A SERMON TO ONE by T.

Pacific Press Publishing Company · OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA · Jan 17, 1900

A SERMON TO ONE.

By T.

ONE of the greatest sermons ever preached was delivered to a lone woman by a well. But before the results of that meeting were finished, almost a whole village had turned to the Lord.

WE can hardly say, however, that that remarkable meeting has ceased to produce results, even to this present day, altho it was held almost two thousand years ago; for men are still reading the reports of it, and their hearts are being melted and turned to Christ.

ONLY a part of what was said in that wonderful meeting has been recorded. But enough is given to show its effect and power. It is in its simplicity a wonderfully eloquent record, and is worthy of much study. It is found in John 4:3-42, as follows:—

"He left Judea, and departed again into Galilee. And He must needs go through Samaria. Then cometh He to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with His journey, sat thus on the well; and it was about the sixth hour. There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water;

"Jesus saith unto her, Give Me to drink. (For His disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.) Then saith the woman of Samaria unto Him, How is it that Thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.

"Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give Me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of Him, and He would have given thee living water.

"The woman saith unto Him, Sir, Thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep; from whence then hast Thou that living water? Art Thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle?

"Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again; but whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst, but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

"The woman saith unto Him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.

"Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither.

"The woman answered and said, I have no husband.

"Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband; for thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband; in that saidst thou truly.

"The woman saith unto Him, Sir, I perceive that Thou art a prophet. Our fathers worshiped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.

"Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe Me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. Ye worship ye know not what; we know what we worship; for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth; for the Father seeketh such to worship Him. God is a Spirit; and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.

"The woman saith unto Him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ; when He is come, He will tell us all things.

"Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am He.

"And upon this came His disciples, and marveled that He talked with the woman; yet no man said, What seekest Thou? or, Why talkest Thou with her? The woman then left her water-pot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men, Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did; is not this the Christ? Then they went out of the city, and came unto Him.

"In the meanwhile His disciples prayed Him, saying, Master, eat. But He said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of. Therefore said the disciples one to another, Hath any man brought Him aught to eat? Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of Him that sent Me, and to finish His work. Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest. And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal; that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together. And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth. I sent you to reap that whereon you bestowed no labor; other men labored, and ye are entered into their labors.

"And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on Him for the saying of the woman, which testified, He told me all that ever I did. So when the Samaritans were come unto Him, they besought Him that He would tarry with them; and He abode there two days. And many more believed because of His own word; and said unto the woman, Now we believe, not because of thy saying; for we have heard Him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world."

JESUS was weary, says the foregoing record, and sat down upon the well of Jacob. One lone woman came to the well to draw, and He who had formed the mountains, the seas, and the rivers of water, said to her, "Give Me to drink."

JESUS was seeking for opportunities to reach hearts; He knew that the "Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans," but He was not the author of the malice that had made this condition of things, so He ignored the malicious and wicked custom, and asked her for water.

THE woman was surprised to hear a Jew ask her for a drink, so she began to question Him. This was just the thing that Jesus was seeking. He then engaged with her in earnest conversation, and step by step led her to the place where she heartily acknowledged Him as the Messiah.

THIS woman was living in sin. She was unlawfully living with a man who was not her husband. She sought to conceal this by saying to Jesus, "I have no husband." But He promptly unfolded before her the history of her life, thus showing her that she was standing in the presence of One who was able to search the innermost secret thoughts of the mind and read them as an open book.

AND yet as the woman stood in the searching presence of the One who was reading her secret life deeds to her, she did not become alarmed or affrighted and flee away. There was that inexpressible love of the Master beaming all over His countenance; there was the gentle, sympathetic music of His voice; everything in His manner showed that He was indeed the sinner's Friend. And while He could not tolerate the sin, yet He loved the sinner, and was yearning to redeem her from her evil life.

THIS woman, sinful tho she was, received the Lord and acknowledged Him as the Messiah so joyfully that she forgot her errand to the well, and, leaving her water-pot, hastened back to the city, to say to all she met, "Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did; is not this the Christ?"

SHE was so earnest, and had such positive faith in the message she was bearing, that "many of the Samaritans of that city believed on Him for the saying of the woman, which testified, He told me all that ever I did." And the good work did not end there; for "many more believed because of His own word; and said unto the woman, Now we believe, not because of thy saying; for we have heard Him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world."

WHAT a grand missionary this woman was! She did not wait for the ardor of her first love for Christ to cool down to the place where she could remember that she had gone to the well with a water-pot for water. O, she had found the "living water," and her physical thirst was all swallowed up in the joys of that first quaff from the fathomless fountain of sin-pardoning love!

SHE did not need to be urged; she did not need to be appointed by some board or special organization, important tho boards and organizations may be in their spheres; but she rushed away to the nearest needy fellow-sinners that she could find, not with a pitcher of water from Jacob's well, but with a heart in which had been newly placed the "well of water springing up into everlasting life."

JESUS seemed to be preaching to one—only one—woman at Jacob's well. If He had been a less skillful teacher, He might have said, The congregation is so small I think it will not pay to put forth much of an effort to-day. But He was not speaking to one only; He was giving the Gospel to a missionary that would soon call a whole city to stand as grateful learners at His feet.

THERE are grand lessons in everything that Jesus did or said. And, whatever else we may neglect, we should not fail to devotedly study the blessed Bible—the one book in all the world that is the Book of books. T.