Participants:
Series Code: IIWSS
Program Code: IIWSS024044S
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00:11 ♪♪♪ 00:14 >>Eric Flickinger: Welcome to "Sabbath School," 00:15 brought to you by It Is Written. 00:18 This week we are continuing our journey 00:19 through the book of John, looking at some 00:22 of the great themes that run throughout the book. 00:25 And this week it's lesson number 5, 00:27 "The Testimony of the Samaritans," 00:29 a fascinating story that we're going to be 00:31 going through today. Let's begin with prayer. 00:34 Father, we thank You for being with us 00:36 as we continue our journey through the book of John. 00:39 We ask that You will guide us and direct us in our study 00:42 and help us to see Jesus in new and exciting ways. 00:45 And we thank You in Jesus' name, amen. 00:48 >>Thomas Shepherd: Amen. 00:49 >>Eric: Well, to help guide us along our study again this week, 00:52 we have Dr. Tom Shepherd. 00:54 He's the senior research professor of New Testament 00:57 at the Theological Seminary, Andrews University. 00:59 Tom, thanks for joining us again. 01:01 >>Tom: Good to be here. 01:02 >>Eric: So we are looking this time at 01:03 "The Testimony of the Samaritans." 01:05 We're going to spend a little bit of time 01:06 in John, chapter 4 this week. 01:08 And we're going to be looking at the relationship between 01:11 the Jews and the Samaritans and specifically one Jew 01:15 and one Samaritan. 01:16 But give us some context in what was the relationship like 01:20 between the Jews and the Samaritans. 01:22 And I think that's going to help us to see 01:25 what this interaction was all about. 01:26 >>Tom: Yeah, so the relationship 01:28 between the Jews and the Samaritans 01:30 is a long story. 01:31 And it's a story of animosity. 01:35 The Samaritans came into the land of Judea or Palestine 01:44 during the time of the exile of the Jews to Babylon. 01:49 And they mixed the religion of Yahweh, 01:54 of the God of Israel, with idolatry. 01:57 So they weren't like pure Yahwehists. 02:01 Now, when the Jews came back from exile, the Samaritans 02:06 wanted to help them rebuild the temple. 02:09 And if there's one thing that the exile taught the Jews, 02:12 it's "no idolatry." 02:14 So they didn't want the Samaritans. 02:17 Now, so the Samaritans didn't take that too well. 02:21 And lo and behold, they went and built a rival temple 02:26 on a mount in central Palestine called Mount Gerizim, 02:31 which we'll talk a little bit more about. 02:33 And when the Jews defeated the Greeks, the Seleucids, 02:40 in about 165 BC, 02:44 they eventually had, you know, a large portion of Palestine 02:48 under their control, 02:50 and one of their leaders, John Hyrcanus, 02:53 went and destroyed the temple of the Samaritans 02:57 upon Mount Gerizim. 02:59 Well, you can imagine that didn't go over too well 03:00 with the Samaritans. 03:01 And so then the Samaritans-- there's a story where they come 03:05 to the temple in Jerusalem, and they spread bones 03:08 in the temple area to defile it. 03:11 So that didn't go over too well with the Jews, either, 03:14 you can imagine. So in Jesus' day, there was this, like, 03:17 sharp contention between them. 03:20 We have a parable that's titled, in most English Bibles in Luke, 03:25 the Good Samaritan. 03:26 And for people in Jesus' day, for Jews, 03:29 that would be an oxymoron. 03:31 There couldn't be a good Samaritan. 03:34 So yeah, they didn't get along very well at all. 03:39 >>Eric: So that gives us a little bit of context 03:40 for this story. 03:42 And in fact, they got along so poorly that typically if Jews 03:46 wanted to get from point A to point B, 03:47 they would, instead of taking a direct route, 03:50 it was more of a circuitous route. 03:52 So why did Jesus pass through Samaria 03:56 when so many other Jews 03:58 would have taken great pains to go around? 04:00 >>Tom: Well, let's read the text here. 04:01 It's John 4, verses 1 through 6. 04:06 >>Eric: "Therefore, when the Lord knew 04:07 "that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made 04:09 "and baptized more disciples than John 04:12 "(though Jesus Himself did not baptize, but His disciples), 04:15 "He left Judea and departed again to Galilee. 04:18 "But He needed to go through Samaria. 04:20 "So He came to a city of Samaria which is called Sychar, 04:23 "near the plot of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. 04:27 "Now Jacob's well was there. 04:28 "Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, 04:31 sat thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour." 04:34 >>Tom: Okay, so here's Jesus leaving Judea because of the-- 04:43 well, there is the possibility of tension, 04:47 as we've already talked about tension 04:48 between Jesus' disciples and John's disciples. 04:51 And so Jesus leaves, goes back to Galilee, and it says 04:55 in verse 4, "And He had to pass through Samaria." 04:57 Well, He didn't have to. [chuckles] 04:59 He could have gone around through the Jordan Valley 05:03 and bypassed it, but He had one of those 05:06 divine appointments in Samaria, 05:09 and so He passes through that area, 05:11 and He comes to this well, Jacob's well, 05:15 which is still there today, actually. 05:17 And you can--it's under a church now, 05:19 almost everything linked to Jesus these days 05:22 is in some church. 05:24 And you go down in the basement and it's--that's-- 05:28 it's the very well, and it's a deep well, 05:31 and they'll take and drop a stone in there and listen. 05:34 Takes a few seconds for it to get down there. 05:35 It was a deep well, and this is the well where Jesus came. 05:40 Now, the area--this well was right outside 05:45 of the town called Shechem. 05:47 And Shechem was a very important place 05:55 in Palestine in--well, going all the way back 05:58 to the days of Abraham. 05:59 The first place that Abram comes to 06:04 in the land of the Canaanites was Shechem. 06:08 And that's the place where he builds his first altar. 06:12 This is also the place where Jacob's daughter Dinah 06:19 is raped by Shechem, 06:23 and then Simeon and Levi kill all the people of Shechem. 06:29 And it's also a place where Jacob 06:32 gave some property to Joseph. 06:37 And it's also just at the base of two mountains, 06:41 Gerizim and Ebal. 06:43 If you read Deuteronomy 27 and you read Joshua 8, 06:47 you read that they had the blessings 06:49 and the curses on Gerizim and Ebal. 06:53 Six tribes would stand on Mount Gerizim, 06:56 six tribes on Ebal. 06:59 The tribes on Gerizim would pronounce the blessings; 07:02 the tribes on Ebal would pronounce the curses. 07:06 They had a covenant renewal as well that took place 07:08 in Shechem. So the place is filled with history, 07:12 linkages to Abraham, 07:14 linkages to Jacob, all kinds of things. 07:18 Now, the well that we're talking about 07:21 was just outside of Shechem, but the village of Sychar 07:24 was about a mile away. 07:27 Now, so you think about going a mile [chuckles] 07:31 to get water is no small task, and we'll talk more 07:35 about that as we go through this passage. 07:39 >>Eric: So she went a distance to get to this well, 07:42 to begin with. It also says that she came to the well 07:45 in the middle of the day, which was not the norm. 07:49 What was going on there? 07:51 >>Tom: Yeah, so the middle of the day would be warmer. 07:53 There wouldn't be anybody else there. 07:56 And of course, we're going to learn that this woman 07:58 had a rather colored past. 08:02 And she seems to be practicing avoidance. 08:07 She goes a mile away to get water. 08:09 She goes in the middle of the day, probably because 08:12 she's tired of all the gossip. 08:16 A well was where all the women would meet, 08:18 where they would talk, they would gossip, 08:20 and tell, share stories. 08:21 And she was probably the one that they would talk about. 08:26 She--when she does go back to the village, she says, 08:28 "Come see a man who told me everything I ever did." 08:31 Well, maybe everybody was talking about 08:32 everything she ever did. 08:34 So, she comes to the well at a time when nobody else 08:40 would be there. 08:42 >>Eric: And she meets Jesus there. 08:44 So walk us through this encounter. 08:45 >>Tom: Yeah, let's read this story. 08:46 All right, so it starts in John 4, 08:50 verse 7 through verse 12. 08:54 "A woman from Samaria came to draw water. 08:57 "Jesus said to her, 'Give me a drink.' 08:59 "(For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.) 09:04 "The Samaritan woman said to Him, 09:06 "'How is it that You, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, 09:11 "a woman of Samaria?' 09:13 "(For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) 09:16 "Jesus answered her, 'If you knew the gift of God, 09:20 "'and who it is that is saying to you, 09:22 "'"Give me a drink," you would have asked Him, 09:25 "and He would have given you living water.' 09:28 "The woman said to Him, 'Sir, 09:30 "'You have nothing to draw... with, and the well is deep. 09:34 "'Where do You get that living water? 09:37 "'Are You greater than our father Jacob? 09:39 "'He gave us the well and drank from it himself, 09:41 as did his sons and his livestock.'" 09:44 Okay, so this is the start of the story. 09:46 It's a very interesting story, you know what I mean? 09:49 All He does is say, you know, "Please give me a drink." 09:54 He's thirsty; He's tired; He's been walking some distance. 09:58 He says, "Please give me a drink." 10:00 Now, normally you would say, "Oh sure, here's, you know, 10:03 let me pour some out for you to drink," you know. 10:06 But because of the animosity, the deep animosity 10:09 between Jews and Samaritans, when Jesus does this, 10:16 it's like pushing her buttons, we say. 10:20 She's got all of this familial, cultural heritage of hatred 10:27 towards the Jews, 10:28 and it just, you know, immediately comes out. 10:31 And she really mocks Him: "How is it that You, a Jew, 10:37 ask for a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?" 10:39 You must be awfully thirsty to stoop to ask for a Samaritan 10:45 for a drink of water. 10:47 And Jesus doesn't take the bait, so to speak, you know. 10:53 He turns the conversation around: 10:58 "If you knew the gift of God 11:00 "and who it is that is saying to you, 11:02 "'Give me a drink,' you would have asked Him, 11:05 and He would have given you living water." 11:07 So, what is this all about, "the gift of God"? 11:11 Well, you could say Jesus is the gift of God, 11:13 or sometimes the Holy Spirit is spoken of as that gift. 11:18 And "if you really knew the person you were talking to, 11:23 "you would ask Him to give you a drink, 11:28 and He would have given you living water." 11:30 Now, "living water" was a terminology 11:32 for water that was flowing. 11:35 It was typically flowing water had a better taste 11:38 than the stale water of a well. 11:42 And so she might have understood something 11:46 along those lines. 11:48 But of course, Jesus' real meaning 11:49 of living water is that the water 11:52 is the water of eternal life that He can offer her, right? 11:57 And so she says, "You have nothing to draw with. 12:00 The well is deep. Where do You get that living water?" 12:05 And then she, misunderstanding again, 12:07 typical of the Gospel of John, 12:09 she says, "You aren't greater than our father Jacob, are You?" 12:13 Well, actually He is. 12:17 [chuckling] He's the Messiah, you know? 12:19 "He gave us the well and drank from it himself, 12:22 as did his sons and his livestock." 12:25 She's looking back to the past, all the great fathers 12:28 and everything, and she doesn't recognize 12:31 who's right in front of her. 12:33 I remember reading a book about 12:35 the Supreme Court Justice Burger, I think his name was. 12:40 And this writer was one of his clerks. 12:46 And he would walk with his clerks 12:49 around the Supreme Court at lunchtime, 12:51 they would go for a walk, and people would stop him 12:55 and ask him if he would take a picture for them. 13:00 He said, "Well sure, why not?" 13:01 you know, and he would hold the camera. 13:02 I mean, they didn't realize this was the chief justice 13:06 of the United States that they were talking to, 13:08 and he takes a picture. [laughs] 13:09 So this woman doesn't recognize who's talking to her. 13:13 It's the Messiah Himself. 13:15 Though, of course, that's eventually gonna dawn on her, 13:17 but, well, He's gonna tell her, 13:19 but she doesn't know at this point. 13:22 So let's read a little bit more, verses 13 through 15. 13:28 >>Eric: "Jesus answered and said to her, 13:30 "'Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, 13:33 "'but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him 13:35 "'will never thirst. 13:37 "'But the water that I shall give him will become in him 13:39 "a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.' 13:43 "The woman said to Him, 'Sir, give me this water, 13:45 that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw.'" 13:50 We're going to delve into that 13:51 and what Jesus means and her misunderstanding of it 13:55 when we come back in just a moment. 13:56 But before we go to break, there's a companion book 14:00 that people can get their hands on. 14:01 What's the significance of that companion book? 14:03 And why might they want to get their hands on it? 14:06 >>Tom: So that companion book will-- 14:07 is geared towards the lesson. 14:09 It's the same number of chapters, same titles, 14:11 and it gives you extra information that tells you 14:14 more than what you get from the Sabbath School quarterly 14:17 or the teacher's quarterly. 14:18 And it's just valuable kind of stuff to delve into. 14:22 >>Eric: So if you want to dig more into the story 14:24 of the woman at the well and see even more 14:27 than we have shared, make sure you pick up 14:29 that companion book. 14:30 You will find it at itiswritten.shop. 14:32 Again, itiswritten.shop. 14:34 Just look for the companion book 14:36 to this quarter's "Sabbath School" lesson. 14:37 We're going to come right back 14:39 as we continue delving into the story 14:41 of the woman at the well and her interaction with Jesus 14:44 that changed not just her life but the lives of many. 14:47 We'll be right back. 14:48 ♪♪♪ 14:52 >>Eric: One of the most powerful evidences 14:54 that the Bible is true are the prophecies 14:56 that you will find in its pages. 14:58 If you've been wondering about what's happening 15:00 in the world today, especially in the United States, 15:02 socially, militarily, politically, and economically, 15:06 the "Which Way, America?" seminar will answer 15:09 those questions for you in a powerful way. 15:12 I'm Eric Flickinger and I want to invite you 15:14 to the "Which Way, America?" seminar, 15:16 brought to you by It Is Written. 15:18 >>male announcer: Watch "Which Way, America?" 15:19 on YouTube and It Is Written TV. 15:22 >>John Bradshaw: Thank you for remembering that 15:23 It Is Written exists because of the kindness of people 15:26 just like you. 15:28 To support this international life-changing ministry, 15:31 please call us now at 800-253-3000. 15:35 You can send your tax-deductible gift 15:36 to the address on your screen, or you can visit us online 15:40 at itiswritten.com. 15:42 Thank you for your prayers and your financial support. 15:44 Our number again is 800-253-3000, 15:48 or you can visit us online at itiswritten.com. 15:53 ♪♪♪ 15:56 >>Eric: Welcome back to "Sabbath School," 15:58 brought to you by It Is Written. 16:00 We're taking a look at the story of the woman at the well. 16:04 Tom, we just read verses 13 through 15 16:07 as we continue this interaction that the woman has with Jesus. 16:10 Walk us through what happens here. 16:11 >>Tom: Yeah, so it's interesting. 16:13 You know, Jesus says to her, 16:14 "Everybody who drinks of this water will be thirsty again. 16:17 "But if you drink the water I give you, 16:19 you won't be thirsty." 16:20 So she still doesn't understand what He's talking about, 16:24 but she says, "Sir, give me this water, 16:27 "so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here 16:29 to draw water." 16:31 So she's thinking physical water, 16:33 and furthermore, she thinks that this is 16:37 going to solve her problem. 16:39 She's not going to be thirsty, 16:40 so she doesn't have to walk so far. 16:42 And of course, the reason she had to walk so far 16:44 was because her life was so messed up. 16:46 And so she would avoid facing her problems. 16:49 She didn't have to face her problems anymore. 16:51 So it's interesting that the very brief discussion here 16:55 begins with Jesus asking for a drink of water. 16:58 And by this point she's asking for a drink of water. 17:02 Now, that's a golden moment, we say, in teaching. 17:05 When the student asks a question, you know, 17:07 then, you know, this is their opportunity to learn. 17:10 All right, so let's see what happens. 17:12 Jesus is going to talk to her in verses 16 through 19. 17:18 >>Eric: "Jesus said to her, 'Go, call your husband, 17:20 "and come here.' 17:21 "The woman answered and said, 'I have no husband.' 17:24 "Jesus said to her, 'You have well said, "I have no husband," 17:27 "'for you have had five husbands, 17:28 "'and the one whom you now have is not your husband; 17:31 "in that you spoke truly.' The woman said to Him, 17:34 'Sir, I perceive... You are a prophet.'" 17:36 >>Tom: [laughs] So it is a very important point here, 17:42 is that Jesus says to her, basically, 17:48 "You mustn't run from your problems; 17:50 you must face your problems. Go call your husband." 17:54 Now, she doesn't like that. 17:56 She doesn't want to hear that. "I have no husband." 17:58 She's telling the truth: "I have no husband." 18:01 And Jesus says, "You're right, 18:04 "because you've had five husbands, 18:07 "and the guy that you're living with now 18:08 is not your husband." 18:11 Ellen White puts this very nicely in "Desire of Ages." 18:14 She says, "A mysterious hand was turning the pages 18:18 of her life" and seeing all the, you know, 18:21 sordid details of her experience. 18:24 She trembles at somebody and she says, 18:28 "Sir, I perceive You are a prophet." 18:31 Now, it's very interesting because we've said before 18:36 in the Gospel of John there's this light and darkness, 18:38 and the question is--the light of the world comes in 18:41 and gives light to every person-- 18:43 what will you do with the light that God gives you? 18:46 And she has trouble looking at the light. 18:52 The light is too bright. [chuckles] 18:55 She sort of looks off to the side, you know. 18:58 "Sir, I perceive You are a prophet." 19:01 Now, let's read what she says, verse 20: 19:03 "Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, 19:05 "but You say that in Jerusalem is the place 19:07 where people ought to worship." 19:08 So let's not talk about my life. 19:11 She's looking off, you know, in a different way. 19:14 Let's not talk about my life. 19:16 Let's talk about the dispute between Jews and Gentiles. 19:19 Let's talk about, is it here on Mount Gerizim that we're 19:22 supposed to worship, or is it in Jerusalem, like You Jews say? 19:26 So she doesn't run from the light. 19:29 She could have grabbed her jar and run, but she doesn't. 19:33 She stays where the light is; she just can't look at it 19:36 real straight yet. Jesus is patient with her. 19:40 So now we'll read what He says to her 19:42 about the place of worship. 19:45 So now we'll read verses 21 through verse--well, let's go-- 19:54 let's go through verse 26. That's the end of her story. 19:58 >>Eric: "Jesus said to her, 'Woman, believe me, the hour is 20:01 "'coming when you will neither on this mountain, 20:03 "'nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. 20:05 "'You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, 20:08 "'for salvation is of the Jews. 20:10 "'But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers 20:14 "'will worship the Father in spirit and truth; 20:16 "'for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. 20:19 "'God is Spirit, and those who worship Him 20:21 "must worship in spirit and truth.' 20:24 "The woman said to Him, 20:25 "'I know that Messiah is coming' (who is called Christ). 20:28 "'When He comes, He will tell us all things.' 20:31 Jesus said to her, 'I who speak to you am He.'" 20:35 >>Tom: Well, we've talked about revelation. [chuckles] 20:38 And this is clearly revelation to this woman. 20:43 So He lets her take the conversation 20:48 on the question of worship. 20:49 He'll talk about worship, and He'll say it's not here, 20:53 it's not there. 20:54 Worship is not now defined by a particular spot in the world-- 21:00 you have to go to Jerusalem, you have to go to Gerizim-- 21:03 He says, no, that God is Spirit, and He seeks those 21:08 to worship Him who worship in spirit and in truth. 21:13 And so the woman, you know, listens to this. 21:16 She's impressed with this Man. 21:18 She kind of wistfully says, "Well, the Messiah is coming, 21:22 and we know that when He comes, He'll explain everything to us." 21:26 And He says, "I who speak to you am He." 21:30 This is the only place in all four Gospels, 21:35 before His trial before the Sanhedrin, 21:38 where Jesus says to someone specifically 21:41 that He is the Messiah. Only here. 21:44 And it's to a woman whose life is messed up, 21:47 a woman of Samaria, 21:50 just one individual, not even a Jew, not even a man, 21:54 just this woman of Samaria, who's had a troubled life, 21:57 and He tells her that He's the Messiah. 22:00 It's like, whoa, this is like the biggest revelation 22:03 that you could, like, you could get, so, very impressive. 22:06 Now, now we gotta bring the disciples 22:09 back into the story, verse 27 through 30. 22:12 >>Eric: "And at this point His disciples came, 22:14 "and they marveled that He talked with a woman; 22:16 "yet no one said, 'What do You seek?' or, 22:19 "'Why are You talking with her?' 22:20 "The woman then left her waterpot, 22:22 "went her way into the city, and said to the men, 22:25 "'Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did. 22:28 "Could this be the Christ?' 22:30 Then they went out of the city and came to Him." 22:33 >>Tom: Okay, so the disciples come back, and they're surprised 22:35 that He's talking with this woman. 22:37 You know, she's a Samaritan, obviously a Samaritan woman. 22:40 And actually, men talking with women 22:43 and by themselves would be sort of, you know, 22:47 not a normal kind of a deal. 22:49 And so they're surprised, but, you know, 22:53 they've learned far enough that, you know, 22:55 you don't question Jesus. You know, 22:57 Jesus will do some unusual things. 22:59 He's the master-- okay, let it be. 23:01 Nobody says to Him, "What are You looking for?" 23:03 or "Why are You talking to her?" 23:06 The disciples probably saw nothing in this Samaritan area 23:12 as a place where the gospel could grow. 23:15 Jesus did. And so the woman, it's very interesting, 23:20 the detail in verse 28: 23:21 "So the woman left her water jar and went away into the town." 23:25 Now, why did she leave her water jar at the well? 23:31 Usually, Bible stories are what we call laconic. 23:34 They're very brief. 23:36 You know, I mean, you look at this, it's only, 23:38 like, a few columns of page, you know? 23:41 You're not even maybe in one full page 23:43 that we've got here. 23:45 Almost--in Bible stories, every detail that's given 23:49 is typically some important detail for the story. 23:53 So that she leaves her water jar is there, 23:58 we're told this on purpose. 24:00 So why would it be that she would leave her water jar? 24:04 Well, the answer is, she's not thirsty anymore. 24:08 She's drunk from the water of life, you know, 24:12 and it's already welling up in her into eternal life. 24:14 She becomes an evangelist. 24:16 "Come, see a Man who told me all that I ever did. 24:19 Can this be the Christ?" 24:21 You know, I mean, she's like, incredulous. 24:24 "Really, the Messiah is here. He's out there at the well. 24:27 Come on," you know? 24:28 So then we read verses 31 through 38. 24:35 >>Eric: "In the meantime His disciples urged Him, 24:37 "saying, 'Rabbi, eat.' 24:39 "But He said to them, 'I have food to eat 24:41 "of which you do not know.' 24:43 "Therefore the disciples said to one another, 24:45 'Has anyone brought Him anything to eat?' 24:47 "Jesus said to them, 24:48 "'My food is to do the will of Him who sent me, 24:51 "'and to finish His work. Do you not say, 24:53 "'"There are still four months and then comes the harvest"? 24:56 "'Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes 24:58 "'and look at the fields, 24:59 "'for they are already white for harvest! 25:02 "'And he who reaps receives wages, 25:03 "'and gathers fruit for eternal life, 25:05 "'that both he who sows and he who reaps 25:08 "'may rejoice together. For in this the saying is true: 25:11 "'"One sows and another reaps." 25:13 "'I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; 25:16 "'others have labored, and you have entered 25:18 into their labors.'" 25:19 >>Tom: So Jesus isn't talking about crops. [laughs] 25:22 He's talking about the harvest of souls. 25:25 He's talking about people who will accept the gospel. 25:28 He says, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent me, 25:31 and to accomplish His work." 25:33 You know, this is really an important issue 25:35 for each one of us. 25:37 Is it so important for us to do the will of God that, you know, 25:41 we say, "That's more important than my daily food." 25:44 Jesus said that "my food is to do the will of Him who sent me, 25:48 and to accomplish His work," to finish His work. 25:51 And He then goes on to talk all about the harvest, 25:55 and He says, "You don't have to wait; 25:57 the harvest is here already." 25:58 He saw the people coming towards Him. 26:00 Now, these people in this city, 26:02 they respond very positively to Jesus. 26:06 They ask Him to stay, and He stays there several days. 26:12 And at first, it seems it's because 26:14 of what the woman told them, but then we go down to verse 42: 26:19 "They said to the woman, 26:20 "'It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, 26:25 "'for we have heard for ourselves, 26:27 and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.'" 26:32 What an amazing event! 26:34 What an amazing--all from, coming from just, 26:36 "Give me a drink of water." You know, I tell my friends 26:39 that are listening to this: God has plans for you. 26:43 He has simple little things that you might do 26:46 to be a blessing to others. 26:47 Notice that it's being vulnerable, it's being in need 26:51 that really makes it possible for others to come to your aid. 26:56 One of the great lessons I learned in mission service 26:58 was that when I am weak, then am I strong. 27:01 It sounds really-- it sounds like 27:03 a beautiful kind of an idea, but it's actually very painful 27:06 when you're in need. 27:09 But then others come to your aid, 27:12 and that opens them to you. 27:15 And this helps you to bond with people wherever you are. 27:20 You know, when you ask for help, instead of you're up here, 27:23 the teacher, with all the knowledge, 27:25 you ask them for help. 27:26 They come to your aid; they bond with you. 27:29 Then you can share with them your experience. 27:31 >>Eric: Trust awakens trust. 27:32 >>Tom: Yes. >>Eric: Beautiful idea. 27:35 Well, we trust that this has been a blessing to you 27:38 as we have looked at the story of the woman at the well, 27:40 that there have been some lessons 27:42 that you have gleaned from it. 27:44 And by God's grace, you'll take those lessons, 27:45 apply them, and share them with others. 27:49 God's giving you opportunities to reach others for Him. 27:51 We're glad you joined us this week, 27:53 and we look forward to seeing you again next week 27:55 as we continue our journey through the book of John 27:58 here on "Sabbath School," brought to you by It Is Written. 28:01 ♪♪♪ 28:24 ♪♪♪ 28:26 [Captions provided by Aberdeen Captioning www.abercap.com] |
Revised 2024-10-22