SPRING QUARTER SUNDAY SCHOOL 2003



WINTER QUARTER SUNDAY SCHOOL 2020-2021

THEME: CALL IN THE NEW TESTAMENT

UNIT THREE: THE CALL OF WOMEN

“CALLED TO SALVATION TO REACH OTHERS IN SPITE OF PREJUDICES”

Sunday School Lesson No. X – February 7, 2021

Lesson Presented by Rev. Frank A. Davis, III, Pastor-Teacher

Lesson Text: John 4:4-42

Required Reading: John 4:1-42

Motto Text: John 4:24, “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”

Reliable Resources: Precepts for Living, UMI; Word Search 10 Electronic Library; Logos Bible Software; The

Bible Exposition Commentary by Dr. Warren Wiersbe

INTRODUCTION

One of the great things that has divided humanity is prejudice. It has caused much heartache and a lack of production within the human race. Most prejudice is along racial lines and such, as we would note in today’s lesson. Jesus, traveling from Judea to Galilee, was minded to go through the land of Samaria. Now logically, this was the way to go because of its straight route. But because of prejudice, the Jews refused to pass through Samaria and instead crossed east over the Jordan River, traveled north until they had bypassed Samaria and then crossed back west to proceed into Galilee. Beloved, prejudice can cause a major detour along life’s way!

As Jesus arrived on the outskirts near Sychor, He sat on a well dug by Jacob many centuries before. It is at this place that we will demonstrate the love of Christ for an outcast soul. A woman who came seeking a physical drink and received divine deliverance! Why were the Israelites prejudiced against the Samaritans? Note the historical events in II Kings 17:24, “And the king of Assyria brought men from Babylon, and from Cuthan, and from Ava, and from Hamath, and from Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel: and they possessed Samaria, and dwelt in the cities thereof.” 722 BC was the fall of Samaria, the Northern Kingdom to Assyria. After the Israelites were captured, the underclass was commingled with others who were conquered, and their descendants were called Samaritans. Here, the pureblooded Jews gendered a great prejudice of hate against them. Let us note how Jesus went beyond human prejudice to reach a woman who was called from extraordinary circumstances!

ANTICIPATED POWER POINTS:

• The Pre-Arrangement. John 4:4-7

• The Proposition. John 4:8-10

• The Preoccupation. John 4:11-15

• The Predicament. John 4:16-20

• The Proclamation of the Promised One. John 4:21-42

OUTLINE

Jesus’ encounter with the outcast woman of Samaria demonstrates his desire to reach all in spite of human prejudice. This lesson divides itself as follows: Pre-Arrangement – Proposition – Preoccupation – Predicament – Proclamation of the Promised One.

I. The Pre-Arrangement. John 4:4-7

On the calendar of eternity was marked the need for Jesus Christ to meet at Jacob’s Well near Sychor, a specific unnamed woman of Samaria. John 4:4, “And he must needs go through Samaria.” Only eternity can tell of this pre-arranged encounter, God sending Jesus to meet this poor, outcast woman. Not only an outcast from Israel, but even from her own people (thus her coming alone to draw water at midday). Jesus only, knowing that this encounter was pre-arranged, arrived before she came, and when she arrived opened the conversation with a statement that would lead to a salvation experience. Remember beloved that Jesus Christ knows everything about everyone, and He especially seeks to save us all! (Romans 5:6-8).

II. The Proposition. John 4:8-10

“What is your proposition?” is the question of the woman. Undoubtedly, she asked this question because she was accustomed to being questioned by men, but it was highly unusual to be questioned by a man of Jesus’ caliber. She looked at Him through the eyes of the flesh! But Jesus’ proposition was truly of the Spirit. He saw her hurting, destitute position in life and came to offer her the only remedy for her distress. Luke 19:10, “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” Jesus, even in His humanity, could have survived without her drink of water, but a “living water” was what was needed in the life of this woman. The term “living water” actually referred to the cool running water at the deepest point of Jacob’s well, but spiritually this “living water” was the everlasting, refreshing, life-giving power of the Spirit of God, that could only be given by the person of Christ. It was as Jesus told Nicodemus, “ye must be born again.” This water comes from the throne of God and is spiritual. Have you drunk of this water today, my beloved? Read Jeremiah 2:13; 17:13; Isaiah 55:1; John 7:37-39.

III. The Preoccupation. John 4:11-15

This section was excluded from the Sunday School text, but it basically describes the woman’s preoccupation with physical water and Jesus’ preoccupation with spiritual living water. As we learned from the lesson on Nicodemus in John 3:6, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” Beloved, in order to know the gift of God, one must receive Jesus Christ on His terms. Be careful of our pre-occupations!

IV. The Predicament. John 4:16-20

In verse 15, the woman says that she wanted the water that would cause her not to return to Jacob’s well. Why? Because she was tired of her physical predicament. But Jesus raises the bar on her to the spiritual level by questioning her concerning her living conditions. Dakes declares, “This was Christ’s way of getting to the root of her trouble, so He could legally give her salvation.” The prejudices between Jew and Samaritan cannot cover the problem of sin. At the root of all our lives, we must deal with the sin problem. Romans 3:23 reveals that “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.”

The woman’s predicament that prevented the receiving of “living water” was her personal sin problem, and thanks be to God, she admitted the truth to Jesus (verse 17). Also, after Jesus exposes her sin in verse 18, there was another issue that must be addressed and answered. In verse 19, she received Jesus as a prophet because He knew her situation, but salvation is not based on His position as a prophet. He must be Lord or Messiah in one’s life. The woman remembered her teachings from Deuteronomy 18:15-19, where Moses spoke concerning a coming prophet like unto himself, but this man would be God’s Anointed Messenger, Messiah and Judge. The predicament of this woman was shrouded in her knowledge of religion, but not a relationship with God. Read verse 20.

V. The Proclamation of the Promised One. John 4:21-42

Neither prejudice nor persecution could keep the Promised One our Lord from reaching and completing His goal or objective. Jesus takes the elementary knowledge of this woman and turns her back to the throne of His message. It’s not about the relationships of the flesh, but the position of the soul through the spirit. The place of worship for the Samaritans was destroyed many years before, and in A.D. 70 the place of the Jews’ worship would be destroyed. But, if one will drink the living water of Christ’s salvation, they would have the Spirit’s power to repent of sin and follow Christ in Spirit and in truth! God is no respecter of persons. His desire is the salvation of all human beings. 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 Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth."

Jesus proclaims that He is the Promised One in verse 26, and the woman believed it and received that “living water.” How do I know that? Read John 4:28-29, and you will discover that she left the physical and declared the spiritual. Jesus Christ had given her what she really needed.

CLOSING

Beloved, where and how are you searching for significance? Jesus Christ is our “living water” and only through Him can we find the answer to all of life’s questions. No prejudice or partition can separate us from His love! Read Romans 8:35-39.

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Bibleway Missionary Baptist Church, New Orleans and Little Bethel Baptist Church, Amite City, LA

Mailing Address: Post Office Box 19768, New Orleans, LA 70179

Phone: (504) 486-7876 Website:

Looking Ahead: February 14, 2021 Luke 8:1-3; Mark 15:40; John 20:10-18

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