A Study of John's Gospel: Pt. 19 Truth, Right Worship and Changed Lives.
Good morning to our Readers...
I hope you are being encouraged and edified in our studies through John's gospel. I hope that God's truth is being used to equip and prepare each of us to share the gospel with unsaved people in our lives and to minister to those around us.
The woman at the well had 2 questions for Jesus.
John 4:11-12 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?
The Samaritan woman did not seem to grasp what Jesus said to her about living water so she mentioned that the well was very deep. In 1935, this exact well, which is called Jacob's well was measured at 135 feet deep. She asked Jesus where the source of His living water was. She knew this well was deep and that Jesus had nothing to draw the water up with which is why she began asking questions.
She asked Jesus if He was greater than Jacob. The Samaritans considered themselves to have descended from Jacob through Joseph and Manasseh. The woman thought that since this was the well of Jacob it was sacred and carried a palpable sense of their historic roots.
Jesus answered her with truth.
John 4:13-14 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.
Jesus did not rebuke this woman for asking questions nor did He unload on her by saying "certainly I am greater than Jacob because I am the Son of God. Instead, Jesus caused her heart to be focused on the reality of living water. Jesus pointed out the physical reality that anyone getting a drink from Jacob's well is going to get thirsty again. It only offers temporary satisfaction.
Jesus then speaks of spiritual truth. Whoever drinks the water Christ is speaking of will never thirst again. This is a contrast to the water that we drink and need to drink every day as long as we live.
Jesus said instead of drawing out of a well like Jacob's well, His water will be a well inside of those who receive it. The word "springing" referred to pure running waters like those from a fountain. But this water is different because instead of quenching thirst it quenches death by giving eternal life.
The woman responds by asking for His living water.
John 4:15 The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.
What Jesus said certainly got this woman's attention. She recognized the uniqueness of what Christ said and she wanted the water He offered.
The Omniscience (all knowing) of Christ on display.
John 4:16-18 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.
Jesus demonstrated His omniscience in this part of there exchange. Christ asked her to go and call her husband. I shared with you previously that she came at the noon hour to avoid any conflict with married women, because they did not like her. They detested her because she had many illicit relationships.
Her answer was that she had no husband. Now, here comes the display of Christ's deity. Jesus replied by saying what she stated was true because she had 5 previous husbands and was not married to the man with whom she was currently having an illicit relationship with.
Thus, the woman's sins were out in the open and she could not deny her actions before the Lord. This is why she said "I have no husband." She was living in adultery and in great need of the living waters Jesus offered. The All Knowing Lord used His knowledge of her past to help her see the great need in her soul.
No doubt, the words of Jesus pricked her conscience and she experienced guilt and shame that accompany sin. Yet, Jesus' words were spoken to wound her gently with the intent of bringing her to the point of salvation.
The woman thinks Jesus is a prophet.
John 4:19-20 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 woman at the well answered Jesus by saying she thought he was a prophet. This is an acknowledgement that Jesus had spoken the truth about her past relationships. His wounding words of truth shared in love for this woman had done a work in her heart.
She spoke to Jesus about how her ancestors worshipped at this mountain and questioned why the Jews said Jerusalem was where men should worship. She was questioning why any Jewish rites should be considered superior to the Samaritan's practice. In fact, the Samaritan scriptures had been altered by removing the name Jerusalem.
A new paradigm: Worship God in Spirit & Truth.
John 4:21-24 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.
I hope you are being encouraged and edified in our studies through John's gospel. I hope that God's truth is being used to equip and prepare each of us to share the gospel with unsaved people in our lives and to minister to those around us.
The woman at the well had 2 questions for Jesus.
John 4:11-12 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?
The Samaritan woman did not seem to grasp what Jesus said to her about living water so she mentioned that the well was very deep. In 1935, this exact well, which is called Jacob's well was measured at 135 feet deep. She asked Jesus where the source of His living water was. She knew this well was deep and that Jesus had nothing to draw the water up with which is why she began asking questions.
She asked Jesus if He was greater than Jacob. The Samaritans considered themselves to have descended from Jacob through Joseph and Manasseh. The woman thought that since this was the well of Jacob it was sacred and carried a palpable sense of their historic roots.
Jesus answered her with truth.
John 4:13-14 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.
Jesus did not rebuke this woman for asking questions nor did He unload on her by saying "certainly I am greater than Jacob because I am the Son of God. Instead, Jesus caused her heart to be focused on the reality of living water. Jesus pointed out the physical reality that anyone getting a drink from Jacob's well is going to get thirsty again. It only offers temporary satisfaction.
Jesus then speaks of spiritual truth. Whoever drinks the water Christ is speaking of will never thirst again. This is a contrast to the water that we drink and need to drink every day as long as we live.
Jesus said instead of drawing out of a well like Jacob's well, His water will be a well inside of those who receive it. The word "springing" referred to pure running waters like those from a fountain. But this water is different because instead of quenching thirst it quenches death by giving eternal life.
The woman responds by asking for His living water.
John 4:15 The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.
What Jesus said certainly got this woman's attention. She recognized the uniqueness of what Christ said and she wanted the water He offered.
The Omniscience (all knowing) of Christ on display.
John 4:16-18 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.
Jesus demonstrated His omniscience in this part of there exchange. Christ asked her to go and call her husband. I shared with you previously that she came at the noon hour to avoid any conflict with married women, because they did not like her. They detested her because she had many illicit relationships.
Her answer was that she had no husband. Now, here comes the display of Christ's deity. Jesus replied by saying what she stated was true because she had 5 previous husbands and was not married to the man with whom she was currently having an illicit relationship with.
Thus, the woman's sins were out in the open and she could not deny her actions before the Lord. This is why she said "I have no husband." She was living in adultery and in great need of the living waters Jesus offered. The All Knowing Lord used His knowledge of her past to help her see the great need in her soul.
No doubt, the words of Jesus pricked her conscience and she experienced guilt and shame that accompany sin. Yet, Jesus' words were spoken to wound her gently with the intent of bringing her to the point of salvation.
The woman thinks Jesus is a prophet.
John 4:19-20 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 woman at the well answered Jesus by saying she thought he was a prophet. This is an acknowledgement that Jesus had spoken the truth about her past relationships. His wounding words of truth shared in love for this woman had done a work in her heart.
She spoke to Jesus about how her ancestors worshipped at this mountain and questioned why the Jews said Jerusalem was where men should worship. She was questioning why any Jewish rites should be considered superior to the Samaritan's practice. In fact, the Samaritan scriptures had been altered by removing the name Jerusalem.
A new paradigm: Worship God in Spirit & Truth.
John 4:21-24 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.
Jesus answered by stating that there was going to be a universal worship of God the Father by both Gentiles and Jews that would supersede all traditional places of worship. No more would Jerusalem have a temple with sacrifices being offered. No more would the Samaritans have their own version of the temple at Jerusalem. This would all be done away with by the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. Jesus was speaking of the future birth of the New Testament church.
Next, Jesus corrects the Samaritan error by stating that they did not know what they worshipped because they did not accept the continuous (Genesis to Malachi) revelation that Jehovah provided.
Romans 3:1-2 What advantage then hath the Jew? or what profit is there of circumcision? 2) Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God.
Jesus told the woman at the well that the Jews did know what they worshiped and that Jerusalem was indeed the place where God said He would put His name. (See for examples Deuteronomy 12:5 & 11; 2 Chronicles 6:1-11; Psalm 132:13-14).
The main benefit that the Jews enjoyed is that they had the Word of God in their care. They were careful stewards of the Divine Truth. When they read it, learned it and obeyed it God would bless them.
The phrase "salvation is of the Jews" is how Jesus taught her that the Messiah will be of Jewish ancestry. Salvation was not going to come through any other people but the Jews.
Jesus then goes on to tell her that true worshipers of God must worship Him in Spirit and Truth.
This is significant for several reasons. First, the Spirit of God must do a work with the Word of God in human hearts in order to bring that person to salvation.
Second, the Spirit is the member of the Godhead who regenerates the soul of man (Titus 3:5-6).
Third, the Spirit of God is the One who knows all the deep things of God and who alone can show them to us (1 Corinthians 2:9-14).
Fourth, the scriptures are called the sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:17) and He deploys it as He sees fit. The Father seeks believers who will worship Him in Spirit and in truth. He will look for those people until He finds them and brings them into His fold. He is seeking true worshipers because He wants them to live in the true light of spiritual realities.
Thoughts to Ponder....
When we witness for Christ, people may ask questions of us and that is okay. Our response must be to share His truth in love. Living truth from God discerns the thoughts and intents of the soul (Hebrews 4:12). God's Spirit will use Divine Truth to do a saving, regenerating work in human hearts.
We must seek to exalt Jesus Christ, to magnify Him when we witness. There is no other name under heaven given to man for salvation except the name of Jesus (Acts 4:12).
Worshiping God in Spirit and Truth means that we must know and accept the truth in God's word. We must seek diligently to understand it and bring ourselves into alignment with what God tells us in the scriptures. We must be born again so that the Spirit of God takes up His residence in our heart. Only then are we equipped to worship in Spirit and in Truth.
I pray that we are sharing Divine Truth in love with the lost.
Bob
Next, Jesus corrects the Samaritan error by stating that they did not know what they worshipped because they did not accept the continuous (Genesis to Malachi) revelation that Jehovah provided.
Romans 3:1-2 What advantage then hath the Jew? or what profit is there of circumcision? 2) Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God.
Jesus told the woman at the well that the Jews did know what they worshiped and that Jerusalem was indeed the place where God said He would put His name. (See for examples Deuteronomy 12:5 & 11; 2 Chronicles 6:1-11; Psalm 132:13-14).
The main benefit that the Jews enjoyed is that they had the Word of God in their care. They were careful stewards of the Divine Truth. When they read it, learned it and obeyed it God would bless them.
The phrase "salvation is of the Jews" is how Jesus taught her that the Messiah will be of Jewish ancestry. Salvation was not going to come through any other people but the Jews.
Jesus then goes on to tell her that true worshipers of God must worship Him in Spirit and Truth.
This is significant for several reasons. First, the Spirit of God must do a work with the Word of God in human hearts in order to bring that person to salvation.
Second, the Spirit is the member of the Godhead who regenerates the soul of man (Titus 3:5-6).
Third, the Spirit of God is the One who knows all the deep things of God and who alone can show them to us (1 Corinthians 2:9-14).
Fourth, the scriptures are called the sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:17) and He deploys it as He sees fit. The Father seeks believers who will worship Him in Spirit and in truth. He will look for those people until He finds them and brings them into His fold. He is seeking true worshipers because He wants them to live in the true light of spiritual realities.
Thoughts to Ponder....
When we witness for Christ, people may ask questions of us and that is okay. Our response must be to share His truth in love. Living truth from God discerns the thoughts and intents of the soul (Hebrews 4:12). God's Spirit will use Divine Truth to do a saving, regenerating work in human hearts.
We must seek to exalt Jesus Christ, to magnify Him when we witness. There is no other name under heaven given to man for salvation except the name of Jesus (Acts 4:12).
Worshiping God in Spirit and Truth means that we must know and accept the truth in God's word. We must seek diligently to understand it and bring ourselves into alignment with what God tells us in the scriptures. We must be born again so that the Spirit of God takes up His residence in our heart. Only then are we equipped to worship in Spirit and in Truth.
I pray that we are sharing Divine Truth in love with the lost.
Bob
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