John 4.43-54 - Seeing is / Believing / is Seeing

[43-46a] So, Jesus leaves Samaria, continues on His way from Judea to Galilee, and returns to the backwater of Cana of all places [map].  Where He turned water into wine.  What is He doing back there?  Why is He not in His hometown [John never records it; maybe cuz of the HT prophet thing?]?  Or why not in the “bustling metropolis” of Capernaum?

[54 This is again a second sign that Jesus performed when He had come out of Judea into Galilee.] This becomes Jesus' second "official" sign?  So far we’ve seen a bunch of signs that apparently “don’t count”?  They all clearly point to the truth that Jesus is THE God•send.  The Lamb of God.  Son of God.  The Savior of the world.  But here John says this is a SECOND sign [specifically in Cana] - the first one being when Jesus turned the water into wine [literally, He took H2O and added carbon to it (out of nothing)].  (He is about to do a miracle where He is not even physically present…)

[46b-47 When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and was imploring Him to come down and heal his son; for he was at the point of death.] So now a man comes to see Jesus.  John refers to him as a [basilikos] [Basil, Basilio, Vasily].  Gives us our word [“basilica”].  Let’s call him ‘B’.  And B’s son is dying.  Parents, what would you do for the life of your child?  Anything.  Go to any length, travel any distance - to the ends of the earth, if that might help.  Suffice it to say, parents are not designed to outlive their children.  But it happens, and when it does, it’s brokenness at its worst.  Why does the Lord allow it to happen?  There is no good answer.  But in all brokenness, God is always good, and [works all things for good].  He has a good plan - even if/when we don’t feel it or see it.  AND, even as He reminds us in John of how the [physical is just a temporary expression of this greater eternal spiritual] kingdom, the Kingdom of God, we do need to be careful not to place too much import on the how’s and the how-long’s of how things play out in this life.  This life is broken.  [Death has entered in] - and we were never designed to experience that.  It’s why we hate the brokenness so much.  Sadly, most of us have or will experience death (loved ones, strangers, our mortality) in ways that feel very broken.  It just feels wrong, so bad.  But this is also why the Good News is so good.

Jesus has been talking about these two realms, these two realities - this [physical temporal] (temporary) life, and this [spiritual eternal] life.  And the truth is, there is absolutely no comparison between the two [Paul: "very much better" in Phil 1.23].  This truth informs us that the MOST important thing we can do for our kids is to help prepare them to enter eternal life.  That’s what this life is all about - getting ready for eternity.  Those we love - and everyone else.  And whether the Lord gives us 6 years or 6 decades (plus or minus) - a few extra days or decades is not the be-all end-all of existence.  Not in light of eternity [dot/line].  Cuz Life doesn’t end when our physical body [ceases to function].  In fact, THAT is when the Life we were designed to live really comes in.  This is what Jesus is telling us.  We need to be born from above, this 2nd birth (which we don’t get from our biological parents, we get it from the Holy Spirit).  This other food.  Other water, Living Water from heaven.  Jesus.  Because that’s what this is all about.  Yes, there’s a lot to enjoy physically/temporarily while we’re getting ready for heaven.  And once we’re ready, if the Lord leaves us here for a season, there IS a lot to enjoy while we’re helping others get ready for heaven.  Fruit.  Harvest.  And that IS the main reason God does leave us here: helping others get ready for heaven.  Assuming that we’re ready.  But again, that’s why the Good News is so good - there is something so good, very much better waiting for us in eternity - and Jesus came to make the way for us to get there.  Speaking of these two realities:

[48 So Jesus said to him, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you simply will not believe.”] People get stuck in this false assumption that seeing is believing.  They want to see some [physical] sign, they insist on concrete proof about Who Jesus is before they believe, before they put their trust IN Him.  Nic was like, I don’t see it.  Sam was like, Messiah the Christ will come physically and explain it.  He’ll help us to see it.  And Jesus is like, I AM.  All you need is to trust Me.

Come - physically, in person, and heal my son.  It’s interesting that Jesus doesn’t just say ‘yes’ to B.  He could’ve just said, ok.  He knows what He is going to do.  He knows He is going to heal B’s son.  But it feels almost like Jesus is telling B, no.  Telling him why He’s not going to come down to Capernaum and heal B’s son.  But Jesus is helping B here.  Sometimes the Lord needs to show us that HE is all and everything we need.  And so He lets us wait.  It can feel like He is saying no.  And He brings us to the point of desperation…

[49 The royal official says to Him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.”] Now B is desperate.  He uses the imperative.  “Lord.  Come down”.  He’s not using [meaningless repetition].  No flippant or flowery language.  He is at his wit’s end.  Out of options.  Jesus is his last resort.  But isn’t that sort of how we roll?  We try these other options.  These other water wells.  Try to handle it ourself.  And the Lord wants to help us realize that He is our first, last, best and only option.

But B is totally stuck on the physical train as well.  Lord, You need to come.  You have to be there physically.  And yes, there is something about [physical presence][Emmanuel].  But Jesus is about to blow his mind, blow this physical mindset out of the water yet again.

[50 Jesus says to him, “Go; your son lives.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and started off.] Jesus says, Go.  And, “Your son lives.”  5 words (in Greek).  He Himself does not go - but He doesn’t have to.  God’s power transcends any and all distance.  [map] 

The first sign in Cana was [something out of nothing].  It doesn’t exist?  No problem - Jesus calls all things into existence.  All things out of no-thing.  This second sign is, something you can’t even see.  My power is such that, I don’t need to go to Capernaum - or any physical place.  My power does not depend on My visible physical presence.  It is not limited by space in ANY way.   

BTW, that’s why prayer works.  You and I can come to the Lord - Who we can’t even see - and engage our almighty God in a conversation about some person or situation across town or clear on the other side of the planet, and this omnipresent One not only hears us (cuz He’s right here with us) but He is able to engage with that need (cuz somehow He is right there in that place too).  Because distance does not deter our God, not in the least [Ps 139.7-8].  Any place.  Any heart, no matter how hard or distant.  He is there.  He is here - IF we have eyes to see it.

And Jesus tells B, [be going].  The going gives feet to our faith.  B doesn’t see it with his physical eyes, but he trusts, and he goes.   [cf Abraham - Gen 12.1-2] Trusting/believing is seeing. [Heb 11.1,3,13]  Sometimes we need to go, to get up and get going, even tho we don’t see where we’re going.  Even tho we don’t see the provision [Gen 22.7-8].  Sometimes we need to keep going - and how do we do that? [Heb 12.1]

Note, too - B thought he needed one thing.  What was that? (Jesus to come down) - but Jesus totally provides in a way B did NOT expect.  What B - AND his family really needs [51-53].  We think we know what we need.  But only the Lord knows what we REALLY need.  More than anything else, we need to get ready for heaven.  And how do we know we’re ready for heaven?  Born from above.  Living water.  Believe/trust in Jesus - have you done that?

Referenced verses:

Psa. 139:7  Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? 8  If I ascend to heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there.

Gen. 12:1  Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go forth from your country, and from your relatives and from your father’s house, to the land which I will show you; 2 and I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great; and so you shall be a blessing.”

Gen 22.7 Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” And he said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” 8 Abraham said, “God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” So the two of them walked on together.

Heb. 11:1   Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. 3 By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible. 13  All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.

Heb. 12:1  Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith

John 4:27-42 - True Food/The Jesus Diet

 [27 At this point His disciples came, and they were amazed that He had been speaking with a woman, yet no one said, “What do You seek?” or, “Why do You speak with her?”]  

What is going on here?  Rabbinic principle: “Let no one talk with a woman in the street, no, not with his own wife”.  Much less an immoral Samaritan woman.  But as we’ve seen, Jesus is a Trend-buster.  God•sends break trends.  The disciples are amazed, astonished - which usually provokes questions and discussion.  Why don’t the disciples ask Jesus about this?  “Respect the Rabbi”, yes - but I think they’re shocked.  If it were anyone else, they would have blasted them for this shameful breach of decorum.  They’re like, "we got the food [8a], let’s just eat and get out of this 'God-forsaken' place…" (Which we’ve seen is an oxymoron)  

[31  Meanwhile the disciples were urging Him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.”]  They wait till she leaves, and they’re like, "Lord, you need to eat.  So let’s just eat and get out of here."  The disciples now show how focused even they are on the physical.  He “needs” to have some physical nourishment, that’s what most important here.  They’re “right” - He must be starving, but they don’t seem to have any clue that there is something deeper, something eternal taking place here.

[32 But He said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.”] Knowing that they’re totally focusing on the physical, Jesus lobs another truth grenade designed to further blow up their bias towards the temporal.  This is now the third time Jesus has done this.  Messing with people’s perceptions.  "I have (Jesus has) other food you don’t know about.  Other water.  There’s this other birth you don’t know about.  Other food."  And look at their answer: [33 So the disciples were saying to one another, “No one brought Him anything to eat, did he?”]  They’re just so focused on the [physical].  On the temporal.

[34 Jesus says to them, “My food is to do the [theléma] of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work.]  The Jesus diet.  Not 3 square meals at specific times of day per se.  Not in any cookbook or [FDA food pyramid].  "My true nourishment is living into and pursuing what God wants."  That’s the Jesus Diet.  The wants of the One Who sent Me. [Mt 6,4]  What does HE want?  God wants you and me to want what He wants.  He wants us to want Him first and foremost.  And to live into all that He has for us as we live out our days here on this earth.  Living like sent ones.  Your Kingdom come.  In - and thru me.  "I haven’t put you on earth to live for what you want.  That is NOT going to satisfy - it’s going to leave you empty."  No, the Jesus Diet is living into all the moments of opportunity He puts before us each day [like the fleeting sands of the hourglass].  We get it in our head that this life is me-time, all 24hrs of it, and we even put our eating on that same me-time.  But the Jesus Diet supersedes all that.  (We are learning that) Every moment is lived with Him, every moment is an opportunity to enjoy how good He is, to help someone else know how good He is [Eph 5.16, Col 4.5 - God's kairos time].  This is not about our agenda to hurry thru a meal and get to Galilee.  "This (life) is about making the most of every opportunity, guys, and there is an opportunity right here in front of your faces - and you’re missing it entirely..."

[35 “Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest.]  "There’s a harvest out there, guys.  Right now - and you don’t even see it.  In fact, you’re blind to it - cuz you’re so focused on the physical.  Look up.  Look around.  Stop your navel-gazing.  You’re so driven by the temporal.  Me-time.  You know when you see a physical [harvest of wheat].  But this is an eternal spiritual harvest."  We need to learn to see with spiritual eyes, to look at our selves AND the people around us as eternal souls who desperately need to connect with their Maker, way more than we/they need food in our belly.  Making this connection - and helping others to do the same - that’s true food.  That’s the Jesus Diet.

[36 “Already he who reaps is receiving wages and is gathering fruit for life eternal; so that he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. 37 “For in this case the saying is true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ 38 “I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored and you have entered into their labor.”]  There’s true food - and there’s true reward.  We get so focused on the daily grind of daily bread and “making bread”.  Perhaps it’s no coincidence that bread/dough are slang for money.  We spend so much of our time and so much of our life sowing and reaping for life temporal.  Temporary.  Passing away - sooner than you think.  I think it’s real easy to lose sight of (or never see) what this all is all about.  We show up to a meeting on Sunday morning, then the temporal/physical crowds it all back out for 6.8 days/wk, and if we don’t look up and look around - look at the fields, at the harvest of souls, we can wind up giving our lives for little more than [chaff].  The goal is, gathering fruit for life eternal.  "I sent you to reap", to gather for life eternal.  How are we doing?

And notice the [synergy].  It’s a team effort.  There is sowing and reaping.  Some sow, others reap.  And the end result is rejoicing together.  Meanwhile - there IS a harvest breaking out…

[28 So the woman left her waterpot, and went into the city and says to the men, 29 “Come, see a man who told me all the things that I have done; this is not the Christ, is it?” 30 They went out of the city, and were coming to Him.]  So we have this Samaritan woman.  "Sam" barely knows anything about Jesus.  But she just leaves her waterpot!  Meaning…? (Living water can spring up in an instant)  And off she goes, gathering fruit for life eternal.  She’s already tapping the Jesus Diet.  Better translation: “Is this not the Christ?”  Cuz she IS witnessing:

[39  From that city many of the Samaritans believed in Him because of the word of the woman who witnessed, “He told me all the things that I have done.”] She hasn’t been to seminary.  She hasn’t been “ordained" - or licensed.  Never been discipled.  Probably never went to school. What does she know?  She knows Jesus is Messiah (He is everything and all we need...)

[40 So when the Samaritans came to Jesus, they were asking Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days. 41 Many more believed because of His word; 42 and they were saying to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this One is indeed the Savior of the world.”]  The Jesus Diet is lived on Jesus-Time [not by the watch but by God-given moments of opportunity].  The disciples wanted to get out of there - but they wind up spending two days in the middle of someplace they never expected.  Never wanted to be there.  But Jesus HAD to go there - and stay there!  Where is Jesus going?  Where does He need to be?  That’s where I’m going - the Jesus Diet.

Savior of the world.  Sotér [soteriology].  El Salvador (del mundo).  Savior appears just 3x in all the Gospels.  Only one time in the book of John.  Right here.  [He is, THE Savior of the world].  The One Who comes to save, to rescue the world.  The entire world - Not just Jews.  Every nation, people from every tribe and tongue and ethnic group.  Jews had forsaken Samaritans - but not Jesus.  And don’t miss, how did these Samaritans come to know that Jesus was Savior?  “We have heard…” They heard His Word.  Now faith/belief comes from what?  [Rom 10.17] Hearing the Word of God… We might feed them or serve them, meet some physical need, but we must always prioritize helping people to hear the Word(s) of Christ.

The Jesus Diet.  My food is to do what He wants.  Nothing else lasts forever.  Nothing else, no one else satisfies… [] “Lord, what do You want today?

Referenced verses:

Eph. 5:16 "...making the most of your time, because the days are evil."

Col. 4:5   "Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity."

John 4.10-26 - Samaria Part 2 (Living Water)

So, Jesus is in the middle of Samaria.  He has to go there, He says.  It is necessary.  Because there are people there, who the world has forsaken, who feel like maybe God has forsaken them.  There is a woman in particular, a filthy forsaken Samaritan woman, we’ll call her “Sam”, and the God•send has decided to detour through the middle of this despised region full of filthy people cuz they need to know that they are necessary NOT forsaken.  Not by their Father in heaven.

So here Jesus is, sitting by this historic well, the one Jacob built back in the day, and He is legitimately thirsty after a long journey on foot in the hot summer sun.  Here comes Sam, filthy, forsaken - to fetch water at a time when she expects nobody to be there, and our God•send Jesus does the UNexpected.  He breaks the ice.  Literally He breaks out of the confines of cultural norms and propriety and talks to this immoral Samaritan woman, asks her for water. [7,9] And Sam is like, are you talking to me?  You shouldn’t be talking to me.  If you knew who I am, you definitely would not be talking to me.

[10 Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”] If you knew Who I am, YOU would talk to ME.  You would ask ME for what I came to give.  I may be asking you to give Me a drink, but if you had the slightest hint of Who I am, and the gift I have to give, you wouldn’t hesitate for one second to ask Me for it.  If you knew the gift of God…?  (Do you?)  You would ask… What is the gift of God? [3.16 - eternal life...!]

Jesus here says the gift He is offering is Living Water.  Living Water.  [ALL people thirst].  It’s a universal reality of the human condition.  We need water [WATER = LIFE].  We in the developed world, we know how to quench physical thirst.  And we are so [quenched].  We’re so quenched that we don’t understand (feel) DAILY thirst.  We don’t live with thirst on a [macro level].  For these people, when you’re thirsty, you might have to walk for miles.  Just to find a well.  But remember, Jesus is calling our attention to a [spiritual] realm.  Cuz we all have an unquenchable soul thirst [Jer 2.13].  There’s nothing in [this realm] which will truly satisfy.  We don’t always realize it, but what we need, what we’re all looking for, is LIVING WATER to quench our real soul thirst, our deeper spiritual need —> ETERNAL LIFE. [=Jesus]

Jesus has to do the same thing with Sam that He did w Nic [born from above, by Spirit?].  There is a whole other realm of life, Sam, to which you are oblivious.  Naturally and understandably oblivious.  In fact, just to state it again, we need to be aware and wary of the things which conspire to make us / keep us oblivious to the whole realm of the [spiritual], the eternal. [Lk 12.16-21] Like maybe you think you need something physical to access something to slake your thirst?  Like a bucket?

[11-12 She says to Him, “Sir, You have nothing to draw with and the well is deep; where then do You get that living water? You are not greater than our father Jacob, are You, who gave us the well, and drank of it himself and his sons and his cattle?”]  Her reply here tells us that Sam (like Nic) is TOTALLY focused on the external.  The temporal.  "No bucket, deep well.  Jew vs Samaritan, man vs woman - (i.e. ALL the reasons why she shouldn’t talk to Jesus - why what He’s saying makes no sense).  And you’re just some random Jew, can’t even compare to Jacob.  Who happens to be our forefather, too - i.e. I don’t see that we’re much worse off than you.  Sam is like, I don’t SEE that there is ANYTHING in this for me.  Plus we have this well.  Totally external…

Heritage is nice.  And [traditions].  Routines.  They help us cope, make us feel comfortable, good about ourselves.  Even when they’re dysfunctional.  And then Jesus shows up at your well.  In the middle of your day.  Unannounced.  And He’s coming to hit the reset button.  Reboot the system.  In fact, a whole new OS… [like trading out DOS for MAC!!!] 

[13-14 Jesus answered and said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.”] Jesus: “I have something better for you.  Way better than whatever it is you’re looking to for your thirst-quenching.  Better than your tradition, or your culture.  Cuz if you’re honest, Sam, you have yet to find [anything] in this life that truly quenches your soul thirst.  But the water I’m talking about - this water quenches your real thirst for good; it leads to eternal life.”  Life-that never ends.  And so [15  The woman says to Him, “Sir, give me this water, so I will not be thirsty nor come all the way here to draw.”] Sam is like, no thirst? PLUS no more trips to the well?  Sign me up!  But still focusing on the physical.  Watch Jesus peel back the curtain for her:

[16-19 He says to her, “Go, call your husband and come here.” The woman answered and said, “I have no husband.” Jesus says to her, “You have correctly said, ‘I have no husband’; for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; this you have said truly.”  The woman says to Him, “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet.”] Jesus says, You don’t know Me yet, but Sam, I KNOW YOU [Heb 4:13 And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.].  I know you (just like I know Nathanael, and everyone else) - and you are thirsty, Sam.  Your soul is so thirsty.  But this isn’t about H₂O.  This is not about convenience, saving you trips to the well.  Let’s talk about your real need.  I know you, Sam, your heart is a [sieve], and you need a new one - without which you cannot see eternal life.  You need a second birth.  THIS is why your soul is drinking from a well that leaves you thirsty.  It will never satisfy… And Sam is like, maybe there is something here…?

[20-24 “Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.”  Jesus says to her, “Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father.  You (all) worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews.  But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”][worship = to kiss before, 9x in this section] Worship = our attempts to quench our soul thirst.  And so Sam is right, this IS about worship.  But worship is not about [location].  It doesn’t just happen in a certain physical space on Sunday.  Worship takes place/originates and progresses on the INSIDE.  It’s not, where is your body?  It’s not so much about where were you born.  Or where you’ve been living, where you find yourself today or in this season.  It’s, wherever you are, where is your HEART?  What’s going on in your heart?  That is where the spiritual realm and the physical realm find their [nexus].  The place where spirit and truth come together to ignite this life that lasts forever.  The life we were always meant to live.  We need a new heart…

[25-26 The woman says to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ); when that One comes, He will declare all things to us.” Jesus says to her, “I who speak to you am He.”] Sam is like, OK, what you’re saying I don’t fully understand, but Messiah will explain it all.  And Jesus is like, if you KNEW Who was/is talking to you.  He says, I’m the One.  Literally, I AM.  Culture tries to point us to life.  Tempts us towards different things: drink/eat/smoke this; go to this place.  But this is not about a what, or a where.  It’s about a Who.  You need to know Me, stretch out and relax in Me.  You may not fully understand it all - you just need to trust in Me.  Knowledge itself won’t satisfy your thirst.  But I will.  I am that Living Water.  It’s not about what you have or where you are, it’s Who.  JESUS IS THE THIRST-QUENCHER!

Referenced Verses

Jer. 2:13  “For My people have committed two evils: they have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, to hew for themselves cisterns, broken cisterns that can hold no water."

Luke 12:16 And He told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man was very productive. 17 “And he began reasoning to himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops?’ 18 “Then he said, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 ‘And I will say to my soul, “Soul, ^ayou have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry.”’ 20 “But God said to him, ‘^aYou fool! This very night ^1byour soul is required of you; and ^cnow who will own what you have prepared?’ 21 “So is the man who ^astores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”

And a thought about the power of water: In a nutshell, hydraulic systems are bigger and slower, but provide higher precision and more power, whereas pneumatic systems are better suited for applications requiring quicker, more compact systems with lesser force and precision.

John 4.1-9 - Samaria: Necessary not Forsaken

[3.22-23][1-2 when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John (although Jesus Himself was not baptizing, but His disciples were)] So, Jesus stays in Judea, gathering and baptizing followers - until He knows that the Pharisees know that He has surpassed John.  Jesus above all.  John himself confesses this [3.30-31].  But why did the Pharisees need to know this? 1) They had been thinking it was about John;  2) But also, for them it was more about the Law.  [Law above all].  So Jesus wants them to understand this basic truth - Jesus above all.  But so now at this point (at least in theory?) they know it’s about Jesus.

[3-4 He left Judea and went away again into Galilee. And He had to pass through Samaria.]  So, Jesus is heading back to Galilee.  And He HAS to pass through Samaria?  As the crow flies, maybe?  The Greek says, it was NECESSARY for Him to COME THROUGH Samaria, thru this place that Jews came through NEVER.  For good Jews it was necessary to AVOID Samaria [9b] - they would go around, if at all possible.  Samaritans were forsaken - at least by the Jews.  So why is it necessary for the King of the Jews to come through this supposedly [“God-forsaken”] place?  Well, for one, that is the misnomer of misnomers.  God-forsaken is kind of an oxymoron.  First of all, God promises that He Himself will never forsake His people [Heb. 13:5b He Himself has said, “I WILL NEVER DESERT YOU, NOR WILL I EVER FORSAKE YOU”][originally made to Joshua but now applied to all who trust in Christ].  Maybe you feel forsaken? [Ps 34:18  The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. Ps 145:18  The LORD is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth.]   

Now, do God’s people go thru seasons of [wandering in wilderness], times when it feels like God is silent and even distant?  Where life is coming up more thorns than roses?  Where questions outstrip answers?  [Yes]  Sometimes the Lord allows these seasons to get our attention.  Or to refine, to purify our faith.  To help us learn to look to and hold on to Him first and foremost.  I am with you always…[Psa. 23:4  Even though I walk through the [valley of the shadow of death], I fear no evil, for You are with me.][“You are with me” - say it!]  Even in the deepest valley, the darkest night, God’s people are never alone.  We don’t put our trust in our feelings; we trust God & His Word which is true.

And what about those who ARE far from God in their hearts and lives?  Much of the time, if God feels distant, guess who moved?  Who forsook who? [Rom 1:21,23 For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they…exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.] But people do not come out of the womb as atheists.  Look at the [nations].  All peoples everywhere believe in some kind of higher power, in unseen spirits and forces.  UNbelief is a path I choose out of 1) pride [Rom 1:22 Professing to be wise…][where I say, God - & you - not necessary] and/or 2) disillusionment over the [brokenness] I’ve experienced or see in/around me [Rom 8:20,22 For the creation was subjected to futility, … slavery to corruption …For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.].  Often it’s some of both.  But so more likely, God becomes distant (or “non-existent”) as people reject Him.  They test Him, and find Him wanting [Rom. 1:28  They didn’t think it was important to know God. So God let them go…].  People forsake God - and He lets us have our way [like the prodigal son].

Are you finding God wanting?  Do you feel like God has let you down?  Look to the [Cross].  The gift of God’s only Son.  The One Who lifted up His only Son on the Cross for you will NEVER let you down.  Look to the [empty tomb].  Because He not only came and died for you, but that grave is empty.  There is no denying the truth of what God has done for you.  We are so blindered by the [physical].  And we’re so prone to navel-gazing, we get to thinking that life is all about me and what I’m going through right now, the temporal, when in fact all this, this entire life is about getting ready to meet our Maker, for eternity.  The [Eternal].  And God sent Jesus to make that possible.  The God•send.  That’s what we see in John’s book.  And this is why Jesus is about to go through Samaria.  He HAS to…

Because we COULD say that Samaria WAS forsaken - but NOT by God.  By the Jews.  We touched on this in ch 3.  Samaria was full of “half-breeds” [northern tribes of Israel who had been mingled with filthy Gentiles under the Assyrians, then intermarried w them].  Such that devout Jews vigorously avoided Samaritans like the plague, even though they also traced their ancestry back to Abraham.  They were ethnically AND spiritually impure to Jews.  The Jews avoided them, AND their territory.  Unwelcome.  Unloved.  So the text tells us, for “some reason” it was necessary for Jesus to go right through the middle of their territory.  God so loves the forsaken… 

He sends His Son, right into the heart of Samaria  [5-6 So He comes to a city of Samaria called Sychar, near the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph; and Jacob’s well was there. So Jesus, being wearied from His journey, was sitting thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour.].  Sychar.  The precise spot where Abraham and Jacob/Israel had lived.  Jacob’s Well.  Where there just “happens" to be a woman - doubly forsaken - who needs a godsend.  She needs to know Jesus.  

Jesus gets to said well at the sixth hour —> Noon. i.e. nobody comes to the well at noon (they’ve already come)(plus this is some time after Passover, probably summer, and this is the hottest part of a hot day).  And since He’s likely been walking for 5-6 hours, Jesus is parched and exhausted.  He really could use a drink of water.  So let’s consider this: from a human perspective, THIS CONVERSATION SHOULD NEVER HAVE HAPPENED!  The odds were so stacked against it.  First of all, nobody should even be at the well.  Also, He IS [exhausted].  Plus, a Jew would never want to talk to a Samaritan (much less come thru Samaria in the first place).  On top of all this, in that culture, a man would never talk to a female stranger [much less THIS woman - who is coming to the well at a time when nobody else would be there because she is neck-deep in immorality].  She is a filthy filthy Samaritan woman (doubly forsaken - by Jews AND her own people).  So, talking with devout Jewish Rabbi?  It should never have happened.  BUT it was necessary.  From God’s perspective, it HAD to happen.  Necessary.

This fallen woman probably felt filthy.  She probably felt forsaken.  But Jesus is going out of His way to tell her that she was necessary.  She needed to have a conversation with the God•send.  With Jesus.  She needed to know that He made her.  She was fearfully and wonderfully made.  Designed in heaven by the Creator of the universe Himself.  He made her special, and made her to enjoy life in a relationship with Him.  He made her with a purpose, a divine calling, a heavenly reason to be alive on earth - she was necessary.  You and I are necessary.  If you’re alive today, you are necessary.  Regardless of what you or anybody else thinks… [SAY IT!]

[7-8][agorazo] So Trend-buster Jesus [everyone else does this: keeps to themself, goes with the crowd], breaks w social convention, ignores the cultural stigma, goes straight into the heart of Samaria and speaks to this filthy forsaken Samaritan woman.  Give Me a drink.  And she calls Him on it. [9]  Wait, you’re talking to me?  What are you doing?  Why are you talking to me? And Jesus is like, Sam, you don’t realize it, but you are necessary.  I love you.  Let Me show you... To be continued...

Referenced verses

Psa. 34:18  The LORD ^ais near to the ^bbrokenhearted 

And saves those who are ^1ccrushed in spirit.

Psa. 145:18  The LORD is ^anear to all who call upon Him, 

To all who call upon Him ^bin truth.

Psa. 23:1    The LORD is my ^ashepherd, 

I ¹shall ^bnot want.

2  He makes me lie down in ^agreen pastures; 

He ^bleads me beside ^1cquiet waters.

3  He ^arestores my soul; 

He ^bguides me in the ^1cpaths of righteousness 

For His name’s sake.

4    Even though I ^awalk through the ¹valley of the shadow of death, 

I ^bfear no ²evil, for ^cYou are with me; 

And a random funny thought on the difference between dogs and cats:

A German Shepherd, Doberman and a cat all die.

All three stand before God, who wants to know what they believe in.

The German shepherd says: "I believe in discipline training and loyalty to my master."

"Good," says God. "Then sit down on my right side. Doberman, what do you believe in?"

The Doberman answers: "I believe in the love, care and protection of my master."

Ah," said God. "You may sit to my left."

Then he looks at the cat and asks, "And what do you believe in?"

The cat answers: "I believe you're sitting in my seat."