Middletown transcript., 1900-02-17
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.
LESSON VII, FIRST QUARTER, INTER-
NATIONAL SERIES, FEB. ts.


Memory Verses, 11-14-GoIden Text,
John iv, 24-COmmentary Prepared
by the Rev. d. M. stearns.
copyright, 1900. by D. NJ stearnsl
SO. Jesus saith unto her, Give Me
to drink" This is the first recorded ut
terance of our Lord on this occasion.
John seems to give the consecutive story
Of this part of our Lords life from chap
ter i, 10, to iv, "a. He is now on His
way from Judaea to Galilee, and, passing
through Samaria, He stops to rest at ia
cob's well. What the need was for Him
to go this way we do not know, unless 1t
was to accomplish just that which He
did accomplish, or it may simply mean
that in going north on the west of Jor-
dan there was no other way than through
Samaria, as any one can see by the map
The sixth hour must have been a. m.
or p. M, as we saw two lessons back by
comparing chapter xix, IA, and not noon
as some suppose. That Jesus was weary
and thirsty speaks to US of His true hu-
manity. AS our High Priest He can be
touched with a feeling of our in6rmities,
for in His mortal body He was compass
ed with inirmity Heb. iv, 15; v, p. He
was without sin, but He was often weak
and weary, hungry and thirty. He who
created all things made Himself depend
ent upon the ministry of others, and
just at this time His disciples had gone
to the city to buy meat.
1912. Here we have Jesus second say
ing and the woman's reply. He speaks
Of the gift of God and living water and
desires her to know Him that she may
ask and receive. She thinks only of the
water in Jacobs well and of Jacob who
gave the well, for she is only a natural
woman, as Nicodemus was only a natural
man, and she understands not spiritual
things. His "If thou knewest" makes
US think of His words as He wept over
Jerusalem, 'If thou hadst known" Huke
xix, 42), and His lament through the
prophets, Israel doth not know" "My
people know not" Qsa. i, 8; Jer. viii, u.
His Gift of God" makes us remember
II Cor. tx, 10: Rom. vi, %. The living
water takes US back to Jer. H. 13: xvii,
13; Eek. Xvii, 1; *, IL.
1915. This is the third word from our
Lord and from the woman. He will in
terest her in the living water and tells
her more about it, contrasting it with the
water from Jacobs well-water that will
cause one never to thirst again and be
well within one ever springing up. She
had never heard of water or a well like
this. 1t is no wonder that she said: Sir,
give me this water. What do you know
of this artesian well of water of life?
Are you ever seeking something to salts
fy, looking here or there for some new
thing, new friend, new book, letter
from some one, visit, anything under
the sun to engage your attention and oc-
cupy your mind and fill up your time?
Then you have yet to learn of the living
water and the well within. 1t is Him
self, the Fountain, the source of all life
and joy and peace, the sum and substance
of all true happiness.
16, II. The fourth word from each. He
has interested her in the living water and
led her to desire it, but now she must see
herself a sinner. He will show her her
self that she may desire Him and the life
which He gives. He came not to call
the righteous, but sinners, to repentance,
and sinners must know that they are
such before they will accept the Saviour
1920. The fifth word from each-dpep-
ening her conviction of self and sin and
opening her eyes to see that she was
talking to no ordinary man, but to one
who knew her well and saw all the in
wardness of her life. Acknowledging
that He is prophet or seer, she tries to
eyade his searching words by some
words about the difference between Sa-
maritan and Jewish worship, or as is
sometimes said today when unwelcome
truth begins to take hold: "Well, l do
not belong to your church. You believe
different from us"
81, %. This is part of the Saviour's
sixth and longest word to her. 1t is not
the place of worship that we are to con-
slider, but the person whom we worship,
as we shall see more clearly presently.
Samaria is nothing, Jerusalem and the
temple are nothing, but God, the God of
Israel. the only living and true God. He
is all.
%, "a This is still our Lords sixth
word. He has made her interested in
the living water, He has shown her her
sinfulness and her need, and now He re-
veals more fully the Father and how to
worship Him. He has said that it is not
the place, but the person. that is every
thing. and now He says that it is not the
form of worship, but the heart that is in
it, that counts. He had said through
Isaiah long before, This people draw
near me with their mouth. but have re-
moved their heart far from me lisa. xxx,
13); and through Ezekiel He said. With
their mouth they show much love. but |
their heart goeth after their covetousness
(Ezek. xxxiii, 81.
25. The woman's sixth word is: 81
know that Messiah cometh, who is called |
Christ. When He is come, He will tell |
us all things" Thus her thoughts have
been turned, like all the rest of whom |
we have thus far read in Johns gospel, |
to Him of whom Moses in the law and |
the prophets did write. Perhaps she ex- |
pected to hear something of Him. A |
change is evidently being wrought in her |
as the conversation proceeds. The Spirit |
is moving as the word is spoken. and the |
work is being done in her heart.
&C. Jesus saith unto her. that speak |
unto thee am He." The word He"
is in italics, so it is not in the Greek. |
The Lord said, .T am" 1t is the great
name OF Ex. iii. IA. She has seen Him.
she has heard Him, she receives Him as
the Messiah. the Christ: she has become |
a child of God John i, 12); her sins are |
forgiven Il John Il, 12). She leaves her |
waterpot, returns to the city and pro-
claims that she has found the Christ. |
Many believed her testimony. They came |
to Him and heard Him themselves. They |
besought Him to stay with them, and He /
abode two days. and many more believed
because of His own word. There was
great joy in that city, as there was also
afterward when Philip preached Christ
to them tActs viii. 5-S). The woman
seemed to forget all about Jacobs well
and all else and to be wholly occupied with
Him. Thus she became a well of living |
water When the disciples asked Him
to eat, after the woman had left, His tes-
timony was that He had meat to eat that /
they knew not of. and He added. my
meat is to do the will of Him that sent
Me and to finish His work" (verse 34).
May we be so occupied with Him that.
like the woman. we shall bear good. testi-
mOny!
(Nn XXYE EAT CTN " TH |