Among other things, John 4 is one of the great missionary texts in the Bible. You could say that Judea and Galilee had already received the gospel. They had missionaries and visiting preachers – they had been evangelized. They had a traveling church and even had the Lord Jesus Christ as the local pastor. But Samaria was not Judah and it had not yet been evangelized. And “Jesus must needs go through Samaria” on a missionary journey. Oh; the people of Samaria had their religions – their superstitions. They had heard of the True God, and they possessed some of the prophesies of the Messiah. But alas, they lacked Christ. He that hath the Son hath the Father, but he that denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father. This chapter contains the greatest missionary, the greatest grace and a great sinner of heathendom. But this heathen wasn’t in darkest Africa or in the hinterland of Mongolia – she was right next door. And the missionary didn’t have to begin at the beginning – “There is a God who created all things.” His approach that day was based on what the woman knew and at the same time what she didn’t. “If thou knewest; if you only knew.”
Perhaps one of the most famous missionary texts is found in Acts 1 – “Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” We notice that Christ divided the world into the city of Jerusalem, the state of Judaea, the neighboring state of Samaria – and then the uttermost part of the earth. When Christ “must needs go through Samaria” that was not the uttermost part of the earth. The people of Samaria, spoke the same language as the Jews, albeit with a little different accent. They lived under the same Roman government; worked under related economics; and suffered the same famines, storms and diseases. The people of Samaria were not savages, and despite their differences you could say they were neighbors. Just because someone is not a professing Christian, it doesn’t mean that he is totally ignorant of God. Paul teaches in Romans 1 that an observant wild-man from Borneo can know something of God. And yet, like this Samaritan, some know not the Son of God – even when He stands among them. The people of the world have access to a lot of Biblical knowledge – knowledge which you and I possess. But as Jesus said to this woman, “if only knew more of the truth; if you knew the rest of the story.”
What if your Samaritan neighbor knew that you have proof of God’s abounding love?
The average person in world is taught that “God” is a synonym for fear, hate, death and pain. Whether or not it is the intention of the priest, so many people learn that religion means submission. Hindus have 33 million gods, most of whom they must fear. Most Protestants fear Ioosing their salvation without ever knowing for sure if they had it in the first place. The Muslim tortures himself with blind fate. The Aztecs offered human sacrifices. Many Africans killed the children and wives of the deceased. The gods of the Pacific had to be appeased with sacrifices to volcanos. But the Bible says, “God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, what whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have ever lasting life”. “God … is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us.” What if the heathen knew that you have proof of God’s love? Goliath might have joined Saul’s team. The Philistines might have come to David and Abiathar on bended knee. Even Pharaoh might have put sacrificial blood on the door posts of his palace. How many thousands of twins in Africa have died, and how many babies have been incinerated, because of foolish, Christless traditions? How many thousands of widows been buried or burned alive with their Hindu husbands? All because people didn’t know that Jehovah is the God of salvation and forgives sin.
Our Samaritan neighbors may have heard that a man name Jesus died on a Roman cross 2,000 years ago. They learned that in their Samaritan Sunday Schools, and even in their Jacobian churches. But what if they knew that He was not just “Jesus of Nazareth,” but the Son of God from eternity? What if they knew that the crucifixion was not a martyr’s death, but actually a sacrifice proscribed by the Son’s own Heavenly Father? What if that Samaritan was taught that “God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
That Samaritan woman had heard some corrupted stories about Jacob and Joseph, but she didn’t know that Joseph was a type – a divine illustration – of the Man who stood before her. She had never come to understand that just down the block or a few miles away was the answer to her most deep-rooted problems. How many have lost their lives or taken their own lives, not understanding “the redeemer draweth nigh?”
What if the Samaritans knew that you posses the Gospel of their salvation?
It doesn’t take university education for people to know they are sinners. Some of the most depressed and disturbed people in the world are depressed because they know they are wretched sinners. Oh, they might not have all the grammar correct, but the nouns and verbs are all there. They might not perceive the holiness of God and they might not smell the brimstone. But their conscience is sufficiently alive to prick their souls every time they lay down to sleep. Yes, some Samaritans cling to religious straws and dip their buckets into Jacob’s well, thinking that water was pure enough or sufficiently powerful to cleanse their wicked hearts. But they will never know that they need a Saviour until someone is there to tell them. And of course they know almost nothing about the God/man who came to save sinners like them.
What if those lost Samaritans knew that “the Word was made flesh and dwelt amongst them?” If they wanted to see the glory of God, they could – by simply looking into the eyes of Christ Jesus. What Jacob’s laws, and Moses’ laws could not do, because of the weakness of their Samaritan flesh, “God had done by God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemning sin in the flesh.” What if they knew that Christ shed His blood for the redemption of souls in every land and every place? Christ didn’t die to save only a handful of rich, clean, white Americans. Jesus Christ died for souls in Samaria and New Guinea, El Salvador, Chile, Nigeria, Japan, Canada and a hundred plus other countries. What if the people of those nations knew that Christ paid the penalty for people’s sins? “Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.” “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.” What if the men of the city of Sychar knew Christ has provided a way of forgiveness for millions?
What if they knew there is only one way, not a ten thousand – one way to possess peace with God? Maybe some Samaritans thought that by drinking the water of Jacob’s well, they could be made spiritually well. But the very need of drinking that water every day day-after-day should have convinced them otherwise. It would take an evangelist or missionary to tell them – “As many as receive Christ, to them gives he power to become sons of God.”
What do think would have been the reaction of those corrupted religionists if they knew these things? Oh sure some would have scoffed; others might have picked up stones to throw at Christ. But as the Holy Spirit began to work some might have become under the Lord’s blessing and repented before Him, like Saul of Tarsus. Humanly speaking they would have been fools not to listen to the pleading of the Spirit of God. But humanly speaking we are all fools. Mr. Samaritan, “what shall it profit a man if gain the whole world and loose his own soul?” What would starving man do if he knew you food enough to feed his family as well as your own? We may not have meat and potatoes enough to feed the world, but we do have gospel enough.
What if the people of Samariah had known that you and I are commanded to give them the water of life?
A selfish, backslidden Christian asked the Duke of Wellington, after hearing a missionary appeal, “Do you think I should help that young, inexperienced missionary?” The old general simply replied. “What are your orders, sir?” We are not URGED to give the gospel to the heathen and our Samaritan neighbors – we are commanded. “Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” “Go ye therefore and teach (the gospel) to all nations.” How many have dedicated lives to some special goal because a dying parent urged them to do so? The last words of a dearly loved person are precious and important. And the last words of Jesus while on earth are found in Acts 1:8. “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” What if the Samaritan knew that the Holy Spirit was given with the purpose fulfilling that commission?
An aged Muslim in Bengal asked a missionary, “How long has it been since Jesus died?” He said, “Look at me. I am old. I have prayed, I have given alms, I have fasted. You say that it has all been useless, but where have you been all this time?” An Eskimo told a missionary, “You white men have been in our land many years, but you have hidden the Saviour.” A man deep in the Andes asked, “Why in all my life have I never heard the name Jesus?” In Casablanca, a poor Muslim spoke to a book seller – “Why haven’t your brought this word before?” A missionary in Egypt was giving the gospel to a woman, but she said, “I will not believe. If it wasn’t important enough to send sooner, it must not be important at all.”
What if the heathen knew that Christians are more concerned about other things than evangelism?
The man on the other side of the world might not know this, but our Samaritan neighbor sees it. What if Christ had been as concerned about the ethic difference between the Jews and the Samaritans? What if Philip had considered the Samaritans to be half-breeds, traditionally illiterate, filthy? How many churches are more concerned with doctrinal purity than they are with obeying the God’s commission? How many Christians are more concerned with their pets than they are the souls of their neighbors? A lot of people are filled with religious reasons to disobey God. “Pray have me excused, because I’ve hired a missionary to take care of my God-given responsibility.” Someone says, “We once sent money to missionary and he wasted it – never again. “
Speaking of money, what if the Samaritans knew what we do with our money? We spend $50 for our pets for ever $1 for missions and eternal souls. As a society we spend hundreds if not thousands of dollars gambling for every $1 we spend on missions. I once read that we spend twice as much on bubble gum as we do on missions. We spend three times as much on greetings cards as for missions. Does our church believe in missions? Sure we do. Do we practice missions?
Some people think they couldn’t do more than what they already do. How do they know? “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.”
What if the Samaritans knew what wasters we are? Some day they might learn the truth, because God is the revealer of secrets “He knoweth what goes in the darkness and nothing is hid that shall not known.” “Ye must all appear before judgment seat of Christ … ” “It is appointed unto Christian men once to die and after this, the judgment.” Some day the whole creation will know that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the Saviour. And the world may also be told what we have done with our knowledge of that truth.