 We're in chapter 4 here in the Gospel of John. We're going to actually be looking at the story of the woman at the well. And this is a story that lasts longer than the amount of verses that we'll be looking at tonight. So what we're doing is I'm simply calling this the woman of Samaria, part 1. And then the next time we get together, we'll continue and conclude our look at this particular woman who comes to the Lord Jesus Christ and has an encounter with him in a well in Samaria. So we'll begin reading here in John's Gospel chapter 4. We'll begin reading at verse 1. We'll read to verse 3. I'll give you some introductory comments. We'll move into our study. John chapter 4, beginning at verse 1, reading to verse 3. John writes, therefore, when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John, though Jesus himself did not baptize but as disciples, he left Judea and departed again to Galilee. You know, when you think of the Lord Jesus Christ in his ministry, it's easy and extremely natural for us to think of the multitudes that he cared for. When you read your Bible, you'll note that the words multitude and multitudes are often used to describe his ministry and its scope. He taught multitudes. He spoke to multitudes. He fed multitudes. And the Bible tells us he even healed multitudes. But he also ministered to individuals. And that's because he cared not simply for that large mass of humanity, but he cared for individuals. And so as you go through your Gospels, you'll see that he cleanses a leper, that he heals a Centurion servant, that he heals Peter's mother-in-law, though he later regretted that. That's why Peter denied him, but that's a different Bible study. I better get back to being serious. He heals a paralytic, raises Jairus' daughter from the dead, heals a woman with an issue of blood, heals a man with a withered hand. He casts a demon out of a Syrophoenician woman's daughter, heals a demon-possessed boy. He heals a woman bent over and demonized. So not only did Jesus minister to the multitude, he ministered to the individual also. You see, Jesus didn't just care for multitudes. He cared for all. And this story that we're looking at, this story of a woman at a well, is a story relating of how Jesus showed love for one person. Now, it says in verses 1 and 2, when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John, though Jesus himself did not baptize, but his disciples already explained to you the point that was being made there. And that had to do with the controversy that we had looked at in the previous chapter. But as this is taking place, verse 3 simply says, he left Judea and departed again to Galilee. You look at a map, Judea represents the south, Galilee represents the north. And so Jesus is moving up north to do some ministry. Now, why would he leave Judea and go north to Galilee? Well, he obviously knew that the Pharisees were aware of the dispute that was going on between his disciples and John's, and they would exploit a division to undermine their ministries, because that's part of how the enemy works. You see, the enemy encourages competitive division that he might destroy. John wanted his followers to be followers of Jesus. He encouraged them to follow him. So to undermine this, the enemy begins to sow discord. He always does that. When a ministry is moving and another ministry is moving, God is doing wonderful things. There's an unfortunate reality that sometimes the disciples, devotees, the individuals attending each one of those ministries begin to get a competitive edge against one another, and the enemy has a way of exploiting that kind of thing to sow discord and undermine the work that God is doing through both of those ministries. Jesus in Mark 3, 24, and 25 said, if a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. And so he left Judea, departed again to Galilee to avoid conflict and in doing so, secured peace, providing a place for unity. In Proverbs 20 verse 3, you might want to mark this down. Proverbs 20 verse 3 says, it's honorable for a man to stop striving since any fool can start a quarrel. And that's true. I heard a fool get mad. No, that's true. Any fool can start a quarrel and it's always wise to stop striving. And so Jesus stops the striving by simply moving on from the south and he goes up to the north. You see, that's a good way to end arguments over which the church, which church is the most important. Losing fellowship over carnal things is playing into Satan's devices. Somebody once said, in essentials, unity. In non-essentials, liberty. But in all things, charity. And so as believers, John's followers were intended to become followers of Christ. And John, as he said, was simply the friend of the bridegroom because the bride belongs to Jesus and the church needs to remember this simple thing. We belong to the same savior. We resist the same enemy. And so Jesus is leaving, according to verse 3. He leaves Judea. He departs to the north to Galilee. Verse 4 says he needed to go through Samaria. Now, for him to reach his destination, which is to the north, it's necessary for him to go through this region called Samaria. When you look at a map of California, you look at that map and you see Northern California, Central California, Southern California. When you look at a map of Israel, if you envision it in a similar way, you have the Galilee, which is the north. The central area would be Samaria. The southern area is Judea. Very similar. So Jesus is in the south. It's like he's in LA. And he needs to go up north. So in order to go up north, he has to go through Central California. It's kind of like that. And so that's what it's saying he's about to do. He's in the south. He needs to travel north to go to Galilee. And the route to the north naturally includes passing through the central region. But the Bible teaches us that the Jews didn't normally pass through Samaria. As a matter of fact, what they normally would do is they would go from the south or from the north and they would begin to come towards the north or the south. We'll say they're going north like Jesus is. So they would travel to the north until they got to the border of Samaria. When they got to the border of Samaria, Central, they would cross the Jordan to their east. So you have to picture that. They go up. They travel across the Jordan, which is the natural border there. They'd cross the border to their east, continue going north until they got past Samaria. Then they'd cross again to the west and then continue their journey. That was the normal way that they would go. And so that's because they wanted to avoid traveling through Samaria. According to verse 5, he came to a city of Samaria which is called Sikr, near the plot of ground that Jacob gave to his son, Joseph. So let me tell you a little bit about that so you have a background and understand what's going on. Now, it says that Sikr is near the plot of ground Jacob gave to his son, Joseph. So Jacob, the Old Testament patriarch, bought this field from what are, who are referred to as the children of Hamor. And he bought that field for 100 pieces of silver according to Genesis 3319. And there he built an altar which he dedicated to the covenant God of Israel according to Genesis 33 verse 20. Jacob left this portion as an inheritance to his son, Joseph, and to his children according to Genesis 48 verse 22. And so that's the location. And that's why it says in verse 6, Jacob's well was there. Jesus, therefore, being worried from his journey, sat thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour. Now, this well was fed by a spring. And so Jesus is there seated on a bench by the mouth of the well. Obviously this points something to us of Jesus's humanity. He's tired. He needs to rest. Sometimes we think of Jesus perhaps as Superman, but he wasn't. He was a man who could get physically tired. We need to remember that. And he's tired. Not only is he tired, but he's also hungry. And we're told what time this is. Notice verse 6, it's about the sixth hour. The sixth hour is another way of telling us it's noon and it's very hot. How many of you in this room have gone to Israel? I'm just interested. Raise your hand. Okay, many of you have. Have any of you gone to Israel during the summer or the warmer months? Raise your hand if you have. If you have, if you haven't, never go. We did it one time, once, one time. It was, we went during the summer. It was June. And the reason we went in June is because some of the teachers in our church said, we can't go to Israel because we're teachers. Could you set up a tour for us to be able to go during the summer when we're off? And so I stupidly agreed. I have to tell you, I'd never been to Israel during the summer. Going one time was well worth it. Because that's all I'll ever go. It's one time during the summer because even up in the Tel Aviv area, which is a little to the north and on the coast, it was about 112 to 116 degrees. And when you went to Masada, which is to the south, it was hot in a way that, we're Californians. We're in an area that's pretty hot. Our city, during the summer, 106, 108, that's not abnormal. It's a different kind of heat. It's that searing desert heat. And so Jesus is traveling. It may very well be a warm season for him. And as he's traveling, he comes to this place and he's seated there at the mouth of a well. He's thirsty and he's tired. And that's the picture that we have. It shows us that Jesus has humanity. And it gives us the location. It gives us the time. It's letting us know that it's very hot. And as this is all taking place, verse 7, a woman of Samaria comes to draw water. And Jesus said to her, give me a drink. Four, according to verse 8, his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. So Jesus is there at the well. His disciples have gone to get him provisions. And he strikes up a conversation with this woman from that area. Simply referred to as a woman of Samaria. The woman has approached. It's noon. She's there to draw some water. And we know that this is not by chance. This is something that's the design of God. Because Jesus is going to minister to this woman. Jesus is there especially in order that he might minister to her. I want you to notice verse 4 again. It said he needed to go through Samaria. Why did he need to go through Samaria? Because there was an appointment that he had at noon with a woman who was going to show up at a well. That's why he needed to be there. He could have gone around like everybody else. He could have traveled to the east, crossed the Jordan, gone up north, returned to the west, finished off his journey. No, he needed to go through Samaria. Why? Because he had an appointment. Because he was sending his disciples away so he could have a private conversation with a woman who had a tremendous need that Jesus was aware of. And so he's about to minister to her. But we need to remember that Jesus has set this up. In John 6 verse 44 he said, No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. This woman is coming to that well and Jesus is about to reach her with his message. And he initiates a conversation. Notice in verse 7 Jesus said to her, Give me a drink. Sometimes we fail to realize that by him even asking this woman to do something for him, he actually was humbling himself to ask help of somebody else. Give me a drink. But within that give me a drink is also an invitation. The invitation would be serve me. And so though he is humbling himself, he's still giving her an invitation to serve him. Listen, every follower of Christ is a servant of Christ. And his conversation really begins with a visible humility but also a request for someone to follow and serve. He says, Give me a drink. He has a thirst that goes beyond one for water. Jesus' thirst is for her salvation. We need to remember in Luke 19 verse 10 that the Son of man has come to seek and to save that which was lost. And that's what Jesus is doing here. He's seeking and saving. He's seeking to save a woman who has lost. And he's alone according to verse 8 because his disciples have gone away into the city to buy food. You see, had the disciples been there, it may have been more complicated and more difficult to share because it wasn't normal for a man to speak to a woman alone. The man would not speak to a woman alone. It wasn't proper. And so what he's doing is actually he's reaching out in a way that's very unusual. And so if there were others present, she may not have been as open to share. And so he's got this perfect timing going about because Jesus is about to expose her sins and to do so would have been great embarrassment to her had he done so in front of others. Sometimes it's a very important thing as a matter of fact, many times. It's a very important thing when you have to deal with some issue to do it privately. You know, my father was somebody who taught me to do that long before he got saved. My father was a man who would not embarrass me in front of others. If I needed correction, even though I might have needed instant correction because there were times when I as a dumb kid said something that he should respond to quickly. My father was the kind of man who would not embarrass me in front of my friends. And so I might say something dumb or whatever and he could have and it would have been within his rights to to correct me in front of my friend or whatever, but my dad wouldn't do that. My dad would wait and then it was just him and me. Then he would say what you did was wrong and don't do it again. There are times when it's really important and I think many times when it's really important to just pick the right time to deal with an issue. I think a lot of times people fail to resolve issues because they choose to try to do it and the timing is wrong. It's always good to wait on the Lord. It's always good to pray. It's always good to ask the Lord give me the proper time, opportunity and the proper words so that we can bring a correction to this problem. But if somebody says something to you and it bothers you and there's people around and you just speak your mind and you're not going to resolve anything, you're just going to enhance the problem and maybe lose a friend. And so it's always wise if you have to bring correction to do it at the proper moment and some things that may be embarrassing, it's good to do so in private. And so Jesus is about to do this. He's having a conversation with this woman and so as he speaks to her, I want you to notice he initiates it and he does so by simply saying in verse 7 once again, give me a drink. Well, verse 9, the woman of Samaria said to him, how is it that you being a Jew ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman. And then John gives us some insight when he says for Jews have no dealings with Samaritans. So this helps us to know that John was writing to a Gentile audience. Jews already knew that. And so this helps us to know that John's gospel was written to non-Jewish people. He has to explain this and that's how he's developing this. The woman of Samaria said to him, how is it that you being a Jew ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman. Jews have no dealings with Samaritans. Now, why is that? Why would Jews have no dealings with these people who are called Samaritans? You see, she knew he's a Jew. How did she know that? Well, his speech, the way he would speak, they had different accents. His clothing, the way he was dressed. His speech and his clothing identified him and so it's surprising to her that this Jewish man is actually speaking to her. Jews have no dealings with Samaritans. But why? Well, to the Jew a Samaritan was unclean and the feelings went very deep. Jews would not eat meals with Samaritans. They would not use the same eating and drinking vessels. They had no religious connection with Samaritans whatsoever. Why? Because Samaritans were looked at as a pagan mixture of Jew and Gentile. They originated as a people group around 722 BC after the nation of Issyria conquered Israel. In 2 Kings 1724, the Bible says the king of Issyria brought people from Babylon, Qutah, Ava, Hamat and from Sefar Vime and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel. And they took possession of Samaria and dwelt in its city. So they dispossessed the Jews and they brought in foreigners to live there in Israel. Now, when they originally had moved in the Lord actually sent lions among them. Many were killed. So out of fear, they came to believe Israel was behind this slaughter. And in 2 Kings chapter 17, 28 and 29 it says one of the priests whom they had carried away from Samaria came and dwelt in Bethel and taught them how they should fear the Lord. However, every nation continued to make gods of its own and put them in the shrines on the high places which the Samaritans had made every nation in the cities where they dwelt. So in 2 Kings 17, 32 and 33 they feared the Lord. From every class they appointed for themselves priests of the high places who sacrificed for them in the shrines of the high places. And it says they feared the Lord yet served their own gods according to the rituals of the nations from among whom they were carried away. They served the Lord and feared their own gods and served their own gods. Feared the Lord, served their own gods. Sounds like Americans. Feared the Lord. Because this isn't the nation of the United States the nation we all love, of course. Isn't it a nation that claims Christian heritage but still serves their own gods? Well, that's what they were doing. That's what they were doing. See these lions came in, slaughtered some people. They said, we've gotten the gods of this land angry. What should we do? Well, there's this priest that we have that we can ask him. He'll tell us. This is a jealous God. You've made him angry. You need to serve him in a different way. So they started learning the rituals of service from the Jews. In doing so, they combined paganism with the Jewish religion. And that's what they did. I'm apologetic because my throat's giving me problems I have to drink. And so, 300 years later from 444 between 444-425 BC the Jews returned after being held captive in Babylon. Under Nehemiah the Jews rebuilding Jerusalem were opposed by Samaritans. Mama, do you have a I'm going to do this all night if I don't get something. Do you have my medical marijuana? No. My eyes are bothering me. Forgive me for the interruption but I have to do this. I've been dealing with something for a long time. Thank you. I had brought one of these with me into the Bible study tonight and somehow I must come out of my pocket in my office so forgive me, I have to do this. Now my voice will change and sound like rawl and then I'll really be in trouble. Take another drink of water and see what we can do here. I take a medication it's for my blood pressure and one of the one of the what do they call it side effects is it drives me out and so it's been happening now for several months it's very distracting every time I teach so I usually have to prepare myself to teach tonight it's acting up more than normal and I'm just telling you that because I love pity but anyway under Nehemiah the Jews rebuilding Jerusalem are opposed by Samaritans and Nehemiah 4 verses 1 and 2 listen to what it says it says it so happened when Sandvillet heard that we were rebuilding the wall that he was furious very indignant and mocked the Jews and he spoke before his brethren in the army of Samaria and said what are these feeble Jews doing will they fortify themselves will they offer sacrifice will they complete it in a day will they revive the stones from the heaps of rubbish stones that are burned so there was a great dislike for Samaritans they were a hybrid race according to Jewish religious standards they were pagan they opposed the building rebuilding of the temple and the Jews hated them and they refused to worship with them and so because the Jews would not allow the Samaritans to worship in the Jewish temple the Samaritans in 400 BC built a rival temple the rival temple they built in a place called Mount Geretim that temple eventually was burned down by the Jews in 128 BC there was such a great antagonism that went on for centuries that John simply has to say Jews have no dealings with Samaritans the Gentiles could be familiar with it the way we are by looking at the history of the conflict between Jews and Samaritans the Jews already knew they had no relationships with them they had no dealings with Samaritans so this is what is taking place when Jesus is at a well and a Samaritan woman comes up and he actually initiates a conversation which men would not do in public with a woman the Jewish man would not have a conversation with women in this way at a well like this Jesus is breaking some taboos as he is having this conversation and so the woman begins to speak and I want you to notice something again and then we will move to verse 10 the woman of Samaria said to him how is it that you being a Jew ask a drink from me a Samaritan woman that attitude is one of flippant kind of like she is being sassy with them she is being smart with them this is not a friendly woman she is looking at them she is throwing that attitude look that you can see sometimes that is what she is doing a lot of times when you read your Bible you might think there is a polite conversation going it is not a polite conversation this is not one of those just because Jesus is speaking does not mean everybody got quiet sometimes we think that when Jesus would speak there would be a lot of noise Jesus walks in and suddenly a holy hush comes upon everybody and they sit there listening that in the way it was no this is real life that is why this is such a great story it is real life Jesus shows up he is at a well he is sitting down he is tired a woman comes up he sent his men out go get something for me to eat they are gone he is just waiting he is gone in an appointment here she comes give me something to drink that was it that you a Jew asked me for a drink of water it is an attitude that she has now this woman is coming at noon that tells you something about the woman because in the Jewish society the women would go for water early in the morning it was cool or late in the afternoon when it was cool and they would gather together at the well for a place of fellowship where they would be bringing in the water because it was the job of the woman to draw the water for the family those were the good old days it was the job of the woman to get the water that was what she did it was part of her domestic duties so the women would go at a certain time and as women would in any small village they would gather together hi how are you how is the family what is going on and he knew it was it was a social place a place where they would socialize but that would be in earlier in the morning or late in the afternoon why again because it's hot nobody goes to a well at noon unless nobody wants to be with you that's why she's there at noon because the women the decent women had nothing to do with this woman the good women of the town had nothing to do with this woman we already know why you've all read this story before but that's why she was immoral they didn't want anything to do with her so she had to come by herself at noon and that helps us to understand why she'd have an attitude she's rejected nobody likes her nobody spends time with her how is it that you being a Jew ask a drink of me a woman of Samaria would be an attitude that you would have and so Jesus answered verse 10 said to her if you knew the gift of God and who it is who says to you give me a drink you would have asked him and he'd have given you living water oh Jesus begins to speak to her she was being flippant she was really at first uninterested but just the way Jesus spoke with this seriousness begins to bridge to build a bridge for her to cross in faith to come to him now when we look at this conversation we see how the Lord reaches across barriers, barriers that divide us the first thing we see he reaches across racial lines between the Jew and the Samaritan because his love replaces hate he reaches across gender lines the lines that are divided between a woman and a man and this is something that Galatians 3 28 tells us there's neither Jew nor Greek there's neither slave nor free there's neither male nor female you are all one in Christ Jesus Jesus reaches across that Jesus is not just a a messiah just for Israel Jesus is the world's messiah that includes every ethnicity that is present in humanity every ethnicity we have people today who say that they are this or they are that Irish American, Polish American Mexican American African American we hyphenate that but the reality is there's humanity and Jesus Christ died for everybody not just for Jews and not just for non-Jews he came to reach we need to understand that because today in the United States I'm telling you, you probably know this I'm just saying something we all know and if not think about it we go to churches because there are more people like us there I go to this church because people like me are there other sinners? No, no, I don't mean that I mean but you know I look around I see people more like me guys be careful, I hope you don't do that please never do that you know what we're here for I say this every time I'll say it again it's because I believe with all my heart we belong together in Jesus Christ we need to always remember that it's easy right now to forget that I'm telling you you know this but it's true basically it's not even part of the study I was invited to be part years ago some of you know most of you won't know this because I never talked about it many years ago many years ago can't even remember how long ago but it's been 10 plus years maybe 15, I don't know I was invited to be part of a Hispanic organization you won't know this because I don't talk about it but our church is pastored this church here pastored by a Mexican American I would say it like that but I've got a point in this is one of the largest churches in the United States pastored by a Mexican American Hispanic man you don't know that because I don't talk about it because that doesn't matter to me but that's a fact that's just a fact and it came about that somebody was putting together the first in history the first traditional Hispanic prayer breakfast in Washington DC the one who put that together his name is Luis contacted me and asked me if I would be part of an organization I'm kind of putting it all together that put on this thing and there were several Hispanic leaders from around the United States I was invited to be part of this original council and it was part of it for the first year or two and when that happened I just died and I thought my father would have been blessed to see how the Lord is moving and the community and this and that and I said I'll come and meet with you and see and so my wife and I met with him more than once and went to Washington DC attended the very first in history national Hispanic prayer breakfast never had been one in history so we were part of that I was part of a small group of about six men or less to oversee this so that says something but Marie and I had conversations and we went maybe once or twice they talked with Luis more than once and we went and I told Marie I said I don't like the direction this is going this is not my heart I'm not a man who's caught up with only the concerns of one portion of our society the gospel of Jesus Christ has to go to all people and I'm not going to isolate myself to one group even if it is my ethnic heritage because I see more than that I want us to reach the world not just Mexicans and Puerto Ricans and Colombianos I'm not going to do that it's not that I don't love because my Hispanic friends will get mad at me what's wrong with you man I see the kingdom of God bigger than that so I dropped out of that years ago and this church doesn't really know about it why? because I'm going to keep my eye on what matters and what matters is unity in Jesus Christ whether you're brown, black, yellow, white or rainbow doesn't matter to me we are one in Jesus Christ and that's why I do what I do I've had opportunity I've been given it I could have probably risen to do something to be known why? because there's only one who should be known and that's Jesus Christ and that's how it works now you don't need to know that maybe but it's true so when I go through these things and you'll see me say we're one in Christ we're one in Christ that's because we're one in Christ we're one in Christ somebody else can chase that that fame I don't need it for me it's more important that we love one another and if God keeps me in this corner in Chino to speak to people with like mind I'm blessed to do that I don't need to be in DC I don't need to be known by senators I don't need to sit down with my congresswoman or congressman I don't care about that they can't change my life but Jesus can and that's why the gospel matters to me I'm just telling you I'm reaching across racial lines reaching across gender lines reaching across moral lines because he's reaching out to a sexually promiscuous woman and then he reaches across religious lines because he's offering life to any who would receive him and so he speaks to this woman if you knew the gift of God and who it is who says to you give me a drink you would have asked him he would have given you living water he doesn't respond to her comment about the division between Jew and Samaritan he goes to the heart of the matter and he arouses her curiosity he says to her in verse 10 again notice if you knew the this gift he's speaking about it's a totally free gift if you knew the totally free gift of God who it is so he begins to appeal to her present need he obviously knows that she is physically thirsty so he speaks of physical thirst she's presently experiencing that but he uses her physical thirst to awaken her awareness to her spiritual thirst in Psalm 63 verse 1 the Psalmist said God you are my God early will I seek you my soul thirsts for you my flesh longs for you in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water you go to Israel and you'll see that it truly is in many places a very thirsty waterless land and like when I'm just dying of thirst that's how my soul is with you so Jesus says I'm offering you something I'm offering you salvation I'm offering the gift of God the gift of God is life in Jesus Christ I'm offering you living water well the woman verse 11 said to him sir you have nothing to draw and the well's deep where then do you get that living water are you greater than our father Jacob who gave us the well drank from it himself as well as his sons in his livestock now she's thinking on a practical level you're offering fresh water to drink but you have nothing to draw it up with and this well's 100 feet deep now I don't see anything especially spectacular about you if I may are you greater than Jacob and so that gives us simple insight into his appearance Jesus wasn't glowing in the dark and he wasn't floating he just gives us insight into that and he speaks to her in verse 13 and says whoever drinks of this water will thirst again but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst but the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life hmm that sounds good to me I'm offering you something that will permanently satisfy your needs somebody said the soul's greatest thirst is for God himself who has made us so that we can never be satisfied without him saying I'm offering you a life that is fresh that is satisfying and is pure I'm offering you that which will satisfy your thirst not temporarily I'm not giving to you opportunity to become a follower for a while until some new guru comes along and you follow them no I am giving to you words of life and an experience with God that is so deep that you'll never thirst for anything else ever again this will satisfy you forever people have asked me how is it that you have remained with Christ for 48 years how has that happened that you have never turned away from him why because when you drink of his water you never thirst again there's nothing out there that would satisfy my thirst only Jesus Christ there's no other power out there that would satisfy me only his holy spirit there's no other food out there he is the bread of life that's called Christianity and that's why he's saying I'll satisfy you I'll satisfy this thirst you're going to drink of this you're going to come again you're going to have to continue why because that water does not satisfy that party scene doesn't satisfy that relationship doesn't satisfy that drug doesn't satisfy that car doesn't satisfy those things don't satisfy only God satisfies and that's the point he's making it's very easy to see that and so she says that sounds pretty good to me so verse 15 the woman says sir give me this water that I may not thirst or come here to draw yeah I'll drink it you offer it I'll take it now it's possible she's humor in him maybe he's a little bit strange you know but Jesus takes her a step deeper go call your husband and come here uh oh bust it you want this living water yeah well in order to get it well it requires a confession of sin and it requires a repentance so the woman answers and says in verse 17 I have no husband so she's kind of giving a that's true I have no husband now I was just reading something again I'll say this briefly but I was just reading it two days ago somebody was writing about Jesus saying that he in essence they were saying oh Jesus was just he accepted everybody tolerated everybody loved everybody and this is a person who doesn't read the Bible and they're preaching a false Christ a false gospel in the name of Jesus oh Jesus didn't confront he didn't make people feel uncomfortable no there is a gentle way there is a gentle way he didn't look at her and call her a harlot you wretched harlot he didn't do that could have he could have but he didn't he approached her in a gentle way I really believe that that is the wisest and most loving way that you can under normal circumstances approach somebody most people already know that there's something wrong with them most people do not all people there are some who are so narcissistic that they don't have any idea that what they do is wrong there are some that way there are what are called sociopaths people who are never wrong in their own mind and that does exist of course but the average person you know and I know you know and I know no we may make excuses oh yeah yeah I say to a person mostly we're having a conversation and I say to the person you know you just lied to me well I didn't really lie I kind of stretched the truth yeah yeah okay you stretched the truth but I really didn't lie you see there are big lies and there are little lies this was just a little lie we have a tendency of doing that yeah I took something but it was a small thing yeah but that makes you a thief no no no I'm not a thief I didn't steal a car I didn't steal a boat I only stole a candy and it's really not stealing because if you look at it there are a whole lot of other canis there and by the way this is a big corporation and nobody's going to notice some good and plenty's are gone or whatever so it's okay to steal a little no I didn't steal I appropriated I'm really more like Robin Hood because there's a lot of candy and I'm going to give it to you know we can justify our sin all day long and people do that all the time so people will say you know Jesus he tolerated everything and he accepted everybody and he never confronted sin but what he's doing here is confronting her sin in a gentle way you have to see what he's doing here go call your husband and come here the woman answered and said I have no husband Jesus said you have well said I have no husband you've had five husbands and the one whom you now have is not your husband in that you spoke truly busted you've been married formally five times you're shacking up with someone that's not your husband you know in the United States we've had an interesting moral turn several years in that people think shacking up is being married you know that and I know that you know people in our fellowship before they got saved felt that was a very normal way to to have relationship I don't see the reason why I should marry they'll say it's just a piece of paper you know what good is a piece of paper if my love doesn't bind her heart and we like to get poetic about our sin and we try to make it romantic and Jesus didn't put up with that I want you to note that you've had five husbands you formally went through the ritual of marriage and now you're shacking up that's not your husband so when people will sit down and say living together is being married Jesus said that's not your husband you're having an immoral relationship and what he's doing is he's confronting and he's doing it in a gentle way but he's confronting her sin he's saying you cannot have life as long as you desire your sin and living together by the way is sinful in Ephesians 5 verse 5 Paul said it like this this you know that no fornicator, unclean person nor covetous man who's an idolater has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God and so he speaks to her and he confronts that notice her response verse 19 the woman said to him sir I perceive you're a prophet it's interesting how her way of approaching him changed from how is it that you being a Jew then she changes her tone and she says sir and now notice what she's calling him I perceive you're a prophet so from Jew to sir to prophet all in one conversation I perceive that you are a prophet in verse 20 our fathers worship on this mountain and you Jews say that in Jerusalem's a place where one ought to worship so let's have a religious debate here I see you're a prophet let's argue religion sometimes people like to hide behind religion as religious as she may have been it didn't produce morality in her life and so the question has been asked if your faith doesn't change your life then what good is it well as she's speaking to him our fathers worship on this mountain do you say that in Jerusalem where the temple is a place where one ought to worship she wants to debate him notice verse 21 how Jesus deals with that woman believe me the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem worship the father and then he said this you worship what you don't know we know what we worship for salvation of the Jew think about that for a moment let's say that Jesus thought all religions were pretty much the same no he says you don't know what you're worshiping salvation comes from Israel and he made that very clear we know what we worship salvation is of the Jews now when he said you worship what you don't know they the Samaritans rejected the Old Testament prophets the Psalms and the historical books of the Bible and because they didn't know scripture they didn't know salvation and so that's what Jesus is pointing out but he goes on and says the hour is coming now is when the true worshipers will worship the father in spirit and truth the father seeking such to worship and God in spirit those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth and the woman said to him I know Messiah is coming who's called Christ when he comes he'll tell us all things that are I who speak to you am he whoa think about that notice how she said I know that Messiah is coming she may be evading his call she may be saying I have time I can wait I don't need to do anything yet but Jesus closes the last door when he said I who speak to you am he and you can almost follow up with another question now what are you going to do you're thirsty you want the water I can provide I said to you get your husband you said to me you have no husband I said to you the man you're living with is not your husband you're telling me the truth in other words you're in sin you tried to turn this into a religious debate we worship in Mount God seem you worship in the temple in Jerusalem you don't know what you're talking about when it comes to religion but I can tell you about salvation you don't know the Old Testament the prophets the writings you don't know these things because these things Jesus says these things point to me and so if you say you're waiting for Messiah Messiah is here what are you going to do you know that question can still be asked you say you're waiting for Christ to somehow reveal himself he already has now what are you going to do