Saint Luke Ev. Lutheran Church of Watertown

Sermon delivered by Pastor Anthony E. Schultz

February 24, 2002 Lent 2 John 4:13

Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

Dear People of God—rescued from the flaming lake of fire in hell by the innocent blood of the very Lamb of God:

It is about 300 miles from Cairo, Egypt by the pyramids to Luxor in the Valley of the Kings. It was dark at 11:30 at night when the train started out. The train was packed. Each train car was supposed to hold about 150 people but twice that many were in each car. It is against the rules to cook on trains—but there was no dining car—and people wanted something hot to drink! They wanted to have coffee or tea—something hot to drink. So a bunch of people brought these small gas cylinder cooking stoves on board—even though it was against the law. Somewhere around one in the morning someone was making something hot to drink when—it seems one of these gas cylinders exploded. The train car caught fire. People began to scream—but the train didn’t stop. People at first thought it was a fight. But it wasn’t. People were dying. Nobody—nobody pulled the emergency brake. When the engineer finally slammed on the brakes it took miles for the train to stop. People were burned. People jumped off the train and died. People tried to curl up under the seats but they died, too.

Many of the people on the train were traveling to their home towns to celebrate how the LORD—the great I AM provided the ram—the substitute for Abraham to sacrifice instead of his son Isaac! I wonder if those who died knew that God our Heavenly Father sacrificed his one and only Son Jesus—to wash away the sins of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah—your sins and mine! They say among the charred luggage they found children’s clothing, a bride’s dress and a Bible! Someone on that train knew that Jesus is our only hope for rescue from the forever fires of Hell!

This second Sunday in Lent—we have the familiar account of Jesus and the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well. Today Jesus asks you the question:

Are You Thirsty?

1. We are dying of thirst, but

2. Jesus satisfies our forever thirst.

Whenever we study God’s Word context is essential. God’s Word never happens in a vacuum. Today we are looking at the Gospel of the disciple Jesus loved—the eyewitness to Jesus’ ministry—the disciple John. As we catch up with the Lord Jesus today—Jesus has begun his public ministry. Jesus has been to Jerusalem where he cleansed—he cleared out the Temple. His Father’s house would be a house of prayer—and they had turned it into a den or robbers and thieves—a place that sounded and smelled more like a market place and a barn than a place to meet your Heavenly Father—with whole burnt offerings. A place to be reminded in the most graphic way possible—the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life by grace alone, faith alone, Scripture alone! Jesus had met with Nicodemus—who came under cover of night—because he was afraid of what the neighbors might think. Jesus had told Nicodemus that he needed to be born again. That flesh gives birth to sinful flesh—but the Holy Spirit gives birth to faith and forgiveness—birth to eternal life! Already Jesus had made enemies—enemies who envied him—hated him—hated him without reason. Jesus would not force his grace upon anyone. If they didn’t want to hear law and gospel he would go somewhere else. Jesus would go back to Galilee. Most people—just about everyone Jewish would have gone from Judea in the south to Galilee in the north--the long way—through the Jordan Valley—to avoid as much of Samaria as possible. But not this carpenter from Nazareth—not the Son of God who came to pay for the sins of the world!

God’s Word says, “So [Jesus] came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It as about the sixth hour.” It was about noon according to the Jewish way of telling time—high noon. It’s warm in Israel at high noon—the sun baking down on the creamy rock and dust of Samaria. Jesus is true God. Jesus is true man. Jesus is just as tired and thirsty as you or I would be—after walking all morning. Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. This was not accident—not coincidence. God’s Word says Jesus’ disciples had gone into the town to buy food—when a Samaritan woman came to draw water. Remember what Samaritans are? They are people of mixed race and mixed religion. There is a sinful part of the human heart—a sinful part of the human mind that has an almost instinctive distrust and suspicion and even hatred of people of different races. Racism and prejudice come from the devil. The devil tempts people to judge people by the color of their skin—peach colored or tan—different shades of black and brown—different shades of yellow or red—all the different colors of the soil. To judge people according to the shape of their eyes—round or almond shaped—with the outer edge pointing up or down. To judge people by their hair—long or short—straight or curly—with natural oil or expensive applied mousse. To judge people by the clothes they wear—the different kinds of shoes they wear—if they wear shoes at all. To judge people by the different kinds of food they cook and eat—the different smells of their homes—the different customs they observe. It is the devil who works grudges in people’s hearts. The fact that someone of one race or another—did something sinful and hurtful and even murderously wrong to a loved one—maybe even generations ago—becomes a reason to judge and condemn and hate a whole race of people? This is sinfully wrong!

Racism and prejudge are of course nothing new. Two thousand years ago—Jews typically hated Samaritans and Samaritans wasted no love on the Jews. And so it was strange—extremely out of the ordinary When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?…The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” For Jews do not associate with Samaritans. Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.” Again Jesus told the woman, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.” The Samaritan woman wasn’t catching on. She thought Jesus was talking about physical water. If Jesus gave her some of this magical mystical water she wouldn’t get thirsty again—wouldn’t have to keep coming to Jacob’s well for drinks. That would be pretty wonderful. Jesus of course was talking about spiritual water. To help her understand Jesus very gently said, “Go, call your husband and come back.” “I have no husband,” she replied. Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.” Jesus knew everything about this woman. He knew about her sinful painful past. He knew her current situation—that she was living in sin.

The devil tempts people to say like the Pharisee, “I thank you Lord that I am not like other people—like this naughty lady who wasn’t very lady like!” The fact is every one of us is guilty of sin and sins—the rebellious attitude and the rebellious acts that go with it. The lady that Jesus met had been divorced 5 times—count them—5 times! That’s horrible! But it’s nothing new! Thousands of years before that—when the LORD was leading his people out of slavery in Egypt to the land of milk and honey everybody was getting divorced. Mommies would burn the breakfast manna and the daddy would say, “If after all this practice you still can’t make breakfast manna—I don’t want to be married to you any more. Get out! You’re out!” Then about lunch time—when the daddy got hungry he’d say, “Where is our mommy? It’s time for lunch! There you are! I was just kidding this morning. We’re still married! Where’s my lunch!” It got so bad finally the LORD said—at least—very minimum—you have to give your wife a scrap of paper that says we are divorced. Otherwise people don’t even know for sure—are we married—are we divorced or are we back together again? To be divorced you have to do the paper work. Two thousand years ago when Jesus was talking to people who loved him and believed in him Jesus said, “I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Matthew 5:28 Jesus is saying sinful thoughts—sinful thoughts deep in our heart are very serious—very sinful—very wrong. It doesn’t matter that daytime Soaps have people sleeping with this one then that one then this one—having babies with everyone. It doesn’t matter that daytime talk shows have people with their babies in their arms—having DNA tests to find out which of 2 or 3 or 4 people or more might by the physical dad. It doesn’t matter that evening situation comedies have people sleeping with all their Friends making joke after joke with laugh track added—making fun of everything that God has called precious and sacred and holy. It doesn’t matter that everybody’s doing it. If we have hugs and kisses—if you have sex—with anyone we are not married to it is a sin. If we have sex with the person we are engaged to—but are not married yet—it’s a sin! If someone you know and love is living in sin—living like husband and wife—when they are not husband and wife what are you supposed to do about it? Jesus said—the Son of God said—“If your brother sins against you—go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over.” Listen again—very carefully to what the Son of God said. It’s in Matthew chapter 18. If your brother sins—your brother or sister in Christ is living in sin—doing something that causes you to stumble in your faith—it doesn’t say get your minister or the elders after them. Jesus said, “Go and show him his fault, just between the two of you.” Is that easy? No—it’s lose sleep the night before difficult! But whatever Jesus asks you or me to do—Jesus makes us strong enough—strong enough to do. I talk to people—sharing law and gospel with them. It is part of the precious Lutheran—the precious Bible truth of the universal priesthood—that we all look out for each other—and encourage one another with God’s Word!

The bulletin cover doesn’t have my favorite verse of this account. Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did!”…They came out of the town and made their way to him. She told everyone! She told everyone! About 373 people died in the terrible fire aboard that Egyptian train. Many people burned beyond recognition. Some 40 people who jumped from the burning train died beside the track because the train was moving so fast. The government of Egypt announced compensation of about $665 for the families of the dead and $222 for those who were burned or injured but survived their jump from the moving train. $665 or $222 but no admission of responsibility—of guilt or blame. Every one of us is guilty of sin and sins. We are responsible and deserve the forever fires of hell. Jesus has in fact forgiven all our sins. Jesus paid for us—not with Egyptian coin and currency but with his holy innocent blood. No matter what we have been—no matter what we have done—Jesus loves us and forgives us! Jesus gave up his life on the cross that we might be saved. Jesus gives you living water in his Word—living water that will quench our forever thirst. Jesus is refreshment for faith and soul. Amen!

To God alone all glory!