GOD SAVES BAD PEOPLE PART ONE

 

John 4:1-26

God loves to save the most despicable people;

I can attest to that grace given to a sinner like me.

 

When God saved me from darkness and death, He wasn’t anything good, He wasn’t getting anything to add or benefit Him. As Paul said this about himself, “The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.” 1 Tim 1:15. Our joy in the gospel is grounded in God saving bad people. This is good news because God is relentless in His passionate pursuit to save sinners, bad people. God saves bad people and the question that could be asked of us is “Are you a bad person?” If your answer is yes, then you are in the right place; because we are here this morning worshipping a holy God who…

Rescues

Loves

Delivers

Extends mercy to bad people

 

The saving mercies of God demonstrates His marvelous grace and reveals the extent of His love. Saving bad people is an amazing display of God’s caring love to save the vilest of sinners, like me, like you. Jesus said this, “I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.” Luke 5:32.We need to understand when we approach the scriptures that the God of the Bible is full of power and full of love and eager to save. “For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die….but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:6-8

 

We come to a portion of Scripture that reminds a sinner that

you are not beyond the reach of God’s calling grace.

Throughout Jesus’ earthly ministry He was filled with compassion for sinners. “And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, “Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.” Luke 19:41-42. Jesus knew the hearts of man, and saw the hopelessness of humanity, especially the nation of Israel. We come to a conversation between God and a woman that speak volumes to humanity in general and goes against what the culture believed at the time, even still today. We enter a conversation which I think is one of the greatest gospel encounters with a sinner who desperately needs to be saved, and more ready to respond to the gift of grace than Nicodemus. We enter a conversation that display to us that there is forgiveness despite how wicked we think we sinned.

 

Are you a sinner like this woman?

Because, we enter a conversation that shows us how the Lord Jesus approached people in their sin and how he addressed the heart issue. J C Ryle said “The history of the Samaritan woman, contained in these verses, is one of the most interesting and instructive passages in John’s gospel. St John has shown us, in the case of Nicodemus, how our Lord dealt with a self-righteous formalist. He now shows us how our Lord dealt with an ignorant, carnal-minded woman, whose moral character was more than ordinarily bad.”

 

As we unpack this passage think about the contrast

of Nicodemus and this woman.

  

Nicodemus was…. 

A devote Jewish religious and master of the Scriptures.

A very well learned theologian.

He recognized that Jesus was a teacher sent from God.

He came at night out of fear of his own reputation.

He was a very wealthy man in the land.

He was a member of the social elites of his day.

He came seeking but was left confused by His own unbelief.

 

Samaritan Woman…..

An immoral Samaritan, who is lost like the rest of mankind.

She is an uneducated peasant who has nothing to bring to society.

She is clueless to whom she is speaking to at the well, other than she recognizes Him as a Jew.

She has a reputation of sexual immorality, more than likely this is the reason why she came at the hottest time of the day to get water, to protect herself from harm and others.

She is a very poor woman

She is part of a group that is considered an outcast by the Jews.

She is nameless, but she was sought out by Jesus as he must go to Samaria.

 

The bible said "But He needed to go through Samaria..."; Jesus was on a divine appointment, (paraphrase)"I must go to Samaria." (v4)

 

Why is this important that Jesus said

He must go to Samaria?

Well! Jews and Samaritans were at such odds that a longer route on the other side of the Jordan had been established by the Jews. Why? So, they could travel between Galilee and Judea without going to Samaria; because they refused to pass through the territory of Samaria. After King David, became king of the Jewish people, he conquered Jerusalem and made it its capital of Israel, and this is where Solomon built the Temple. But when Solomon’s kingdom was divided into the northern kingdom Israel, and the southern kingdom, Judea, those who were in the northern kingdom constructed Samaria as the capital city. When the northern kingdom was defeated by the Assyria in 722BC, many of the Jews were deported and pagan people moved in. This mixture of Jews and Gentiles eventually became the people known as the Samaritans.

 

This brought about many issues between the two people groups.

Religious practices of Samaritans were combined of some Jewish tradition and pagan practices.

Samaritans only accepted the first five books of the Old Testament, and they ignored the writings of the prophets and the Psalms.

The Samaritans rejected anything that spoke of Jerusalem.

Their place of worship was MT Gerizim, not the temple in Jerusalem, which at the time of Jesus, had been built by Herod.

This made the Jews very hostile towards the Samaritans.

 

But Jesus had an appointment, something He needed to do in Samaria, and that is evident in this chapter of Scripture. The story of the Lord's encounter with this woman unfolds that salvation is made available for everyone without prejudice. This is why Paul can write to the church, “remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” Eph 2:12-13. I’m so glad that there is not a standard, or requirement, to find forgiveness for sin or eternal life? Otherwise, none of us would be saved! Our lives completely depend on the mercies of Christ and His great sacrifice to save bad people. So, we see a wonderful encounter with Jesus and this woman who would be considered a harlot, an outcast of society, but embraced by our society today.

 

A woman who would be considered according to Proverbs a woman to stay away from “For a prostitute [a harlot] is a deep pit; an adulteress is a narrow well.” Prov 23:27

 

The Proverbs calls to be aware of the harlot, because her life is foolish. “The woman Folly is loud; she is seductive and knows nothing. She sits at the door of her house; she takes a seat on the highest places of the town, calling to those who pass by, who are going straight on their way, “Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!” And to him who lacks sense she says, “Stolen water is sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.” But he does not know that the dead are there, that her guests are in the depths of Sheol.” Prov 9:13-18

 

Jesus has this divine appointment with a sinner that has no hope at all or seeking for help; a sinner who desperately needs to hear the truth of the gospel. Let’s examine how Jesus deals with this woman and learn how Jesus spoke the truth in love with every opportunity He had in this gospel encounter.

JESUS MADE THE TIME TO SPEAK TO THE WORST OF SINNERS (V7- V10)

 

Jesus says “give me a drink” This was a breach of the social custom and by doing this Jesus was tearing the walls down between the two groups, the Jews and the Samaritans. This encounter breaches all stereo-typing of that day, this was polar-opposite to how the Jews interacted with Samaritan people. 

Remember the story that Jesus told of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10:25-37 to a lawyer who was trying to test Jesus. Jesus begins by asking the lawyer a question, “And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.” But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Luke 10:25-29. A man is robbed and beaten with an inch of his life, and a Priest walks on the other side to avoid this man, and then a Levite does the same by passing by on the other side, leaving him for dead. But a Samaritan comes and gives him aid, and takes care of him while he heals; but the Jewish men would not show compassion because they hated Samaritan people, which goes against what is written in the Law. What Jesus says at the end is what we see in this encounter with the woman at the well. “Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.” Luke 10:36-37

 

This is important because it reveals that the gospel was to go into all the highways and by-ways, reaching even the lowest of the lows. Jesus goes through Samaria to demonstrate compassion to a bad person and to show the grace of the gospel. See we need to understand. God loves the “Lowest” just as much as He loves us “regular” people, sinners need the good news of Jesus brought to them. This statement “give me a drink” opened a door of conversation with this woman and open door to all types of sinners. This opened a door for Jesus to use a simple example of water as a means to reach the heart issue of this bad person. Why? I think Luke 19:10 says it all “for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost." God is the One who seeks out sinners, because sinners are not seeking Him. As Paul said, “as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” Rom 3:10-12. Jesus was not ashamed to take a drink from the vessel of a woman, for whom He had come to die for.

 

There is not one person beyond the

reach of His divine love.

JESUS REVEALED TO HER THAT HIS LIVING WATER IS PRICELESS WHEN COMPARED WITH THE THINGS OF THIS WORLD (v11-v14) 

“Whosoever drinks of this water shall thirst again.” There is nothing in this life that will fill the void in your heart. (v13) All our earthly pursuits and endeavours only cover up what is really wrong with us, The things of this world will never truly bring you true joy and contentment. You can search all your life and on your death bed you will be speaking the words of Solomon. “Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher; all is vanity.” Eccl 12:8. All these things in this life come, and go, and unfortunately, they only leave a person deceived and without hope. But the clear and presented gospel saves, and fills the heart with the things of God.

 

What Jesus is trying to say to her….. All these vain pursuits to fulfill self only leave a person empty, and wanting more, because they are truly never satisfied. Only true satisfaction comes from the flowing waters through Christ and His offer of eternal life. (v14) “Will never thirst again” you keep coming to this well time and time again, and because of this water it will not prevent you from thirsting again. But the life and giving water I give though the gospel you will never thirst again, speaking of the soul’s desperate need of pure spiritual drinking water. Jesus says it will be “A spring of water welling” this word literally means “leaping up”

 

Jesus paints a picture of this water that is so… Alive, so dynamic, so energetic, and powerful, it not only would ease thirst for a moment it would begin to pour out of the soul of the person and continue to nurture his day by day, year after year. Jesus was using the element of water as a metaphor to describe a spiritual reality, something that would meet not just a need for moment but for all eternity.

The Lord is always ready to save sinners, and He is far more

ready than we are to pray or seek Him.

 

God is relentless in His pursuit in saving sinners as He stretches out His hands of mercy and grace to fallen sinners who desperately need saving. Little did this woman know it was her who needed that drink as many people still do today.

 

The drink of forgiveness

The drink of reconciliation

The drink of salvation

The drink of eternal life

 

Can you imagine how thirsty this woman was? How empty her life was? How barren her soul was? This woman represents every image-bearer outside of God’s saving grace. “Spiritually bankrupt.” It’s only though this Living Water of grace that provides an internal cleansing by the power of the Holy Spirit through the brokenness over sin.

 

JESUS IS ALWAYS READY WITH OPEN ARMS TO GIVE MERCY TO CARELESS SINNERS (v15-v18)

 

She is intrigued, or her heart is softening to this conversation which began with asking for a drink. (v15). This answer is your typical response when a person is confronted with conscience and eternal things. She doesn’t get it! This is your typical person sitting in the church; this is their desperate attempt in seeking peace, seeking relief from guilt, seeking something to fill the emptiness of their souls and lives. But the only way to truly taste the water of everlasting life is to be satisfied in the Living Christ through the brokenness over our sin. What does Jesus tell her to do? (v16) “Go call your husband, and come here” That must had been a sobering, and a humiliating moment; in this, already ashamed woman’s life. Why? She was a woman who has defiled the marriage bed more than once. She would have known the importance of the 7^th command “you shall not commit adultery” Don’t think for a moment God is ok with this behaviour, or any sin for that matter! The Lord takes the marriage bed very seriously.

 

Remember what Jesus said in His Sermon on the Mount? “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.” Matt 5:27-30

 

The marriage bed is to be keep in high honor in a committed relationship between a man and a woman. “Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge.” Heb 13:4

 

Why would Jesus embarrass her like this? It wasn’t very nice to point out her sin by embarrassing her about her private activities, and previous relationships with the opposite sex. What was Jesus trying to prove? Jesus is pointing out the severity of her sin. See, our sin needs to be exposed, so we can see the dangerous road that lies ahead if we continue to live in ignorance. As John Owen said, “Be killing sin, or sin will be killing you.” He is illuminating her sin. Why? A sinner needs to broken over their own sin, before they can understand grace. [the good news of the gospel]

Like Nicodemus in the new birth, she doesn't understand this water example yet. And for the very first time, she feels the weight of her sin as God see’s it, the sin of her life that is wicked and detestable before a holy God. This is where the mercy of living waters comes through the precious gospel that saves sinners! Yes, even a bad person like this veteran adulterous. The offer of living water is not just to religious people like Nicodemus, everyone who thirst is invited to drink deeply of the living water, even an adulterous woman whose life is troubled with sin. His overflowing grace will pardon even the wickedest of sinners, Jesus came saved bad people. His knowledge of this woman's immoral behavior began to stir this woman's heart for the very first time.

 

Jesus knew this woman; He knew that her life was bankrupt, and unsatisfying, as she lived to find happiness. Five times she was married and every time she entered into marriage she is thinking, “This is the one that will make me happy. This is the one that will last.” And none of them lasted, and the one she was now with was not her husband. Why was she doing this? Was it because she wanted to be sinful? No... She simply wanted to find happiness because she was lonely and empty. “Whoever drinks of this will thirst again.” (v13). She was willing to grab at anything that might satisfy her thirst, but now something is changing her. (v15) “Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw” She didn’t quit get it yet, but she was intrigued, not yet ready to admit the emptiness of her soul. But she was beginning to see her sinfulness, and her eyes were being open to this reality that she was a sinner in need of a Saviour.

 

J C Ryle said “Dealing with sinners, such as these, form one of the grand uniqueness of the gospel. Whatever a man’s past life may have been, there is hope and a remedy for him in Christ. If he is only willing to hear Christ’s voice and follow Him, Christ is willing to receive him at once as a friend, and to bestow on him the fullest measure of mercy and grace. The Samaritan woman, the penitent thief, the Philippian jailor, the publican Zacchaeus, are all patterns of Christ’s readiness to show mercy, and to confer full and immediate pardons. It is His glory that, like a great physician, He will undertake to cure those who are apparently incurable, and that none are too bad for Him to love and heal.”

 

That’s the mercy of God towards bad people. That’s the mercy that came to your life through the living water of the Gospel. Jesus broke the barriers, so that we could see and taste that the Lord is good and the at the gospel saves to uttermost parts. The Scriptures reveal the heart of Christ for sinners. “Jesus answered and said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance." 

Luke 5:31-32. 

The world is full bad people and they need medicine, they need the gospel truth. True living water that will satisfy our thirst for everlasting life, as the gospel came to save bad people like this woman, like you, and me.