SAMARITAN WOMAN (2)
(Message by Tanny Keng)
0. Introduction
a) Woman at the well
(Text: John 4:5-26; Place: Samaria)
1. What is the text all about?
a) What did Jesus mean by "living water"? In the Old Testament, many verses speak of thirsting after God as one thirsts for water.
@1. 1 As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. (Psalms 42:1 NIV)
@2. 1 “Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. (Isaiah 55:1 NIV)
@3. 13 “My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water. (Jeremiah 2:13 NIV)
@4. 1 “On that day a fountain will be opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity. (Zechariah 13:1 NIV)
b) God is called a fountain of life (see Psalms 36:9) and the fountain of living waters (see Jeremiah 17:13).
@1. 9 For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light. (Psalms 36:9 NIV)
@2. 13 Lord, you are the hope of Israel; all who forsake you will be put to shame. Those who turn away from you will be written in the dust because they have forsaken the Lord, the spring of living water. (Jeremiah 17:13 NIV)
c) In saying he would bring living water that could forever quench a person's thirst for God. Jesus was claiming to be the Messiah. Only the Messiah could give this gift that satisfies the soul's desire.
d) Many spiritual functions parallel physical functions. As our bodies hunger and thirst, so do our souls. But our souls need spiritual food and water. The woman confused the two kinds of water, perhaps because no one had ever talked with her about her spiritual hunger and thirst before. We would not think of depriving our bodies of food and water when they hunger and thirst. Why then should we deprive our souls? The living Word, Jesus Christ, and the written Word, the Bible, can satisfy our hungry and thirsty souls.
e) The woman mistakenly believed that if she received the water Jesus offered, she would not have to return to the well each day. She was interested in Jesus' message because she thought it could make her life easier. But if that were always the case, people would accept Christ's message for the wrong reasons. Christ did not come to take away challenges, but to change us on the inside and empower us to deal with problems from God's perspective.
The End ...
0. Introductiona) Woman at the well
(Text: John 4:5-26; Place: Samaria)
1. What is the text all about?
a) What did Jesus mean by "living water"? In the Old Testament, many verses speak of thirsting after God as one thirsts for water.
@1. 1 As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. (Psalms 42:1 NIV)
@2. 1 “Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. (Isaiah 55:1 NIV)
@3. 13 “My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water. (Jeremiah 2:13 NIV)
@4. 1 “On that day a fountain will be opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity. (Zechariah 13:1 NIV)
b) God is called a fountain of life (see Psalms 36:9) and the fountain of living waters (see Jeremiah 17:13).
@1. 9 For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light. (Psalms 36:9 NIV)
@2. 13 Lord, you are the hope of Israel; all who forsake you will be put to shame. Those who turn away from you will be written in the dust because they have forsaken the Lord, the spring of living water. (Jeremiah 17:13 NIV)
c) In saying he would bring living water that could forever quench a person's thirst for God. Jesus was claiming to be the Messiah. Only the Messiah could give this gift that satisfies the soul's desire.
d) Many spiritual functions parallel physical functions. As our bodies hunger and thirst, so do our souls. But our souls need spiritual food and water. The woman confused the two kinds of water, perhaps because no one had ever talked with her about her spiritual hunger and thirst before. We would not think of depriving our bodies of food and water when they hunger and thirst. Why then should we deprive our souls? The living Word, Jesus Christ, and the written Word, the Bible, can satisfy our hungry and thirsty souls.
e) The woman mistakenly believed that if she received the water Jesus offered, she would not have to return to the well each day. She was interested in Jesus' message because she thought it could make her life easier. But if that were always the case, people would accept Christ's message for the wrong reasons. Christ did not come to take away challenges, but to change us on the inside and empower us to deal with problems from God's perspective.
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