Come see a man who knows everything…

John 04

JOHN 4:1-54

1Therefore when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John 2(although Jesus Himself was not baptizing, but His disciples were), 3He left Judea and went away again into Galilee. 4And He had to pass through Samaria. 5So He came to a city of Samaria called Sychar, near the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph; 6and Jacob's well was there. So Jesus, being wearied from His journey, was sitting thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour.

7There came a woman of Samaria to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.” 8For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. 9Therefore the Samaritan woman said to Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask me for a drink since I am a Samaritan woman?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) 10Jesus answered and 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 would have given you living water.” 11She said to Him, “Sir, You have nothing to draw with and the well is deep; where then do You get that living water? 12“You are not greater than our father Jacob, are You, who gave us the well, and drank of it himself and his sons and his cattle?” 13Jesus answered and said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; 14but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.”

15The woman said to Him, “Sir, give me this water, so I will not be thirsty nor come all the way here to draw.” 16He said to her, “Go, call your husband and come here.” 17The woman answered and said, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You have correctly said, ‘I have no husband’; 18for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; this you have said truly.”19The woman said to Him, “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. 20“Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.” 21Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. 22“You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23“But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. 24“God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” 25The woman *said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ); when that One comes, He will declare all things to us.” 26Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am He. ”

27At this point His disciples came, and they were amazed that He had been speaking with a woman, yet no one said, “What do You seek?” or, “Why do You speak with her?” 28So the woman left her waterpot, and went into the city and said to the men, 29“Come, see a man who told me all the things that I have done; this is not the Christ, is it?” 30They went out of the city, and were coming to Him.

31Meanwhile the disciples were urging Him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.” 32But He said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” 33So the disciples were saying to one another, “No one brought Him anything to eat, did he?” 34Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work. 35“Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest. 36“Already he who reaps is receiving wages and is gathering fruit for life eternal; so that he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. 37“For in this case the saying is true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ 38“I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored and you have entered into their labor.”

39From that city many of the Samaritans believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, “He told me all the things that I have done.” 40So when the Samaritans came to Jesus, they were asking Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days. 41Many more believed because of His word; 42and they were saying to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this One is indeed the Savior of the world.”

43After the two days He went forth from there into Galilee. 44For Jesus Himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country. 45So when He came to Galilee, the Galileans received Him, having seen all the things that He did in Jerusalem at the feast; for they themselves also went to the feast.

46Therefore He came again to Cana of Galilee where He had made the water wine. And there was a royal official whose son was sick at Capernaum. 47When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and was imploring Him to come down and heal his son; for he was at the point of death. 48So Jesus said to him, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you simply will not believe.” 49The royal official said to Him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” 50Jesus said to him, “Go; your son lives.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and started off. 51As he was now going down, his slaves met him, saying that his son was living. 52So he inquired of them the hour when he began to get better. Then they said to him, “Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.” 53So the father knew that it was at that hour in which Jesus said to him, “Your son lives”; and he himself believed and his whole household. 54This is again a second sign that Jesus performed when He had come out of Judea into Galilee.

JOHN 4:1-26

15The woman said to Him, “Sir, give me this water, so I will not be thirsty nor come all the way here to draw.” 16He said to her, “Go, call your husband and come here.” 17The woman answered and said, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You have correctly said, ‘I have no husband’; 18for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; this you have said truly.”19The woman said to Him, “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. 20“Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.” 21Jesus *said to her, “Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. 22“You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23“But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. 24“God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” 25The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ); when that One comes, He will declare all things to us.” 26Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am He. ”

And He had to pass through Samaria

There are “have to” people and there are “get to” people. Jesus was not a “have to” person. Even though this word [G1163 dei] can be interpreted as “had to,” it can also mean, “it was necessary for him.”

It is far more likely that Jesus saw this as a “get to” opportunity. An opportunity to take his disciples through the land of an enemy and show them God’s attitude towards people of a different culture.

When it comes to going places I don’t want to go, am I a “have to” or “get to” person. Do I see the opportunity in these moments or only the problems? To Jesus, this was a teaching opportunity worth an eternal lifetime, not just to the Samaritan woman, but also to his followers.

Samaria was not a necessary path between southern Israel and Northern, but it was a definite timesaver. Even a hurried religious leader might well go around this little kingdom, to avoid interacting or becoming unclean through interaction with their people—especially people like this woman at this well at this time.

It was about the sixth hour

In Jesus’ era, time was counted in two-hour increments starting at mid-night. Mid-night to two would be the “first watch” or the first hour. The sixth hour would be from 10:00am until noon.

Women and daughters were tasked with carrying the water from the town well to the home kitchen. They would do so shortly after the break of day so water would be available for washing and breakfast. It was one of the rare opportunities women had to get out of the home and converse. The well was a welcome opportunity in the Jewish woman’s life to discuss the local news or gossip.

The fact that this woman comes during the sixth hour indicates she does not want to be around the other women. We do not know if this was her habit or just an extraordinary day. If it was her habit, we have to assume there is some reason she wants to be there alone. That reason will make itself clearer as the story unfolds.

“How is it that You, being a Jew, ask me for a drink since I am a Samaritan woman?”

The woman begins to ask a series of questions that are either meant to be sarcastic or flirtatious. Whatever they are, they are inappropriate and designed to mock Jesus.

Where then do You get that living water?

By the time she gets to her third question, you can really tell that Jesus is getting on her nerves.

JOHN 4:11

“You are not greater than our father Jacob, are You, who gave us the well, and drank of it himself and his sons and his cattle?”

This question is designed to undermine Jesus. In essence, the woman is mocking or flirting with eternity. We shouldn’t be too surprised. We do it all the time. We put off knowing Jesus for “some other opportune time.” We play games as if we are too smart for the eternal. We taunt God to prove his value to us and dither about (flirt with eternity) as if we had forever to make a decision about the Christ.

Whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst

The satiating water of Jesus flows both internal and eternal. Our lives should reflect this. We have an abundance of living water flowing within us and therefore need never see the world from a fearful or scarcity perspective. We need to overflow with love in every scenario.

Here we see Jesus overflow with love in the desert to an outcast woman. Can I be accused of similar love? Is my presence water in the desert to the least accepted and most rejected?

“Go, call your husband and come here.”

Jesus calls an end to the flattery and flirtatiousness of the woman. If she wants to play games, it will not be with the Son of the Eternal. You can bet this is a statement no man had ever told her before while she was being flirty or sarcastic. Jesus spends enough time with her to allow her to see he understands, but then he lays out the truth for her to see.

Most of our psychosis lays in our inability (or refusal) to honestly look at our lives and/or to close off those who would lead us to do so. Our tendency is to be surrounded by people who support our deception rather than challenge it.

In the research for Strengthfinders by the Gallup Organization, Tom Rath quotes his father, Don Clifton, as stating, “A great leader leads from his/her strengths, but builds a team around his/her blind spots.”

Is my leadership marked by those who invite me to look beyond my own comfortable paradigm? Do I invite people to challenge me and reward them with my full attention and consideration when they do? Do I hear too many “yeses” in my day and not enough “no’s” to grow?

The downfall of far too many leaders is when they finally get into positions of power; they surround themselves with people who will only agree with them.

“Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem...”

Where you worship will not matter. The Samaritan’s had their mountain (Mount Gerizim) for worship, just as the Jewish people did (Mount Zion). One of the great blunders of Peter was to try to establish a third place of worship on the mount where Jesus was transfigured (Mount Tabor).

When Peter made this attempt, God himself scolded the apostle.

MATTHEW 17:4-5

4Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, I will make three tabernacles here, one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 5While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice out of the cloud said, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!”

What God is saying to us through Peter is, “Why, mortal, are you talking at this moment instead of listening?”

The most important place to worship is right where I am, making every situation holy and blessed. The best way to do that is through being continually mindful of gratitude in each moment. The second most important place to worship is with the “least of these.” Bringing joy to the lives of those in need. Sometimes joy does not look like worship—in its traditional sense—it looks like reading to a foster child or providing a sandwich to a hungry person on the street. It is bringing God to the darkness, not necessarily people to a church.

“I who speak to you am He.”

It is so much easier to NOT recognize Jesus than to recognize him. Like this woman—and the apostles—they were looking for the Messiah in a conquering hero who would “set things straight.” It is interesting to note that individually, “setting things straight” almost always means, “setting them straight for me…”

This woman certainly did not expect to see the Messiah at her well as a dusty vagabond, an immigrant passing through her country. Would I recognize Jesus if he appeared in the center of my community as an immigrant seeking assistance?

JOHN 4:27-30

They were amazed that He had been speaking with a woman, yet no one said, “What do You seek?” or, “Why do You speak with her?”

I read a great quote this week, it was, “We don’t see the world as it is, we see the world as we are.” I believe the quote is from Martin Seligman, Ph.D. in his book, “The Optimistic Child.”

That quote was certainly apropos in this situation with the Apostles. Jesus was guilty to them because of what they would have done in the situation, not because of what Jesus did. Yet, none of them was willing to discuss the situation with Jesus himself.

Would I be a good-enough friend to ask the question that lingered on everyone’s mind? (“So what are you doing here alone with a prostitute?”) How many people have I condemned because of the unspoken suspicions in my own mind or a group’s mindset?

So the woman left her waterpot, and went into the city and said to the men, “Come, see a man who told me all the things that I have done; this is not the Christ, is it?”

There is so much value in what happens to this woman after meeting Jesus. She completely forgets what she came to the well to do. After meeting Jesus—and this should be the case with those who follow him now as well—we forget the mundane and focus on the eternal. Is that the kind of impact I have on the lives of others?

The truth sets her free and she immediately decides to run to those she knows. Notice she doesn’t run to the synagogue. She runs to the men of the community, perhaps the last people who want to hear her new-found truth (that a man knows everything she did). The truth gives her newfound strength to rewrite manipulative relationships. Will the men of her village be as happy to rewrite their relationships with her?

She goes out strengthened by the truth, but humbled by it as well. She doesn’t presume to preach to the village or it’s males. She says, “this is not the Christ, is it?”

She is liberated to share the truth because of the depth of Christ’s unconditional love. Jesus knows “all the things” woman has done and yet… still loves her. Her problem is going to be that if the Messiah knows all that she has done, won’t he also know all what they—the men of her town—have done. They may not see this as good news.

The arrival of Jesus does not just bring love and warm feelings; it brings an end to manipulative relationships. Not all people see truth as liberating. I can certainly think of times in my own life where I wouldn’t have found that welcoming news. It is similar to Plato’s cave, when we think the darkness is light and the light hurts our eyes.

JOHN 4: 31-42

“I have food to eat that you do not know about.”

Some might think this would have been an exhausting conversation that Jesus had with the woman at the well. However, in many cases, we find Jesus energized when his daily efforts match with his vision. Take for example, his response following one of the feedings of the thousands.

MATTHEW 14:22-23

22Immediately He made the disciples get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side, while He sent the crowds away. 23After He had sent the crowds away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray; and when it was evening, He was there alone.

After feeding the thousands, Jesus sends the apostles away—it appears he was frustrated with their inability to take action—while he stays on to say all the good-byes (and there would have been thousands).

Psychologists call this energized feeling, “Flow.” It happens whenever we are caught up in any moment of high challenge and high success. It is a physiological response (a release of dopamine) that occurs for anyone who experiences the unity of their vision with their action.

When our vision and our actions don’t match, we might call that drudgery. Flow doesn’t come from income; it comes from mastery. Meaning, purpose and participation are the elixirs that rescue people from drudgery.

“I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored and you have entered into their labor.”

“We stand on the shoulders of giants.”—Bernard de Chatre & Isaac Newton who said, “If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.”

“Nanos gigantum humeris insidentes (We are dwarves standing on the shoulders of giants).”

There is a great humility when we realize the work that has gone on before us and prepare for the work that must come after us.

As the entire village turns out to ask Jesus and the apostles to stay, it must have been a heady feeling for those early followers. Jesus reminds them to put it all in eternal—not immediate—perspective.

They were saying to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this One is indeed the Savior of the world.”

Here is the sign that Jesus changed a village and a beautiful example of how it can be done. Jesus reaches out to (responds) to the most rejected woman of the village, by putting himself in a place where that woman would inevitably have to venture. It is her faith that converts the village, he simply allows her to share the joy she experienced in finding a non-manipulative love.

Jesus doesn’t put a soapbox up on a corner in the town and start preaching. He takes a seat where and when he might find the outcast in any Samaritan or Jewish village and simply loves those who come to that place in quiet conversation. Where is that seat in my community?

The other villagers come at first over the curiosity of seeing a changed life. They return longing for the same liberation.

JOHN 4:43-45

A prophet has no honor in his own country

Jesus, returning to Galilee, prepares his disciples for the letdown. They have been honored and revered in Samaria (a country the Jewish people reviled), they would have similar treatment when traveling to the Decapolis (northeast of Israel).

The word Jesus uses is, “Honor [G5092 Time],” it means respect, price or value.

What is the tendency we have to stifle those who are familiar to us? Is it our desire to seek excuses for our own complacency or mediocrity? “How can he/she be so wise if she/he came from the same circumstance as myself?” Is it a Narcissistic form of self-protection to believe that no one can be greater than myself if they came from the same background as me?

Let’s recall the events in Jerusalem that the Galileans had seen. In John 2, Jesus clears the temple of the money-lenders and profiteers. This would certainly endear him to the Galileans, as they had to leave their jobs and take the long trek to Jerusalem to worship at the feasts. Each festival would be an incredible expense. Added to this offense was the way the people of Jerusalem looked down upon the Galileans. Remember Nathaniel’s original snub of Jesus?

JOHN 1:43-49

43The next day He purposed to go into Galilee, and He *found Philip. And Jesus said to him, “Follow Me.” 44Now Philip was from Bethsaida, of the city of Andrew and Peter. 45Philip *found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the Law and also the Prophets wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” 46Nathanael said to him, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” 47Jesus saw Nathanael coming to Him, and *said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” 48Nathanael said to Him, “How do You know me?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.”

The Galilean’s were snubbed as a backcountry lot, they were also first into battle and the last out. In other writings I have likened this region to the prominent nose on a pugilist’s face.

There was also a Roman garrison stationed in Galilee. Yet another reason for the people of Jerusalem to look down upon them.

These people of Galilee “took offense” at Jesus—the parallel verse in Mark is even more indicative.

MARK 6:1-6

1Jesus went out from there and came into His hometown; and His disciples followed Him. 2When the Sabbath came, He began to teach in the synagogue; and the many listeners were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get these things, and what is this wisdom given to Him, and such miracles as these performed by His hands? 3“Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? Are not His sisters here with us?” And they took offense at Him. 4Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and among his own relatives and in his own household.” 5And He could do no miracle there except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. 6And He wondered at their unbelief.

The people of Jesus’ hometown were a thankless lot. They did not see Jesus’ potential—even when he did miracles among them or spoke truth and wisdom. It is not much different with us. There are miracles daily in every life. If we are unable to see them, it is not the Creator’s fault.

Do I have an attitude receptive to the miraculous?

We must also look at the resilience of the Apostle’s here. They follow Jesus into the hated land of the Samaritans and then return to their own land where they are rejected and reviled. Do I have the strength to be a sign of faith in the most hostile of circumstances? In rejected places and with those who have lost the spark of life and the joy of gratitude? If I can only be a candle in a chandelier factory, then what use is my light? We are called to be light in the darkness, streams in the desert and hope to the desolate.

ISAIAH 35:2-6 (NIV)

3Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way;

4say to those with fearful hearts, “Be strong, do not fear;

your God will come, he will come with vengeance;

with divine retribution he will come to save you.”

5Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped.

6Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy.

Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert.

JOHN 4:46-54

46Therefore He came again to Cana of Galilee where He had made the water wine. And there was a royal official whose son was sick at Capernaum. 47When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and was imploring Him to come down and heal his son; for he was at the point of death. 48So Jesus said to him, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you simply will not believe.” 49The royal official said to Him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” 50Jesus *said to him, “Go; your son lives.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and started off. 51As he was now going down, his slaves met him, saying that his son was living. 52So he inquired of them the hour when he began to get better. Then they said to him, “Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.” 53So the father knew that it was at that hour in which Jesus said to him, “Your son lives”; and he himself believed and his whole household. 54This is again a second sign that Jesus performed when He had come out of Judea into Galilee.

When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and was imploring Him to come down and heal his son; for he was at the point of death.

After leaving Nazareth, Jesus and the disciples walk the 13.5k to Cana. I love to imagine that walk and wonder about the conversations they would have along the way. What lessons would they be recounting from Jesus’ foray into both Samaria and then into the town where he was predominantly raised? Would any of them be concerned about becoming too familiar with Jesus as had the people of Nazarene?

Once in Cana, a “royal official” comes to Jesus pleading for the life of his son. It is interesting to note that he waits until his son is “at the point of death.” Did he dally for a reason or did he rush to Jesus as soon as he heard the Lord was in his town?

How many times do we wait for a crisis to begin our search for eternal answers instead of seeking the most in every moment?

“Unless you people see signs and wonders, you simply will not believe.”

This castigation makes me think the royal official waited until the last moment to go to Jesus. It seems as though he tried everything else before turning to the Lord. Now, hopeless and in crisis, he wants a miracle.

Is there something in most of us that waits for a crisis to seek the miraculous? How much would my life change for the positive if I were to make it a habit to look for daily miracles in each moment instead of grand miracles at a time of crisis?

This past week, I’ve been in a northern Canadian village that recently received a “sign.” It was not a wonderful sign; it was a tragic sign. Like so many other schools in North America, they found themselves victims of a young man’s confusion. He took a firearm, killed four people and seriously injured seven. What kind of sign do we wait for to realize we need a miracle?

Every school in North America, every shopping mall or movie theatre is only one firearm away from a tragedy. What will it take for us to realize we need to do the work of building bridges before it is nearly too late (like it was for the royal official in John 4).

In speaking to the local community groups, churches and families who invited me here, I’ve stated the following;

“Right now, the government is here to ‘solve your crisis,’ but they will have to leave and you will be left with the longer, more critical work of ‘healing your community.’ Outside sources can’t heal your community, only the people in your community can do that work. Your healing will not come from the outside, it needs to be;

· local

· simple

· age-inclusive

· based in building courtesy with one another and especially the “least of these”

This is hard to imagine at the moment but consider a day when people will come to this community and not say, ‘this is where that awful tragedy took place,’ but instead say, ‘this is one of the most courteous communities I’ve ever been to.’”

Healing isn’t complicated, surgery is… Most communities don’t need surgery, they need healing. When simple local people start being courteous to each other across the ages—healing happens.