Our Sermons

Bible Passage: John 4:5-26
Pastor: Pastor Berg
Sermon Date:  March 12, 2023

Jesus was never one to just go with the crowd or follow what was culturally accepted. We see that multiple times as he spent time with the outcasts of society: the tax collectors, the prostitutes, the sinners. But what he does today is even more shocking. Jesus had been in Jerusalem for the Passover. While he was there, he had cleansed the temple, had a nighttime conversation with Nicodemus, and then headed to the wilderness of Judea. There, his disciples were baptizing. Well, this got the attention of numerous people, including the Pharisees, who came out to cause trouble. This prompted Jesus and his disciples to head back to Galilee. Normally, when traveling from Judea to Galilee or vice versa, the Jews would cross over and travel on the East side of the Jordan River so they wouldn’t have to go through Samaria. You see, it was culturally taboo to travel through Samaria. The Jews wouldn’t share a cup with a Samaritan because they were so lax in their keeping of the ceremonial laws and Samaritans wouldn’t provide hospitality or overnight accommodations because of their distaste for the Jews. It was a mutual hate/hate relationship. But shockingly, John tells us. “So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the piece of land Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there. Then Jesus, being tired from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour.” 

Jesus leads his disciples right through Samaria! And there’s a couple of other interesting things to note here. This was historic land. This was the land promised to Joseph by his father, Jacob, before he died. This is where Joseph’s bones were carried back to and buried. This was the place of Jacob’s well. John also mentions the time. The sixth hour was high noon. That will be significant in a moment. “A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” (His disciples had gone into town to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)” High noon was not the normal time for drawing water. You either drew your water in the cool of the morning or in the cool of the evening. The only reason you’d draw water at noon was to avoid seeing and talking to other people. So, you can imagine this woman’s shock and disappointment at seeing Jesus sitting there. But what happens next is even more shocking. Jesus talks to her. It was not normal for Jews to talk to Samaritans. Remember, they avoided them at all costs normally. Secondly, Jesus’ request is shocking. He asks her for a drink. He asks to use her cup, that filthy Samaritan vessel that the Jews wouldn’t share, so he could have a drink. So let’s recap: We have Jesus in a shocking place–he’s in Samaria where Jews weren’t welcomed and didn’t normally want to be; making a shocking request–asking a Samaritan for a drink was the last thing a kosher Jew would do; from an unlikely person–a Samaritan woman at the well in the middle of the day. This was an exchange that shouldn’t have happened. This was culturally taboo! This was culture shock!

But there was another culture that was about to be shocked, not just the Jew/Samaritan dynamic. But before we get to that, we need to learn a little bit more about this woman. Jesus doesn’t get bogged down by her shock over his request for a drink. He moves on to bigger and better topics. He offers her living water, water that quenches thirst forever, water that will spring up to eternal life. But all this woman can think about is regular, natural water. So she dreads coming to this well, day after day, in the middle of the day no less. She wants this water that quenches all thirst so she doesn’t have to come back to this well ever again. But Jesus isn’t interested in changing her drinking habits, he’s interested in changing her culture, the way she lives and thinks–what she believes. “Jesus told her, “Go, call your husband, and come back here.” “I have no husband,” the woman answered. Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say, ‘I have no husband.’” 

Can you imagine the shock on her face when this perfect stranger laid out her sordid life’s history like cards on a poker table! This woman was living her life in what we might call the culture of relational merit. In the culture of relational merit, you earn closeness or distance in a relationship based on what you do. The Bible calls it philia. Let’s cut all the jargon. We’re talking about the friendship kind of love. How does it work? You earn relationship closeness because you share the same criteria. You admire someone’s character and good qualities. You generally appreciate what they do and what they value. These people earn your friendship because you respect them. It makes sense to be close. For many, this kind of friendship relationship is the ultimate basis for their marriage dreams. How many people haven’t you heard saying, “I want to marry my best friend.” 

On the flip side, others earn my distance instead of closeness. I have my criteria and you have yours. You might lose respect for someone based on their language, their appearance, their behavior especially if it doesn’t match up with your criteria. Some will call it profiling. Others will call it prejudice. But regardless of what you call it, in the culture of friendship, those who don’t fit your criteria lose out on your philia, friendship love. 

Do you see now why this woman was at the well at noon? Because of that culture, this shamed Samaritan woman sought the private life. She hoped to avoid the stress of the relationship distance she had earned by her adulteries. “I’ll draw water when no one else does.” With her reputation, the last thing she wanted was a conversation. Then there was Jesus. But at least he’s a stranger…or so she thought. But Jesus knew just as much about her, if not more than everyone else. He knew her secrets. He should be creating distance, pushing her away for multitudes of reasons. But instead, he shocks her by describing a different culture, a gospel culture. “Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water…whoever drinks the water I will give him will never be thirsty ever again. Rather, the water I will give him will become in him a spring of water, bubbling up to eternal life.”” 

To God, relationship closeness is not based on merit. A relationship with God is a gift given to all! Notice how Jesus paints a different picture than relational merit! He paints a picture of water being freely given, not having to be drawn again and again. He paints a picture of himself as the source of the water, both promising it and providing it. He paints a picture not of philia love, but of agape love. Agape love is the love Jesus showed this woman at the well when she clearly didn’t deserve it. Jesus loved her in spite of herself, in spite of her sins, in spite of her reputation. Jesus loved her because God is love. And Jesus held out this love for her by offering her salvation, the water of life. Jesus loved her with a love that isn’t at all based on merit or what Jesus is going to get in return. Jesus loved her simply because he loved her. 

Do we also live in a culture of relational merit? There’s no question, we do. Every single man-made religion feeds off of it. We have this innate desire to do something to earn our closeness with God. And we all find our different avenues for going about it. Maybe we think that we can earn closeness with God by doing a bunch of good things for others. And so we daily go to the well of charity and draw up the heavy bucket of good deeds that we’re going to do. Or maybe we try to earn closeness with God by giving up something. And so we tromp to the well of asceticism and haul up the burdens of not enjoying the gifts God has placed before us. Or maybe we try to earn closeness with God by thinking that if we attend every single church event that God will have to be pleased with me. And so we trudge to the well of activity and haul up the heavy load of five nights a week at church, not even counting Sunday morning. But you know what happens when we try to live in a culture of relational merit? We also can create distance. For every good deed, every charitable act, how many evil ones were there? How many people did you ignore and fail to help because they didn’t fit your criteria? For all the things you gave up, in how many things did you overindulge? Did you resent God for “making you” miss out? For all the times you were in church, did you ever wish you were home? Was your involvement done with a “have to” attitude? You see the culture of relational merit will never bring us closer to God, it will only ever drive us away.

“Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water…whoever drinks the water I will give him will never be thirsty ever again. Rather, the water I will give him will become in him a spring of water, bubbling up to eternal life.”” “If you knew…” Jesus shocks our relational merit culture with a culture that isn’t based on merit at all, only on grace. Jesus offers us living water, water that wells up to eternal life. This water can’t be earned, only received. This water is the good news about Jesus. By this water of life, the good news of the gospel, Jesus draws us to himself. He doesn’t distance himself. No, Jesus so wanted a relationship with you that he was willing to become true man, to stand in your place, to fight your battles, like this battle against the law and win them all by perfectly fulfilling them. Jesus offers you a place, a home with him forever in eternity just because he loves you. Everything this Samaritan woman was lacking–water for her thirst, a husband who loved her, a Savior from sin is found in Jesus. And the same is true for you. If you knew this, what would you do with it?

In the verse just before our reading, John explains why Jesus and the disciples ended up in Samaria. John says: “He had to go through Samaria.” Literally John says, “It was necessary that he go through Samaria.” It wasn’t necessary because there weren’t any other ways to Galilee. It wasn’t necessary because every other path was blocked. It was necessary because Jesus came as a Savior for all people, not just the Jews. And to the last person you would have ever imagined, Jesus revealed the truth to her in the clearest way possible: “The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (the one called Christ). “When he comes, he will explain everything to us.” Jesus said to her, “I, the one speaking to you, am he.””  We have living water to share! We have a culture to shock and change. We have the “I AM” speaking through us. If they only knew…Amen.