Study inJohn’s Gospel

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A Matter Of UrgencyChap 4v27- 42

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IntroductionSome years ago many people around the world were deeply moved by the devastation caused by hurricane Katrina and particularly by the appeals for help broadcast by the inhabitants of New Orleans in the days after the storm. No food, no water, no shelter, no sanitation no clothing. Everywhere signs were held up that read, “Why won’t anybody help us?”

The government at every level was criticised for what appeared to be a lack of urgency. Was the issue one of logistics or, political will? – the jury is still out! Now it is this matter of urgency, in the context of emergency, that is the focus of the verses before us.

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A Woman with a MissionJesus had just done what no other self-respecting Jew would have done. He had set foot in Samaria. Then he had engaged a loose-living Samaritan woman in conversation. As a result of this brief encounter the woman’s life had been completely turned upside down.

She was clearly a different person. Something that would have been immediately apparent to all who knew her in three key areas of her life.

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A Woman with a MissionFirst, her value system was transformed. In v28 we read that “she left her water-pot and went back to the town”. An hour or so earlier she’d come to the well to collect water - a staple necessity. While there a stranger had engaged her in conversation about possessing ‘living water’, which would not require an exhausting trip to the well. Initially, she hadthought she’d be the only person in town with ‘running water’ in her kitchen!

But then she made another discovery that so consumed her thinking that the ‘kitchen tap’ issue is now viewed as a mere trifle. There is after all something more valuable than the basic necessities of life – a vital personal relationship with God.

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A Woman with a MissionSecondly, the focus of her thought life and the subject of her conversation has also significantly changed. Hitherto, she had tried to avoid public contact. The teasing and ridicule of those who had called her ‘the town tramp’ would have had a crushing and demoralising effect. She would have found it difficult to erase their searing words and the tormenting voices from the memory tape of her mind. Surely her sore treatment at the hands of others would have formed the bulk of her conversation. “Do you know what so and so said about me…”

But these critics are the very people she is now talking to. Past hurts seem to be forgotten. Why? Oh, now she has something vitally important to talk about – her encounter with Jesus.

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A Woman with a MissionWhat does she say about Jesus? “He told me everything I ever did, could this be the Christ?” In other words she is saying, “He knows all about me, my adulterous past, my immoral relationships, my need of forgiveness, my longing for acceptance and satisfaction. Jesus has met those needs. I’m a new woman. I am no longer the person I used to be. I can’t keep this news into myself. We Samaritans, like the Jews, believe that God will send a Redeemer. I’m sure I’ve found him”.

The very fact that she is speakingin this way to people who had previously made her life a miseryin itself speaks volumes.

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A Woman with a MissionThis introduces a third area of change. This woman is now concerned for the spiritual wellbeing of others. She’s no longer asking, ‘What’s good for me’ but ‘What’s good for others’. Picture her pleading with her neighbours, ‘come see a man, someone who can have a transforming effect upon your life’. There is a great sense of urgency in her appeal which is motivated by a God-given love.

The apostle Paul when describing his ministry says, ‘the love of Christ constrains us’ 2 Cor. 5.14. He is not speaking about his love for Jesus but Jesus’ love in his heart reaching out to others in need.

This is what we see here.

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A Woman with a MissionNow ask, “What made the townspeople take a trip out to the well in the heat of the day to meet with Jesus? Something of Christ’s love shone through this woman. Something remarkable had happened in her life and they wanted to find out what it was for themselves. She had gone to the well spiritually empty but had returned spiritually full.

Many believed because of the woman’s testimony!Isn’t this amazing, she was responsible, under God, for a religious awakening in her community.

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The Failure of the DisciplesOne of the interesting features of this gospel is the manner in which John, the gospel writer, presents his material. And a feature he shares with all the biblical writers is that he describes the failures of God’s servants.

It is no accident that he establishes a clear comparison between the behaviour of the ‘sinful Samaritan woman’ and that of the ‘devoted Jewish disciples’.

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The Failure of the DisciplesFirst, look at the disciples’ value system. They were clearly uneasy about being in Samaria in the first place, but to find Jesus holding a conversation not only with ‘the enemy’ but with a woman…! They had to bite their tongues for their natural response would have been to scold Jesus! Not only had they seen a woman transformed by the grace of God but one who was prepared to put everything else on hold just in order to share her good news.

And so what did they do? Did they praise God and ask how they might capitalise on this religious breakthrough. No! Their first thought was to set the table for lunch. Oh, their lives were marked by urgency. They urgently wanted to satisfy their own physical appetites. What could be more important than that?

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The Failure of the DisciplesIt is against this background that Jesus says, ‘I have food to eat that you know nothing about, my food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work’. Jesus did not ignore his body’s need for material nourishment.

However, he was able to see beyond satisfying that appetite to the profound satisfaction that lies in giving one’s life to God and using it in his service. There is no greater satisfaction than to be used by God to the spiritual benefit of others!

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The Failure of the DisciplesSecondly, imagine the disciples’ conversation in Sychar! “How much for six loaves of bread and 2 kilos of fish?” Was there any mention Jesus or an invitation to the townsfolk to attend one of Jesus’ open air addresses? Did they not think, ‘Let’s get in and out of this Samaritan town as quickly as possible, Jesus could not be interested in these people’? Is this mere speculation?

Look at v35. Jesus says, “Do not say, ‘four months more and then the harvest?’ I tell you, open your eyes and look to the fields. They are ripe for harvest. Even now the reaper draws near…” The disciples had missed a remarkable opportunity. They were so busy thinking about their daily needs, they failed to speak to others of Jesus.

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The Failure of the DisciplesJesus drew attention to the disciples’ lack of concern for the spiritual needs of others. There was a real lack of urgency in the disciple band, despite the fact that the harvest was ready - this is apparent from the fact that large numbers of townsfolk came to faith as a result of one woman’s testimony. It is easy to close our eyes to the need of others, and in particular to the spiritualneed we can find on our own doorstep.

Are we procrastinators in the work of God - full of good intentions but empty on direct action.

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The Failure of the DisciplesWhen Hudson Taylor, pioneer missionary to inland China, first shared the gospel with a group of villagers, he taught simple gospel truths telling them that God loved them enough that he sent his Son into the world to die for them so that they could experience God’s pardon and forgiveness. When he had finished an elderly Chinese man, clearly moved by what he’d heard approached Taylor and asked,

‘How long ago did this Jesus come’.

Taylor replied, “More than 1800 years ago”.

The old man with tears in his eyes then asked,

“Why did no one come to tell us sooner?”

Jesus says, “Do not say, ‘four months more and then the harvest?’”

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The Failure of the DisciplesWhat would Jesus say about our sense of urgency to share the truths that we have been entrusted with? Today, the cutting edge of the church’s evangelism has been removed by a variety of things, including Universalist teaching. Universalism promotes the idea that everyone, no matter what they believe or how they behave, is destined for heaven. This false teaching has caused many in the church to fall asleep thinking: ‘If no one is ultimately ‘lost’ then we do not need to golooking for them. Oh by living their lives without God,they may miss out here and there along the way but what does that matter if they end up in heaven?’

This thinking is not biblical, indeed it contradicts the clear teaching of Jesus. Those influenced by it discover that their motivation for mission is greatlydiminished. The harvest is left to rot in the fields!

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ConclusionAsk God to wake you up to the opportunities around you and to equip you to take advantage of them. Ask God to make you available for him so that you are not so consumed by your own immediate material needs that you remain blind to the needs of others. God can mobilise us not just to respond to natural disasters but to the spiritual drought gripping many parts of our world. He’s done so throughout the church’s history.

Are there people in your neighbourhood, workplace and families, who are in great spiritual need? Could they, like the people of Atlanta, legitimately hold up signs which read; “Why won’t anyone help us”? Jesus says “Do not say, ‘four months more and then the harvest?’Help is needed urgently now!