The Joy of Personal Knowledge
By Woodrow Kroll
John 4
The joy of salvation isn't getting into heaven, it's falling in love with the Savior.
Have you ever met someone famous, someone you'd read or heard about? Perhaps it was an author or a musician, and you knew all about their work and their life. Or, an athlete whose career you'd followed for years, you could quote game stats and records. Then you unexpectedly met that person face to face. The reality became so much more than every fact you knew about them, and you know you'll never think of them the same way again.
Well, today we go back to the Gospel of John where Jesus met a woman by a well in Samaria. She knew something about the Messiah, but her knowledge was transformed from facts into joy when she realized just who Jesus is. Personal knowledge can change your life--you'll see how in today's study.
John chapter 4 is such a delightful chapter because it teaches us about a woman who wanted living water, but she didn't even know who it was who was going to give that living water to her. Jesus goes through Samaria on His way to Galilee. And there as He goes through Samaria on His way to Galilee, He sits on the edge of Jacob's well. He encounters a woman who comes out to draw water.
And what we know about this woman is that she came out and she drew her water, and there Jesus said to her, "Give Me a drink." And she was shocked because Jews have no dealings with Samaritans. She's a Samaritan; Jesus is a Jew. And then Jesus says to her, "If you would ask Me of water, I could have given you water in which you would never thirst again." And she's shocked again. And she says, "I'll take a deal like that. Give me the water."
And then Jesus absolutely rocks her world. Look at this. Now, she never anticipated this. John 4:15, after the woman says, "Hey, I'll take a deal like that. Give me water that I'll never thirst again." John 4:16, "Jesus said to her, 'Go, call your husband, and come here.'"
Now you've got to ask yourself, friends, what on earth does her husband have to do with her getting living water? Aren't you amazed at the way Jesus operates? See, Jesus knew exactly what this woman needed. This woman needed to confront her own sin and trust Him as Savior. What she wanted was water; what she needed was salvation.
So Jesus responds to her, and He begins to divinely reveal to her who He is. And we can never come to salvation until we understand who Jesus is. So, He says to her, "Go, call your husband." And look at her response. Verse 17, "The woman answered and said, 'I have no husband.'"
Now, that would probably work for you and me. But not for Jesus! "Jesus said to her, 'You have said well, "I have no husband," for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly.'"
Now, at this point the woman probably said, "Eh, you're right." Now, that's not at all what she said! Look at verse 19. "The woman said to Him, 'Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet.'" Now she's gone from no knowledge of Jesus, to calling Him "Sir," to wanting the water of life. And now when Jesus says "You've had five husbands, and the man you're living with now is not your husband," she rocks back on her heels and she says, "Wow! Where did that come from? You must be a prophet."
Now she's interested in knowing Jesus as a prophet. But remember, knowing Jesus as a Rabbi, knowing Jesus as a teacher, knowing Jesus as a prophet isn't going to cut it with regard to knowing Jesus as the Savior. So this woman still hasn't come to grips with her sin. She's just amazed that Jesus knows all about it. And look what happens next. She's beginning to develop her knowledge of the Lord Jesus.
She said, "Look, You must be a prophet. That's how You know all this." Then Jesus begins talking about worshiping in Jerusalem or worshiping on the mountain there. The people of Samaria worshiped there on Mount Gerizim, that's where they had their temple, the southern slope of Mount Gerizim. The Jews had their temple in Jerusalem. That's where Jesus would worship.
And in the process of all this, Jesus says to her, "The day is coming when everyone will worship God in spirit and in truth." And when He introduced the fact that the day is coming, this is the response of the woman, look at verse 25. This is incredibly interesting. "The woman said to Him, 'I know that Messiah is coming' (who is called the Christ). 'When He comes, He will tell us all things.'"
Now, she understood that there would be a Messiah who would teach her all things. What she doesn't understand is He's sitting next to her right now. See, there are lots of people who know that there is a Messiah coming, they just don't understand that He's already come. And I find lots of people, scholars included, who say, "Jesus never, ever said He was the Messiah." Well, I have news for them. Look at the next verse, "Jesus said to her, 'I who speak to you am He.'"
That's about as plain as you can get. What Jesus is doing is, He is revealing Himself to a woman who needed to know not a person who could get water from a well, but a Person who could give her life eternal. She needed personal knowledge of Jesus, not knowledge that He is a Rabbi, or not knowledge that He is a prophet. She needed the knowledge that He is the Messiah, the Savior of the world, and He could be her Messiah and Savior. And she's about to get that knowledge.
This is the great part of the story. She's about to have this divine knowledge revealed to her from the Lord Jesus. And Jesus directly says, "I am the Messiah; I'm the One you're waiting for." Well at this point in the story, the disciples returned from town, they'd been buying cookies and other things to eat! And now the woman leaves. In fact she leaves in a hurry. Verse 28 says, "The woman then left her waterpot, went her way into the city, and said to the men, 'Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?'"
Now, she's encountered Jesus in a very unique way. She goes back to the city. Jesus has revealed Himself to her specifically, and she says to the men of the city, "He told me He is the Christ. Could it be true? Let me tell you what He did. He told me everything I've ever done. How can this possibly be true?"
So, she goes back to the city, and she tells everybody in town that she has met what she thinks is the Messiah. Notice the response of the people of the town. Go down to verse 39. Verse 39 in this same passage says, "And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because," now watch, "because of the word of the woman who testified, 'He told me all that I ever did.'"
She gave her testimony to the Samaritans in the city of Sychar, and many believed on the Lord Jesus because they heard her testimony. See? That's what salvation is all about. It's us telling others what Jesus has done for us, and then they believing that He can do the same thing for them.
But, you know what? This second-hand testimony is not like encountering Jesus personally yourself. And I have good news for you, verse 41, "And many more believed because of His own word." See, in verse 40 the Samaritans came out of the city. They urged Jesus to stay. They met Jesus personally. And when they met Jesus personally, they encountered the personal joy of knowing the Messiah, Christ, the Savior of the world.
Listen, I want to say this to you, you can know all there is to know about Jesus and not know Jesus. You can be theologically trained; you can have two Th.D.'s, a Ph.D., D.D.T., anything you want behind your name--but if you haven't had a personal encounter with Jesus, you haven't had the joy that these Samaritans have had.
In fact, notice in verse 42, the very next verse, "Then they said to the woman, 'Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him,' and look at the key word now, 'and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world.'" So, there you have it. These Samaritans now know through personal knowledge that this Person is Jesus the Christ, He is the Savior of the world. They have trusted Him personally, and suddenly their joy is breaking out all over the city of Sychar.
You know, when you come to know Jesus Christ as Savior it is pretty hard to hide your joy. You don't know Jesus as "Sir." You don't even know Him as "Prophet." You don't know Him as "Rabbi." You know Him personally as "Savior." And that's the whole point of this passage of Scripture. This woman and the people of Samaria came out to meet Jesus--not as a prophet, not as a teacher, not as a Jew passing through--they came out to meet Him as Savior of the world.
When you encounter Jesus that way, friends, your life is changed forever. Personal contact with Christ is necessary to make our faith complete. I know it was true in the life of the Rabbi, because there was a Rabbi, Saul was his name, on the way to Damascus to bring back in chains those Christians who had followed the new Way. See, Saul of Tarsus thought that these Christians were just somehow prostituting his religion. But on the road to Damascus he encountered Jesus in a personal way.
And he had personal faith in Jesus Christ as Savior, and it says that he immediately preached Christ that He was the Son of God. Now, you talk about a change, a dramatic change in a person's life! In Saul of Tarsus' life, the greatest change possible took place--the once persecutor of the Christian faith now became the preacher of the Christian faith. That's what happens when you have the joy of personal encounter with Jesus. I know it was true for Saul; it was true for the Rabbi.
A personal encounter with Jesus Christ changed the life of a scoundrel. Born in London in 1722, John Newton's mother died [when John was] at age seven. And for the rest of his life he was raised by his father who was a sailor. He was raised at sea, and he grew up rough and rugged and wild. But at age 23, John Newton was gloriously saved. And he gave up the slave trade that he was involved in, he gave up the sea, he came under the preaching of John Wesley and George Whitefield. And John Newton's life was changed.
He went to Olney to be the rector of the church there in Olney, England. And today you can go back to the courtyard, the churchyard at the back of Olney, at the rectory there, and you will see the grave of John Newton. And on the back side of the headstone, for John Newton, you will see his testimony that once he was a brigand and a robber, but by the amazing grace of God he encountered Jesus Christ in a personal way and his life was changed:
Amazing grace--how sweet the sound--
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind but now I see.
That's the testimony of a scoundrel.
I know that a personal encounter with Jesus changes the life of the Rabbi, changes the life of the scoundrel, a personal encounter with Jesus Christ changes the life of little children.
He was just a boy five years of age and a Child Evangelist came to the church that winter to have a Children's Crusade. And in the church, a very small church (100 people would fill this church to capacity), in this tiny little church there was a big old potbelly stove right out there in the middle. And a deacon would come in before the service and fire up that potbelly stove, and by the time the service started it would be 55� in that church in the winter. And an hour later when the service was over it was 110�. That furnace would crank up.
But one night preaching the Gospel, this evangelist gave an invitation, invited anyone to come who needed Christ as Savior. But he was specifically preaching to children, and this little five-year-old boy got out of the seat and came down. And after the service, the evangelist knelt with that boy at the front seat, right near that hot furnace. When he talked about the fires of hell, that little kid knew exactly what he was talking about. But that boy was gloriously saved.
See, the Gospel can change the life of a scoundrel. I know that's true because it changed the life of John Newton. The Gospel can change the life of a Rabbi. I know that's true because it changed the life of Saul of Tarsus. The Gospel can change the life of a little boy. I know that's true, because I was that little boy.
The Gospel's power is released when we come to a personal encounter with Jesus Christ--not as a Rabbi, not as a teacher, not as a prophet, not as an ethical leader, but as the only Savior this world will ever have. And unless you've come to Jesus to know Him that way, you don't have the joy of salvation, my friends.
But when you trust Him that way, when you come to Him and ask Him to change your life because you see Him as the only Savior you'll ever have, there is just so much joy this side of Glory. I can't wait to get to heaven, but I want to tell you--I want to live to the fullest before I get there. And the only way I can have that kind of abundant life is in the Person who loved me and gave Himself for me.
And only One Person ever did that. And His name is Jesus. And He's not just a teacher, friends, He's my Savior.
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