Evening star., 1932-01-23
Sunday School Lesson
Rev. Hugh T. Stevenson.

, into the controversial questions by as
suring her that eff she knew the gift
of God, and who 1t is that askest thee
to give Him drink of water, you would
have asked of Him and He would have
given thee living water" She knew the
differences between Giving water" and
the waters that had been standing in
cisterns. The water that comes from
Jacobs well has the GOODNESS and taste
like that of mountain spring. The
Samaritan woman was surprised at the
Masters statement for she did not see
the evidence that He possessed any
means to draw the water; probably one
of His disciples had 1t with him. Christ
had aroused her interest and curiosity,
for she asked How" He could give her
water She had taken Him literally,
when He was using water as symbol
of His personality. When she asked Him
to give her the water, so that she would
not be compelled to visit the well and
draw the water, which was no easy task,
Jesus revealed that He knew her real
needs by telling her to call her husband
That command probed her conscience.
Religious Controversies.
The woman shamefully answered
Jesus that she had no husband Christ
unmasked her lies by agreeing that she
did not have a husband, but that she
had lived with five husbands: and the
man she was then living with was not
her husband. The Master had revealed
her sin. She did not deny it, but tried
to turn 1t aside by bringing up the reli-
gious dispute that had helped to in
crease the racial prejudice and antago-
nism by acknowledging that she recog-
nized that Jesus was a prophet, and
asked Him to settle the controversy
concerning the place Of worship.
Christ was patriotic Jew. He loved
Jerusalem with an intense affection for
the capital city and the temple. He did
not have to decide between the rival
claims. The Jews had worshiped in
Jerusalem for thousand years and
the Samaritans had conducted worship
upon Gerizim, which was in full view,
for about 400 years. Instead of settling
the question that had been a subject
of difference, Jesus delivered one Of the
ciples of His whole ministry-the
doctrine of religious liberty. He pointed
out that worship was not question of
place or ritual, of mountains or temple,
but one OF heart and spirit. Because
worship was universal and spiritual, He
pointed out that although the Jews
had the truth, the hour had come when
neither GeriZim nor Jerusalem could
claim to be the exclusive place of wor-
ship. 1t was a universal privilege and
any soul who sought to worship God in
spirit and truth would be welcomed as
a true worshipper by the heavenly
Father
Revelation OF Messiah.
When the woman showed a different
attitude by pointing out that when the
Messiah would come He would teach
them the truth, Jesus revealed to her
that He was the Messiah. To this
abandoned woman Christ revealed
Himself in a clear cut and definite
statement that He was the Messiah.
She did not think about her purpose
In coming to the well, for Immediately
she left her water pots, hastened into
the nearby community and urged the
people to come and see the man who
told her all the things she had ever
done. She had taken a drink of the
living water. She proved her faith IN
His claims by inviting others to come
They came and believed Him on the
evidence that they saw themselves.
They came with an open mind and
found the Messiah.
The Masters JOY over the winning Of
the woman who had failed filled His
soul. He did not wish food when the
disciples returned and pressed Him
to eat He was thinking of the oppor-
tunity of winning the members of
despised and hated people of His king
dom. This refreshment was all that
He needed. Every soul-winner will find
the same JOY, If, like Christ, he seeks to
save the lost