Straight to The Heart Part 1
Message 11
Today's Most Important Point (M.I.P.) is this.
Jesus knows our deepest thirst - he meets us with grace and truth, and freely offers us the living water of eternal life.
John 4:1–3 (NLT)
1 Jesus knew the Pharisees had heard that he was baptizing and making more disciples than John
2 (though Jesus himself didn’t baptize them—his disciples did).
3 So he left Judea and returned to Galilee.
The fruit of Jesus' ministry in Judea had reached the Pharisees and they were not happy about it. So, Jesus left the area around Jerusalem and headed north for the Galilee.
But we read this in John 4, verse 4.
John 4:4 (NLT)
4 He had to go through Samaria on the way.
Jesus "had to go" through Samaria NOT because of geography, but because he had one person that he had to meet. The word translated for "had to go" in John's Gospel almost always refers to God's purpose and plan.
But here's the problem. Any good Jew traveling from Judea to Galilee would never, ever go through Samaria. It's not because it was a bad way to travel, but because the Jews hated the Samaritans and they would purposely travel around Samaria to avoid any possible contact with them. But Jesus said he "had to go" through Samaria because he had a divine appointment with one woman, A Samaritan, an Outcast, and a Sinner.
This is the story of the woman at the well.
And her story is our story.
And her thirst is our thirst.
(Complete transcript to come.)
Jesus knows our deepest thirst - he meets us with grace and truth, and freely offers us the living water of eternal life.
John 4:1–3 (NLT)
1 Jesus knew the Pharisees had heard that he was baptizing and making more disciples than John
2 (though Jesus himself didn’t baptize them—his disciples did).
3 So he left Judea and returned to Galilee.
The fruit of Jesus' ministry in Judea had reached the Pharisees and they were not happy about it. So, Jesus left the area around Jerusalem and headed north for the Galilee.
But we read this in John 4, verse 4.
John 4:4 (NLT)
4 He had to go through Samaria on the way.
Jesus "had to go" through Samaria NOT because of geography, but because he had one person that he had to meet. The word translated for "had to go" in John's Gospel almost always refers to God's purpose and plan.
But here's the problem. Any good Jew traveling from Judea to Galilee would never, ever go through Samaria. It's not because it was a bad way to travel, but because the Jews hated the Samaritans and they would purposely travel around Samaria to avoid any possible contact with them. But Jesus said he "had to go" through Samaria because he had a divine appointment with one woman, A Samaritan, an Outcast, and a Sinner.
This is the story of the woman at the well.
And her story is our story.
And her thirst is our thirst.
(Complete transcript to come.)