John 4:1-42:

Jesus and the Bad Samaritan

By Dr. Hal Harless

Foundation Fellowship of Greenville, TX

August 9, 2009

 

I.  Introduction

A.  Please turn to John 4:1. 

B.  While you are turning.... 

Everyone said that the two groups were irreconcilable.  The majority had hated the minority for a long time and the minority enthusiastically returned the favor.  The majority used the minority's name as an insult and a curse.  Each side mostly kept to themselves, but it was a very bad idea for the majority to venture onto the minority's "turf" or vice versa.  From time to time, tempers flared, blood flowed, and even houses of worship were destroyed.  The majority called upon the authorities to restore order, and violence was employed to restore the peace.  Yet, the old story of hatred continued.

Of whom am I talking?  America?  Northern Ireland? Bosnia?  South Africa?  No, I speak of none of these.  I am talking about first century Israel, the Jews and the Samaritans.

II.  Exposition

A.  Background

1.  We are in the section concerning Jesus' public ministry (John 2:1-12:36a).

2.  Last week, we have John the Baptist's final testimony to Jesus Christ.

3.  This week is the second of Jesus' major discourses in John's gospel.

4.  Jesus and His disciples leave Judea and in the process of returning to Galilee pass through Samaria.

B.  Exposition: The second discourse: the Samaritans (John 4:1-39)

1.  Jesus' journey through Samaria (John 4:1-6)

^4:1 Therefore when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John ² (although Jesus Himself was not baptizing, but His disciples were), ³ He left Judea and went away again into Galilee.  ⁴ And He had to pass through Samaria.  ⁵ So He came to a city of Samaria called Sychar, near the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph; ⁶ 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 (John 4:1-6).

 

a.  "Therefore when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John."

1)  Jesus became aware that the Pharisees knew that He was baptizing more people than John. 

2)  This fulfilled the worst fears of John the Baptist's disciples (John 3:26). 

3)  The Lord and His disciples had probably been there for six or seven months.

b.  "(Although Jesus Himself was not baptizing, but His disciples were)"

1)  Jesus Himself was not baptizing; His disciples were. 

2)  Paul also did not emphasize baptizing, "Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel" (1 Cor 1:17).

c.  "He left Judea and went away again into Galilee."

1)  Jesus departed from Judea and started back to Galilee. 

2)  Herod Antipas, tetrarch of Galilee, had imprisoned John the Baptist.

a)  "But when Herod the tetrarch was reprimanded by him because of Herodias, his brother's wife, and because of all the wicked things which Herod had done, Herod also added this to them all: he locked John up in prison" (Luke 3:19-20). 

b)  Josephus relates that Herod Antipas was concerned that "the great influence John had over the people might put it into his power and inclination to raise a rebellion."[1] 

3)  Jesus left Judea in order to avoid a direct conflict with the Pharisees and the Jewish authorities at that time, "when Jesus heard that John had been taken into custody, He withdrew into Galilee" (Matt 4:12; cp. Mark 1:14).[2]

d.  "And He had to pass through Samaria."

1)  The quickest way back to Galilee was through Samaria. 

a)  The other ways were either to go straight up the coast or to cross the Jordan and go through Perea. 

b)  Josephus wrote that "it was absolutely necessary for those that go quickly [to Jerusalem] to pass through that country [Samaria]; for in that road you may, in three days’ time go from Galilee to Jerusalem."[3] 

c)  In addition, Jesus had a divine appointment with a certain woman of Samaria.

2)  Samaritans

a)  Assyria conquered the Northern Kingdom in 722 BC.  The Samaritans were a mix of Israelis who were not exiled when and foreigners who were forcibly resettled by the Assyrians.

b)  Samaritans accepted only the first five books of the Bible and refused to worship in Jerusalem. 

c)  Samaritans opposed the rebuilding of Jerusalem and sided with the Syrians in their wars against the Jews. 

d)  The Jewish high priest, John Hyrcanus, retaliated in 128 BC by destroying the Samaritan temple on Mt. Gerizim.[4]  

e)  Consequently, relations were bad between Jews and Samaritans. 

i)  It was a great insult to call someone a Samaritan.[5] 

ii)  The rabbis taught that "No document attested by the signature of a Samaritan [is valid]."[6] 

iii)  There was severe antagonism between the Samaritans and the Jews even erupting on occasion in bloodshed.[7] 

e.  "So He came to a city of Samaria called Sychar, near the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph."

1)  While crossing Samaria, Jesus came to the city of Sychar. 

2)  This may be modern Askar between Mt. Ebal and Mt. Gerizim. 

3)  The city was less than a mile from Shechem (modern Nablus, NT Neapolis).[8] 

4)  Jacob purchased this land (Gen 33:19) and Joseph was buried there after the Exodus (Josh 24:32).

f.  "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."

1)  Sychar was the site of Jacob's well. 

a)  It is about a half mile from Sychar to the South. 

b)  The Gk. word translated "Well" means "literally spring, fountain, (living) well, as a source of water; to be distinguished from ... (cistern or reservoir for storing surface water)."[9] 

c)  This well was 90-100 feet deep.  An underground spring fed the well with fresh water.[10]

2)  Although John is clear about our Lord's deity, he is no less clear about His humanity. 

a)  Jesus was extremely fatigued from the trip, "worn out" (HCSB) or "tired out" (NRSV). 

b)  Wuest translates, "having become wearied to the point of exhaustion" (NTET). 

3)  It was the sixth hour from sunrise or about noon in the heat of the day.[11] 

a)  Barclay translates, "It was about twelve o'clock midday" (Barclay). 

b)  The NET has, "It was about noon" (NET). 

4)  They would have been traveling about six hours already.

2.  The Samaritan woman (John 4:7-26)

a.  The gift of God: living water (John 4:7-15)

⁷ There came a woman of Samaria to draw water.  Jesus said to her, "Give Me a drink."  ⁸ For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.  ⁹ Therefore the Samaritan woman said to Him, "How is it that You, being a Jew, ask me for a drink since I am a Samaritan woman?" (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.)  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."  ¹¹ She said to Him, "Sir, You have nothing to draw with and the well is deep; where then do You get that living water?  ¹² 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?"  ¹³ Jesus answered and said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; ¹⁴ 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."  ¹⁵ The woman said to Him, "Sir, give me this water, so I will not be thirsty nor come all the way here to draw" (John 4:7-15).

 

1)  " There came a woman of Samaria to draw water. Jesus said to her, 'Give Me a drink.'"

a)  The woman came to the well at the hottest part of the day to avoid the women who would have gathered at the well in the cooler morning hour.  Her public shame drove her away from wagging tongues.[12] 

b)  Jesus begins the conversation by asking her for a drink.  Before the end of the paragraph, she will be asking Him for living water. 

c)  Notice the development of the woman's understanding of who Jesus is.

2)  "For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food."

a)  The disciples were probably uncomfortable doing so, but, out of necessity, they had gone to purchase food from the Samaritans. 

b)  Rabbi Eliezer said, "HE WHO EATS BREAD [BAKED] BY SAMARITANS IS LIKE ONE WHO EATS THE FLESH OF A PIG."[13] 

c)  This left Jesus alone.

3)  "Therefore the Samaritan woman said to Him, 'How is it that You, being a Jew, ask me for a drink since I am a Samaritan woman?' (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.)"

a)  The woman is surprised to find a man at the well and that Jesus would speak to a Samaritan. 

i)  Drawing water was normally woman's work.[14] 

ii)  John explains that Jews will have nothing to do with Samaritans. 

iii)  Jewish rabbis considered Samaritan women completely unclean. 

iv)  In addition, Jews would not use vessels touched by Samaritans because they considered them unclean.[15] 

b)  Note that, at this point, her view of Jesus is merely "a Jew."

4)  "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.'"

a)  Jesus replied that, had she known what God's gift was and who He was, she could have asked Him for living water.

i)  The Gk. here is a second-class condition, i.e., "if and it is not true." 

ii)  The woman has two needs: she needs to understand the gift of God, the living water, and she needs to know who Jesus really is. 

b)  In the Gk. OT, "living water" is fresh water from a spring, but stagnant water is called "dead water."[16] 

i)  Of course, Jesus has a deeper meaning in mind. 

ii)  The rabbis connected water and the coming of the Messiah, "As the former redeemer [Moses] made a well to rise, so will the latter Redeemer bring up water, as it is stated, And a fountain shall come forth of the house of the Lord, and shall water the valley of Shittim."[17] 

iii)  Isaiah wrote that "you will joyously draw water from the springs of salvation" (Isa 12:3). 

c)  Notice the way that our Lord adapted His approach to each situation.

i)  He used a different approach for the woman than He did for Nicodemus. 

ii)  In evangelism, one size does not fit all.

5)  "She said to Him, 'Sir, You have nothing to draw with and the well is deep; where then do You get that living water?'"

a)  The Samaritan woman betrays a material focus by her response to Jesus. 

b)  She is thinking only about fresh water. 

i)  She notices that Jesus has neither bucket nor rope. 

ii)  The well is one hundred or more feet deep. 

c)  Therefore, she concludes that He has no way to obtain fresh water.

6)  "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?"

a)  By her question, she shows that she does not yet know who Jesus is. 

b)  She remarks that even Jacob who dug the well and drank from it needed a rope and bucket. 

c)  She asked if Jesus thought that He was greater than Jacob.  

i)  The Gk. expects a negative answer. 

ii)  However, Jesus is in fact greater than the patriarch, and she will soon come to see that.

7)  "Jesus answered and said to her, 'Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again.'"

a)  Jesus answered her by explaining that offers a superior kind of water. 

b)  He notes that drinking ordinary water does not permanently satisfy one's thirst. 

c)  Pastor Chuck Smith remarks that this is

an extremely profound statement: "Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again."  This statement should be written over every ambition you have.

            What is it that you are hoping to attain in life?  What is it that you think will bring you satisfaction and fulfillment?  What goals are you pressing toward?  What possessions are you striving to acquire?  Whatever it is, write over the top of it, "Drink of this water, but you will thirst again."  There is nothing in the material realm that will satisfy our spiritual thirst."[18]

 

8)  "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."

a)  Jesus continues to explain that He is offering water that will satisfy forever. 

i)  The Gk. uses a double negative to express the impossibility of ever thirsting again. 

ii)  Williams translates, "will never, no never, be thirsty again" (NTLP).

iii)  The "water" of which Jesus speaks becomes a well springing up inside of one that gives eternal life.

iv)  Later, Jesus proclaimed:

"If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.  He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, 'From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.'"  But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified (John 7:37-39).

 

b)  Now, the woman views Jesus to be someone greater than the patriarch, Jacob. 

9)  "The woman said to Him, 'Sir, give me this water, so I will not be thirsty nor come all the way here to draw.'"

a)  Now, she is asking Jesus for this water, the supernatural kind of which He spoke. 

b)  However, she still has a materialistic focus and is thinking of avoiding coming to draw water.

b.  Who Jesus is: Messiah is coming ... I AM He (John 4:16-26).

¹⁶ He said to her, "Go, call your husband and come here."  ¹⁷ The woman answered and said, "I have no husband."  Jesus said to her, "You have correctly said, 'I have no husband'; ¹⁸ for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; this you have said truly."  ¹⁹ The woman said to Him, "Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet.  ²⁰ Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship."  ²¹ Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father.  ²² You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews.  ²³ 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.  ²⁴ God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."  ²⁵ The woman said to Him, "I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ); when that One comes, He will declare all things to us."  ²⁶ Jesus said to her, "I who speak to you am He" (John 4:16-26).

 

1)  "He said to her, 'Go, call your husband and come here.'"

a)  In the previous paragraph (John 4:7-15), Jesus addressed the Samaritan woman's need to know the gift of God, living water. 

i)  Although the Samaritan woman's understanding has already progressed well beyond viewing Jesus as just another Jew.

ii)  In this paragraph (John 4:16-26), Jesus answered her need to know who He is.

b)  Jesus knew that there was a moral problem that was holding her back. 

i)  Therefore, He asked her to call her husband. 

ii)  This was a proper request since was considered poor etiquette to speak with a woman unless her husband were present.[19] 

iii)  However, Jesus had more in mind. 

c)  "The only way to prepare the soil of the heart for the seed is to plow it up with conviction."[20] 

d)  It is impressive that Jesus always goes straight to the point.  He focuses like a laser on the real problem.

2)  "The woman answered and said, 'I have no husband.'  Jesus said to her, 'You have correctly said, "I have no husband"'"

a)  Her reply is that she had no husband. 

b)  Jesus responded that she has spoken correctly.

3)  "For you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; this you have said truly."

a)  Jesus pointed out that she had had five husbands and was currently living with a man that was not her husband; therefore, she spoke more truly than she realized. 

b)  The rabbis considered that a woman should be married no more than two or three times.[21] 

c)  It is the Spirit's job to "convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment" (John 16:8), and Jesus has "the Spirit without measure" (John 3:34).

4)  "The woman said to Him, 'Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet.'"

a)  Wuest translates, "Sir, as I am carefully observing you, I am coming to the place where I see that you are a prophet" (NTET).

b)  Now, the woman's estimate of Jesus has elevated to the point that she considers Him a prophet. 

5)  "Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship."

a)  Jesus' has made the Samaritan woman a little uncomfortable; therefore, she did what people often do change the subject. 

b)  She introduced a controversial religious question, the true place of worship Mt. Gerizim or Jerusalem.[22]

c)  This exposes another problem that this woman has, false religious beliefs. 

i)  "She did not know who to worship, where to worship, or how to worship!"[23] 

ii)  Not all roads lead to God, and all faiths are not equivalent!

6)  "Jesus said to her, 'Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father.'"

a)  Jesus is not to be gotten off track.

b)  He replies that neither Jerusalem nor Mt. Gerizim is the correct answer.

7)  "You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews."

a)  Jesus rather bluntly told her that her worship was in ignorance and that salvation is from the Jews. 

b)  "The only faith that God will accept is that which came through the Jews.  The Bible is of Jewish origin, and our Savior was a Jew.  The first Christians were Jews."[24] 

c)  The Samaritans must not allow their anti-Jewish prejudice to keep them from salvation.

8)  "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."

a)  Jesus explains that real worshippers worship God, the Father, in their spirits, not in any particular location. 

b)  The spirit is the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit in the believer and God's word is truth.

c)  The days of temple worship were numbered and came to an end when the Romans destroyed the temple in AD 70.  The Mosaic covenant was being fulfilled and was soon to be replaced with the new covenant.

9)  "God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."

a)  Jesus further explained that this is sensible because God is spirit as to His essence. 

b)  The Gk. has no article before the predicate "spirit" and so indicates character or essence (cp. John 1:1; 1 John 4:8).[25] 

c)  Therefore, it is logical that those who worship God must truly do so in their spirits.

10)  "The woman said to Him, 'I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ); when that One comes, He will declare all things to us.'"

a)  The woman tried one last time to deflect Jesus. 

b)  She confessed that the Messiah is coming, and tried to stall until He came. 

c)  The Samaritans looked forward to a sort of messiah, one they called the "Taheb" ("restorer") who would restore things and reveal the truth.[26]

11)  "Jesus said to her, "I who speak to you am He.'"

a)  At this point, Jesus tells her that He is the Messiah. 

b)  The words "I am" are first in the Gk., "'I am He,' Jesus told her, 'the One speaking to you'" (HCSB).  The word "He" is not in the Gk.  This is an allusion to Exod 3:14.[27] 

c)  Now, her understanding of who Jesus is has progressed from a Jew to one greater than Jacob to a prophet to finally the Messiah.

3.  The Samaritan village (John 4:27-42)

a.  The Samaritan woman's testimony (John 4:27-30)

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?"  ²⁸ So the woman left her waterpot, and went into the city and said 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 (John 4:27-30).

 

1)  "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?'"

a)  The disciples arrived on the scene and were shocked that Jesus was speaking with a woman in defiance of social convention. 

i)  This has been translated, "They were shocked because he was speaking with a woman" (NET). 

ii)  The rabbis taught that a man should not talk to a woman in public, even his wife.[28] 

b)  Nonetheless, the disciples had such respect for Jesus that they did not question Him about it.

2)  "So the woman left her waterpot, and went into the city and said to the men, 'Come, see a man who told me all the things that I have done; this is not the Christ, is it?'"

a)  The woman hurried into the city and addressed the men.

b)  Now she is evangelizing! 

i)  She gave a simple and tactful testimony that piqued their interest.[29] 

ii)  Normally, Jews did not receive the witness of a woman.[30] 

c)  Note that the disciples had not yet witnessed in the city.

i)  Quite reasonably, the disciples had assumed that the Samaritans would have no use for the message of a Jewish rabbi. 

ii)  There is always a reason to not evangelize, but we sow the seed by faith. 

d)  This woman was an unlikely prospect, but God used her to win her entire village. 

e)  We must not prejudge whom God will use.

3)  "They went out of the city, and were coming to Him."

a)  The men of Sychar came out to investigate Jesus.

b)  Our witness is given in order to bring people to meet Jesus or "Come and see!"

b.  The harvest (John 4:31-38)

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 were saying to one another, "No one brought Him anything to eat, did he?"  ³⁴ Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work.  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.  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" (John 4:31-38).

 

1)  "Meanwhile the disciples were urging Him, saying, 'Rabbi, eat.'  But He said to them, 'I have food to eat that you do not know about.'"

a)  The disciples, knowing that Jesus was hungry, thirsty, and tired, tried to get Him to eat.

b)  However, Jesus enigmatically claims to have food of which the disciples have no knowledge. 

c)  Jesus used enigmatic sayings to provoke them to think.

2)  "So the disciples were saying to one another, 'No one brought Him anything to eat, did he?'"

a)  As usual, the disciples missed the point.

b)  They thought that Jesus was referring to physical food.

3)  "Jesus said to them, 'My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work.'"

a)  Jesus explained that He was nourished spiritually by doing the Father's will. 

b)  Jesus said, "I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me" (John 6:38).

4)  "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."

a)  Jesus noted that they might expect four more months until harvest.[31]  That would made the time of year to be October/November AD 30 (Tishrei AM 3791).[32] 

b)  However, He said that there is a harvest ready right now, the Samaritans. 

i)  The phrase "white for harvest" could refer to the Samaritans in their white robes coming out of the city resembling ripe barley.[33] 

ii)  This was a rebuke to the disciples who had not evangelized the Samaritans.

5)  "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."

a)  Jesus taught them that both those who sow and those who reap would receive eternal rewards. 

b)  Paul spoke of the same thing, "For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ....   If any man's work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward" (1 Cor 3:11, 14).

6)  "For in this case the saying is true, 'One sows and another reaps.'"

a)  Jesus explained that the one who sees people respond in faith is not always the one that originally shared the message. 

i)  Paul wrote, "I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth" (1 Cor 3:6). 

ii)  Aenon and Salim are nearby though just outside of Samaritan territory; perhaps John the Baptist had prepared the way.[34] 

b)  We may not see immediate results when we share.  We are not necessarily called to be successful; we are called to be faithful.

7)  "I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored and you have entered into their labor."

a)  Jesus told the disciples that others have sowed before them. 

b)  The harvest that they reap is based upon others labors. 

c)  If we see far, it is because we stand on the shoulders of giants.

c.  Many Samaritans believe (John 4:39-42).

³⁹ From that city many of the Samaritans believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, "He told me all the things that I have done."  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" (John 4:39-42).

 

1)  "From that city many of the Samaritans believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, 'He told me all the things that I have done.' So when the Samaritans came to Jesus, they were asking Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days.  Many more believed because of His word."

a)  Initially, many Samaritans from Sychar responded to Jesus because of the woman's testimony.

b)  The Samaritans asked Jesus to stay and, contrary to custom, He did so for two days.

c)  The continuing response was based on Jesus' teaching.

2)  "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.'"

a)  The conclusion that the citizens of Sychar reached was that Jesus was the Savior of the world, not just Jews. 

b)  John's Gentile audience would appreciate this point. 

c)  Jesus had traveled from Jerusalem (John 2:13-3:21) to Judea (John 3:22-4:3) to Samaria (John 4:4-42).  This parallels what Jesus said, "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth" (Acts 1:8). 

d)  We must witness to the world about the Savior of the world.

II.  Applications

A.  Jesus' style of witnessing

1.  Jesus ignored social customs that stood in the way of reaching people.

2.  Jesus adapted His approach to the woman, caught her interest, refused to be drawn off subject, and brought her along in her understanding.

B.  Believers

1.  We must not allow prejudice to keep us from seeing spiritual truth or prejudging whom God will use.

2.  Nothing in the material realm will ultimately satisfy; only Jesus does satisfy, forever.

3.  God must be worshipped in spirit and truth.

4.  We must take the Savior of the world to the world.