1. A Water Jar (verses 27-30)
2. The Will of God (verses 31-34)
3. The White Robes (verses 35-38)
4. The World’s Savior (verses 39-42) 

Open your Bibles to John, chapter 4. Last week, we began working our way through this chapter. By way of reminder, this is the picture that I hope to burn into your head, so that you can always remember that John chapter four is the story of a well. Particularly, it’s the story of the woman at the well.

Now, if you remember the story, you will remember that Jesus was in Judea, that is, southern Israel. He and his disciples were engaged in a ministry of baptism, much like the ministry of John the Baptist. They were preaching. Those who responded in repentance were being immersed in water as a sign of their forgiveness. The ministry of Jesus was coming with a measure of success. In fact, it was growing larger than the ministry of John the Baptist. This caused the Pharisees to focus more of their attention upon Jesus, so in his Wisdom (verses 1-3) Jesus left Judea and headed north, for Galilee. The Pharisees didn’t have as much power in the north as in the south, near Jerusalem, so Jesus would be safer there.

It was a three day Walk from Judea to Galilee. About halfway through their travels, they arrived at the Samaritan village of Sychar. Jesus was Weary from the journey and sat by a well. He was alone, as his disciples went into town to buy food for them all. Now, while sitting at the well, a Woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus initiated conversation with this woman, which was very counter-cultural, Jesus was a man and she was a woman. Jesus was a Jew and she was a Samaritan (and Jews had no dealings with Samaritans – John 4:9). Further, she was an outcast in her society, having been married five times, and living in adultery at the moment.

This didn’t matter to Jesus. He reached out to her asking her for some Water. She responded in amazement, saying (in verse 9), “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?” Jesus then tells her (in verse 10), “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.” She didn’t understand that Jesus was speaking spiritually, which is a pattern with the words of Jesus. So, she speaks about how deep the well is and how he doesn’t have anything to draw the water out (verse 11).

Jesus then gives the great invitation of the true spiritual water in verses 13 and 14" "Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” This is how the gospel of John often speaks, in metaphorical terms, In this case, using water as the metaphor of life, water brings us life and refreshment here on earth. and drinking the water that Jesus gives, will well up in our souls to eternal life!

I think this woman understood! For, in verse 15, she said, John 4:15 “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.” The conversation followed into a discussion about this woman’s husband, to which she admits that she has been married five times and currently living in adultery. She said “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet” (John 4:19). Perceiving that Jesus was a prophet, this woman asked Jesus about the conflict that the Jews and Samaritans had about the location of Worship. Perhaps this prophet would have some insight to help solve the matter once and for all! Was worship to take place on Mount Gerizim (and the Samaritans did) or in Jerusalem (as the Jews did)?

Jesus said (beginning in verse 21), that the Jews were right, worship should take place in Jerusalem. but more importantly, there will be a day when worship isn’t contained to a place. in fact, worship has never been about a place, John 4:24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” In other words, we need to worship God according to truth! You can’t make up the ways that you worship the Lord. You must worship the Lord in accordance with the truth of God’s word. But we also need to worship God in spirit, that is, with a heart. Outward forms of worship are not sufficient in themselves. We much worship the Lord with a joyful, eager, submissive spirit. This woman picked up on the words of Jesus that anticipated the day when things would change. That day was when the Messiah would come.

So she said, in verse 25, “I know that Messiah is coming. When he comes, he will tell us all things” (John 4:25). In other words, “Thank you for your answer. I appreciate your words. But I know that the Messiah is coming. And when he comes, he will speak the truth that I will believe.” "Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he" (John 4:26). It’s a powerful word.

Here, Jesus puts forth a clear Messianic claim. “I am he.” “I am the Messiah.” That’s where we left our text last week. At the moment Jesus revealed himself as the Messiah, to this woman who was an outcast. Last week, we spent a good portion of our time in application thinking about worship. Thus, the title of my message last week, “The Woman at the Well (and Worship).” This week, we will spend much of our time thinking about being witnesses for Jesus. Thus, the title of my message this week, “The Woman at the Well (and Witness).”

That’s what we will see in our text. We see the woman witnessing for Jesus. We see Jesus urging his disciples to be witnesses for him. We see the Samaritans accepting the woman’s witness of Jesus. My way of outline this morning, I simply want to pull out some small details of our text which highlight each section of the text.

I want to start with:

1. A Water Jar (verses 27-30)

Beginning in verse 27, we read:

John 4:27
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?”

I want for you to notice the first two words in verse 27, “Just then.” That is, just after Jesus said, “I who speak to you am he” (verse 26). That is, just after Jesus revealed himself as the Messiah to this woman, only then did the disciples return from their shopping expedition. I do not believe that this was any accident, especially as John is so careful to point this out in verse 27. Upon Jesus saying, “I am the Messiah,” the disciples returned. It stopped the conversation with the women, as Jesus would have welcomed the disciples who had returned with the food they purchased in town. Verse 27 tells us that these disciples

John 4:27
marveled that he was talking with a woman.

This is another moment in John’s narrative where the social norms of the day are pointed out. The woman points this out in John 4:9, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria.” Right after this, John explains, “Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.” This is why these disciples were surprised that Jesus had been talking with this woman. Yet, they all knew the character of Jesus, that he was different. He had the power to change water into wine (John 2:9-10). He was willing to defy social norms, by driving out the money-changers from the temple (John 2:15). He could stand toe to toe to the teacher of Israel (John 3:9). So, they left the matter lie still. Then, in verse 28, we see the water jar.

John 4:28
So the woman left her water jar and went away into town.

This is a subtle little detail that John gives to us. Yet, I believe it speaks volumes of the mindset of this woman. She came out to the well to draw water, but after her interaction with Jesus, she had forgotten her purpose in coming. The water jar was now of no importance to her. Instead, she had a message to tell!

John 4:28-30
[She] said to the people, “Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?” They went out of the town and were coming to him.

A couple things are helpful here for us to notice. First of all, notice how she framed her message. She didn’t say, “We have found the Messiah” (as Andrew said to Peter in John 1:41). No, this message is much more subtle. Instead, she asks, “Can this be the Christ?” and it shows her standing in the town, as a woman, as a woman with a bad reputation. She didn’t assert that Jesus was the Messiah. She merely put the question in the minds of the Samaritans of her town and she invites all to see for themselves whether this is the case.

Second, notice how great the response to her message was.

John 4:30
They went out of the town and were coming to him.

We don’t know how big the “they” was, but we know that it was “many.” Down in verse 39, we read,

John 4:39
Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony, “He told me all that I ever did.”

Here we see a successful evangelist, bringing many from her town to come and see Jesus. But notice her training! It was literally nothing, other than an eagerness to tell others what she knew and experienced! This, by the way, is the greatest way to evangelize. To be so impacted by encountering Jesus, that you leave your water jar at the well and go and tell others of all that you have seen and heard. This woman didn’t see much. She simple saw that Jesus knew about her past, and was willing to engage her still. This woman didn’t know much, But what she knew, she told to others in the village.

John 4:29
“Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?”

That’s not a complete evangelistic message. It says nothing of our sin. It says nothing of our need of a Savior. It says nothing of our need to believe in Jesus. Yet, as verse 39 says,

John 4:39
Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony, “He told me all that I ever did.”

In verse 42 the villagers said to the woman after seeing for themselves,

John 4:42
“We know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.”

As they came and investigated Jesus, they were convinced of Jesus being the Messiah. It all started with her saying,

John 4:29
“Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?”

Before we move on, I have one last observation about this water jar. It’s a small detail that John includes, but it’s John’s subtle imagery of what took place in the woman, to empower her to return to her village with a message. I believe that she left her water jar, because she no longer had need of the water from the well. Jesus had given her the water that she asked for. Do you remember in verse 15, when Jesus told her about the water that he can give? that water that “will become a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:14)? Do you remember in verse 15, how she said, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water?” In leaving her water jar, it illustrates how she now had this water that Jesus spoke about. Which, I believe, is the reason why her evangelism was so effective, because she was different. she had the living water! and she was telling others where to drink.

This is yet another illustration in the Bible of the vision of our church. It’s written all over here. It’s on our bulletins. It’s on our pens. It’s on our mugs. It’s on the wall outside the auditorium. We exist to “Enjoy the grace of God, so that we might extend the glory of God.” We try on Sunday mornings to foster the first, that you might leave here to accomplish the second! We so want to enjoy the grace of God, and be so impacted by the gospel of Christ, that we be like this woman who encountered Jesus at the well, and go forth to tell others of what we have seen and heard! You don’t need more training to tell others. You don’t need more pushing to tell others. You need to be impacted by Jesus and the gospel. You need to drink from the water that Jesus gives. and you will tell others of Jesus, just like this outcast woman did.

OK, we need to move on to our second point. Which, I am calling,

2. The Will of God (verses 31-34)

Look at verse 31,

John 4:31
Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.”

This brings us back to the well. In verses 28-30, John had taken us to the town where the woman lived. Now we are back with the disciples who were urging Jesus to eat the food that they had purchased in the town. Apparently, Jesus had sent them to get food, but when they brought it back, Jesus seemed to have had little interest in the food.

John 4:32-33
But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” So the disciples said to one another, “Has anyone brought him something to eat?”

In the gospel of John, this is now the third time that we have seen this (and there will be more). We have seen Jesus speak about spiritual realities only to have those to whom he is speaking think about physical realities. Remember in chapter 3, when Jesus told Nicodemus, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born" (John 3:3-4). Nicodemus had missed the point. It’s not being born again physically. It’s being born from above spiritually. Jesus was speaking about spiritual realities, but Nicodemus thought he was talking about physical realities.

Remember how this woman did the same? In verse 10 Jesus said, “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.” The woman said to him, “Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water" (John 4:10-11). This woman missed the point. He didn’t have physical water to give. He had spiritual water to give, the “living water” that gives eternal life. Jesus was speaking about spiritual realities, but this woman thought he was talking about physical realities. Likewise here in verse 32, Jesus was speaking about spiritual realities,

John 4:32
But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.”

The disciples missed the point.

John 4:33
So the disciples said to one another, “Has anyone brought him something to eat?”

So Jesus explained in verse 34.

John 4:34
Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.

In other words, when you are in the will of God, you can be so energized that your need for food is diminished. This reminds me of the story of Frances Havergal. In February of 1874, she was 38 years old. She went for “a little visit of five days” to be with her friends. Listen to how she describes her visit: She wrote, “There were ten persons in the house; some were unconverted and long prayed for, some converted but not rejoicing Christians. [God] gave me the prayer, 'Lord, give me all in this house.' And He just did. Before I left the house, everyone had got a blessing. The last night of my visit I was too happy to sleep and passed most of the night in renewal of my consecration.” And that night, she wrote words that are still sung today:

She was so impacted by doing God’s will in her life, that she couldn’t sleep! Rather, in her time through the night, she wrote these words of consecration. This is what Jesus was experiencing, in witnessing to this woman at the well, he was so engaged and satisfied in the will of God, that he had no need of physical food to sustain him.

John 4:34
“My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.

When you are in the will of God, the Lord will give you a super-natural energy to accomplish his work. I have often experienced such a burst of energy when having clear opportunities to share the gospel with others. The deeper that my discussions go, the more energy I seem to have. It’s because, at those moments, I’m aware of the presence of God working in me to spread his kingdom.

Have you ever experienced anything like this? Have you ever known the joy of speaking with others about Christ, all the while feeling like you are alive as never before? This is the thrill of being engaged in God’s will. It comes when you are so engrossed in God that you leave your water jar at the well, and speak to others of what you have seen and heard. The woman experienced this. Jesus experienced this. And now, Jesus summons his disciples to experience this.

3. The White Robes (verses 35-38)

Look at verse 35.

John 3:35
Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’?

In ancient Israel, they harvested their fields in the spring (or early summer). The barley harvest was in late March or early April. The wheat harvest was in late May and extending into June. If you move back four months from this, it may have been January (or February) when Jesus was saying these things. Thinking about the physical harvest that was a few months away, Jesus points his disciples to the spiritual harvest that was at hand. He said,

John 4:35
Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest.

He’s not talking about the fields that are “white for harvest.” Some fields are harvested when they are in full bloom, I’m thinking fresh fruit and vegetables. These fields are green at the harvest time. Other fields, like grain fields, are harvested when the grain is all dried up so that they can be stored through the winter, I’m thinking wheat or barley. These fields are often brown at the harvest time. But Jesus here talks about the fields being “white for harvest.” What is he talking about? I think that Jesus sees the white robes of the Samaritans coming to meet him where the woman said that Jesus was. Jesus tells his disciples to

John 4:35
Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest.

If they would have lifted their eyes, they would have seen the Samaritans coming toward them. Now, I’m not sure if those Samaritans who were coming to Jesus were all wearing white robes. But the imagery seems appropriate. When Jesus calls us to bear witness to others, he wants for us to see people and crowds, clothed in white, as a field that is ripe for harvest. The harvest here is bringing souls into the kingdom.

Do you ever do this? Do you ever go to your white son’s ball game, and lift your eyes to behold the crowd, and think of them as a white field, ready for harvest? Do you ever go to your daughter’s concert, and lift your eyes to behold the crowd, and think of them as a white field, ready for harvest? Do you ever walk about Walmart, and lift your eyes to behold those who are shopping, and think of them as a white field, ready for harvest? I know that I don’t. But I need to. We all need to. So, “lift up your eyes” and see those around you who need a Savior! I’m praying that this text would help us to do so. It’s what Jesus calls every believer to do: to be his witnesses. It begins by seeing people as they are, lost and needing a Savior. We need to tell them who the Savior is and where he can be found.

Now, Jesus gives us some helpful clarification beginning in verse 36.

John 4:36-38
Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.”

He describes the process of farming. “One sows and another reaps.” In farming, this is often the same person. It’s the farmer who goes out into the field and sows his seed. It’s the same farmer who goes out into that same field he planted, and reaps the harvest. But not always. Depending upon the size of the field, there may be multiple people working the fields, a small army goes out at planting time to sow the field, and another small army goes out at harvesting time to reap. These may not be the same people.

When it comes to spiritual realities, it is often the case that “One sows and another reaps.” Someone hears the gospel from one person, yet comes to believe through another person. “One sows [the seed of the word of God] and another reaps [the fruit of one coming to faith]. This is especially helpful for us today, because, as Jesus looked out upon the white-robed Samaritans coming to meet him, he knew that the time of their harvest was near. But as we look at our crowds of people that are gathered today, in general, it’s not a time of reaping. I say that because there are few in America who are coming to faith. We are a rich nation, like those in Laodicea, who say, “I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing” not realizing that we are “wretched, pitiable, poor, blind and naked” (Revelation 3:17). It’s only the work of God what will bring us as a nation to the realization of who we are, empty sinners in need of a Savior!

We in America are often sowing and not reaping. But it’s all in the plan of God, that some will sow and others will reap. We need to rejoice in the harvest. That work had begun in the life of those of Samaria, as they came out to meet Jesus as the well, they were ripe for the harvest. The disciples were about 38 to reap that for which [they] did not labor. Others have labored, and [they] have entered into their labor.” We see this reaping take place in verse 39.

John 4:39-42
Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony, “He told me all that I ever did.” So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. And many more believed because of his word. 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.”

This is my fourth point:

4. The World’s Savior (verses 39-42) 

That’s what those from the town in Samaria came to believe. That Jesus is the “World’s Savior.” But look at the progression. In verse 39, we see that “many Samaritans” believed in Jesus because of what the woman said to them when she came back to the well. Her testimony was simple, “He told me all that I ever did.” Their faith was that simple. They believed that Jesus was a prophet, who could see into the lives of people. Perhaps they heard something about the “living water” that he offered. But we don’t know. So, they came to speak with the prophet, inviting him to stay in their town for a few days.

Now, remember, “Jews had no dealings with Samaritans” (John 4:9). So, to stay with the a few days would have meant that Jesus would have crossed the social customs of the day. but for the sake of the kingdom, Jesus was willing to do so. As Jesus was with those in Samaria, he was preaching the word to them. I know this because of verse 41.

John 4:41
And many more believed because of his word.

There were those who believed the woman and went out to see Jesus. There were “many more” who believed what Jesus was telling them. What was Jesus telling them? Perhaps he rehashed the story of the woman seeking water, and Jesus having living water to offer. But I have a suspicion that Jesus shared with them much of what Nicodemus heard: of God’s love for the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16). that the world was lost in sin, and doomed to perish. But God gave his Son, the Messiah, to die on the cross for our sins. so that those believing might escape their doom, and have eternal life.

I say this because of what that Samaritans say in verse 42.

John 4:42
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.”

The emphasis here at the end of our text is that Jesus is “the Savior of the world.” That’s what John 3:16 speaks about, God loving the world. They didn’t say this because they had a great vision of world-wide missions, as if they knew that the message of Jesus the Messiah would go to the entire world. Rather, they believed that Jesus is the Savior, not only of the Jews, but also of the Samaritans! The Jewish Messiah has come to save not only the Jews, but the hated Samaritans! He's saving the world.

Perhaps this comes from what Jesus told the woman about the Messiah in John 4:26 “I who speak to you am he.” Perhaps Jesus spent more time with the Samaritans about how he is the Messiah, the fulfillment of the Jewish Scriptures. and that this Messiah had come, not only for the Jews, but also for the Samaritans. The good news for us is that he is the Savior of those in Rockford! He is the Savior of all who believe in Jesus! Do you believe?

That’s the application of this book. John 20:30: "Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; John 20:31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name." The story about the sign of Jesus knowing about this woman was written for us to believe that Jesus is the Son of God, the Christ! And through our faith and believing we may have life in his name.

Back in the prologue, we read of how "[Jesus] came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God" (John 1:11-13). If you receive Jesus, if you believe, you become a child of God. Jesus said he didn't come to the world to condemn it but to save it. He's the Savior of the world and salvation only comes through him. So, believe in him.

This sermon was delivered to Rock Valley Bible Church on October 6, 2024 by Steve Brandon.
For more information see www.rockvalleybiblechurch.org.