
The Prayers
The Lord’s Prayer
The Collect for Grace p. 45
The Hymn # 558 All Praise To Thee
The Hymn # 558 All Praise To Thee
KJV John 4 When therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John,
2 (Though Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples,)
3 He left Judaea, and departed again into Galilee.
4 And he must needs go through Samaria.
5 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.
6 Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour.
7 There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink.
8 (For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.)
9 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.
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.
11 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?
12 Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle?
13 Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again:
14 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.
15 The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.
16 Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither.
17 The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband:
18 For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly.
19 The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet.
20 Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.
21 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.
22 Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.
23 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.
24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
25 The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things.
26 Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he.
27 And upon this came his disciples, and marvelled that he talked with the woman: yet no man said, What seekest thou? or, Why talkest thou with her?
28 The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men,
29 Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?
30 Then they went out of the city, and came unto him.
Jesus, Son of Man - His Human Nature
John 4:3 He left Judaea, and departed again into Galilee.
4 And he must needs go through Samaria.
5 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.
The introduction to the Woman at the Well gives us a precise location of where this took place. We may overlook this as a detail that does not interest us, but it shows the precision of John in describing the geography in his narrative. This speaks of someone who was there. Any time someone knows the area so well and describes it as one who knows, we can expect an eye-witness. This may strike some as painfully obvious, but the Fourth Gospel is the one attacked most often for being written hundreds of years after the death and resurrection of Christ, influenced by all kinds of exotic sources. Why do the rationalists know this? They are convinced that no one thought Jesus to be the Son of God during His ministry so this must be later influence, much later.
To find Norma Boeckler's home in the dark, in Midland, we got her on the phone as she guided us to the right place. Everyone had an opinion but lacked the real knowledge that comes from living on that street.
6 Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour.
The Two Natures in Christ are a mystery revealed by the Holy Spirit in the Word. Often both natures are apparent in the same story, but not always. Some false teachers have denied His human nature, others His divine nature. The Two Natures never separated once the Word became Incarnate (the conception and the Virgin Birth)
John 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
To understand this story accurately, we have to see Jesus as the woman at the well did. She saw only the human nature of Christ, a man weary from His journey and thirsty. No one knows thirst better than desert people. The sun is not pleasant but burning, and effort dries up the body and threatens death easily. In the desert, people seek shade and water whenever possible. When I am with people in the desert or hot muggy days, I urge them to drink water all the time, so heat prostration does not make them delirious and send them into a dangerous cycle of not sweating and building up heat.
So this woman saw a man at the well as she approached to get water.
7 There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink.
8 (For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.)
She is only thinking of material things, heat, burdens, water, thirst, and here is a stranger asking for water. In Phoenix it was illegal to turn down anyone who asked for water. If a stranger came to the door, water had to be provided, even if it was only from the garden hose. For Mexicans, accepting a glass of water is part of being a gracious guest. Refusing water is considered rude.
The human nature of Christ is important for many reasons. He experienced our joys and sorrows. He is sympathetic about our temptations, because He was also tempted, serving as an example to us. Most importantly, His Atonement means He suffered terribly in every way to pay for our sins.
Perhaps the most horrible punishment was the abandonment of the disciples (except John), the fickle crowd jeering the One who was hailed as Messiah, and the seeming rejection of God the Father.
22 My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?
So when we pray to Christ or ask in His Name, we know He has experienced our difficulties - and far more than we can imagine. But we can see in the Word and experience in our souls that He is our comfort and Savior.
9 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.
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.
The woman was offended or shocked that a Jew would ask a hated Samaritan for a drink of water. Note the explanation. Jews and Samaritans avoided each other because of mutual suspicions.
Jesus responded as the Son of God, revealing His divine nature. He is no longer a weary traveler but the Savior showing Himself to her. He is speaking of spiritual things, but she only considers the material world at first. This kind of dialogue is common in John's Gospel, ironic in contrasting His power and the response of fallible humans, including the alleged First Pope, Peter.
11 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?
12 Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle?
An unbeliever is blind to what Jesus says, so when unbelievers explain how ridiculous or offensive the Scriptures are, they only reveal their blindness and hardness, each sarcastic or caustic comment making matters worse for them.
13 Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again:
14 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.
This is just as miraculous as Moses drawing water from a solid rock. When we study this dialogue, it is obvious that Jesus converted the woman with His Word, not by proving the truth to her but by revealing the truth. He declared it - He did not defend it.
Jesus chose to convert through the spoken Word, and this is how He converted everyone. What worked for Him is also effective among us. The Word is like seed that is full of life and ready to grow. It only has to be cast about to grow and bear fruit.
Gardeners do not relate to the soil to make plants grow. They plant and sow, knowing God's creation has that abundant life. Gardeners do not try to work their friendly and winsome personalities on the soil. They realize the hard work is but a fraction of what God does with His creation. They trust the life within the seed, just we should trust the eternal life within the Word of the Gospel.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
15 The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.
16 Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither.
17 The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband:
18 For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly.
The woman is not getting the message, so when she says, I have no husband, Jesus reveals His knowledge of woman who had never seen Him before. God knows our hearts, no matter what we say.
19 The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet.
20 Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.
The power of the Word was so great in Jesus that people experienced His divinity. At first she wanted to get involved in denominational comparisons. But Jesus had another answer for her.
21 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.
22 Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.
23 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.
24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
The woman is ready to listen carefully, so she responded.
25 The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things.
This is a great moment and shows us how closely John relates his material to us, the Holy Spirit guiding him and his closeness to Jesus adding a personal touch to this Gospel.
26 Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he.
27 And upon this came his disciples, and marvelled that he talked with the woman: yet no man said, What seekest thou? or, Why talkest thou with her?
28 The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men,
29 Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?
30 Then they went out of the city, and came unto him.
The woman left her waterpot. Jesus identified her problems with men, but He did not reject her as an open sinner. That is why people were drawn to Him. They were not credited with righteousness through the Law, so they longed for the righteousness of faith.
