Message by Larry Thacker Jr. from January 1, “A New Way to Worship”
We’ll be in John, chapter 4. As Jesus makes his way back to Galilee from the area of Jerusalem, he passes through Samaria. The Jews and the Samaritans didn’t like each other, so many Jews would go the long way around to avoid going through this region, but not Jesus. He had a purpose. Having sent his disciples away to buy food, he stopped by a well to rest. It may have been the middle of the day, but if we assume Jon to be consistent in his method for marking time, it would have been around 6:00 in the evening.
When a Samaritan woman comes to draw water, He asks her for a drink, and then this conversation ensues. The Jews considered the Samaritans impure, so the woman was surprised that Jesus asked for a drink from her vessel. We can’t tell from the text whether her response is antagonistic or simply curious, but Jesus was about to radically turn the discussion. When He’s finished, the woman has been convinced that He is in fact the coming messiah and can’t wait to go tell everyone in her village. When the disciples return, they, too, are surprised to find him talking with this woman, but they wisely keep silent. They’re getting their first lesson (at least as we have it recorded) in the true scope of Jesus’ ministry. No one is beyond reach, not even these despised half-breed Samaritans. Jesus tells them, “raise your eyes and observe the fields, that they are white for harvest.”
We will draw from the whole of the story as we examine its themes, but our focus passage is from John 4:19-26. What is worship? Is it what we do on Sunday, or is it much more than that? As we enter a new year, I pray that we will find new ways to worship our Lord, and new people to worship Him with.
