KASUMIGAOKA
2017/08/06
SERMON: “Fruits of Evangelism: Repentance and Worship” 「伝道の実りである悔い改めと礼拝」
TEXT: ヨハネの福音書4:16-15
I. INTRODUCTION
It is said that even the oldest human civilizations show evidence of some kind of religion or “god worship.” What is it that draws man to worship God? Shinto may be Japan’s oldest religion today. Even today, we see many ancient shrines throughout Japan. But why did your ancestors build shrines where they did? I have read that shrines were built at places where men experienced a sense of “awe” or “wonder.” Shrines were placed on a mountain top, or beside a beautiful waterfall, or in a silent grove of ancient trees. It was thought that a “god” dwelt there and gave man a feeling of “wonder.”
Christianity also understands that nature’s magnificent beauty should fill us with awe. That is why we worship the Creator of nature’s glory. Listen to the words of Psalm 33:6-8, “By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, their starry host by the breath of His mouth. He gathers the waters of the sea into storehouses. Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the people of the world revere Him.” As Christians we worship God because His amazing works fill us with awe. But that is not the only reason; it is not even the main reason why we worship God. Christians worship God because of His mercy toward us. We worship the God who has redeemed us from our sins and rescued us from our misery. This is really the heart of Christian worship. This is what sets Christianity apart from other religions. God has revealed Himself to us as Savior; He is loving and compassionate toward His people. However, only people who have personally experienced God’s mercy and grace can worship Him as their Savior. You must understand your own unworthiness, before you can appreciate God’s amazing grace and worship Him properly. It is that grace of God that Jesus shows to the Samaritan woman in verses 16-26. God shows mercy toward those who confess their sins and trust in His grace alone. This is an essential part of the gospel message. In today’s passage Jesus first addresses the woman’s sinfulness—her moral failures, so that through repentance she will rightly understand the greatness of God’s mercy. After she has faced her own sins, and realized the meaning of God’s mercy, Jesus shows her how she should worship the God who forgives her sins. Repentance and worship are two of the fruits that evangelism will produce in the life of one who receives the gospel. Let’s consider how Jesus deals with these two matters—repentance and worship, as He brings the good news to a Samaritan woman.
II. THE GOSPEL’S CALL TO REPENTANCE (VV. 16- 19)
In the beginning of this chapter John tells us how Jesus began His evangelistic conversation with a stranger He met at a well in Samaria. Before long, Jesus had led that woman to ask Him for the gift of God that He called “the water of life.” She wanted to get that gift for herself! When doing the work of evangelism, too many Christians try to “push” people toward Christ, or the kingdom of God or the church. Instead of pushing, we must lead them there—like Jesus did–by showing how good the Lord’s gifts are. But persuading someone that Christ offers him a very good gift is only the first part of the gospel message. The next part of evangelism is more difficult, especially for a stranger! This is the part about exposing a person’s sins. Sometimes people think that doing evangelism is like going “fishing” with a rod. You need an attractive “lure” or bait to catch the fish. But the goal of evangelism is not just to catch a lot of “fish!” Our purpose is not to bring crowds into the church. Our purpose in evangelism is to change hearts! Our goal is to make disciples who follow Jesus. The Samaritan woman had asked Jesus for the gift of God, but that is not the final goal of evangelism. Unless she understood her sins and repented, she would be no better than a Pharisee. Even today many people want to get good things from God, but they do not understand the amazing grace and mercy of God. Some even think they deserve to receive God’s gift, because they are such fine people! But Jesus would not allow this woman to commit such a serious mistake. So, when she showed interest in God’s gift and asked Him to give it to her, Jesus immediately exposed her sins. How does Jesus do this?
Jesus simply asked her to go and call her husband to join them. It was not a difficult request. Most women, probably, would have complied with such a simple request. But why does Jesus make this request? Jesus knew what is in her heart, her secret sin. We, of course, do not usually know the secret sins of other people. But there are some sins that are common to all people. Maybe all we need to do is to ask if our listener is really obeying God’s greatest commandment: to “love the Lord God with all your heart”! In the case of this Samaritan woman, there is one sin she would like to hide from everyone—even from God Himself. Her secret is that she is cohabiting with a man who is not her lawful husband. (This may be a common practice in many places today, but in God’s sight it is a serious act of immorality.) But if Jesus knows about this sin, why does He ask her to bring her husband? I think there were two reasons for this. First, Jesus was giving her an opportunity to confess her sin. Long ago God had treated the very first sinners the same way. In that case, another woman had committed a terrible sin, and she also tried to hide from God. God could have immediately charged Adam and Eve with their sin, but instead, God called to Eve and Adam and said, “Where are you?” God gave Eve and Adam the opportunity to confess their sin by asking them little questions: “Where are you?” “Who told you that you were naked?” And finally, “Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?” When Jesus said to the Samaritan woman, “Go, call your husband and come back,” He was inviting her to confess her sin. When God invites us to confess our sins, He is offering us a wonderful opportunity. It is an opportunity to enter the path leading to repentance and restoration that God has prepared for sinners. Jesus gave the Samaritan woman an opportunity to consider her sins, and to confess them. Though she did not fully confess her sin yet, she answered Jesus truthfully. “I have no husband,” she replied (v. 17). She did not try to lie to Him.
The second reason I think Jesus asked her to bring her husband was so that He could show her that no sins can be hidden from Him. Hebrews 4:13 says this, “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.” As soon as the woman confessed that she had no husband, Jesus showed her that it was impossible to hide her sins from Him. “You have well said, ‘I have no husband’; for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband. This you have truly said.” Some people might think that Jesus’ words were stern and “judgmental.” But notice that the woman herself did not consider Jesus’ words improper or even unkind. I think the tone of Jesus’ voice may have shown sorrow, rather than anger. Anyway, instead of trying to defend or excuse her immoral lifestyle (as many might do today), the woman simply completes her confession of sin to Jesus. She admits her guilt by saying, simply, “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet” (v. 19). All that Jesus had said was true. She could not deny it, and she did not try to. She could not hide from the penetrating eyes of God Himself.
How did she confess her sins? She did so by saying that Jesus was a prophet. The word “prophet” does not mean one who predicts the future. Nor does it mean a “mind-reader” (mental telepathist). Among the Jews and Samaritans, the word “prophet” means one called by God to declare His word to men. The Samaritan woman knew that Moses was God’s prophet. As prophet, Moses had proclaimed God’s word and repeatedly warned Israel to put away sin and to follow God’s Law. When she called Jesus a prophet, the Samaritan woman meant that she recognized and confessed the truth of Jesus’ words. She also realized that He was calling her to renounce her immorality and return to following God. That was what a prophet would do. And Jesus was clearly such a prophet! When she said to Jesus, “You are a prophet,” I believe that this woman was making a full confession of her sins, just as Jesus had listed them. I think it shows, too, that her heart has been changed by this encounter with Jesus. She now wants to change her life, too. This brings us to the second major theme of Jesus’ message: worship.
III. THE GOSPEL’S CALL TO WORSHIP THE LORD (vv. 20-26)
As a Samaritan this woman understood that God was speaking through His prophet and calling her to repent and return to serving God. Some scholars have explained her next words to Jesus as her attempt to “change the subject” of the conversation. I do not think she was trying to avoid facing her sins. She has just confessed to all the sins that Jesus has mentioned. But she does want to move quickly to the next subject, which is how she might be restored to God. Both Jews and Samaritans believed that sins must be atoned for by the offering of sacrifices. The Jews offered their sacrifices before the Temple in Jerusalem. The Samaritans took their sacrifices to an altar on Mt. Gerizim. When the Samaritan woman asked Jesus about where one should worship God, it was not a trivial or a theoretical question. It was a deeply personal question. I think she was asking, “Where must I take my sin offering, in order that I may be restored to God?” When one has understood one’s sinfulness and desperately wants to seek God’s mercy and forgiveness, “worship” is the next logical question to ask about. “Where should I go to worship God?”
Jesus’ answer gave her a lot to think about! He told her, first, that a great change was about to occur in the matter of God’s worship. The place will no longer matter! The ancient hostility between Jew and Samaritan concerning the temple will be finished. God will no longer require that He be worshiped either on Mt. Gerizim or in Jerusalem. Second, Jesus told her that “salvation is from the Jews” (v. 22). Jesus’ words indicate that God’s salvation—and in particular, I think, the Savior God has promised—will emerge from among the Jewish people. Therefore, it will be necessary to learn of Him from reading the Hebrew Scriptures, such as Isaiah and Zechariah, and the Psalms. These contain much information about the coming Savior—the Messiah. In order to be restored to God and serve Him as His faithful daughter, she must follow the way of salvation that the Hebrew Scriptures will show her. Third, Jesus said that true worship does not depend on either the place or the race, but on the condition of the heart of the worshiper. “True worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth,” Jesus said (v. 23). With these words, Jesus removes any question of “racial qualifications” to worship God. All the families of the earth may join in the worship of God, if they are united in one Spirit and following the true path to God’s throne of grace. Fourth, Jesus tells her one more important thing in v. 23. He says that, “the Father seeks such people to be His worshipers.” God is seeking people who will worship Him in Spirit and in truth. The manner of our worship is important to God! God calls us to come to Him in one particular way. The Holy Spirit must rule your heart, filling you with love for God and man, and breaking your human pride. And you must worship in truth, for worship is a holy activity and must be treated with the utmost respect. In worship we draw near to God. When the Samaritan woman heard Jesus’ words about how she might enter into the presence of God, I think she was impressed by the authority and the depth of His teaching. Perhaps she remembered the great promise in Deuteronomy 18:15. There Moses said that God would one day raise up a prophet like Moses to lead God’s people. Could this prophet be the One whom Moses had promised? Could He be the Promised Messiah? So she said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When He comes, He will explain everything to us.” And Jesus answered her, “I, who am speaking to you, am He.” Jesus declared that He Himself is the Christ, the promised “prophet like Moses” and Savior of God’s people. If the Samaritan woman really wants to be restored to God worship Him, she needs only to acknowledge Jesus as God’s Messiah and follow Him.
III. CONCLUSION
As we conclude today, I want to simply emphasize that real evangelism will bring important changes in the life of everyone who hears and receives the gospel. The first results of effective evangelism are real repentance and a new attitude toward the God we worship. The Samaritan woman in John 4 responded to Christ’s message of hope and challenge. And she was changed by the good news she heard. Do remember how the gospel changed your life? God’s mercy is awesome! “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness” (Lam. 3:22-23). We need to gaze upon the glory of our God! We worship and serve the Creator of the heavens and the earth, but the greatest of all God’s works is His work of mercy. Are you filled with wonder when you consider how He gave His beloved Son to rescue you?