I have asked some of you this question before, but I am going to ask it again because it so closely ties in with what we are going to talk about in our gospel lesson from John 4:5-26. The question is this, “Who, out of all the people in the bible, do you identify with the most?” Men, if you are like me you tend to see yourself as either a Peter or a Paul? Either you identify with Peter, a guy who often speaks before he thinks, but is passionate about his faith and is willing to fight for what he believes. Or you identify with Paul, a guy who is more calculated and controlled who had shameful past living in opposition to Christianity, but who completely turned his life around when he had a ‘come to Jesus moment’ and became a tireless servant of the church. Ladies, I wouldn’t be surprised if you see yourselves as either a Mary or a Martha? Either you identify with Mary, a gal who wants to learn as much as she can about Jesus even if that means the dishes are piling up in the sink and generously spends money to honor Jesus even if that means there is less money to spend on the poor. Or you identify with Martha, a gal who is more practical and realistic and prefers to show her love for the Lord by the way she works behind the scenes so that others can enjoy the time they spend with Jesus.

Maybe there are some people from the Old Testament that you identify with more. Maybe you see yourself as an Abraham or Sarah, Samson or Deborah, Boaz or Ruth. But don’t you think it is interesting that the people in the bible you tend to identify with are Jews? I ask, not because I am an antisemite (don’t woke-out on me here), I ask because, well, you are not Jewish. You are not from the house and line of David. Genetically speaking, you are not the descendants of Father Abraham. While David and Solomon were building the great temple and city of David your people were raiding other villages for food, clothing, and territory. It takes a certain amount of gall to imagine that your people are the Jewish people. In fact, Gaul is where your people come from. Your people and my people are the Franks, the Gauls, what the Romans referred to as the Germanic tribes of the north. (Yes, my dear southerners there was a time that your people were considered the northerners.) While people like Peter were confessing “you are the Christ of God”[1] and Mary was focusing on ‘the one thing needful’[2] your people were most likely worshiping Óðinn and Thor. But I digress; the point is the Jewish people are not your people. Your people are not the descendants of Abraham. When the Lord said, through the prophet Jeremiah, “I will be the God of all the clans of Israel, and they will be my people.” He was not talking to you.

I am sure you share personality similarities with Peter, Paul, Mary, and Martha, but there are people in the pages of scripture with whom you might more appropriately identify. We read about one of them in our gospel lesson for this morning and as I tell you more about her you are, at first, going to be irritated with me, but in the end, I pray you will be comforted by the comparison.

The person with whom I am inviting you to identify this morning is not given a name. In our gospel lesson she is simply referred to as “7… a Samaritan woman”. Now, there are theologians who are much kinder in their estimation of this Samaritan woman. They see in her more earnestness and sincerity than I do. The reason why I think I view her and am about to portray her in such a negative light is because I know her. I know her as if she were my own reflection in the mirror. And trust me there was a time when that reflection was anything but earnest and sincere.

John tells us Jesus found this woman while He was traveling through Samaria. Traveling through Samaria, for a Jew like Jesus, was like traveling through a gang filled ghetto. The Samaritans and the Jews had a long history of violence and conflict. You see, the Samaritans were the descendants of Jewish people who intermarried with the Assyrians after they conquered the northern kingdom and filled the land with pagan worship to gods like Baal. The Samaritans worshiped the one true God, but they did not worship Him alone. They augmented and supplemented their faith with superstition, popular opinion, and other ideas that seemed right to the minds of men. Which is why John tells us typically “Jews do not associate with Samaritans”.

I trust that you are already able to identify with a Samaritan. However, if you are having difficulty, I might direct your attention to Romans 8:7[3] or similar passages where we are reminded there was a time when our minds were as hostile toward Jesus as a Samaritan was toward a Jew. I might also ask you to examine your own heart and see if you haven’t been guilty of augmenting and supplementing your faith with superstitions, opinions, and ideas that are not found in or are contrary to what is written in scripture.

However, If you require further convincing perhaps it would help if we took a closer look at the Samaritan woman in our gospel lesson. She comes alone to Jacob’s well. Typically, for safety and decency, women came as a group to draw water from a well. This Samaritan woman seems to be an outcast of sorts. Jesus, who can read the secrets of the heart as easily as we can read headline in a newspaper, tells us this woman was not just separated from society, but her sin had separated herself from her God. Jesus said to her, “18 The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband.” This woman had a history of adultery, divorce, and fornication.

Does this information about the Samaritan woman make it easier for you to identify with her? Sadly, It should. Maybe your sins have not been as brazen as hers, but your sins have the same effect as hers. Your sins, even if they are not committed with the flesh but are quietly contained in your heart or your mind, your sins, like her sins, separate you from your God.

For those of you who are still not able to identify with the Samaritan woman I invite you to see how she repeatedly tries to dismiss Jesus. When Jesus offers to give her a drink, she doubts His ability and says, “11… you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep.” When Jesus explains that the water He gives satisfies an eternal thirst, she demonstrates she is primarily interested in her temporal comfort and says, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.” When Jesus confronts her about her adultery, she tries to shift the blame and says, “20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.” When Jesus redirects her back to spiritual truths, she attempts to agree to disagree and says, “25… I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”

Can you not identify with this Samaritan woman who repeatedly tries to dismiss Jesus? When Jesus says, “Come to me all you who are weary and burdened”[4] do you not question the power of prayer? How else can you explain why you so rarely close your eyes, fold your hands, and bow your head? When Jesus tells us to “seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”[5] Do not our daily activities indicate that we are primarily interested in temporal comforts? When Jesus says, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”[6] Do we not try to shift the blame by pointing out that there are far worse people who have fallen shorter of the glory of God than we? When Jesus tells us “all scripture is God breathed”[7] do we not demonstrate a desire to agree to disagree when we live in defiance of scripture and act as though God is wasting His breath on us?

Of all the people in the pages of Scripture, I am not sure you can find a better person to identify with than this naturally hostile, inherently sinful, and dangerously dismissive Samaritan woman… I told you I was at first going to irritate you with this comparison, but I also told you by the end you would be comforted. Allow me to share that comfort with you now.

In verse 4 comfort is given to all who identify with the Samaritan woman. There we are told Jesus “had to go through Samaria”. Jesus did not go through Samaria because it was the only route. (Indeed, most Jews chose an alternate route around Samaria.) Jesus did not go through Samaria because there was something there he needed. (Indeed as far as we know the Samaritan woman never gave Jesus the drink of water he asked for.) Jesus had to go through Samaria because that is where the naturally hostile people lived. Jesus had to go through Samaria because His love for those naturally hostile people compelled Him to go. Jesus had to go through Samaria for the same reason He had to be born for you.

In verse 10 more comfort is given to all who identify with the Samaritan woman. There Jesus offers to give “living water”. While in Samaria Jesus talks to a Samaritan. He talks to a woman who He knows to be a filthy sinner. He talks to her about sin and grace; law and gospel. Yes, He forces her to confess her sin that had separated her from her God, but only so that she can realize how badly she needs the gift of God that Jesus has to offer. Jesus described God’s gift of forgiveness and salvation as living water because it satisfies an eternal thirst; a thirst that no sinner can on their own quench. Jesus exposed the Samaritan woman’s sin and offered her the gift of God because He wants all people, not just Jewish people, but all people, even filthy sinners like this Samaritan woman and filthy sinners like you and me to be forgiven and drink their fill of the living water that leads to eternal life.

Finally, in verse 26 still more comfort is given to all who identify with the Samaritan woman. There Jesus declares “I who speak to you am he”. For those who recognize the same dangerously dismissive spirit in themselves as was displayed by the Samaritan woman, it is immensely comforting to see how patiently persistent Jesus was with the Samaritan woman. Jesus kept talking with her. He put up with her sassiness, He exposed her sin, and He kept her focused on spiritual truth. Jesus kept speaking to the Samaritan woman until she realized the one speaking to her was the Messiah she had been waiting for. Jesus was patiently persistent with the Samaritan woman, and He is patiently persistent with you. As a child He spoke to you through your Christian parents, as an adolescent He spoke to you through your Sunday School teachers and pastor, as an adult he continues to speak to you through your Christian friends and family. Jesus puts up with your sassiness, He exposes your sin, He keeps you focused on spiritual truth; He speaks to you again and again so that you can know and continue to know that He is your Messiah.

Of all the people in the pages of scripture with whom you can identify with, it is comforting to be able to identify with a woman who, though hostile, was sought out by the Savior who loved her, who, despite her sin, was offered the gift of living water, who, though dangerously dismissive, has a savior who patiently and persistently reveals Himself as our Messiah.

Men, I know you tend to identify with a leader of the church, like Peter or a great missionary, like Paul. Ladies, I know you tend to identify with a student of the Lord, like Mary or a servant of the Lord, like Martha. I know identifying with a random Sarmatian woman might not seem as appealing. But, before we close, can I tell you how her story ends? After she recognized Jesus as her Messiah she ran back and told everyone she knew what she had learned about Jesus. She convinced them to listen to what He had to say. And having listened, they begged Him to stay with them and tell them more about the gift of living water He had to give them. By the time Jesus left Samaria we are told many Samaritans became believers and confessed that Jesus “really is the Savior of the world”.[8] I guess what I am saying is, she might not have been from the house and line of David, but in her and through her God was glorified.

Wanting to be like Peter, Paul, Mary, or Martha is admirable, but it is comforting to know that by the grace of God you have more in common with a Samaritan woman. Amen.

[1] Matthew 16:16

[2] Luke 10:42

[3] 7 the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so.

[4] Matthew 11:28

[5] Matthew 6:33

[6] Romans 3:23

[7] 2 Timothy 3:16

[8] John 4:42