John 4:27-45 - Come, See the Savior of the World

Please turn to John 4:27-45.

This is our third sermon involving the woman at the well. The first two centered on her conversation with Jesus which ended in verse 26. She ironically told Jesus that the Messiah, the Christ, was coming. To which Jesus responded, "I who speak to you am he."

Interestingly, that is the first time in John's Gospel that Jesus identifies himself as the Christ. In earlier chapters, John the Baptist had made that clear. Jesus' disciples had also identified him as the Messiah as well as the King of Israel and the Son of God.

But while speaking with this women, Jesus made it absolutely clear who he is.

Which brings us to verse 27 where we find out what happened next.

Reading of John 4:27-45

Prayer

The protestant reformer Martin Luther, once said this: "I'm just one beggar showing another beggar where to find bread."

I think that's good description of a faithful Christian. Every single person in the world is searching for truth. Some acknowledge it… some don't. A Christian is someone who believes that he or she has found truth… has found the Bread of Life… and wants to bring others to likewise taste and see.

"I'm just one beggar showing another beggar where to find bread."

In many ways that captures what happened next in this narrative.

When the Samaritan woman woke up that morning, she had no idea what was in store for her that day. She had no idea that she would meet someone and her life would change.

At first, she was shocked that a Jewish man was speaking to her. She a woman of Samaria, after all. But even more shocking was what she learned from him. She learned three things:

1. That he had spiritual water to give her that would spring up to eternal life

2. That a time had come when true worshipers would worship in Spirit and truth. Worship was no longer tied to a time and a place.

3. The most shocking - this man claimed to be the promised Messiah.

Try to put yourself in her shoes. Can you imagine the excitement in her heart?

Some of you don't have to imagine what she felt. I know some of your testimonies - how you met Jesus for the first time and how everything changed.

Well, her heart was bursting with the same excitement. She left her water jar, verse 28, because she had to tell others what happened.

At this point there are two parallel things happening in the narrative.

First, the disciples had returned. And Jesus taught them using an object lesson.

Second, at the same time, the woman had gone back in her hometown, to Sychar. She went to tell people what happened.

So, let's begin with those two separate interactions. What Jesus taught his disciples and then what happened in the town. Those will then converge in verse 39.

1. Jesus and His Disciples

By the way, did you notice that the disciples returned at precisely the right time. They arrived at the well right at the end of Jesus conversation with the woman. If they had arrived earlier, they would have interrupted his conversation with her. If they had come later, they would never have seen the woman… and wouldn't have known what was happening. You see, God had orchestrated it all.

That's similar to what happened at the end of Jesus' conversation with his disciples. He told them about the harvest… and then immediately when he was done, people started coming to Jesus. It all happened in God's perfect timing.

I just wanted to point that out. The apostle John has not only been conveying who Jesus is through the words that Jesus and the others spoke. But we're also learning about him and God the Father and God the Spirit through what's been happening.

So, Jesus disciples returned to the well. Remember, they had gone into town to buy food, which they did. When they got back, they naturally urged Jesus to eat. "Rabbi, eat!" But he wasn't eating.

No, as I mentioned Jesus took this opportunity to teach a lesson. He said, verse 32, "I have food to eat that you do not know about."

He wasn't talking about food that nourishes the body. No, he was talking about spiritual food. But the disciples hadn't yet made that connection. So, they asked, "has someone brought you food to eat?"

Does this sound familiar?

This is the fifth time, so far, that Jesus used a real tangible physical object to teach a spiritual truth. Last week, Coleman reminded us of them. First, the water turned to wine indicating our need for Jesus' cleansing ministry. Second, Jesus' comment about the temple being destroyed and rebuilt in 3 days, referring to his forthcoming death and resurrection. Third, Jesus told Nicodemus that he needed to be born again, referring to a spiritual not a physical birth. And fourth, earlier in this chapter, Jesus offered the Samaritan woman living water that would spring up to eternal life.

And did you notice that in each one of those cases, just like here, Jesus' audience didn't understand at first. The disciples didn’t get it, at first. That's why they asked the question - "has someone brought you food?"

Which brings us to an important question: since Jesus wasn't referring to real food, what food was he referring to?

Well, he answers that. He answers by first giving his disciples the broad category and then he applies his answer to what was happening in Samaria. The broad category is God the Father's will. Look at verse 34. "Jesus said to them, 'My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.'"

Jesus' food was to be obedient to his Father's will for him. That included many things - His becoming man. It included his perfect obedience to God's law. It included Jesus being and revealing light and truth to the world. And notice the phrase at the end of 34 "accomplish his work." Jesus primary task was to accomplish redemption.

And he ultimately accomplished that by (1) dying on the cross to satisfy the demands of the law that we failed to uphold… and (2) rising from the grave to vindicate us and give eternal life.

By doing all those things, Jesus was redeeming a people unto himself. His obedience, which he identified as his spiritual food, sustained his ministry and led to the redemption of a people.

That relates directly to the next part of this lesson - the harvest

Do you see that connection? The harvest continues the food metaphor …by highlighting what the result of his obedience would be - a harvest of souls.

Now, remember, Jacob's well is on the outskirts of town. As Jesus and his disciples sat there, they could see fields of wheat or other crops. The sense we get from verse 35 is that it was not yet harvest time. It could be that there were still 4 months left, as is mentioned… or they were in that period of waiting. It was not yet time… the grain was not yet ready.

Jesus said to them, "lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest." But, as the disciples looked, the fields were not ready. The grain kernels of wheat were not yet a pale white and therefore not yet ready to harvest.

Rabbi, What are you talking about? There's still some time before the harvest. The fields are not yet white for the harvest.

But then, Jesus clarified. Look at verse 36. He said to them, "the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life."

Jesus wasn't referring to the harvest of grain… no, he explained that he was talking about gathering people unto eternal life. Gathering people to hear of the living water and spiritual bread that he offers.

By the way, this is now the 6th time that Jesus uses a common tangible, physical reality to refer to a spiritual truth. And it won't be the last.

Let me make a brief comment about the sowing and reaping mentioned here.

Jesus said that others sowed the seed and the harvest was now ready for the reapers. The question is, who sowed the seed? The answer is that many have sowed the seed. The patriarchs and prophets of old sowed the seed. John the Baptist and his disciples most recently sowed the seed. Jesus himself is the great sower. All the seed had been planted, and now it was time to reap the harvest.

Jesus also makes an interesting point. Usually, the sowing and the reaping are months apart. But he points out that the sowing and harvesting are happening together. In other words, no longer is a wait necessary. The sowing and reaping are now happening at the same time. As the message of salvation goes forth… a harvest of souls was happening.

And that is exactly what was happening in this Samaritan town.

2. The Samaritan Harvest

So, let's now go back to the Samaritan woman and her testimony.

Before we consider what happened, I want to remind you of something important - a contextual matter. This whole thing was happening in Samaria. This did not happen in Judah. The Jews did not consider Samaritans to be part of God's promised people. Their religion had been corrupted and they were considered unclean.

This spiritual awakening that we are about to witness sent a clear message to the original Jewish readers. The salvation that the Messiah had come to fulfill was for the world. The harvest includes people from all tribes, languages, and nations.

Last week, up in verse 22, we learned that "salvation is from the Jews." The salvation that God brought to the world came through Israel. God revealed himself and his salvation through them. Jesus was in the line of King David as his greater son. He's the fulfillment of the prophets and high priest, and is the true the Lamb of God. In all those ways, salvation is FROM the Jews… but that salvation is FOR the world. The harvest was for all peoples.

This awakening in th...