December 1931
563
T h e
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I H e G ains H er A ttention (7-9)
BLACKBOARD LESSON J esus C hrist C ame
much, but she knew that this One had told all that she did, had given her the water of life, and had filled her with the joy that comes to those who will drink of the water that the Lord gives. Lesson Q uestions Vs. 7-9. Do you think the request, “Give me to drink,” was a tactful opening of the conversation? Why? What were some of the hindrances that Jesus over came in His dealing with the woman? Vs. 10-12. What question of the woman shows that she did not recognize Jesus or understand His power? What did she in fer by the reference to “our father Jacob” ? Vs. 13-15. Show how Jesus began at a point of common interest and directed the conversation into spiritual channels. What do you think of this as a method for the personal worker to adopt ? Trace the steps in the woman’s growing interest. What are some of the thirsts of the soul that are satisfied only by the living water? Vs. 16-20. What startling command did Jesus give? What effect did it have upon the woman? Vs. 21-26. What great truths regarding the nature of God, of Jesus, and of true worship are revealed to the woman ? Golden T ex t Illustration Once, when Alexander Whyte was ad dressing a small and poor audience, he astonished them by saying that he had found out the name of the most wicked man in Edinburgh and had come to tell them. Then, bending forward, he whis pered, “His name is Alexander Whyte 1” He looked down into his own heart and spoke, and his word was with power. —B ritish W eekly . Jesus Helps a S tran g er J ohn 4:6-14 Memory Verse: “Forget not to show love unto strangers” (Heb. 13:2). Approach: Jesus had many kinds of friends and believers. Some were rich, and some were poor; some had been good all their lives, and some had been bad. But,
The meeting between Jesus and the woman was incidental on her part, but providential on His. In order to reach and win her, there were many difficulties to be overcome, but Jesus’ wisdom and tact were sufficient for them all. Among the barriers were these: They were strangers to each other; they were of opposite sex; on her part, there were deep racial and re ligious prejudices, intense ignorance, and the hardening effect of sin upon her life. Moreover, if she was saved, her life, in all probability, would have to be lived in the same environment, where her past would be well known. In spite of these hindrances, Jesus gain ed the woman’s attention. He made a strange request—that she give Him a drink. It was strange to her because the Jews (and Jesus was a Jew) had no dealings with the Samaritans. But it was a stranger thing that the Maker of the water should ask for a drink of it! In verse 7, He is a man, asking for water. In verse 14, He is God, saying that “the water that I shall give him” shall be a well within. II. H e A rrests H er A ttention ( 10 - 12 ). The suggestion that there was living water to be had aroused the woman’s at tention and curiosity. Thinking only of material water, she naturally asked how He expected to get water from the well inas much as He had nothing with which to draw. She claimed to possess the ancestry which she knew belonged only to the Jews, but of which the Samaritans proudly boasted. “Our father Jacob,” she began —the father of the twelve tribes. If she was despised by the Jews, she would re mind them that they all had a common fa ther in Jacob. Jesus’ suggestion had had the desired effect; He now held not only her attention, but also her personal in terest. III. H e A rouses H er D esire (13-15) However deeply one may drink of the water of the world, there will a l w a y s be, recurring thirst. Nothing material can permanently satisfy the heart of man; only God is sufficient for that. The woman in stinctively felt this. But to drink of the water the Lord gives brings ceaseless satisfaction. As water rises to its own level, so the water of life rises to the Giver, and in His “presence there is fulness of joy” and at His “right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Psa. 16:11). Mr. Moody was once ac cused of being too narrow, and he asked what made the accuser think so. The reply was, “Because you do not dance, or do this and that.” Several supposedly worldly amusements were mentioned. Mr. Moody answered, “Oh, yes, but I do whatever I want to do.” Many people are trying to “give up” certain things. Periodically, they “turn over a new leaf,” but they do not find satisfaction. To drink of the water that the Lord gives is to stop trying to be bet ter by giving up things and to find joy of heart in a person, the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus tells the woman of Samaria that the water that He gives possesses the quality of satisfying all who drink. He gives this water freely, without reserve,
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in sufficient quantity, and it will become, to the one who drinks, a well springing up unto eternal life. The promise arouses the woman’s heart desire, and she boldly says, “Sir, give me this water.” IV. H e A wakens H er C onviction (16-20). Jesus has now brought her to the place where He can put His finger on the sore spot in her life. “Go call thy husband, and come hither,” He commands. Her reply is both true and false; the man she is living with is not her husband, but she attempts to hide that fact from Jesus by pretending that she has no man at all. The Lord at once reveals to her that He is familiar with all the circumstances that surround her. At the same time, He encourages her by telling her she has, told part of the truth. He is leaving it to her conscience to supply the necessary rebuke for her manner of living. She has not yet come to that con dition which will allow Him to bestow upon her the water of life that she desires. She attempts to change the subject and to divert Him from the intimate details pf her sinfulness. Like many another convicted soul, she desired to talk about something else, something religious but impersonal. Like her, many people prefer to talk of church membership, or of rites and ordi nances, or of anything else that will ex clude the personal note. V. H e A nswers her I gnorance (21-26). Now that her conscience has been reached, Jesus goes a step farther, appeal ing to her mind, clearing away her igno rance, and bringing before her the need of spiritual dealings with God who is Spirit. He tells her plainly: “Ye worship ye know not what: . . . but the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in Spirit and in truth.” It was to be a spiritual matter upon which the local place of worship would have no bearing. In response to this revelation, there was a great wistfulness in the woman’s reply (v. 25). One can almost feel the longing of her awakening soul and disturbed con science as she falls back upon the seeming ly hopeless revelation of Messiah. His coming had been anticipated for so long and yet had not come! It began to seem like a cinema to her and to many others. But now Jesus openly reveals Himself as the Messiah for whom all waited. This satisfies her heart and mind and con science. The woman drank of the water of life, and her heart found satisfaction at once. With joy, she went forth to tell of the One whom she had found, and who had given her the living water. She did not know
you remember, Jesus told Nicodemus that “whosoever” believed on Him should have everlasting life. L e s s o n Story: One day Jesus was sitting by a well that was in the country of Samaria. His dis-‘ ciples had gone into the city to buy food. As Jesus sat there,
a woman came to draw water from the well. Jesus knew that this woman had lived a wicked life, and He wished so much to save her. He wondered how He could make her understand, and then He thought of a way. He asked for a drink of water. The woman said, “Why is it that you, a Jew, ask anything of me, a Samaritan?” For the Jews and the Samaritans were enemies. But Jesus wanted her to under stand that all people are the same in God’s sight, and that He, Jesus, was God’s great Gift to all who would believe. So He ex plained to her that believing on Him was like taking a drink of water which would keep her from ever being thirsty again. And then Jesus told the woman things about herseif which she knew a stranger
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