The Savior of the World
John 4:27-42
INTRODUCTION: Good morning church. When we looked at John chapter 4 last, we left off halfway through a scene in which Jesus encounters a woman of Samaria at Jacob’s well.
We saw Jesus engaging in conversation with this woman, and He's trying to move her from a physical, shallow mindset toward opening her spiritual mind and spiritual eyes. This has been a common sub-theme we've seen in John’s gospel: Jesus' need to awaken people from their spiritual blindness.
That was the setup for us in chapter 1 and has been shown to us in chapters 2 and 3. Interestingly, this is going to occur again.
To set our scene, Jesus and the woman are having this discussion about living water. Jesus desires to impart living water to her. She does not understand that what He is offering is something greater than a flowing river or stream. Her assumption at this point is that He is saying, you wouldn't have to draw a bucket out of a well in the heat of the day. Jesus next tries to awaken her spiritual senses by asking her a question about her husband to get her to recognize that He is a man of God.
Seeing Jesus knows her situation, she finally understands that Jesus is having more than just a casual conversation with her. She asks Jesus, “Then where are we supposed to worship God? Here on this mountain or in Jerusalem?”
At this point we see Jesus describing to her that neither of those locations is important. Location is not it, but God is looking for people who will worship Him in spirit and in truth.
Her answer to that was: when the Messiah comes, he'll answer all these things. “Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he.””
I. True Satisfaction (John 4:27-34) – Read with me now, starting in verse 27, “27. Just then his disciples came back. They marveled that he was talking with a woman, but no one said, “What do you seek?” or, “Why are you talking with her?” 28. So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people, 29. “Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?” 30. They went out of the town and were coming to him.”[ESV]
A. The disciples had gone into the city of Sychar to get food. I wondered if perhaps they went to get food with some foreknowledge by Jesus, to move them aside as He's going to engage this woman in a spiritual discussion. We are not told.
1. The disciples return and see Jesus speaking with this woman, and they are surprised at this. In their minds, they don't say it out loud; they marveled that He was talking with her. They don’t say anything, but it's on their minds, “What is He doing?”
2. We often see in the Gospels that Jesus knows the hearts and minds of people. Here, He uses this as an opportunity to teach the disciples. In verse 28, we read that the Samaritan woman, in her excitement, leaves her water jar, goes into the town, and tells the people to come and see a man who could be the Christ. She has been moved from her spiritual darkness and blindness. She now sees what Jesus is offering, and she is sharing the good news with the people in the town about her encounter.
3. She goes into that town, and she begins to tell the people, I have met somebody who knows my life history. When he asked me about my husband, I said I don't have a husband. He then went on and told me about all my past husbands. Is this the Christ? Has the Messiah truly arrived? Come and see.
4. That's all transpiring in the town. Notice that they are now leaving and heading toward the well where Jesus is. That scene is important to what Jesus is doing as He has this discussion with His disciples.
B. The focus of the story then shifts away from the woman to how Jesus teaches these disciples. We're going to look at what Jesus is teaching and think about how we can apply it to ourselves. These are great lessons for us about what it means to be a true follower and disciple of Jesus.
1. Verse 31. “31. Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.” 32. But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” 33. So the disciples said to one another, “Has anyone brought him something to eat?” 34. Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.”
2. Notice that Jesus is speaking to His disciples as the people from the town are beginning to make their approach. The disciples went into the town to get food. They have been on a long journey, and we saw at the beginning of the chapter that Jesus is weary. He is at the well, the disciples come back, and they are now concerned about their master and saying, “You need to eat”.
3. Jesus says something astounding to them. He says I have food to eat that you do not know about. Rightly, the disciples are mystified by this. Who got him something to eat? Has anybody seen him eat? How did he get food?
C. This is the fourth time now that we've seen this kind of thing in John's gospel. They are considering only the physical and showing a lack of spiritual understanding. Jesus is attempting to move them to think beyond physical food.
1. That's why he says in verse 34, My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. My food, my sustenance, my wellbeing, everything that sustains me is in doing the will of God and accomplishing His work. That is what it is all about.
2. What we see Jesus doing is exemplifying the very answer that He gave Satan when He was tempted in the wilderness. Man doesn't live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. Here that is on display. He wasn't just saying that as a scripture reference, but here it is in truth. Jesus’ concern is not about having a meal right now.
3. Jesus is teaching His disciples that there is no greater satisfaction in life. To the twelve He is saying; “you can't bring me anything better or more satisfying than what I am experiencing right now with teaching this woman”— as the multitudes are beginning to make their way to that well.
D. We see an excitement, and a joy with Jesus, in trying to move His disciples to think in spiritual terms. It's not about the physical. It's not about looking for what will sustain us in this world. True life, true food, true satisfaction is only going to be found in doing the will of God. That should have a very profound impact on how we perceive and live our lives.
1. The true disciple finds their sustenance in doing the will of God. That is the most important thing, and that will be what sustains us. It is not our work, wealth, marriage, or food. There are many things we often perceive to be so important. These things do not satisfy and do not sustain us.
2. The most important thing, our highest priority, is to do the will of God. That's where our joy comes from, and that's what true life is all about. That's what Jesus is showing His disciples. Now the people from the town are coming, and this isn’t the time to sit down to eat. There are bigger things to do right now because an opportunity is approaching. This is the highest, the most important thing for the disciples of Jesus.
3. Jesus is leading them to consider the true priorities in life. What should be the most important thing to me is God's will and His work being done. It is not my own physical desires, nor fulfilling my needs. It is doing the will of God. That is what is going on in this story. Their concern when they came back was not asking about the conversation with the woman or wondering why the people were coming, but… we need to eat.
4. This is the same thing Jesus was showing the woman at the well, there's nothing else that satisfies. Jesus described to the woman; “When you drink from this well, you will be thirsty again. Of the water that I'm going to give you, you will never thirst again.” This is the only place for that kind of satisfaction. Jesus has been teaching the disciples the very thing He was teaching the woman.
5. He used water to teach the woman, and now uses food to teach the disciples. I have food, and I am satisfied. I do not need anything else because this is the most important thing.
E. We, as disciples, are to understand that should be the thing to drive our lives. That is what sustains us, doing God's will, seeking God's will, accomplishing His work, and it should be our highest priority.
II. True Urgency (John 4:35-38) – As Jesus leads His disciples, the next thing He shows them is a sense of urgency. Verse 35. “35. Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest. 36. Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. 37. For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ 38. I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.”” In verse 35, we have a picture of urgency.
A. Keep in mind what has just happened - The woman has told the people; Come and see, Is this the Messiah, is this the one? Then they went out of the town and were heading to Him while the discussion between Jesus and the disciples was going on. This is not simply a theoretical statement, the fields are ripe to harvest, get to work. Jesus tells them to lift their eyes and look. What do they see? The people are coming. Do you see that the field is ripe for harvest?
1. For me, that makes sense of the story. Jesus starts by saying you are used to waiting some months between planting the seed and the harvest. Then He says, Open your eyes, right now is the opportunity, it is now we're going to be doing something.
2. This is the food of Jesus: to do God’s will, which specifically is to teach these Samaritans so they can have eternal life. Verses 36-38 describe what is transpiring. The disciples have done none of the sowing, but they will be doing the reaping as the crowd comes to Jesus. Jesus and the woman have done the sowing. Their work has led to the reaping.
3. Look, do you see all these people? Do you see the souls? Now is the time, for the harvest is ready. The seed's been planted. Now is the time to reap. You have a saying at planting, we will wait four months, and then there's a harvest. But look, we have it now!
4. There's an urgency, an excitement, and that's the way Jesus' disciples are supposed to be. There is an urgency, an intensity in longing to save souls. When we understand that true satisfaction is in God, then we will have an urgency to share that good news and help save souls, because that is the very work of God.
B. Thinking of John 3:16-17, where we are told God sent His Son to save people, to save the condemned… we realize that this is God’s will. If I understand that true satisfaction, true food is doing the will of God, and God's will is to save sinners, then I must have an urgency to accomplish the will and the work of God. That is what Jesus is leading His disciples to see.
1. They were not thinking along those lines but thinking of lunch. Jesus is teaching them, I'm here to do the will of God, to accomplish His work, and that is why I was talking with this woman, because I'm here to save the world.
2. That is what it is all about. Saving people happens by talking to them, not passing by them. The disciples would have just ignored this woman. They would have said Jesus, we’ve got the food and you need to eat. Jesus says, That's not food. My food is to do the will of God.
C. It is absolutely our urgency and priority to open our mouths and speak the good news to people. It is important to understand that the good news of salvation cannot be transmitted or communicated any other way except by opening our mouths.
1. It's easy for us to be led into a misnomer; if I keep my nose clean, do good moral acts, everybody will see and follow Christ that way, right? Maybe, but more likely not. What if they don't know that you're glorifying God by your good works? They need to know the reason why you're doing the good that you're doing. Doing good is good, but we must let people know why we're doing the good that we're doing.
2. We must communicate to people the reason for our hope, the reason for our actions, and explain to them that it's because we are disciples of Christ. If we are quiet and do good, people may not know that we are His disciples, and that is the reason for our lifestyle.
III. True Work (John 4:39-42) – The disciples did not understand why Jesus was talking to the woman, and the woman tells the whole town that she thinks she has found the Christ. She goes into the town proclaiming that there is a man at the well who knows her life story. Now we are at verse 39. “39. Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony, “He told me all that I ever did.” 40. So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. 41. And many more believed because of his word. 42. They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.””
A. The woman had gone into the town and told them to come and see. I would like us to consider what she knew. Did she have a master's degree in Old Testament law? How much did she have to know to be able to be effective in reaching this town? Not an awful lot. All she had to do was say, I think I found something. Why don't you come check it out with me? That's all she does.
1. She grasps that she must share this good news, and that's what she's declaring in verse 29. “Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?” All that I've ever done. Next we read that people believe because of her testimony.
2. I want us to consider that this is a tremendous way that disciples can reach out to the world. Simply tell people, come and see. There are many ways we can present ‘come and see’ to people, and I’ll mention a few.
3. We can speak to them and say, Come and see where I worship God. By inviting them to join us as we worship God on the Lord's day. We can invite them and say, “I want you to come and see why my life is different. It's because of how Jesus has changed me. Come and see.”
4. Listen to the word of God online. Here are some interesting links. Come and see. Look what I found in scripture. We'll sit down and read the Bible together. I want you to check out what I've checked out. I want you to experience something that I've experienced myself.
B. They believed based on her testimony. They came to see, and then later they say, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves.” We believe too.
1. All of us can tell people about how Jesus has changed our lives and ask them to come and experience the same. We can tell people about the new birth that is available. We must never underestimate what we are able to do because it is the power of God and His word that saves. We are simply inviting people to come and see.
2. Consider how Jesus did it in this story. It required a conversation that penetrated through the material, physical, darkened mind, to try to open the shades, to show the light so that they could see what God is doing for them. We must do the same thing.
C. I think most of us grasp that we have a world that is steeped in darkness. A world so concentrating on the here and now, and the physical, that it does not think about eternity. It does not think about the final result. People do not like to think about questions like; What's going to happen when we die? Do you think that there's a God?
1. What makes you think that there's no God? Isn't it odd all the order that's in this system? Isn't it interesting that there's a natural rhythm to music? It's even mathematical. It's amazing to me the complexities of all kinds of things in life. Why is it that these things are like this? Is there a purpose to life? Why are we here?
2. There are lots of things that we can say to people to help chisel away that physical, darkened mind set and hopefully transform it into spiritual thinking. We need to look at what Jesus did with this woman and consider that kind of conversation.
D. Really the pinnacle of the story is found there in verse 42. Notice that these are Samaritans. They are a people hated by the Jews. The Messiah was supposed to be a Messiah for the Jews. These Samaritans come to a great understanding... They understand He's not the Savior of the Jews. He's the Savior of the world. They come to an amazing reality. This is the One. This is who we've been looking for, and He is for all people.
1. Consider what we've seen in John's Gospel. Jesus has come to His own already in the first few chapters and His own have not received Him. Now He's in Samaria and this whole town is saying, We believe. We know that You're the Savior of the world.
2. Here are people that you might expect to be the least receptive to the Gospel. These people that you would suppose to be the least likely, the people that we, like the disciples, might check off the list and say, they wouldn't want to hear anything about this. Let's just get lunch.
3. We can't do that. We cannot filter people ourselves. The opportunity of the Gospel must be given to everybody. That's the theme of what this book has been about. God so loved the world that He gave His only Son. He is the Savior of the world.
E. Many more Samaritans come to believe as Jesus stays there in Samaria for two days. John records for us an important truth as this section ends. The Samaritans recognize that Jesus is the Savior of the world. Jesus is not the Savior for the Jews alone. He is not a Jewish Messiah. He is the Savior of the world. He has come to save every person, regardless of heritage and background, not just the Jewish people. The theme of universal redemption continues to be a key theme for John in this gospel.
CONCLUSION: Let’s do a bit of a review of what happens in this encounter.
The "Living Water" Misunderstanding: Jesus offers the woman at the well "living water" (eternal life/the Holy Spirit). The woman, thinking literally about the physical well, asks for this water so she won't have to keep making the strenuous trip to draw water every day. The contrast between the profound spiritual offer and her practical, earthly response creates a moment of reflection for us.
The Disciples' Confusion Over "Food": After Jesus speaks with the woman, His disciples return with food and urge Him to eat. Jesus tells them, "I have meat to eat that ye know not of". The disciples, taking him literally, whisper among themselves, "Hath any man brought him ought to eat?". Jesus used their misunderstanding as a setup for a deeper spiritual lesson: "My meat is to do the will of him that sent me".
The "Five Husbands" Exchange: When Jesus brings up her private life ("Go, call your husband"), the woman replies, "I have no husband". Jesus' response, "You are right in saying, 'I have no husband,' for you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband," has a certain sharp wit to it. It's a statement that is both entirely true and a profound revelation of His divine knowledge.
Breaking Social Norms: The entire scenario, where a Jewish man (Jesus) engages in a public conversation with a Samaritan woman (a social and ethnic taboo), is a source of tension and a "breaking of the rules" that challenges the expectations of the time. The disciples are surprised to find Him talking to her at all.
These elements highlight how Jesus used everyday situations and common misunderstandings to engage people and deliver profound spiritual truths, often with a subtle, effective communication style that involved some form of irony or wordplay.
The secret to satisfaction is to do the Will of the Father. Jesus told the woman that the water He offers will cause us to never thirst again. Jesus taught His disciples that He has food that they do not know about, because He is sustained by doing the Father’s Will.
The living water is to continue to flow, through us, from Jesus, to the rest of the world. Experiencing grace and recognizing God’s Will to save the world, compels us to tell others to come and see the changed life that can be found in Jesus.
You are the light of the world, shining in the darkness, trying to open the eyes of the blind. Do not turn off your light. Do not hide your light.
The message is yours. We are about to sing our invitation song. If anyone here has the need to be baptized into Christ, or needs the prayers of faithful people, the invitation is there for you to come forward while we stand and sing.
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Reference Sermon: Brent Kercherville
