BEING THE HANDS AND FEET OF JESUS REQUIRES US TO STEP BEYOND OUR COMFORT ZONES AND CROSS LINES THAT DIVIDE US.

John 4:1-4

1 Jesus knew the Pharisees had heard that he was baptizing and making more disciples than John 2 (though Jesus himself didn’t baptize them—his disciples did). 3 So he left Judea and returned to Galilee.

4 He had to go through Samaria on the way.

THERE WAS EXTREME HATRED BETWEEN JEWS AND SAMARITANS.

John 4:5-9

5 Eventually he came to the Samaritan village of Sychar, near the field that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there; and Jesus, tired from the long walk, sat wearily beside the well about noontime. 7 Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Please give me a drink.” 8 He was alone at the time because his disciples had gone into the village to buy some food.

9 The woman was surprised, for Jews refuse to have anything to do with Samaritans. She said to Jesus, “You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. Why are you asking me for a drink?”

“As we come to the scene in John 4—to a well in Samaria at midday—there are invisible lines in the sand; unknown to modern readers but well-known to John’s first audience. Cultural lines, religious lines, ethnic lines, and gender lines mark dramatic rings around that particular well. But here’s the thing about Jesus: he’s not afraid to cross lines.

And these crossed lines would forever change the woman of Samaria and many others in that region.”

-Trillia Newbell, The Samaritan Woman and Our Barrier-Smashing Savior

JESUS CARES FOR PEOPLE MORE THAN HE CARES FOR CULTURAL, POLITICAL, AND RELIGIOUS DIVIDES.

John 4:10-24

10 Jesus replied, “If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water.”

11 “But sir, you don’t have a rope or a bucket,” she said, “and this well is very deep. Where would you get this living water? 12 And besides, do you think you’re greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us this well? How can you offer better water than he and his sons and his animals enjoyed?”

13 Jesus replied, “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. 14 But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.”

15 “Please, sir,” the woman said, “give me this water! Then I’ll never be thirsty again, and I won’t have to come here to get water.”

16 “Go and get your husband,” Jesus told her.

17 “I don’t have a husband,” the woman replied.

Jesus said, “You’re right! You don’t have a husband— 18 for you have had five husbands, and you aren’t even married to the man you’re living with now. You certainly spoke the truth!”

19 “Sir,” the woman said, “you must be a prophet. 20 So tell me, why is it that you Jews insist that Jerusalem is the only place of worship, while we Samaritans claim it is here at Mount Gerizim, where our ancestors worshiped?”

21 Jesus replied, “Believe me, dear woman, the time is coming when it will no longer matter whether you worship the Father on this mountain or in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans know very little about the one you worship, while we Jews know all about him, for salvation comes through the Jews. 23 But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way. 24 For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.”

THERE WERE DOCTRINAL DIFFERENCES BETWEEN JEWS AND SAMARITANS

“‘Spirit’ does not refer here to the Holy Spirit but the highest aspect of man's being, that essence of the image of God in man which distinguishes him from the rest of physical creation, that capacity which enables him to commune with God. One must worship God with his whole being, in total sincerity. This requirement is directed at the hypocrisy and pretense of the Jews. That the worship of God is to be ‘in truth’ indicates that it is to be based upon reality and in accordance with correct doctrine. Sincerity alone will not suffice. This is obviously directed at the confused worship of the Samaritans. It seems that Jesus is saying that the new worship of God will be free from the characteristic weaknesses of both Judaism and Samaritanism.

-Jack Stallings, The Randall House Bible Commentary: The Gospel of John

John 4:25-42

25 The woman said, “I know the Messiah is coming—the one who is called Christ. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”

26 Then Jesus told her, “I am the Messiah!”

27 Just then his disciples came back. They were shocked to find him talking to a woman, but none of them had the nerve to ask, “What do you want with her?” or “Why are you talking to her?” 28 The woman left her water jar beside the well and ran back to the village, telling everyone, 29 “Come and see a man who told me everything I ever did! Could he possibly be the Messiah?” 30 So the people came streaming from the village to see him.

31 Meanwhile, the disciples were urging Jesus, “Rabbi, eat something.”

32 But Jesus replied, “I have a kind of food you know nothing about.”

33 “Did someone bring him food while we were gone?” the disciples asked each other.

34 Then Jesus explained: “My nourishment comes from doing the will of God, who sent me, and from finishing his work. 35 You know the saying, ‘Four months between planting and harvest.’ But I say, wake up and look around. The fields are already ripe for harvest. 36 The harvesters are paid good wages, and the fruit they harvest is people brought to eternal life. What joy awaits both the planter and the harvester alike! 37 You know the saying, ‘One plants and another harvests.’ And it’s true. 38 I sent you to harvest where you didn’t plant; others had already done the work, and now you will get to gather the harvest.”

39 Many Samaritans from the village believed in Jesus because the woman had said, “He told me everything I ever did!” 40 When they came out to see him, they begged him to stay in their village. So he stayed for two days, 41 long enough for many more to hear his message and believe. 42 Then they said to the woman, “Now we believe, not just because of what you told us, but because we have heard him ourselves. Now we know that he is indeed the Savior of the world.”

A. We don’t determine our mission based on what our culture says, instead we learn from what Jesus did.

B. We don’t determine our mission based on what our culture says, instead we do what God calls us to do.

Acts 10:28-29

28 He said to them: “You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with or visit a Gentile. But God has shown me that I should not call anyone impure or unclean. 29 So when I was sent for, I came without raising any objection. May I ask why you sent for me?”

Acts 10:34-36

34 Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism 35 but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right. 36 You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, announcing the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all.

Acts 10:48

So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked Peter to stay with them for a few days.

Mark 12:29-31

29 Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

John 4:34, 36

34 Then Jesus explained: “My nourishment comes from doing the will of God, who sent me, and from finishing his work." 

36 The harvesters are paid good wages, and the fruit they harvest is people brought to eternal life. What joy awaits both the planter and the harvester alike!