REMOVING BARRIERS AND BUILDING BRIDGES

JOHN 4:1-42

INTRODUCTION

          I am not a civil engineer but there are some things about building bridges that fascinate me. There are probably more overhead and underpass bridges in the state of Texas than the rest of the forty-nine states in the United States. Most of these bridges are found right here in the Metroplex. We drive under, on, and over bridges. Engineers carefully construct these bridges. What is the purpose of a bridge? A bridge is constructed to make a road accessible. A bridge enables you to pass from one area to another. It enables you to travel from one place to another.

          The building of a bridge presupposes that there was a barrier that made the road impassable or inaccessible. The barrier can be a river, a lake, a gaping pit, gutter, or a valley. What the barrier does is it prevents you from getting to your destination. A bridge is therefore needed to make the way or road accessible for travel.

          Those who construct bridges on our highways are expert engineers in that field. They build the bridges in such a way that they are strong, durable, and can withstand heavy traffic. A couple of years ago, a hotel caved in South Korea and many people lost their lives. The building contractor was arrested.

          In the spiritual realm, sin has created a barrier between God and man. Therefore, God took the initiative to build a bridge through which man can be brought back to Him. Jesus is the bridge to God the Father. In fact, Jesus is the Master bridge Builder. He removes obstacles and builds bridges to people’s heart. He builds bridges to the heart of the poor, rich, outcasts, the famous, and the marginalized. In this passage, we see Jesus removing racial, traditional, and artificial barriers to build a bridge to the life of the Samaritan woman.

I.                  THE MISSION OF JESUS CHRIST TO SAMARIA

          In His attempt to go through Samaria, Jesus had many barriers to cross. First, He crossed a cultural barrier. He also crossed a boundary line of entrenched and sustained prejudice. Most Jews hated Samaritans and avoided all contacts with them. In fact, the hatred was mutual. The hostility goes back to the time of the post-exilic period when the Jews returned from Babylonian captivity. In view of this prolonged animosity toward each other, strict Jews would avoid Samaria when they traveled from Galilee to Jerusalem. Even though it was shorter to go through Samaria to Galilee or Jerusalem, the Jews avoided contact with the Samaritans because of prejudice.

          However, due to the mounting antagonism of the religious leaders in Jerusalem, Jesus decided to go back to Galilee, where the people were open and receptive to Him. This time Jesus decided to go through Samaria. Probably the disciples were in shock when they entered Samaria with Jesus. The Jews had no dealings with the Samaritans but Jesus went through Samaria. Jesus had a divine mission in Samaria but the disciples did not know. Jesus went through Samaria as part of His redemptive mission in the world. Jesus knew what He was doing when He entered Samaria. He did not go to Samaria by accident. To Jesus, the Jewish attitude to the Samaritans was not something to endorse but to overcome.

          On reaching Sychar, Jesus went to Jacob’s well, which had become a legacy. Here, Jesus wearied with the journey paused to rest. This shows us the humanity of Jesus. As human, He became weary, thirsty, and hungry. As He was taking His rest, the disciples went to the town to buy some groceries.

II.   THE MINISTRY OF JESUS CHRIST TO THE WOMAN

          Jesus was probably sitting at the curb of the well when the Samaritan woman arrived to draw water in the afternoon. In those days, women did not go to fetch water in the hot afternoon. The women fetched water in the morning or at sundown. The woman came in the afternoon because she was tired of the stare and the gossip of the women of Sychar. She was a woman of the street; she was a prostitute.

          Jesus initiated a dialogue with the woman. It is always appropriate for a Christian to initiate a conversation with someone the believer is trying to win to Christ. Jesus asked the woman for water to drink. Jesus opened the conversation with a request on the human level. This was a level of Jesus’ own human need. He asked her for a drink (v. 7). What a surprise for a Jewish man to ask for a drink from a Samaritan woman! Jewish men were not supposed to talk with a Samaritan. Besides, the woman had a reputation, which according the Pharisees would have made Jesus ceremonially unclean. In this episode, Jesus broke the norm of His day. What He did was unconventional to the Jewish society. Jesus knew everything about the woman but He asked her to do Him a favor. Does your prejudice prevent you from reaching other nationals with the gospel of Christ? This is one of the rare cases where Jesus asks someone to do something for Him. However, Jesus gained an entrance into the heart of a sinner by asking her to do something for Him.

          The woman was amazed when Jesus asked her for a drink (v. 9). The woman did not hide the bitter spirit that existed between the Jews and the Samaritans. She might have answered Jesus with a scorn and a frown in her face but that did not turn Jesus away. Jesus’ answer piqued her curiosity (v. 10), ‘“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.’” Jesus’ response to her seemed to imply that He was more than a Jewish man. Jesus is implying that He is the Christ; He is the Messiah; the Anointed One; the Savior of the world. Jesus compared and contrasted the physical water to the spiritual (living) water. There are several progressions in this message. First, Jesus appealed to her felt need, (ordinary water) but now He appeals to her spiritual need. He comes straight to the central spiritual need of the woman, as He suggested to her the offer of living water. When Jesus aroused the spiritual need of the woman, she changed her attitude toward Him. She addressed Jesus as Lord, which is translated “Sir.” She has changed from scorn to respect. She was being polite to Jesus; nevertheless, she did not understand the spiritual meaning of Jesus’ statement. She mistook the “living water” for “running water.” She wondered how Jesus could get that water since there was none in the area. Jesus alone can supply the living water, which can satisfy your every need and at the same time become a permanent source of life.

          In verse 12, the woman seemed a little bit sarcastic and argumentative. However, Jesus did not argue with her. Instead, He told the woman that whoever drinks of this water would thirst again. Jesus was simply saying to her, if you drink the water in this well, you would have to come back for more. However, if you take what I have to give you, you will be satisfied forever. The spring of water that Jesus provides never runs dry.

          Jesus’ statement in verse 14 exposed the emptiness of her life and the dryness of her soul, yet she was referring to physical water. There was a spiritual blockade. She misunderstood Jesus, but she was receptive. She was thinking of something material and earthly. However, Jesus was talking about spiritual and heavenly matter. Many Christians fail to take people at their best. Your sensitivity to people can give an open door to their hearts. The woman said, “Give me this water” that my lot might be easier.

          Before the woman could receive the gift of living water, Jesus had to make her realize how desperately she needed it. “The gift was for her inner life, which in her case was empty indeed.” Jesus then told her to go and call her husband (v. 16). It was not appropriate for a woman to receive spiritual instruction without the consent of her husband. Jesus brought her face to face with her past. If this woman were to have a spring of living water, there must first be moral investigation and correction. The gospel of Jesus Christ does not leave a person where he/she was. The Holy Spirit calls people to repentance. Jesus already knew of her moral failures and was trying to expose the problem of her unresolved guilt. Jesus’ instruction was designed to break her defenses and prompt a confession of sin. The woman replied, “I have no husband” (v. 17). This was a confession of her evil life. Jesus’ statement pierced her heart with guilt. Consequently, she wanted to end that line of discussion. The woman was not a hypocrite. She confessed her sin to Jesus. Jesus in His gracious attitude responded, “You have well said, I have no husband.” Jesus probed deeply by revealing His knowledge of the woman’s sinful lifestyle. Here we see Jesus’ divine nature as He sees through the woman’s life.

          Jesus treated her with compassion and respect. He did not condemn her for her sins; neither did He accuse her. When you want to share the gospel and win a person to Christ, do not first point to the person’s sinful lifestyle. Every sinner knows that he/she is a sinner. A sinner does not need your condemnation; he needs Christ. A sinner does not need your accusation; he needs the Savior, who will set him free. If we are to be effective witnesses and impact the kingdom of God, we must follow Jesus’ example. Jesus is always tender towards those who have been broken by sin.

          The woman found out quickly that Jesus knew more about her than anyone else. The woman realized that Jesus was not an ordinary Jew, hence her statement, “I perceive that you are a prophet” (v. 19). Her recognition of Jesus progressed as the story unfolded. In verse 17, she was evasive, but in verse 19, she again employed a term of respect. She implied, “You evidently know all about me.” In her conviction of sin, Jesus raised her spiritual anxiety and she shifted the conversation from her personal life to that of worship (v. 20). She wanted to avoid further exposure of her sin. Jesus was very cautious and tactful, lest He loses this woman. Jesus knew that the woman wanted to avoid that conversation because she was ashamed. As a disciple of Jesus Christ, be tactful and gentle in your witness to others.

III.           THE MESSAGE OF JESUS TO THE WOMAN

          Skillfully, Jesus replied to both the controversial issue, which the woman raised and the deeper personal need hidden behind it. The woman was trying to raise a racial issue, but Jesus’ response was straight forward, and He made no concession to the Samaritan position. Jesus said to her, “Salvation is from the Jews” (v. 22). Jesus then moved the matter out of the categories of time and space and made it the matter of the heart (vv. 23-24). Jesus moved the woman from the known to the unknown. Jesus moved her from physical concern to her spiritual need. Jesus moved her from the temporal to the permanent. He moved her from what can be seen to the unseen. He moved her from earthly things to eternal realities.

          Jesus’ insight to spiritual and true worship enabled the woman to recall what she might have read from the Pentateuch of the coming Messiah (v. 25). Her quotation was a confession of ignorance and hope. She might have heard from the Book of Moses that the Messiah, the Christ, the Deliverer would come and remove the darkness from her eyes. To such a simple faith, Jesus revealed Himself more openly than He did to Nicodemus (v. 26).

          The arrival of the disciples interrupted the conversation. The woman left her water pot and went into the city to call the men to “come and see a man who had told me all the things I have done. Is this not the Christ” (vv. 28-29)? She went and invited the men to come and see Jesus. That is what the Great Commission entails. We are to go out and compel people to come and see Jesus. The prostitute became a preacher. The enticer of men became an evangelist to men. The harlot became a herald of Christ. The lonely sinner became a loyal servant.

          Through Jesus’ encounter with the woman, revival broke out in the city of Sychar in Samaria. All the men came to see Jesus and invited Him to spend the night with them in Samaria. Jesus used the spiritual hunger of the men of Samaria to teach the disciples some unforgettable lessons of soul winning.

          Several important lessons that you and I need to learn from this encounter emerge in this passage.

§  If you and I are going to remove barriers and build bridges, we have to be like Jesus. We have to learn from Jesus. You have to know that every sinner is worth saving.

§  You and I have to win the confidence of anyone we want to lead to Christ. In sharing Christ with others, you should stir their interest and curiosity, and deepen their concern into spiritual desire.

§  You are to face your potential converts firmly and inescapably with the question of sin. Lead them to turn from sin to simple trust in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.

§  You have to expend every effort to share your faith with others. You do not know what a convert will do to impact the kingdom of God.

§  Jesus through this woman built a bridge to the heart of the Samaritans.

Are you a bridge builder? In your life are you building bridges or are you erecting barriers? Be a bridge builder. Remove barriers and build bridges.