John

[0:00] This morning, to a word that was found in our reading this morning, being in the fourth chapter of John, and the fifth verse, the fourth verse of the fourth chapter of John.

[0:37] And he must go through Samaria. And he must go through Samaria.

[0:57] Now, these are words that a good many might well pass over as being important, as all scripture is important, but is one of those things that is mere describing the action and the ways of the Lord Jesus when here on earth, with no perhaps special or vital teaching in it.

[1:34] There are seven words in my text. No doubt you have read them many times. And he must, needs, go through Samaria.

[1:50] And yet on these very words there hangs a tremendous wonder of Christ making himself known, first of all to a woman that was a sinner, and then to our associates and neighbors and friends in the city in which he lived.

[2:22] And I'm going to take this morning every one of these words except the conjunctives that are here, but I'm going to take them word by word, and I hope we shall see the great and wonderful significance of them.

[2:52] Now, first of all then, he, that's the greatest word in this passage, of course. He, just to dwell and to ponder and to concentrate our minds upon that one word, fills all things, answers all things, explains all things.

[3:26] And there are mighty things that you and I will need explaining. We shall come up against them daily almost.

[3:40] And from many quarters, some of them surprising and unexpected. But the answer to these things is this one word representing one person, he.

[4:01] He must, needs, go through Samaria. And what a glorious fact this reveals.

[4:14] You see, there were three ways from Jerusalem to Galilee, which was the aim of the Lord Jesus and his disciples.

[4:28] But the Lord chose the most difficult and the route of the greatest distance. It would seem natural that he might well choose the shortest route, which may well have been the safest.

[4:49] But no, he must, needs, go through Samaria. And when you think of what Samaria was, a place wrapped up in a false religion, in a rival religion to the Jewish nation at that time, it makes the fact that is here before us all the most wonderful.

[5:25] Indeed. He. People can have a religion of all kinds. Some of it appears to be most sincere and serious and earnest and right.

[5:39] But they leave out the most vital thing of all. He. He. The Lord Jesus. Now I want us to concentrate our minds chiefly today on that one word, that one person.

[6:00] He. Must, needs, go through Samaria. Then we come to this second word, needs.

[6:14] He must, needs. Can we imagine that the glorious Son of God who made the earth and brought, brings salvation to men, should have any need himself?

[6:30] He, it is, that supplies the needs of his people. Most wonderfully and constantly. And without any kind of failure whatsoever.

[6:43] But he needs. Now here again is a word that, under, beneath which lies, couched, an immensity of truth.

[6:57] Truth. And this truth is at the very root of all true teaching of religion. Anyone who departs from this simple fact is not following the true way of life and salvation.

[7:21] He must, needs. And before that word, needs, there's this word, must. So there was some compulsion upon the dear Son of God to go, to take this third, longer route home again to Galilee, which would take him first of all through Samaria and then onward to Galilee, to Nazareth by the lake of Gennesaret.

[8:00] Well, he must. That eradicates from the person and the work of Christ all possibility of failure, of weakness, as far as his purposes were concerned.

[8:27] He was reduced to utter weakness, especially when he came to the cross of Calvary to suffer for his people there. But his purposes were never weak, never can be, never will be.

[8:45] He must. Needs go through Samaria. What a wonderful saviour then we have here set forth before us in these simple, plain, descriptive words of our text.

[9:04] He must, must. Wherever the love of Christ is centred or settled, there's always a must on his mind as to what he shall do and where he shall go.

[9:27] There's one thing certain to my mind, there was nothing possible, though they were dangerous days in which he lived of course, and there were bandits and robbers on the roads, these remote roads, some of them leading out of Jerusalem.

[9:44] There was every likelihood of being stopped, prevented, but he must. And where there's that compulsion, there's always with Christ a complete fulfilment.

[10:04] fulfilment. People try to resist him, they try to get out of his prisons, avoid consideration of his ways, and especially his throne of grace, where prayer is made to him continually.

[10:30] But if we are the children of God, there's a must.

[10:42] And we can do nothing whatsoever about it, we cannot avoid it. He will do what he will with our souls, our lives, our destiny, and everything that is of real concern to us, because he must.

[11:13] When he was coming towards the end of his wonderful life and journey, there were many deterrents placed in his pathway.

[11:23] many counselors, like Peter, for instance, his own disciple, who would turn him away from one of these musts, but the Lord set his face to go to Jerusalem because he knew that there he must be the offering, offered up to God the Father for the sins of his people.

[11:49] So he must then. If there was any vestige of failure in this word, in regard to the Saviour, then salvation would be an empty, void, worthless thing.

[12:07] Our salvation, my friends, depends upon the all sufficiency of Christ Jesus the Lord. And we ought to be abundantly thankful, increasingly so, because of this vital, formidable word, the musts concerning Jesus Christ.

[12:39] Well, then we come again, advancing through the verse, to go through, or to go.

[12:52] He must need to go. See, Christ did not save or do any work from a distance, but at the end of the chapter, we find him doing exactly that.

[13:08] When the nobleman came from Capernaum, because his son was desperately ill and dying, might already be dead, Christ began to probe a bit into his heart.

[13:27] And the poor man got so desperate, he said, Sir, I beseech thee, come down to us and help us. But he saved that man's life by a distant word and command.

[13:48] And there itself, there was a great wonder, because he did it, in that case, from a distance. So the Christ can therefore deal with you and me from a distance if it's necessary, but he chiefly goes through Samaria.

[14:15] Well, what does this mean? He must go through Samaria. He hadn't made any attempt to do this, and he never did.

[14:31] And this again reveals a very great mystery of truth his purposes were to go through that part of Samaria where he had his mind and purpose fixed upon as being those who should be taught of God and brought out by God to know the Lord and his salvation.

[15:00] So he comes as far as Sychar, some short distance, no doubt, from the city of Samaria. And now if you notice this, he sends away his disciples to buy meat, or they went on their own for that purpose.

[15:22] They were considering their bodily good and strength, death, but he was left alone. And there cometh a woman.

[15:39] Of this woman's character, he knew everything. and more is spoken to this woman of God as a God and object of worship and of the deep things that belong to that God.

[16:01] More is spoken to this woman than anyone or any person otherwise whose records are written in the word of God.

[16:16] That seems strange, doesn't it? But it's a wonderful thing. Oh, it is so wonderful to think that Christ will come and do all that he does do for his people.

[16:38] And although he knows their character, he knows their life, he knows their state and condition, the falsity of their religion, he knows everything about it.

[16:51] But he must needs go through Samaria. He comes to this well of Sychar, this woman comes out to draw water.

[17:04] and the Lord Jesus sits on the brow of the well, being wearied with his journey. And the first thing he says to this woman, give, give me to drink.

[17:26] when the disciples came back from their enterprise and their attempt to meet their own bodily needs, they were astonished to see the Lord Jesus speaking to such a person.

[17:54] They knew nothing about her. They knew not what character she had and yet the very fact that she was a Samaritan was sufficient in their minds for the Lord to be aloof, totally so, from any approach to her.

[18:16] You see, my friend, they were thinking on the lines of the Jewish people and religion. It was very, very solid and exclusive in the days of the Lord Jesus.

[18:33] What they were really doing was this. They were trying to impose upon him their own prejudices of their religion.

[18:46] Now, a good many people are guilty of that. Beware, my friends, of imposing, it may be quite unwittingly, but imposing your prejudices upon others without knowing all the facts.

[19:11] That's one of the reasons why the churches are so divided and so, also, so weak and without any outward looking or forth going for the service of Christ and for his glory.

[19:33] because of that one fact that exists among so many. Well, then, we come to this point where he says he must need to go through Samaria.

[19:53] I want to, I have already briefly described this city of Samaria. It was built, of course, by a heathen monarch, Ahab.

[20:08] And it had, ever since its history began, been an idolatrous place, a place where one would hardly expect to find a single evidence of divine grace.

[20:26] place. And the Lord here had evidently a purpose in going to Samaria.

[20:41] That was the reason for it. There was a purpose in it. A lot of your and mine ways and dealings and doings are so often without purpose.

[21:01] If we come and stop and ask ourselves a question in our conscience, we have to say this, whatever was I thinking about, what was the idea behind my action?

[21:20] It seems to me now as if it was but an empty, vain thing, produced by a vain creature. but Christ had a purpose.

[21:39] Now all that I'm saying, you know, if you can but attribute it to your own case, it becomes a most outstanding and striking and most glorious cluster of words and facts, and you stand abashed and amazed that the Lord should ever take one single step in your direction and you notice this, that it was all his doing.

[22:31] It wasn't like people who say, now you must come to the Lord and you must accept him and so on, as if of the two persons, the seeker and the Lord, the Lord was the most impotent.

[22:49] he never will be, never is, he's the glorious head of the church, the creator of the world, the giver of all grace, dependent upon none, and it is for him to give, to whom he will, the glorious blessings salvation.

[23:22] But further, what was Samaria? Not only was it an idolatrous place, practicing false religion, but he was full of iniquity.

[23:38] And after this first consultation between Christ and this woman, which she had totally misjudged him, and totally misjudged the situation which she had found herself, she said, sir, you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep.

[24:01] Whence hast thou that living water? her. And again, she admitted to this fact, and it wasn't an easy thing to admit. The Jews, she said, and she recognized him as being a Jew, have no dealings with the Samaritans.

[24:23] There are a people totally and completely divided. it would be improper for the Jew to have any conversation or contact whatsoever with a Samaritan.

[24:47] Yes, it was a city of idolatry and it was a city of blasphemies and it was a city of iniquity. Now the Lord comes to point, you see, very close.

[25:02] First of all, it wasn't very clear what he was driving at, but he was driving at a very vital part and point in this woman's character.

[25:18] Go fetch thy husband. She was startled, no doubt, right to the very dark bottom of her being at a request of this kind.

[25:33] She says, Sir, I have no husband. Then Christ revealed the glorious knowledge of her and of all men inwardly and outwardly.

[25:50] He knew everything about her. He says, Thou hast rightly said, Thou hast no husband. for he whom thou now hath is not thy husband.

[26:03] In this thou at least art right. It was the first confession, you see, of this woman.

[26:16] she is no doubt is startled with it and all that he had uttered to her.

[26:32] And she is amazed at the knowledge. She says, Sir, I perceive, notice this, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet.

[26:53] How different this is from so many who say, I perceive that thou art Christ of God. I believe that thou didst die for thy people.

[27:05] and so on, without really believing anything. Oh, let us beware of an empty base for our belief and our hope.

[27:21] Because if we have nothing better, we have no hope. And she said to him, speaking now of temporal things, she said, thou hast nothing to draw with from this deep well of Jacob's.

[27:44] What kind of mighty miraculous power hast thou to be able to draw water out of a deep well without any instrument?

[27:57] Then Christ begins to open up to this woman, the wonders of inward religion, of vital contact with God, of the real inflowing of his truth and power wrought by the Holy Spirit of God.

[28:25] She's beginning to understand to learn. And she says this to him, or rather she said this to the men she had to hasten away at this point.

[28:50] Things were moving and when things of God move in a person's heart there's action following very swiftly and wonderfully.

[29:03] And what does she do? She drops her water path that she'd been to that well to fill day by day for many many years it no doubt was. And she left it there.

[29:17] No further interest. Some people cannot leave their natural supplies and support for the sake of Jesus Christ.

[29:33] But she had to. She had to. And she went to the men of the city. Now that was an action that is worthy of notice because it was not an easy thing for her to do this.

[29:51] To go to the men that knew her well intimately and immorally and to say to them come see a man that taught me all things all things that ever I did.

[30:15] And where was that teaching according to the record of the word of God it doesn't exist but she knew that everything in her heart and her life had now been disclosed and had become a knowledge common knowledge unto this stranger whom she believed to be a prophet.

[30:42] so you see there was great purpose in Christ needs going through Samaria great purpose to bring home the lesson a bit more closely to you and to myself these are the sort of things we need to lay hold apart.

[31:12] If we desire to be right if we want to know the saving grace of God we need to be like this poor woman first of all to him she says I perceive that thou art prophet meaning to say thou art the one who teaches not only the outward lessons and things but also who reveals the inner life the deeds and doings of men so that they become plain clear and obvious so she goes back to Samaria and in the meantime the disciples come and they find the

[32:16] Lord Jesus having been speaking to this woman he says to them the disciples mark you he says I have meat to eat that ye know not of I I'm not dependent upon this outward food that you've been buying but I live upon that bread that cometh down from heaven and the disciples marvel not the first time they've tried to thrust away that poor woman who came from Syrophoenicia when she came begging and imploring Christ to help her he says to them they or rather the disciples said to her go away virtually go away you're making yourself a nuisance get out of our sight and even the

[33:37] Lord himself appeared as first as if he was as indifferent as anyone could be even the disciples then he said woman thy faith hath saved thee well I must leave the subject there I hope we have found some light and guiding thought for us to lay hold upon to grasp the glories of the person the purposes of that wonderful person and how sovereign those purposes always will be amen let's here this morning is 972 the

[34:50] Tudor Evan square 684 Look, he saints, the sight of Georgia, See his old, his savior now, From the fight returned, Victoria, Every knee could hinge or bow, Crown him, crown him, Crown him to come, the spirit of drought, Now, 972, region square, 584.

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[36:47] CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS

[37:51] Lord, we bless thee for the record in thy word of thy dealings with men, even the worst of men, so richly blessed with thy grace.

[38:16] Do, grant to us like precious experience. For Christ's sake, may the grace of the Lord Jesus, the love of God the Father, the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with us now and evermore.

[38:38] Amen.