My family recently saw two movies; one at home and one at the theatre. We saw Project Hail Mary, and we saw The Breadwinner. Both movies were very good and were very family-friendly. I would highly recommend them to you.
When we have a good experience with something, we like to tell other people about it, right?
Pastor Dirck loves to tell others about things that he’s cooked. Pastor Richard likes to tell others about good deals he found on eBay.
We like to inform others when we are blessed by something.
Last week, we learned about a woman who encountered Jesus, and He revealed to her that He was the Messiah.
In this week’s passage, we learn that she went to tell others about Jesus. You see, it was not only this woman who would be changed. Many people would be changed.
In fact, Jesus compared the many people coming to Him to a field to be harvested. He instructed His disciples to “look at the fields.”
Before we learn about that and so much more, let’s go to God in prayer and ask Him to speak to us.
(prayer)
Ok, let’s journey through this passage together.
First, notice . . .
I. The witness of Jesus.
Have you ever been a witness of something? I once witnessed an auto accident on Interstate 75 in Georgia. I gave a report to law enforcement and to the insurance company.
The Samaritan woman from last week’s passage was a witness of the power of Jesus. She experienced it, and she told others about it.
Look at verses 27-30:
27 Just then his disciples arrived, and they were amazed that he was talking with a woman. Yet no one said, “What do you want?” or “Why are you talking with her?”
28 Then the woman left her water jar, went into town, and told the people, 29 “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?” 30 They left the town and made their way to him.
First of all, notice that John pointed out that the disciples arrived and were surprised to see Jesus talking to a woman.
You may recall from last week that it was not ordinary for a Jewish man to speak with a woman alone. That was considered unusual.
Yet, none of His disciples asked Jesus why he was doing that.
They probably were afraid to say anything to Him about it, or perhaps they were just confused. Maybe they were even elbowing each other saying, “You ask Him!” “I’m not going to ask Him; you ask Him!”
Then, notice the actions of the woman.
John points in verse 28 that the woman left her jar there, indicating that she was excited or in a hurry to tell others about her encounter with Jesus.
Listen, church: If we truly encounter Jesus, we ought to be excited and motivated to tell others about Him.
Getting Christians to tell others about Jesus is one of the most basic levels of discipleship, yet it’s one of the most neglected tasks for churches today.
What is our problem? Why are we so reluctant to tell people about our Lord and Savior?
The early followers of Jesus were willing to lay down their lives to tell others about Jesus.
In Acts 4:19–20 the apostles said to those trying to stop them, “Whether it’s right in the sight of God for us to listen to you rather than to God, you decide; for we are unable to stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.”
Some of us seem unable to stop being silent about what we’ve seen and heard.
The woman at the well said in verse 29, “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?”
I believe the woman knew that Jesus was the Messiah, but she was imploring others to “come and see” for themselves.
She was a witness of what Jesus did for her, and she was inviting others to see for themselves.
Verse 30 shows us that her witness had an impact. It says, “They left the town and made their way to him.”
May we do the same. May we be witnesses of what Jesus has done for us, and may we invite others to experience Jesus also.
Next, we see . . .
II. The mandate of Jesus.
Let’s look at verses 31-38:
31 In the meantime the disciples kept urging him, “Rabbi, eat something.”
32 But he said, “I have food to eat that you don’t know about.”
33 The disciples said to one another, “Could someone have brought him something to eat?”
34 “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work,” Jesus told them. 35 “Don’t you say, ‘There are still four more months, and then comes the harvest’? Listen to what I’m telling you: Open your eyes and look at the fields, because they are ready for harvest. 36 The reaper is already receiving pay and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that the sower and reaper can rejoice together. 37 For in this case the saying is true: ‘One sows and another reaps.’ 38 I sent you to reap what you didn’t labor for; others have labored, and you have benefited from their labor.”
We actually can gather two mandates here from Jesus. One is said outright, and the other is implied.
First, the one that is implied: To do the will of God.
Second, the one that is outright said: Open your eyes and look at the fields, because they are ready for harvest.
Let’s talk about these two for a moment.
Remember, the disciples wanted Jesus to eat some food.
You may recall that Jesus and His disciples were on a long journey from Judea to Galilee.
His disciples were concerned that He would not be well if He didn’t eat.
However, Jesus wanted them to know that there was something more important than eating food.
What kept Jesus going was doing the will of God the Father. Jesus said, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.” Wow, what a statement!
Jesus was more concerned with being obedient to God the Father than He was with where His next meal would come from.
Some of us can’t even focus right now because we’re dreaming about what’s for lunch. Yet, Jesus was focused on the will of God!
Brothers and sisters, faithfulness to God is more important than anything in this life, including your next meal.
Next, Jesus tells His followers to look at the fields.
Jesus is using an illustration to point to the reality that many people are poised and ready to come to God.
As a farmer can look at a field and tell when the harvest is ready, so should we be able to recognize that God is at work, and people are ready to be saved from their sins by following Jesus.
John even talks about others doing the prep work. Just as on a farm, one person may plant the seed and another person may harvest the crop. So also, God is working miraculously through His Spirit and His people to bring others to salvation.
Jesus said to His followers in verse 38, “I sent you to reap what you didn’t labor for . . . ”
Jesus wants us to look at the fields to see that they are ready to be harvested.
He wants us to look at the world and see that people are ready to follow Jesus.
We must play our part to harvest the fields that God has prepared.
Will you hear the mandate of Jesus? Will you obey the mandate of Jesus?
Third, we see . . .
III. The experience of Jesus.
Remember the people whom the woman invited? Well, they showed up and had an experience with Jesus.
Look at verses 39-42:
39 Now many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of what the woman said when she testified, “He told me everything I ever did.” 40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. 41 Many more believed because of what he said. 42 And they told the woman, “We no longer believe because of what you said, since we have heard for ourselves and know that this really is the Savior of the world.”
The other Samaritan people had heard of the witness of Jesus, but they had not yet had the experience of Jesus. Once they did, they believed in Jesus!
In verse 42, they said, “We no longer believe because of what you said, since we have heard for ourselves and know that this really is the Savior of the world.”
I mentioned those two movies earlier. It’s one thing for me to recommend it to you. It’s another for you to enjoy movies and believe yourself that they’re good movies.
We’ve heard repeatedly in the Gospel of John, this theme of “Come and see.” The Samaritans in that town came and saw. They experienced, and they believed in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Have you had an experience of Jesus?
Do you remember how incredible that was?
Do you remember how He set you free?
Do you remember how He made you new?
Do you remember the hope, peace, and joy that He gave you?
Do you remember when you believed?
We see here in John 4 an experience of Jesus.
Finally, we see . . .
IV. The popularity of Jesus.
Look at verses 43-45:
43 After two days he left there for Galilee. 44 (Jesus himself had testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country.) 45 When they entered Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him because they had seen everything he did in Jerusalem during the festival. For they also had gone to the festival.
Finally, we see that Jesus arrived in Galilee, the region to which He was traveling.
As He got there, He was received with popularity because people had witnessed His ministry in Jerusalem when they were there for the festival.
These few verses remind us of the popularity that Jesus had in Israel.
However, we must also be reminded that thinking Jesus is cool or special doesn’t change a single thing about our lives. We must actually follow Jesus.
It has been popular to claim to be a Christian during different periods throughout the history of the United States.
We had the popularity of the Jesus Movement in the 1960s and 1970s. We had the popularity of the Moral Majority in the 1980s. We had the popularity of the Purpose Driven Church and the Purpose Driven Life in the 1990s and 2000s. We had the popularity of movies and shows such as The Passion of the Christ, God’s Not Dead, and The Chosen.
Those things are not bad. However, none of those things will help you one bit in receiving new life in Jesus Christ.
Your eternity and your new life are found only in believing in and following the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus didn’t come to be popular; He came to seek and to save the lost.
The time for you to believe in Jesus is now. The time for others to believe in Jesus is now.
Look at the fields. The harvest is ready. The time is now.
That takes us to our bottom line:]
Bottom Line: The harvest is ready for people to believe in Jesus.
Listen, church: People are out there who will believe in and follow Jesus.
God wants to use you to bring in the harvest. God wants to use you to bring people to Jesus.
Weekly Challenge: Tell someone what Jesus has done for you.
As the woman did, take some time this week to tell someone about what Jesus has done for you.
As God would have it, our challenge for “The Hope Initiative” yesterday was to tell your story. Well, I’m challenging all of us to do that now.
Has Jesus changed your life? Tell someone.
(Gospel presentation)
(closing prayer)
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