Today on Summit Life with J.D.
Greer. Jesus knew the truth about this woman. He knows the truth about us and he spoke words of acceptance not condemnation and see that's because Jesus was going to a cross where he would be condemned for her, where he would be condemned for us, where he would shed his blood to take away our sin. He could speak words of acceptance to us because he heard words of rejection for us. Merry Christmas and welcome to Summit Life with pastor, author, and apologist J.D.
Greer. As always, I'm your host Molly Vidovitch. In today's special Christmas message from John chapter 4, Pastor J.D. Greer walks us through a story that demonstrates the beauty of the incarnate Christ whose coming we celebrate even today. The Samaritan woman at the well, the first person to whom Jesus overtly reveals himself as the Messiah has much to teach us about the savior who's come to earth. He's the one who comes to the most unlikely and if you think that's you, guess what?
You too are exactly who he's looking for. Thanks for being with us today. Now let's join Pastor J.D. in John chapter 4. John 4, you know the book of John, the gospel of John is framed around seven interactions that Jesus had with individual people. Each one of them establishing a pattern for how Jesus relates to each of us. Each of those interactions showing us what the experience of meeting Jesus was like and is like. You are supposed to read each of these encounters in the gospel of John as if they were happening to you because behind each of these stories is a real living savior who is saying the same things to you right now that he said to the individuals in those stories back then. This one, this encounter is particularly important because this woman is the first person to whom Jesus overtly reveals himself as the Messiah. So you have to ask if that is the first encounter where he reveals himself as the Messiah, what are you and I supposed to learn about Jesus from it? What are we supposed to learn about us? Let me make four brief observations, okay?
Number one, Jesus comes for the unlikely. First, this is a woman and Jewish men did not typically discuss religion with women. I'm not saying that's right.
In fact, it's most definitely wrong but that's just the way that it was. Second, she is a Samaritan and Samaritans and Jews had a long-standing feud that stretched back for centuries. Samaritans were considered half-bloods, if you will.
They were the descendants of the Jews in the northern kingdom of Israel who had intermarried with the Gentiles and so Jews considered them to be racially and religiously tainted. Most Jews believe that whatever a Samaritan touched was unclean and that's why she's surprised that he would even ask her for a drink. Most Jews would not even sit somewhere that a Samaritan had sat without some kind of cleansing process. The Samaritans were not even allowed to go into the temple.
Samaria was located right in the middle of Israel and when Jewish people were going from the northern part of Israel to the southern part or from the south to the north, they would walk around Samaria even though it added a full day to their journey. This woman is not only a Samaritan, she's a woman with a bad reputation. The fact that she comes late in the day likely indicates that she was not accepted by the other women. She's a woman, she's a Samaritan, and she is a person of questionable character and yet this is the first person to whom Jesus chooses to reveal himself as the Messiah. Could you just take a moment and let that sink in?
He could have done it to anybody. He chose her. See, the reason I point this out is I know I'm talking to some people here this afternoon who feel ostracized by the church.
Your past, some mistake, your upbringing, your nationality, whatever makes you feel like an outsider. I just want you to know he came for you, specifically for you. I love how the Apostle John opens this story.
It's right there the first part of the chapter. He says, and Jesus needed to pass through Samaria. He needed to go through Samaria.
Why? There was no reason he needed to go through Samaria other than her. He made a special trip just for her. When I was growing up in Sunday school, seven, eight years old, before I knew that Samaria was a particular place, I thought when the teacher was going through the story, I thought she was saying and Jesus came to some area. I would think, what area? She would say, Samaria. I'd be like, I know, but what area? Samaria.
Which area? It was like an Abbott and Costello who's on first routine. Here's what I want you to see. Jesus planned a special trip to Samaria for her. He planned a special trip to this area for you. You might think that the invitation to be here this afternoon was random. Just a friend who wanted you to come to the Christmas services at their church. Just a child who wanted you to come with them because they've started to enjoy this church when they're at college. But it wasn't random. God was in it.
The Holy Spirit was in it. He is seeking you. He has been seeking you and he's been doing it for a long time. If you look back through your life, you'll realize that.
He's seeking you right here tonight. Here's the second thing that you learned. Number two, Jesus knows all there is to know about you. Jesus knew all of her secrets. He knew all the ways she felt alone. He knew all the ways she felt misunderstood. He knew all the ways she felt judged and condemned and ostracized. He knew all the things that caused her shame. He also knew things about her that could literally have gotten her killed. You see, in those days, being caught in sexual sin of this type was punishable by death.
In the wrong crowd, she could have been stoned. For him to know this about her was not only embarrassing, it was threatening. See, this encounter asks a question that all of us ask inwardly.
That question is, what is it like to be completely exposed in all of your sin and all of your shame with nowhere to hide in the presence of a holy God? The answer is, it's safe. It's safe. In fact, it's the safest place in all the universe. It's the only safe place in all the universe.
See, that's because of number three. Jesus came not to condemn. He came to save. Jesus did not expose this woman to embarrass her or shame her or judge her.
He exposed her to save her. The apostle John had said, just the chapter before this one, that that is exactly why Jesus had come. For God did not send his Son into the world, John said, to condemn the world.
No, the reason he sent the Son into the world was so that the world through him might be saved. Do you ever wonder what Jesus might say to you if you met him at a random bus stop out of the middle of nowhere? It wouldn't be words of condemnation or rejection. In fact, I'm sure that you would be overwhelmed by how much he cared about you, how much he knew about you, how much he understood you, how accepting he was of you.
Though he knows everything there is to know about you, his words to you will be words of acceptance and love, the words of a father who has never stopped loving you and is waiting for you to come home. Maybe your interaction with the church has felt like the opposite. Maybe all you've gotten from the people of Jesus is judgment and shame, criticism, rejection.
All I can tell you is that it should not have been like that. The apostle John says that Jesus was full of grace and truth, grace and truth. Truth without grace is fundamentalism. It's death-producing, not life-giving. Grace without truth is equally lifeless.
That's just sentimentality. Some churches tend toward the truth side. Maybe you grew up in one like this where you go in and it's all about the truth and it's all about who's wrong, all about how you're wrong, and you just feel condemned by it. There are other churches that tend toward the grace side where it's all about acceptance but at the expense of God's word. Jesus was full of both grace and truth. And both together, John said, both together was the glory of God. You see, there was nobody who was more righteous and pure than Jesus. Jesus always told the truth about sin.
He never compromised the commandments of God no matter how unpopular they were in his day. He was himself without sin, without blemish and flaw, and yet he drew in close those whose lives were filled filled with mistakes and compromises and sin. That's because he was full of grace and truth. See, that spoke to what psychologists say is one of our deepest needs, a primal yearning to be known and loved. Known and loved. See, because to be known and not loved might be truth, but it's rejection. But on the other hand, to be loved but not really known, that feels hollow.
It feels sentimental. We desperately crave someone who sees all of us, the real us, the broken us, the parts of us that we feel ashamed about and loves us anyway, and that's who Jesus was. Jesus knew the truth about this woman. He knows the truth about us, and he spoke words of acceptance, not condemnation. And see, that's because Jesus was going to a cross where he would be condemned for her, where he would be condemned for us. Where he would shed his blood to take away our sin. He could speak words of acceptance to us because he heard words of rejection for us. On the cross, the father turned his face away from Jesus so he could turn his face toward us. God had promised a messiah for 1500 years, 2000 years, God had promised a messiah who would come and save.
And everybody always assumed that that meant overthrowing Rome and getting rid of world hunger and getting rid of all disease and making all their problems go away. But Jesus said, yeah, but there's a bigger salvation that's needed. There's a bigger problem that the messiah needs to deliver from, and it's not out there in the world, it's in you. You need to be saved. You need to be delivered from your sin and your shame and the fear that keeps you hiding and separated from God. The last thing that Jesus's church should feel like is a cloistered group of righteous judgmental people who huddle together and condemn the world. The church is nothing but a hospital full of redeemed and recovering sinners. You're listening to Summit Life with Pastor J.D.
Greer. Remember, you can always find out more about this ministry by visiting jdgreer.com. You know, this time of year is really critical for organizations like Summit Life, and that might be a bit surprising to you if you don't know what it takes to fund a ministry like this.
You see, when you give to Summit Life, you're making sure that cost doesn't get in the way for anyone who wants to learn and grow in their faith through this teaching. Your generous gift, especially at this time of year, helps others dive into the message of the gospel. So would you consider just one more Christmas gift today, joining with us in our mission?
And guess what? We'll return the favor with a special gift. It's our ever popular Summit Life daily planner for 2025. We'll send it to you as a token of our thanks for your generosity to the ministry right now.
So give us a call at 866-335-5220 or check it out at jdgreer.com. Now let's finish up our short teaching series here on Summit Life. Once again, here's Pastor J.D. My favorite description of the church is probably 1 Corinthians 6 where the Apostle Paul says, do you not know? Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? You know what we call that right there, friend? That's truth. He's not shy about it.
He's just telling you like it is. The unrighteous, those who are practicing unrighteousness, they're not going to be in the kingdom of God. And then Paul goes on to give a broad range of examples.
And those examples span from those guilty of sexual immorality all the way down to those who disparage and slander their neighbors, from those who actually steal to those who are driven by greed. And then in verse 11, he makes a statement that makes every one of us sit down. Verse 11, and such were some of you. But see, now you're washed. You didn't become perfect. You got washed of your sin by Jesus' blood. And then you were sanctified. Sanctified means set apart.
God had a purpose and a plan for you, not because you were awesome, but because he put his spirit in you and he recreated you as his workmanship in Christ Jesus to bring you, to use you to bring blessing to others. And then you were justified. Justified means declared righteous and forgiven of all your sins in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the spirit of our God. Jesus exposed this woman not to humiliate her. He exposed her to forgive her.
He wants you to expose your sin to him, not so he can condemn you, but so that he can save you. Again, this story, ask a question. What's it like to be completely exposed? All of your sin and all of your shame with nowhere to hide in the presence of the almighty God. The answer? It's safe.
In fact, it's the safest place in all the universe. And that leads me to number four. Jesus is what you're looking for. See, all this woman's life, she's been searching, searching for something to numb the empty longing, something that will take away the shame. Five husbands in, y'all, and she still ain't found it. You've been here, right?
I mean, maybe not literally. Maybe you haven't been through five marriages, but in some way, you've turned to five things in your life, thinking that one of those is going to satisfy. What was it for you? Oh, you thought getting the job would make the thirst go away.
It was fun for a while, but eventually it didn't. You're still thirsty. You thought getting married would make the thirst go away. Seven years into marriage and you realize I had such high hopes, but it didn't work.
You're thirsty. I'll tell you this as a pastor now for over two decades, lonely, insecure, single people become lonely, insecure, married people because loneliness and insecurity are not single problems. They're God problems.
And problems like loneliness and insecurity aren't taken away by another human being. They're only taken away by the love of God. You thought that having kids would make the thirst go away, and you love your kids.
You would never want to be apart from them. You may make you sometimes want to throw yourself into a well, but you love them. But you know, I didn't quite do it either. You're still thirsty.
You thought getting in shape would do it. Having the procedure, you thought that would do it, but the comparison game is still alive and well in your heart, and you're still thirsty. Friend, your well might be relationships, it might be cars, it might be hairstyles, it might be wardrobes, the college you get into, how many likes you get on TikTok or whatever. And each of those things may satisfy you for a moment or for a night or for a season, but I promise you, I promise you, you're going to get thirsty again.
You can be like, I saw Katy Perry on Instagram recently who said 100 million downloads and still insecure. That's because the well you're drinking from just won't last, and that's why the gospel is so beautiful, because in the gospel, Jesus offers us something that actually will last himself. His presence, eternal life, eternal joy, eternal fellowship with the God you were created for.
Let me ask you this. She's had five husbands, and now she's living with a man who is not her husband which makes him number six. What number does that make Jesus? Number seven.
Isn't that perfect? See, seven is a really important number in the gospel of John. It's a really important number in the Bible. In the gospel of John, there's seven miracles, seven interactions. Seven is God's number.
It's the number of completion. It's almost as if Jesus is saying, even numerically, you've been working your way through all these relationships. Six represents all your life, all these relationships you've turned to, but the relationship, the seventh relationship you've really been looking for, that's me. I'm the romance you've been looking for. The arms you were searching for in romance were actually my arms. I'm the friendship you've been looking for. I'm the confidant you've been looking for.
I'm the counselor you've been looking for. I'm the comforter you've been looking for. I'm the rock. I'm the security. I'm the Father.
I'm the defender. I'm all of it. I'm everything you've been looking for. Jesus is what you've been looking for. It's what she's been looking for. The arms that Arms that she's been searching for in romance have been his arms. It's what you're looking for. Listen, I don't know what six wells you've been drinking from.
I don't know what six lover's arms you've been trying to find satisfaction in, but I can promise you, Jesus is your number seven. I call this message the day that Jesus found what he was looking for. It's a throwback to one of the greatest songs of all time, U2's, I still haven't found what I'm looking for. Song was written in 1987, though it's made a comeback in that epic, theatric masterpiece, Sing To, made a comeback for a new generation.
I think that song turned into one of the most popular songs of all time because it resonated with something deep in all of us. I've climbed highest mountains. I've run through the fields. I've scaled these city walls, but I still haven't found what I'm looking for. Maybe that describes you. You've drunk from different wells, but you still haven't found what you're looking for.
Maybe the reason you haven't found what you're looking for is that you've never realized that what you're looking for is actually somebody who is looking for you. C.S. Lewis always said, he said, when an earthly idol disappoints you. You've got four choices. You'll do one of these four things.
I promise you'll do one of these four things. You'll blame the idol. Oh, it's just the wrong one, it was the wrong girl, the wrong husband, it was the wrong career.
Money wasn't really at, family was where I should have put all my time. You'll blame the idol and choose a new idol. Second option is you can blame yourself. Something wrong with me and live with insecurity and fear and shame.
You can, number three, blame the world. Just become a cynic and conclude that there's no happiness in life. We just need to embrace the aloneness and the darkness, that there's no joy in life, and live in despair. Lewis said the fourth option, the only real option, is that you can realize that you were created for something beyond this world. When an idol fails you, you'll either blame the idol, you'll blame yourself, you'll blame the world, or you'll realize that you are really searching for something that's never been in this world to begin with. It's something that came from outside this world into it.
It was the Son of God. Lewis said, if I find in myself a yearning which nothing in this world can satisfy, the best explanation is that I was created for another one. Maybe right now, for the first time in your life, you could admit to yourself that you just don't feel complete. You've accomplished so much.
Godfather, you never thought you'd get, but still, something's not quite right. The reason you feel that way is because you were created for the love of God. It's like Saint Augustine said 1,600 years ago, our hearts are restless until they find their rest in you. The apostle John tells us that Jesus came as the Messiah to restore that love to you, and he calls you to follow him, to accept him as your personal Messiah, just like he called this woman to. Accepting that invitation is not a blind leap into the dark, as our critics love to say. Accepting that invitation is a step into the light, because it's a step toward a love that you've always yearned for, a step toward a God who knows everything there is to know about you and loves you anyway, a step toward a God who has never stopped thinking about you, not even for one second, who has seen every hair that's fallen from your head and captured every tear that's dropped from your eye. It is a step toward a love that you have always craved, and that is a desire to be known and loved by an all-knowing, all-powerful, all-forgiving almighty God. Listen again to John's great invitation.
It's the greatest invitation ever extended to anybody on earth, and it's been extended to you. As many as received him. Oh, that's all it took just to receive him, that's it.
As many as received him, to them, he gave the power to become the children of God, just to those who believe on his name. What does it take to become a Christian? How many years you gotta go to church? How much money do you have to give? How many rituals do you have to participate in? You know, the answer is none of those, none of those.
What's it say? You just have to receive him. That's it, like this woman, you just have to accept that he is the Messiah, he is your Messiah, that he came for you.
You accept his offer to save you, to trust him and to follow him. Why did Jesus come? Why was he born?
Why did he have a sinless, perfect life, only to lay it down on the cross? He did that for you, and you can come to know him today. What better day than Christmas? Okay, Pastor JD, it's finally here, it's Christmas Day, but that also means New Year's is right around the corner. As we look ahead to the New Year, a lot of people are setting goals for themselves. Do you have any thoughts for our listeners as they're kind of looking ahead and making these plans? Yeah, Molly, time is one of the few resources that we just can't manufacture anymore of, no matter what you do. So the question becomes, how do you make the most out of the 86,400 seconds God gives you every day?
Well, it starts with a little bit of planning and intentionality. That's why we provide at the beginning of the year, this tool, it's a daily and yearly planner that will help assist you in setting your own goals and holding yourself accountable for what you believe God wants to do in your life. So yeah, we've all got health goals and educational advancement goals and managing our finances better, but the most crucial investment we can make, the one that anchors all the rest, is in the realm of the spiritual. So this new year, don't neglect that one because that's foundational to the others. This tool will help you lay out some spiritual goals.
We've included a Bible reading plan in this resource that'll just guide you. Here's the deal, don't let this opportunity slip through your fingers. It's only available at the beginning of the year. So head on over to jdgrier.com slash donate. Let's resolve to thrive in 2025. And let's do that by anchoring it in intentionality and goals that we are setting for ourselves and holding ourselves accountable to this planner, this Bible reading plan will help you. So go to jdgrier.com and get yours today. Be sure to ask for a copy of the 2025 Summit Life Planner when you give a generous year-end gift today by calling 866-335-5220.
That's 866-335-5220 or request the planner when you give online at jdgrier.com. Thank you so much for partnering with us. I'm Molly Vidovich. Once again, all of us here at J.D. Greer Ministries wish you a very Merry Christmas. And tomorrow we'll kick off a new teaching series called For Told, focusing on the Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah. We'll see you Thursday for Summit Life with J.D. Greer. Today's program was produced and sponsored by J.D. Greer Ministries.
