Conversations with Jesus: The Woman at the Well
Below is an excerpt of the sermon “The Woman at the Well” from the series “Conversations with Jesus” preached by Pastor Mike Ray at Hopewell Baptist Church on Sunday evening, 6/20/2021.
John chapter 4. Let’s look down into verse number one. Last week we began a series on Conversations with Jesus. Last week He talked to Nicodemus about being born again. This week He speaks to one lady that is unnamed. Her name is not mentioned in the Bible. The power of a conversation. Man’s words are powerful; God’s words are supernatural. Her life would never be the same after this talk. And so, let’s look at this wonderful passage here.
John 4:1–6: “When therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John, 2. (Though Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples,) 3. He left Judaea, and departed again into Galilee. 4. And he must needs go through Samaria. 5. Then cometh he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. 6. Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour [or noontime].”
Let’s pray, and we’re going to jump right in. A lot of comments, got all the points at the end of the message. I think it’ll be practical and helpful to us today. Father, thank You for the Bible. Thank You for this story. Thank You that you took time for individuals, that no one was unimportant to You. And I pray that this special story would become real to us today. Please help us. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
The Bible says that Jesus baptized more disciples than John made and baptized. So, that was the process: He made them disciples — they accepted Christ as their Savior. Then, they were baptized. Some religions get it backward. They baptized people as children who don’t understand, and then they try to make them disciples. Jesus made disciples out of those who could understand, and then baptized them.
And so, His ministry has now passed John the Baptist. All of these exciting things are happening. Thousands are being saved. Thousands are being baptized. Then, it says He must needs go through Samaria. That word “must” is mentioned in John 3. Tt says “ye must be born again.” Now it’s in John 4, and He says, “I must needs go through Samaria.” So, what was He saying? There was an urgency inside of Jesus. He said, for some reason, I’ve got to go to Samaria.
Now there were three regions in Israel. There was the Galilee, the northern region; there was Judea, the southern region; and then there was an area in the middle called Samaria. Samaria was looked down on by the religious Jews. 750 years before this, a nation had conquered Israel and these pagans had intermarried with the Jews. So, no longer were they worshiping a true Jewish religion because they had intermarried with the pagans. Now they only believed the first five books of the Old Testament. They were now worshiping some idols and doing a lot of strange things. So, the normal Jew looked at the Samaritans like your half breeds: “You’re half Jewish and half pagan.” And they disdained them so much that when a religious Jew would leave Galilee and traveled to the southern part of Judea, he would walk around Samaria. They would not even walk in the country of Samaria. They said of the really extreme Jews, if a Samaritan’s shadow crossed their shadow, they would go home and take a bath. Talk about prejudice! It didn’t just start in our day and age. It was thousands of years ago. These are the Samaritans.
So, here’s Jesus. He said I must needs go through Samaria. Jesus looks at these walls — walls of race, walls of religion, walls. We’re going to see He meets a woman — walls of gender. Walls of a nationality. I mean He’s jumping over a lot of walls to reach this woman.
And then we see a little bit further here where it says, “Then cometh he to a city […] 6. Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour.” (John 4:5–6)
Jacob was the one that was the conniver. He was the liar, the deceiver, the grandson of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; but he’s also the one who God had a special plan for his life. And an angel of God wrestled with Jacob, and he touched Jacob’s thigh. So, he hobbled after that. And he said, “no longer will your name be called Jacob, (liar or deceiver). It’s going to be called Israel, a Prince of God.” And so, God had done a miracle in Jacob’s life, and he builds this well. We know it’s still there today, 150 ft deep.
So, think for a moment. Why would an old man dig a well that he would not get to drink from for the rest of his life? I’ll tell you why. He knew there were some people coming after him. He knew there were some people who one day would be blessed and refreshed by that well. That well was a place of rest. People would sit on it. It was a place of reunion. People would hang around and talk. It was a place of refreshment that put that bucket down, pull up the water. It was a place of life. It was a wonderful meeting place to stop for a moment.
Every one of us is going to leave something behind. We’re going to leave more than our clothes, more than our cars. We’re going to leave a lot of stuff behind. What will you leave behind? Someone says, “Pastor, I know when we die, we go to Heaven, but how do you leave a mark on this world? How do you leave something permanently behind?” One, start a church. A church will keep going long after we’re gone. Second, win a soul. Those souls will live forever. Next, change your life. A life that’s changed will help people forever. Next, invest in an eternal institution.
And so, here’s Jacob. He builds this well, never knowing 1,800 years later, the Savior would one day sit on that well and lead a woman to Christ. Just a wonderful thing. So, Jacob’s well was there. Now, what in the world does this mean? Let’s keep going in verse six, and I’ll get to the point. John 4:6 “Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour.”
Now Jesus never got weary of the journey, but He did get weary on the journey. Think of His schedule for a moment. He was a carpenter. I think he was very buffed. Someone ought to paint a picture of Jesus with a 24” neck, 24” biceps, a tattoo of Hopewell Baptist well… anyway. But He slung that hammer, no power tools. I think Jesus was very fit. It prepared Him for that three-year rigorous ministry — up early in the morning, preach until late at night. Everyone, everyone wanted time with Jesus. He raised the dead, He preached and preached and preached and counseled and counseled, went to bed, fell asleep during the storm. He had a rigorous schedule. So, He’s weary in this journey. He’s beat. He’s whipped if you will.
So, Jesus comes, he sits on the well, his disciples are looking for food. They said, “we’re going into town. Tt’s two for the price of one on the happy meals today.” And so, they go into town. The disciples are looking for food, this woman is looking for water, but God is looking for the woman.
Are you weary in your journey today? Are you weary of getting up early, going to work, coming home, going to bed, getting up early, going to work, coming home, and going to bed? The job needs more of you. School days, school days, school days, graduate college, work. It’s just wearisome. Sometimes, you’re a homemaker and you’ve got the kids, and you got the house, and you got the meals, and you have work. Then, you have bills and transportation. All of us get weary. What do you do when you get weary in life? Jesus shows us the secret.
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Hopewell Baptist Church is an Independent Baptist Church in Napa, California pastored by Mike Ray. It is Bible-based with a warm, friendly atmosphere. Hopewell is dedicated to bringing the water of life to the Napa Valley and beyond.
