Lent 3 Sermon
Here's the sermon I'm preaching tomorrow...
Jesus Keeps Teaching
John 4:5-26
3rd Sunday in Lent A, 2008
Zion Lutheran Church
Mount Pleasant, Michigan
Pastor Jonathon Bakker
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, Jesus’ teaching in the first few chapters of John gives us an unparalleled look into the interactions Jesus had with various people from different backgrounds. Last week in the third chapter of John, Nicodemus the Pharisee approached Jesus at night to learn more of him. Jesus’ responses tell us that he expected Nicodemus to recognize that he was the promised Messiah in the words that he spoke. Nicodemus did not recognize this in Jesus at first, and even after an expanded explanation Nicodemus was left asking, ‘How can this be?’ Jesus then told him plainly, showing him how the Old Testament foreshadowed what was to come in Jesus’ life, and even that the Son of Man would be lifted up. The climax is the well- known and beloved, ‘God so loved the world…’ passage. It is no small irony that what eluded Nicodemus and the Pharisees is now memorized and spoken forth by the youngest of children.
Today’s Gospel is about another person meeting Jesus. She thinks one thing of him in the beginning, but by the end of their conversation her eyes are opened by the Messiah. We begin with Jesus coming to a Samaritan city, and resting from his travels at a well on the outskirts of town. A Samaritan woman came out to the well to draw water, and Jesus asks for a drink. Her response is to be expected of a Samaritan. What business does a Jewish man have requesting anything, even water, from a Samaritan woman? The Jews had no dealings with Samaritans.
The Samaritans were a Hebrew sect. They believed that they were the true preservers of the religion of Moses. In fact, their scripture had only five books - the five books of Moses. Their understanding of the teachings of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy was somewhat different from that of the Jews. They believed in one God, they believed that Moses was his chief prophet, and their lives were governed by the Torah, or the Law of Moses. Instead of Jerusalem, though, they worshiped on Mt. Gerizim, where Joshua had built an altar to the Lord. They also believed in a coming Messiah, who would bring about a day of vengeance and recompense when he came. Only those who worshiped on Mt. Gerizim could count themselves truly faithful.
So Jesus’ request for a drink from a Samaritan woman was certainly not something she expected. Jesus began the conversation to reveal that he was the Messiah. She entered the conversation to remind him that Jews don’t have business with Samaritans, even over matters as trivial as a drink of water. His response moves the discussion back toward who he is. If this woman knew better, it would be her asking Jesus for a drink, and he would give her living water. Jesus expected her to know who alone could give her living water, but she did not yet understand. She must have thought Jesus was foolish. Here he was claiming that she should ask him for living water when he didn’t even have anything with which to fetch it. She assumes that Jesus must therefore be insulting their well, which Jacob had first used, and she wonders who would think themselves better than Jacob and his sons?
Jesus clarifies again. He is not speaking of the water in the well, which people drink and then in time become thirsty again. The water of which Jesus speaks is the water of everlasting life. He is speaking of himself, but she is not yet with him. She asks for the water, not so that she will have everlasting life, but so that she won’t ever have to be thirsty again or need to go to the well.
This time, Jesus cuts right to the heart of the matter. ‘Go, tell your husband and come back here,’ he says, knowing what her answer must be before she even says it. She skirts the truth, however, saying that she has no husband. It is true, in a way, but what she doesn’t say is more important. Jesus fills in the blanks. He tells her everything she ever did. She is right to say that she has no husband, because she’s had five husbands, and the one she’s with now is not her husband.
There is no denying now that this man is from God. She calls him a prophet, for she recognizes something special about Jesus, but doesn’t yet realize who he is. She tests Jesus. Her fathers worship on Mt. Gerizim, but the Jews worship in Jerusalem. Which is correct? The answer is neither. The hour is coming when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. Gerizim and Jerusalem are nothing. This is a hard pill to swallow, and so the woman backpedals a bit. She reveals that she expects a Messiah, called Christ. When he comes, the he will tell her all things. Then Jesus reveals himself. ‘I who speak to you am he.’
The Gospel today does not include the rest of the story, but this Samaritan woman runs back into the city and tells others immediately about Jesus. She left her waterpot behind. She had the living water. Many of her fellow townfolk believed at her word, and others in turn invited him to stay in the city. While there he continued to speak to the people and many other eyes were opened and many more people came to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Savior of the world.
What we learn from this Gospel is that Jesus has an expectation of people who know, or claim to know, the Old Testament. God has an economy of salvation that begins in the Garden of Eden. When God created humanity, he already knew the end that he had in mind for us. God created us so that he would have someone upon whom he could confer his gifts. The end that God has in mind for all of us is eternal fellowship with him in a life that will have no end. Humanity was created to become what God always wanted us to be, but in Adam’s sin we veered from what God intended toward our own intentions. In essence, humanity, tempted by Satan, decided that God did not truly intend to give humanity what was best for it. Instead of waiting patiently for God to bring humanity to its final destination, humanity ate the fruit because it wanted to be like God instantly. We all know what happened; Satan lied and humanity fell. But that did not change the end that God had in mind for those he created in his own image and likeness.
That image and likeness took on flesh in Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Humanity wanted to be like God before it was ready to be like God, but God was not in such a rush. God knew that humanity was weak and prone to sin. We quickly forget what it was like to be close with God in the Garden, and God knew that if he came to earth right away, his own creation would not even recognize him. So God sent prophets, and God worked throughout the history of his people, training them in Words and deeds to meet him once again in the person of Jesus. God established a pattern of salvation. Sins were to be forgiven. Transgression was to beget sacrifice. Death was to give way to life.
Through the words of the prophets and the mighty deeds of the Old Testament, God showed us what it looks like when he interacts with his Creation to discipline it, to redeem it, to save it, and to give it new life. When Noah and his family were saved in the midst of the torrential flood; when Israel crossed the Red Sea on dry ground between two walls of water; and when Moses struck the rock in Horeb and water gushed forth, humanity was to see God at work through water. It should be no surprise, then, that when Jesus speaks with people who claim to know the Old Testament that he reveals himself to them in the same way. Nicodemus learns of the new birth by water and the spirit. The Samaritan woman at the well learns that Jesus gives living water.
Dear Christians, we are no different from Nicodemus or the Samaritan woman this Lent. We all have our own ideas of who Jesus is and what he must be like and what he would say or do in any given situation. Our ideas always fall short, though, because humanity always looks for God in the places they ideally want to be themselves. Jesus is not a hero, he’s not a celebrity, and he’s not a philanthropist. He is our savior. If we look for him in glory we will not find him. He truly appears to us on the cross; in bread and wine; and especially today in water and the word.
In Christ, the water given to the Samaritan woman at the well becomes the living water of which we have all partaken in our baptism. “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” When the water of Christ is given us in baptism, we too leave behind our waterpots for we have drunk the water which ends all thirsting. This water lives in us and will bring us to the end which God has always had in mind for us when Christ returns. God’s plan for all of us will be fulfilled, and we will join him in everlasting life.
To Christ alone be all the glory forever and ever, amen.
The peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus our Lord, amen.
Jesus Keeps Teaching
John 4:5-26
3rd Sunday in Lent A, 2008
Zion Lutheran Church
Mount Pleasant, Michigan
Pastor Jonathon Bakker
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, Jesus’ teaching in the first few chapters of John gives us an unparalleled look into the interactions Jesus had with various people from different backgrounds. Last week in the third chapter of John, Nicodemus the Pharisee approached Jesus at night to learn more of him. Jesus’ responses tell us that he expected Nicodemus to recognize that he was the promised Messiah in the words that he spoke. Nicodemus did not recognize this in Jesus at first, and even after an expanded explanation Nicodemus was left asking, ‘How can this be?’ Jesus then told him plainly, showing him how the Old Testament foreshadowed what was to come in Jesus’ life, and even that the Son of Man would be lifted up. The climax is the well- known and beloved, ‘God so loved the world…’ passage. It is no small irony that what eluded Nicodemus and the Pharisees is now memorized and spoken forth by the youngest of children.
Today’s Gospel is about another person meeting Jesus. She thinks one thing of him in the beginning, but by the end of their conversation her eyes are opened by the Messiah. We begin with Jesus coming to a Samaritan city, and resting from his travels at a well on the outskirts of town. A Samaritan woman came out to the well to draw water, and Jesus asks for a drink. Her response is to be expected of a Samaritan. What business does a Jewish man have requesting anything, even water, from a Samaritan woman? The Jews had no dealings with Samaritans.
The Samaritans were a Hebrew sect. They believed that they were the true preservers of the religion of Moses. In fact, their scripture had only five books - the five books of Moses. Their understanding of the teachings of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy was somewhat different from that of the Jews. They believed in one God, they believed that Moses was his chief prophet, and their lives were governed by the Torah, or the Law of Moses. Instead of Jerusalem, though, they worshiped on Mt. Gerizim, where Joshua had built an altar to the Lord. They also believed in a coming Messiah, who would bring about a day of vengeance and recompense when he came. Only those who worshiped on Mt. Gerizim could count themselves truly faithful.
So Jesus’ request for a drink from a Samaritan woman was certainly not something she expected. Jesus began the conversation to reveal that he was the Messiah. She entered the conversation to remind him that Jews don’t have business with Samaritans, even over matters as trivial as a drink of water. His response moves the discussion back toward who he is. If this woman knew better, it would be her asking Jesus for a drink, and he would give her living water. Jesus expected her to know who alone could give her living water, but she did not yet understand. She must have thought Jesus was foolish. Here he was claiming that she should ask him for living water when he didn’t even have anything with which to fetch it. She assumes that Jesus must therefore be insulting their well, which Jacob had first used, and she wonders who would think themselves better than Jacob and his sons?
Jesus clarifies again. He is not speaking of the water in the well, which people drink and then in time become thirsty again. The water of which Jesus speaks is the water of everlasting life. He is speaking of himself, but she is not yet with him. She asks for the water, not so that she will have everlasting life, but so that she won’t ever have to be thirsty again or need to go to the well.
This time, Jesus cuts right to the heart of the matter. ‘Go, tell your husband and come back here,’ he says, knowing what her answer must be before she even says it. She skirts the truth, however, saying that she has no husband. It is true, in a way, but what she doesn’t say is more important. Jesus fills in the blanks. He tells her everything she ever did. She is right to say that she has no husband, because she’s had five husbands, and the one she’s with now is not her husband.
There is no denying now that this man is from God. She calls him a prophet, for she recognizes something special about Jesus, but doesn’t yet realize who he is. She tests Jesus. Her fathers worship on Mt. Gerizim, but the Jews worship in Jerusalem. Which is correct? The answer is neither. The hour is coming when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. Gerizim and Jerusalem are nothing. This is a hard pill to swallow, and so the woman backpedals a bit. She reveals that she expects a Messiah, called Christ. When he comes, the he will tell her all things. Then Jesus reveals himself. ‘I who speak to you am he.’
The Gospel today does not include the rest of the story, but this Samaritan woman runs back into the city and tells others immediately about Jesus. She left her waterpot behind. She had the living water. Many of her fellow townfolk believed at her word, and others in turn invited him to stay in the city. While there he continued to speak to the people and many other eyes were opened and many more people came to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Savior of the world.
What we learn from this Gospel is that Jesus has an expectation of people who know, or claim to know, the Old Testament. God has an economy of salvation that begins in the Garden of Eden. When God created humanity, he already knew the end that he had in mind for us. God created us so that he would have someone upon whom he could confer his gifts. The end that God has in mind for all of us is eternal fellowship with him in a life that will have no end. Humanity was created to become what God always wanted us to be, but in Adam’s sin we veered from what God intended toward our own intentions. In essence, humanity, tempted by Satan, decided that God did not truly intend to give humanity what was best for it. Instead of waiting patiently for God to bring humanity to its final destination, humanity ate the fruit because it wanted to be like God instantly. We all know what happened; Satan lied and humanity fell. But that did not change the end that God had in mind for those he created in his own image and likeness.
That image and likeness took on flesh in Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Humanity wanted to be like God before it was ready to be like God, but God was not in such a rush. God knew that humanity was weak and prone to sin. We quickly forget what it was like to be close with God in the Garden, and God knew that if he came to earth right away, his own creation would not even recognize him. So God sent prophets, and God worked throughout the history of his people, training them in Words and deeds to meet him once again in the person of Jesus. God established a pattern of salvation. Sins were to be forgiven. Transgression was to beget sacrifice. Death was to give way to life.
Through the words of the prophets and the mighty deeds of the Old Testament, God showed us what it looks like when he interacts with his Creation to discipline it, to redeem it, to save it, and to give it new life. When Noah and his family were saved in the midst of the torrential flood; when Israel crossed the Red Sea on dry ground between two walls of water; and when Moses struck the rock in Horeb and water gushed forth, humanity was to see God at work through water. It should be no surprise, then, that when Jesus speaks with people who claim to know the Old Testament that he reveals himself to them in the same way. Nicodemus learns of the new birth by water and the spirit. The Samaritan woman at the well learns that Jesus gives living water.
Dear Christians, we are no different from Nicodemus or the Samaritan woman this Lent. We all have our own ideas of who Jesus is and what he must be like and what he would say or do in any given situation. Our ideas always fall short, though, because humanity always looks for God in the places they ideally want to be themselves. Jesus is not a hero, he’s not a celebrity, and he’s not a philanthropist. He is our savior. If we look for him in glory we will not find him. He truly appears to us on the cross; in bread and wine; and especially today in water and the word.
In Christ, the water given to the Samaritan woman at the well becomes the living water of which we have all partaken in our baptism. “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” When the water of Christ is given us in baptism, we too leave behind our waterpots for we have drunk the water which ends all thirsting. This water lives in us and will bring us to the end which God has always had in mind for us when Christ returns. God’s plan for all of us will be fulfilled, and we will join him in everlasting life.
To Christ alone be all the glory forever and ever, amen.
The peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus our Lord, amen.