The Other Woman At The Well
John 4:1-10
I hope that our text this morning is a familiar one to you.
I have preached from it here at least once and taught lessons from it at least twice.
The ancient Jews despised Samaria and would often travel around it.
But Christ told His disciples that this time He needed to go that way.
We see why that is in our text.
He knew that on this particular day there would be a woman at that well who needed Him.
He knew all about her past and her shame.
He knew she was a social outcast.
He knew she needed someone to care about her.
So Christ waited by the well in the heat of the day until she came out.
He knew the disciples would not have the same heart to reach her so he sent them on into town.
She came out thinking her biggest need was to satisfy her thirst.
Christ showed her she needed Him – that he was the water that satisfied.
When she finally realized Who He was that was talking to her, she went running back into town to tell the news.
The disciples came back and were puzzled as to why Christ would be talking to such a woman.
I don’t know if it was her sinful background or her bloodline that made them overlook her need.
But I do know that she was thankful that the Almighty God had compassion on her, and went out of His way to be there that day.
If you study the book of John you will notice that there is sort of a trilogy of stories in chapters 3, 4 and 5.
All involve Christ going out of this way to seek and to save that which was lost.
In chapter 3 there is Nicodemus.
He is a leader of the Jews, he had to turn from his own self righteousness to see his need to be born again.
In chapter 4 there is the Samaritan woman at the well.
She was an outcast and a lost cause, she had to turn get tear down the walls of prejudice and defense she had put up to le the Savior in.
In chapter 5 there is the lame man by the pool of Bethesda on the sabbath day.
He was unable to gain the healing desires, but Christ healed him physically and spiritually.
All three of these stories show that wonderful love of the Savior.
All three show His mercy extended to the vilest of sinners.
All three show His mercy pour out immeasurably on underserving man.
I don’t know about you, but I am glad that way back when I was about four years old that He came looking for me.
There I was, too timid and shy to go to children’s church on a Sunday morning.
Bro. Jackson got up and preached the hottest sermon on hell I think he ever preached.
I sat there knowing I was a sinner and that I was in trouble if I had to stand before the Lord.
I did not know what to do, but that night Bro. Horton took me back into the pastor’s office.
We sat on the couch that was right inside the door.
He took his Bible and he showed me what Christ did for me.
I already had the first two parts down – I knew I was a sinner and that I was not going to Heaven.
He showed me the second to parts – that Christ came to this earth to die for lost sinners like me also rose again in victory, and if I would only place my faith in Him that I could be freed from the chains of sin.
I was only about four, but I can still send my mind back to that night and I can still feel that feeling that was like the weight of the cosmos was lifted from my little shoulders.
I found that peace that passes all understanding!
I found that hope that will ever endure!
I found the joy that comes from knowing you are a child of God.
Some might say that I found Christ that night.
In reality, He found me.
He knew who I was before the foundation of the world was laid.
He knew on the cross that it was for me.
That day the Spirit reached out and took hold of my young heart and the Savior took up residence.
I don’t know everyone’s story that is here today, but I hope you have that same kind of story.
I pray that you know what it is like for Jesus to come along and take you up in His nail scarred hands.
That is why He came – “to seek and to save that which was lost”
He sought out Nicodemus, He sought out the Samaritan woman at the well, He sought out the lame man lying by the pool of Bethesda, He sought me out when I was just a little rascal of a boy, and friend I guarantee is seeking you out if don’t know Him this morning.
The pages of this Bible are filled with this truth.
For instance, you can go over to Luke 15 and see three wonderful pictures of it.
He is like the shepherd that lost one of his sheep, but left the ninety and nine to bring the lost lamb back into the fold.
He is like the woman who had ten coins, but lost one and did not rest until she found it.
He is like the prodigal son’s father, patiently waiting for us to repent and come to His open arms.
Now, I told you up front that the title of this sermon is “The Other Woman At The Well”.
That is not referring to the woman at the well in our text.
As I was putting together the daily Bible reading notes this week, it occurred to me that she is not the only lost soul that Christ went out of His way to find sitting near a well.
Now, you are going to need to follow me closely here if this is going to make any sense at all.
I am going to go a little deeper into the Word that is just a cursory, surface-level reading.
If you want to follow along with me, I am going to ask that you turn back to the book of Genesis and find chapter 16.
While you are doing that let me give you a little background.
God had promised Abraham that he would be the father of a great nation, yet his wife Sarah was barren.
They grew impatient with God and decided to take matters into their own hands.
Sarah had an Egyptian handmaid named Hagar.
She decided that Abraham could just marry Hagar and have kids with here.
Abraham went along with it, and Hagar was with child.
That plan didn’t seem so good anymore!
Sarah turned on Hagar, treated her badly – so badly that she fled and ran away into the wilderness.
There she is, scared, pregnant, and confused.
Neither Sarah nor Abraham seems to go looking for her.
She thought her life was over.
If ever there was a lost cause, she felt like she was it.
But God saw her tears and His loving heart was moved at her plight.
We find in there in Genesis 16:7 – “And the angel of the LORD found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way to Shur.”
Now this is not something you are going to pick up just skimming through this chapter, but there is something special about this “angel of Jehovah”.
An angel is a messenger – that is literally what the word means in Hebrew and Greek – and they act at the command of God.
That is what we see when, for example, the angel Gabriel doing when he appears and delivers the message to Mary that she was going to be the mother of the Messiah.
The angel shows up and says, “Thus saith the Lord” and then delivers the message.
Other times angels show up and do the job God had sent them to do – a good example is the angel that was sent to encourage Elijah in I Kings 19 – he made the prophet food, told him to take a nap, then pointed him in the direction of Horeb.
I say this because this “angel of the Lord” here in Genesis 16 acts differently when he appears.
Yes, this not an isolated incident.
I believe we see this same person appearing to:
Abraham in Genesis 22:11-12
Moses in Exodus 3:2-6
Gideon in Judges 6.
Samon’s parents in Judges 13.
Let’s look at what happens here between the “angel of the Lord” and Hagar.
In vs. 8 he asks what she is doing there and she confesses that she ran away from Sarah.
In vs. 9 he tells her to go back.
In vs. 10 – this is where it starts getting interesting – he says “I will multiply thy seed”
That is not delivering a message, it is making a person promise.
In vs. 11 he tells her to name her unborn son Ishmael, which means “who God hears”
In vs. 12 he reveals the future character of the boy.
Now look at vs. 13:
And she called the name of the LORD that spake unto her
Wait, she doesn’t say an angel spoke to her, she says God did!
Thou God seest me:
In Hebrew that is El-Roi.
Again, she does not say an angel saw here, but that God Himself did.
for she said, Have I also here looked after him that seeth me?
She says she saw the God who sees her, not the angel that sees her.
In vs. 14 she names the place Beerlahairoi, meaning “the well of Him that liveth and seeth me”.
Now, I believe it is clear that this is no mere angel that went into the wilderness to comfort Hagar that day.
Every indication here is that this was God Himself making an appearance.
I did not mention it, but I think there is a reason vs. 9, 10, and 11 all start the exact same way – “And the angel of the Lord said unto her”
Three times – I think this is a hint at the Trinity.
Now, if that was God Himself that appeared that day to Hagar, and every clue points to it, I want to go a step further in “Gageology”
My theory is that whenever God makes a physical appearance in the Old Testament it is Christ.
Colossians 1:15 says of Christ – “Who is the image of the invisible God,”
I believe that was the preincarnate Son of God that ministered to Hagar that day.
It is in His character to reach out in love to the hurting and lost.
That is what we found in doing in our text, over 1900 years after He appeared to Hagar.
That is what Christ does.
He seeks and saved.
He finds the lost and brings them home.
He heals our wounds and strengthens us in our weakness.
He meets the needs of the hurting.
There is no one that comes close to loving us the way Christ does.
I like the way Paul said it:
1Ti 1:12 And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry;
1Ti 1:13 Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.
1Ti 1:14 And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.
1Ti 1:15 This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.
1Ti 1:16 Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.
I leave you with a few closing thoughts:
- There is no one beyond redemption
- Most Christians would write off Hagar and the Samaritan woman as lost causes.
- That is probably Christ had to step in and handle those cases Himself!
- When it comes to the salvation of a human soul, there is no price that is too high.
- Christ gave His all for them, should we not be willing to do the same?
- If you have never truly known Christ and the salvation He provides, there is not better time than now.
- He died and rose again for you!
- His arms are wide open waiting for you!