Two People to Value

We're in the middle of our conversation between Jesus and the Samaritan woman. Jesus travels through Samaria from Galilee to get down to Jerusalem for a festival there, and on his way stops this well. Let's do this. I know we've got 27 through 30. That's our text proper there, but let's hit a few verses before that, and give us context in case you weren't here in previous weeks, and also to refresh us in that. So look at verse 7. We'll start with that. This is John chapter 4 beginning in verse 7. This is God's Word, eternally true. When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, will you give me a drink? His disciples had gone into town to buy food. The Samaritan woman said to him, you are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink? For Jews to not associate with Samaritans. Now look down a few verses. Verse 25. Stone chapter 4 verse 25. The woman said, I know that Messiah called Christ as coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us. Then Jesus declared, I who speak to you, am he? Just then his disciples returned, and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no one asked, what do you want? Or why are you talking with her? Then leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ? They came out of the town and made their way towards him. Let's drop back. I forgot to hit a couple of verses here. Go back to verse 16. I meant to hit that force. He, Jesus, told her, go, call your husband and come back. I have no husband she replied. Jesus said to her, you are right when you say you have no husband. The fact is, you have had five husbands. And the man you now have is not your husband. What you have said is quite true. Sir, the woman said, I can see that you are a prophet. Okay. Having read all this, we have got a response of thankfulness that is printed for you in your bulletin or up here on the TV here, the word of the Lord. Thank you. Thanks indeed. Let's pray. Our God and Father, we thank you for this your word. We pray that you teach us some structures from it. A teacher is about Jesus, what he is like, and what we are to be as we are to be like him. Re-shape our attitudes, our thoughts and our actions by your word, work by your spirit. To mold us more and more into the image and into the likeness of your son, Jesus. We pray this Father in the name of your son, Jesus, Amen. As you heard during our prayers today and our time of prayer sharing, we came to the Raleigh area to Clayton and moved to Clayton at the end of 1998. One of the first couples we met was a couple named Alan, so Cadwell, and also one who died a week and a half ago. So we were at the funeral yesterday, and it was interesting being there. Alan was somebody we met when we were first here, probably when we were first here and met with the session of our mother church, and they called me to come up here to start the church here. We certainly, I think, met him at least the second time we came up in October to look for a house. But we've known them for a while, and Alan has just been somebody I've seen, and Betsy has seen soot a lot. Alan's wife, and I was somebody who was always very cheery. And I've continued that relationship, like you can now in these modern days with Facebook until I got disgusted with it a few years ago. But also through email and texting, and Betsy and I went out with Alan, took some event up at Duke about a year ago. But it was interesting because I haven't been side by side. I've really worked with Alan at Cisco in the early 2000s. But it was interesting hearing his family, and those at the church talk about him. People who had walked beside him, like we really hadn't, since that nine months we were at Redeemer or our mother church. And it's here different things about him, like how the ways he liked music, and movies, and how music interacted in that, and just different things that he was interested in that were very particular about him. And I learned some things about Alan that I didn't know before, listening to his wife, and his two daughters recount his life. And Alan was a nice enough guy, and I liked Alan. We did things with him, and we were set up to go watch Groundhog Day together with another friend, which won't happen now, but now this other friend and I are going to do it in his honor. But as I was sitting there yesterday, I should have hung out with Alan more. And it wasn't that guilty thing when people feel guilty. I should have talked to him more, and I was such a terrible friend. It wasn't any of that kind of stuff. I had some commonalities with me, and some things that were very interesting about him, that I would have really enjoyed. And that fellowship together, and I wish I kind of saw him out, whether for lunches, or getting together, or having him down for dinner, or whatever. But I was surprised to hear these things, and a little bit disappointed that I missed out on those things. But here in this passage, as we look at this and this proper passage here that we have, we're looking at 27th through 30 this morning, we can hear from God communicating through John the Apostles, he writes this book to an original audience, John was writing to Christians who were Jewish in background. It's a Jewish people who had become Christians. And so he's writing to them probably about 60 years after the death of Jesus, around AD 90, and they have come to faith in Jesus as their Christ. Or if you've been around the church for a while, you know that that word is just the Greek word for anointed one. And the Hebrew word for anointed one is Messiah. And so the reason people were asking, could you be the Christ, or could you be the Messiah, or the reason the Samaritan woman is asking the question, you know I know when the Christ comes, as the Messiah he'll tell us all things, that people during Jesus, they were looking for that because they hadn't had a king reign over them, a son of David reign over them since 600 BC, it had been 600 years. And so they had the other anointed offices among them, priests were up and running, John the Baptist, the prophet was preaching there, but they hadn't had a king. And so this was this greatly anticipated thing. And so Jews in the first century who had believed in Jesus had believed in him as their Christ or their king. And they had come to understand that their king was no longer what they had expected, somebody who would reign in Jerusalem, earthly Jerusalem on a throne, kicking the Romans out so that they could settle again as 12 tribes in Israel in that promised land. And so if you were a Jew during John's day and reading this book as John wrote it to you, you had these certain questions had I made the right decision, was a big question. My brothers, my sisters, my mom and dad, or whoever, being Jewish, haven't believed in general that Jews didn't believe during the first century. But they had come to faith in Jesus as their king, as their Christ, as the one who was reigning over them, but now they understood he was reigning over them from heaven above and not from a throne in Jerusalem. And so they had come to faith and we see something that we should, just as they were to value, something that they were surprised at, like yesterday when I was surprised that I should have valued Al Moore than I did. These Jews were learning how much they were to value a couple of people, a couple of people from this text. And so if you'd like to fill out blanks in an outline here, you can do that. If you want to just listen, that's fine too, if that helps you to follow along. Here we go. The first thing God says to us here is value women as Jesus did value women as Jesus did. It stands out in this passage, you can look here, all this other stuff that's been talked about in the gospel, John, that pretty much centers on John 2031. John tells us there why you wrote the book, that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of God, and the by believing you might have life in his name. This is why I wrote all these things. That's what John says there at the end of the book. But here this just stands out and sometimes as you're going through a book of scripture, you see these little things that were other concerns of the author, John and God writing through John to Jewish people of his day. And this strikes us as funny and kind of almost a little bit off course here. But it's something John is making a point up because there's 27. Look there. Just then it's the cycle's return and we're surprised to find and talking with the woman. It doesn't seem to be right in the center thrust of this gospel that Jesus is the Christ, the son of God and the by believing you might have life in his name. But this is very much something John goes out of his way under inspiration, but always put down for us. So let's talk about that word of people that value women as Jesus did. And we see this from verse 7 through verse 27 which is Jesus whole conversation with this woman. And so let's talk about this. A in your outline. A in your outline. God gives us a very high view of women in the Old Testament. We're going to spend some time on this because you've been told some things that aren't true. God gives us a very high view of women in the Old Testament. So number one, here are all these things. We're just going to stack them up and we're going to talk about this for a while. And I'll just spill the beans here. Why are we talking about this for a while? Because Jesus' disciples were surprised that he was talking to a woman. The woman herself, verse 8, she's surprised that Jesus is talking to her because she's a woman. Not just because she's a Samaritan but because she's a woman. And so what John is doing is he's transforming the viewpoint of Jewish Christians during his day because God looked down and saw you're not treating women as you should in the church in AD 90. And so I need to reshape that for you by showing you Jesus' attitude toward women. But this comes not just for Jesus. This isn't Jesus reshaping a low view of women from the Old Testament. This is Jesus' reminding his people that if you're God's people, you should have been treating women very well all the way along because that's what I told you to do in the Old Testament. So God gives us a very high view of women in the Old Testament number 1. They bear God's image. It's not just men who bear God's image. Listen to this, Genesis 1.27. So God created man in his own image. In the image of God, he created him male and female. He created him. So he creates not just man the gender in his image, but mankind, male and female. He goes specifically name in his image. So women bear the image of God. And so just as how we don't murder people because they bear God's image or James 3, we don't slander people because they bear God's image. Because we treat people with respect because it's not like a squirrel that you might run over. I've done that on the way to church. Right after running over a turtle. I ran over a turtle on the way to church and then I was looking in my rear view mirror and said, oh man I ran over a turtle and then I went thump. And then I looked in my rear view mirror and then there was a squirrel. But women bear God's image. And so we treat people with respect because they have dignity. There's a book that's in there and called Design for Dignity. And the whole basis of the book is that people bear God's image. And so you treat them well even if they're acting in a dastardly way. There's certain things you don't do to somebody no matter what they have done because they still bear God's image. So women bear God's image. Sorry, that's Genesis 127. Second thing, high view of women in the Old Testament. God makes man incomplete without them. God makes man incomplete without him. He doesn't make men with all they need. They need women. So Genesis 2.18, the Lord God said, it is not good for man to be alone. So if man were just alone, if it were just our guys, that's not good. And that's not my opinion, that's God's opinion. He says it's not good for man to be alone. So he says, I will make a helper suitable for him and then he creates Eve. Paul resorts this in 1 Corinthians 11-11. He says, from the Lord neither is man independent of woman nor is woman independent of man. God has created us in our genders and our sexes with interdependency on each other. And we flourish as we relate to each other in a way that's interdependent with each other. And typically we have certain men have certain set of gifts and tendencies, typically 85% of us, like football. And then women have certain tendencies that are different. And there's some overlap there and maybe a 15% there. But then there are also some differences. Calvin climbs a guy and he designs clothes. And so there are differences. I like romantic movies and my wife likes action movies. So between independently, personally, we have to cross over. But it's not an only female thing to like a romantic movie or my favorite, I was an English major in college and I liked English novels. British novels because they, you know, it's weathering heights and sensibility and pride. And you know, these things that have these relationships and this, that create this longing or Thomas Hardy tests the Derberville. So it was, you know, this longing between two human beings, a man and a woman. And so even though most of you guys say, ah, chick flick, you know, I thought, oh man, this is so good. But he creates us an interdependent. He doesn't give Adam everything he needs. And he looks at Adam who was created first and he says, it's not good that he's stay alone. He needs a helper. He's got deficiencies that need to be met by somebody who is strong, who has competencies in areas where he is deficient. So God makes man incomplete without them. So this is a high view of women in your Old Testament from the get go. Number three, Old Testament, high view of women. God makes women life givers. God makes women life givers. Genesis 3, 20, Adam named his wife Eve because she would be the mother of all the living. Guys can't create life. We can't, there was one of the Star Trek spin-offs that Betsy and I saw one time in the late or early 90s where some of the alien guys could, you know, bury the bird or something like that. But, you know, women just think they produce life. And that's why people are crying at birds. You know, it's a, wow, there's this new life that's here that's come from women there. And so God gives women this honor. They're the ones from whom new life comes. And guys, we can't do that. We can't do that. Number four, related to this, related to this and high view of women, human life on earth with cease without women. Human life, one generation. Okay, if women, if women disappeared from the earth, life with cease, we would be without what God puts on earth as very necessary and necessary and good. Great theologians permit the frog and Ralph the dog considered life on earth without woman. And they said, you can't live without them. And that's true, that's true. Life on earth would not extend without women. And this is a very high thing. And I want you to realize this, our culture denigrates women being life givers. Our culture denigrates the fact that without the life giving abilities that women have that men don't human life on earth with cease. This is a high calling among women. And our society says, that's a low calling. The only calling that's good in life is if you can work a job that works that gets a big salary. That's a really crappy view of life. It's a high calling to bring a life into the world. And it's something that God has uniquely given to you women. And that's high, despite what our culture says. God says, I speak against your culture in this. I put women on the earth and I said, this is good. And men can't do it. And so, high view of women, human life on earth would cease without them. Perhaps this is what I wouldn't die. I wouldn't create a church on this. Paul says something very puzzling in 1 Timothy 2.15. He says, women are saved by child bearing. I think, my opinion, is he's referring to birth. The reason why Eve wasn't extinguished, because he just said, Paul said, just said to Timothy right there, Eve fend first. He's saying, but God didn't just distinguish Eve. Eve was still this integral part of what human life was on earth. And that God created women with this essential role on earth. And so, he extended her. He didn't just say, okay, Adam, sorry about that. We'll try some other way to meet your incompetencies. God extends life on earth and he extends the life of women on earth because they have this disability that Earth cannot be without. The ability to produce life. They, from human means, speaking. Okay. Now, 5th. And this is what usually gets maligned. So, we're going to spend some time on this. The Mosaic Law of the Old Testament, contrary to law codes of other nations. Okay. So, the contemporary law codes of other nations in Old Testament times were different than the Old Testament. And I'll say this again. The Mosaic Law of the Old Testament, contrary to the law codes of other nations, gave women equal protection, where God legislated the protection of and provision for women. Specifically in the law of Moses. Specifically in the law of Moses, women are given equal protection and considered in their essence, in their being human, exactly equally valuable. And therefore are treated equally under the law, under the law of Moses. And this was weird. Two things were weird about the law of Moses. Four people were given equal protection, and women were given equal protection. Another law codes during this era, the wealthy, and the powerful, didn't have to obey certain laws. And they could kill certain kinds of people with impunity. But God says it doesn't matter who you are. If you spill blood, your blood will be taken. Because you disrespected me, because my image is on that person. God does this with women and specifically names, instances in women who, very much, you know, we're going to have arm wrestling contest here, right here among us. I bet we're probably going to be like, you know, 80 to 2 men versus women on that. Because women are in a vulnerable position, because generally God makes men stronger. And it's just physically stronger. That's one was 85% generally through things. And so God makes sure in His law code that men don't use their power, their physical prowess, to dominate women to their harm. He forbids them from doing that. Don't act like the other nations. He says to his nation is real. And I'm just going to go through these verses that I've listed there. It's not a comprehensive list. Leviticus 22, or sorry, Exodus 22, 16. If a man seduces a virgin who's not pledged to be married and sleeps with her, he, the man must pay the bribe price and she shall be his wife. Here's what that means. If your virginity was spoiled as a woman in Israel, no one wanted you. And so here's what God does in his law code. If you do that, if you commit adultery with this unmarried woman, you have to marry her and provide for her the rest of your life, and treat her as your wife would love and care. So God's protecting women from just, from, from, and he's, he's keeping men from just looking around and saying, who are the young women around? And I can do whatever I want to them by my physical prowess with impunity and leave them to stront and unmariable due to, you know, social conventions. And this is one of the things we see with Absalom's sister, Tamar. She's raped. And so Absalom, one of the good things we see him do is he takes Tamar into his household because he realizes no one's going to marry her. She's, you know, as we say in our society, used goods. So he takes her into his household and, and he cares for her, and makes sure she's provided for any comforts her. But God puts that in his law code. There's one instance of Absalom obeying the law there. Excess, sorry, Excess 222. Do not take advantage of a widow. Day easily. You could do that easily. But she says, do not take advantage of a widow. Lots, right? Written about widows. Leviticus 2213. But if a priest's daughter becomes a widow or is divorced yet has no children and she returns to live in her father's house as in her youth, she may eat of her father's food. No one authorized person, however, may eat any of it. So if someone who is the priest said they ate, they didn't have their own farmland. So they ate from the sacrifices. And so if one of the priest daughters who were growing up eating from these sacrifices, as members of a priest household, they were married and no longer eating from the sacrifices that the priest gave, if they were divorced or their husband died, they were allowed to come in and eat again. So God's taking care of widows. He's taking care of women who have been divorced to make sure they're taking care of. Even if they're a priest daughter, he's making sure that these holy sacrifices, which only the priest can eat, not even the Levi's could eat it. God's making sure that someone who might be despised in society, someone who's been divorced or a widow who can't contribute that much to society, that they're able to take these holy sacrifices again. That's God carrying for women. Numbers five. When there's a wife suspected by adultery of adultery by her husband, there's this whole process where God supernaturally works. The husband comes and presents his wife to the priest and he says, I don't have proof, but I just feel it. It just seems like I just think she's committed adultery. And God promises through the priest to act supernaturally to determine, and there was a test given there, to determine whether she had or hadn't. And so this is God protecting those accused of adultery who were innocent from suffering the consequences of adultery in Israel, which was stoning by death by your man or woman if you committed adultery. So God promises to act supernaturally to protect a woman falsely accused of adultery. Instead of just saying, oh, she's a woman, she doesn't matter. She feels like, yeah, it's not a good old boy network in Israel. Yeah, yeah, if you think she's acting differently, yeah, we'll stoner to death. Let's get her out of here. No, God says you have to bring her to the priest and I will make things physically manifest so that she is not accused unjustly. That's Numbers five. Deuteronomy 10-18, God defends the cause of the Fatherless and the widow. God himself is the defender of women who have no defender left a husband. That's what a widow is. Someone who has no defender, no husband to defend her. God says, I myself will be her defender. Deuteronomy 21-14, God allows an Israelite man to bring into Israel a foreign wife as long as she takes Israel's God as her God. Somebody like Boaz takes in Ruth the Moabite test who has taken Israel's God. And so he provides law around this. And he says, and if such a man in Israelite later divorces this woman who by genetics is a foreigner. He says this. Let her go wherever she wishes but she must not sell her or treat her like a slave. He wants to make sure that even though she's a foreigner that she doesn't get mistreated because she's been divorced. This is God caring for women who are in a vulnerable position that is being in Israel not of Israelite genetics and now divorced. Deuteronomy 22-18, if a man gets engaged to a woman but then slanders her and gets her a bad name. I said, this woman I'm engaged to, I don't think she's a virgin. She starts claiming that she's had sexual sin prior to the engagement. If the claim is proven false, here's what God commands should happen. Deuteronomy 22-18, he says, the elder shall take the man and punish him. They shall find him 100 checkles of silver and give them to the girl's father because this man has given an Israelite virgin a bad name. She shall continue to be his wife, he must not divorce her as long as he lives. So he doesn't allow women just to be slandered in Israel but he protects them and he provides a fine on that as a deterrent. And the woman's parents are rewarded with being the recipient of the fine and that man who slandered her is told you must marry her. You slandered her, you must marry her, she's innocent. Deuteronomy 22-25, if out in the country a man happens to meet a girl pledged to be married and rapes her, only the man who has done this shall die. Here's why, do nothing to the girl God says. For the man found the girl out in the country and though the betrothed girl screamed there was no one to rescue her. So though a woman was involved in an act of adultery, she's innocent because she was taken over by a man and she screamed but there was no one around to help her. So even though she was in that act of adultery, God declares her innocent. This is God protecting women in their vulnerability because they bear his image and he cares for them and he knows that men might use their power in their wickedness to do them harm. So God legislates through Moses that men can't do wickedness to women in their position of vulnerability, whatever that position may be. Deuteronomy 25-5, this is our last text we'll look at, to prove to you that the Old Testament has a high view of women and that that was legislated in Israel. Deuteronomy 25-5, if a woman's husband dies without a son, her husband's brother shall take her and marry her and fulfill the duty of a brother-in-law to her. So woman's married, husband dies and then she has no means of provision. So God legislates in Israel what's called leverite marriage. This is part of what's going on in the book of Ruth. He legislates that an unmarried brother, whose brother has died, he marries the woman and this provides for her. This gives her a protector, a provider and someone who will defend her. And that woman can go into this brother's home and be a married woman and not be despised and culture or have somebody say, oh, I don't want her. She's not a virgin, I just want somebody who's young and new and all that. But God commands that the younger brother, one of the younger brothers, take her as a wife. He must fulfill the duty of a brother-in-law. Then the elders' town shall summon him and talk to him. If he persists, if the person says that the brother says, I shall not marry her. So if the brother refuses to marry the widow of his brother, his brother's widow shall go up to him. This is what's commanded, kind of funny. His brother's widow shall go up to him and the presence of the elders take off one of his sandals, spit in his face and say, this is what is done to the man who will not build up his brother's family line. Shame on you. It's what said here. So the Old Testament has a high view of women and that's a legislated high view. And all these specific things are said in Mosaic law to make sure that men don't abuse women in Israel. So B, B, now where it'd be in our outline. Contrary to the high view of women in the Old Testament, Jews in the first century, Jews in the first century had a very low view of women. And you see this, what I brought up just a little bit ago, verse 9. The Samaritan woman is confused. She's at the well drawn water for herself and Jesus, maybe she knew Jesus was a rabbi of some kind too, but he's a man. Jesus starts talking to her. And she says, why are you talking to me? I'm a woman. And then look here in our passage here, verse 27. When the disciples returned from town, they've been going and gathering food. When they returned from town, just into the disciples returned in the midst of him having this conversation with the woman. And the midst of him saying, the Christ, he who speaks to you, I am he, I'm the Christ. And the midst of this conversation is with the woman, the disciples returned and were surprised to see, find him talking with a woman. Why? Because their view as Jewish guys, 12 Jewish guys, their view was, we don't do this. We have a low view of women. Talk about some details of that in a moment. We have a low view of women. They're confused. Why is he talking to a woman? So here's their questions. The first question is directed toward the woman. What do you want? Why are you talking to him? Why are you bothering him? You're a woman. He's a man. What do you want? And then they, with Jesus, why are you talking with her? You're a man and she's a woman. But to their credit, you see here it takes us. No, they don't ask these questions. They know, they've learned enough now. Jesus does surprising things and they're right. We just don't understand why they're right at this time. So they have the wisdom to shut their mouths. Maybe Peter was in the back. If you were in the front, maybe he would open his mouth. But they don't ask these questions because they know, they've learned already from John the Baptist and from Jesus. These guys have things that are true and they're contrary to what we think is true as Jews in the first century. And what we think is Jews in the first century is we don't talk to women. We don't talk to women. Here's the background. Okay, so here are all the things, historically they're true of Jews in the first century. Rabbis did not talk with women. Okay, so Laura, sorry, I want to answer your questions after Sunday school. Rabbis didn't talk with women. These are just historical things we know about Jews in the first century. Rabbis did not talk with women. The guy named Johanin of Jerusalem wrote this, talk not much with woman kind. The sages have said he who talks much with woman kind brings evil upon himself and neglects the study of the law and at the last will inherit the leg of fire. If you talk much with women, woman kind, you'll inherit the leg of fire. That's Jewish first century talk. Rabbis who held at the study of the law with the greatest good in life. They held it was greatest good in life discouraged women from studying the law. The highest thing a human being can do is study the law and they discourage women from studying the law. An ancient prayer found in Jewish prayer books reads, blessed are you, O Lord, who has made me not to be a woman. Jewish prayer book from the first century, probably it's in print today. At least the commenter I was reading from 1972 said it was in print today. Not in the woke Jewish bookstore, but here's another quote. A man should not talk with a woman in the street, not even his own wife. This is Jewish first century. A man should not talk with a woman in the street, not even his own wife, and especially not with another woman in account of what men might say. So no wonder the disciples are surprised. No wonder the woman herself is surprised. I am a woman. How can you ask me for a drink? She says, or the disciples, why are you talking with her? Now see, see, so I want you to understand the Old Testament has a high view. The Jews like the Pharisees about many things had a wrong view of the Old Testament. The Jews had a view that was contrary to what the Old Testament taught. So see, Jesus brings a correction to this ignoring of the Old Testament. Jesus brings a correction of this ignoring of the Old Testament by Jews in the first century, and he values women highly as they ought to have been, had they understood their Old Testament as they were written. Jesus brings a correction to this ignoring of the Old Testament by Jews in the first century, and values women highly as he always had from the moments he created them. So go verses 7-26, engages this woman and talks with her extensively back and forth in public, not caring what men think, not caring what his disciples think, and not worrying about puzzling the woman herself. Later in chapter 11, Jesus has this public extensive conversation with Martha and Mary when Lazarus died. And now there in public, as Jesus arrives to Bethany, he talks to Martha, and then says, go get Mary, and Mary comes, and then he talks to Mary, and then he talks to Martha again. Well, this is in public, and he's having this discourse with them back and forth. And then in chapter 12, which rolls right out of this, he goes to Martha and Mary's house, and has this discourse with them in their house as they feed him. And this is at this point is when Mary, not only, you know, now this is scandalous, right, in Jewish first century to talk with a woman in public, in case, you know, and because of what other men might think. And Mary anoints Jesus' feet, she touches her feet with this expensive perfume, and then wipes his feet with her hair. This was scandalous in first century Judaism, because you wouldn't allow a woman even, you wouldn't allow her to talk with you, or you wouldn't respond to her if she tried to talk to you. But Jesus is lighting this woman, Mary touch him on his feet with perfume, and then with her hair as she wiped, as she wiped her feet. And then the kicker, chapter 20, verses 1 through 18, Jesus appears to women first. He rises from the dead, and he appears to women first, and he has them go back and tell the disciples hiding in an upper room there in Jerusalem. We've seen our Lord. And then at that point Peter and John run, and then they still don't see Jesus, and they go back and they're puzzled. But the women are still there, and Jesus appears to them again. And then Peter comes back a second time, and then that's, you know, important to perhaps then, is when Jesus appears. But Jesus chooses for these women to be His witnesses. Now you may know that in first century Jewish and Roman culture that women were not allowed to be witnesses in trials, because their witness was not deemed to be reliable. And so women didn't appear in trials in first century Rome, or within Jewish culture. And Jesus with His high view of women because He created them, because His image is on them, He chooses, and He says, stick this in your face if you have a low view of women. Here's how I am going to honor them. I'm going to have them be my witnesses, and have my male disciples be the ones who are hiding in fear. So that's chapter 20, verses 1 through 18 there. Jesus chooses to appear first to women, and He chooses for them to be His witnesses first before the men. Now D, so Jesus treats women highly, He interacts with them at several points, He lets women touch Him, and He has women be His witnesses when He rises from the dead. Now D, Paul in line with the Old Testament, and Jesus teaches a high view of women as well. And we saw this from what Jim read for us from Ephesians 5. He says, here man is how you are to treat your wives, not as servants, not as slaves doing your bidding. Husbands, He says, love your wives as Christ loved the church. You know what? Christ died for his church. Christ said, I came to serve my church, not to be served. So here's Paul. Husbands, love your wives just as Christ loved the church, and gave Himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the Word, and to present her to Himself as a radiant church without staying or wrinkle or any other blemish, blemish but holy and blameless in the same way husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. And so this is what Paul says. Don't believe it when someone says Paul has a low view of women. Paul says, husbands, love your wives like Christ loved the church, and no one, and Jesus said this, no one loves a friend better than if he dies for them. John 15, no greater love has one a man than this for his friends than he died for them. I just got that quote wrong. Sorry, my words are jumbled. But Paul says men ought to treat their wives when no one is looking inside the house with dignity and honor and care. So that they might be presented to Jesus one day when they die without blemish or staying, and it holds men, their husbands accountable for how well women are doing, how well they're thriving and life. Peter does the same thing in first Peter 3. He says husbands, if you don't want to treat your wives with love, then your prayers won't be answered.

Now, why do we do this if we're men? Because Jesus did this to all of us in the gospel. We were weak in sin, we were vulnerable in our sin, we were vulnerable to our own death, we were vulnerable to final judgment, and we were not going to survive any of that. We were not going to survive our deaths, we were not going to survive final judgment in Jesus in his compassion as husband of the church provides for us and treats us with dignity and gives himself for us and protects and defends us. And so when we who are men protect and defend and provide for women around us, we're being like Jesus, we're acting out the gospel who provides for those who are vulnerable. So why do we do this? This is not disconnected from Jesus, this is not disconnected from the gospel. If you're a man and you don't treat women well, you don't understand the gospel very well. Because the gospel is the message that we have a God who treats those who are vulnerable with great dignity and honor. And even if we get to the end of our lives and we're his, and we haven't been doing well spiritually, when we're his, he picks us up and he cradles us and he brings us home. And so this is this fits Jesus. And so we receive that, we all received that, we all received that care when we received when we received the gospel, we received that care to ourselves and say, we accept this. And women, don't be shy about this with your husbands, receive his care. And it's okay for a man to open the door for you. It's okay for a man, you know, say, hey, can I carry your books. That's okay. That's something we've lost today in our society. But that's something that's very good. You know, when someone says, hey, can I take that for you? I say, sure. Take this. When someone's trying to care for you, receive that care because this is what I did with Jesus. Right. He said, hey, I'll take your sins upon me. I'll take the punishment you deserve. And I say, really? Okay. Sure. Yeah. Yeah. Great. Take them. So Jesus dies on the cross for me. Okay. So that's what we're doing where we're carrying for women, just as Jesus cared for us, just as Jesus cared for us in the gospel. But he back to John and now he's showing his first reading audience, Jewish Christians, the value women, he shows them here in this passage that it is a woman. It is a woman who cares about the most important thing in life. And what's the most important thing in life? And this gets to the reason John's writing his gospel. She cares about the most important thing of life. And that's this knowing who is the Christ. She a woman cares about who is the Christ, knowing who is the Christ and believing that Jesus is the Christ. This is the most important thing for any human being in his or her life living today, caring about who the Christ is, who's the king to whom I should bow? Who's the king who will rescue me at final judgment? Who's the king who at final judgment will say, let her in. Let him in. He's one of mine. She's one of mine. She's a citizen in my kingdom. It's the most important thing a human being today can do. I don't care about who the Christ is, care about who the king is and identify that Christ, that king as Jesus. Because as John says in John 2031, I've written this whole book and Jesus did many other miracles in the presence of his disciples which are not recorded in this book. But these have recorded that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God and that by believing you may have life in his name. And so John shows us here, he shows his Jewish readers here, respect women and look at this woman who you would not respect naturally. She's Samaritan and you despise them. You ought not to despise Samaritan people. He's a woman and you despise them growing up Jewish and you're not ought not to sub, what am I saying? You ought not to despise her because she's a woman because that's battled testament theology to despise a woman because she's a woman. But also on top of this recognize this woman cared about who the Christ was when she had a theological question. She said when the Christ comes, he'll tell us all things. And when Jesus says, I am the Christ, that's what she cares about and she believes. So it's a woman who cares about the most important thing in life knowing who the Christ is and believing that Jesus is the Christ and it is here's the rest of your long sentence here and it's a woman whom Jesus employees to be his witness. It's a woman who Jesus employees to be the witness of this to her town. And so verse 25, the woman said, I know that Messiah called Christ as coming when he comes, he will explain all things so she cares about this. And then verse 28, when she hears that it's Jesus, when Jesus says, I am the Christ, what she do, verse 28, look there. Then leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, come see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ? So Jesus exalts this woman, has this woman be his witness and has John in script rates that it was a woman who cared about who the Christ was. And later he'll show us it was a woman who cared to anoint me for my burial Mary. And it was women who cared to treat my body when I was dead on a cross and come and make sure I was taking care of my physical body even when with my soul I was with the father in heaven those three days. So, value women as Jesus did, that's a message from this text. Now number two, so two people to value, value women, that's one kind of people to value, value women, treat them with honor and dignity if you're a man. And women don't, women don't despise yourselves, don't say, I wish I were a man. No, wish you were a woman, that's a high calling in life, it's a whole other sermon I need to do, but it's first Corinthians 12. It's equal value in essence, all human beings are equal and their value is human beings. And our society says, if you have different roles in life, this is first Corinthians 12, he says, if you have different roles in the church, don't think that if you have one role, a different role in someone else that one role is more valuable than the other role, no, that's not the case, that's not the way God used it. And our society says, we have certain views and ironically women say, well we view that having, you know, 12 years after high school of an education and not having kids until 42 years old, that that's a height, that means you're important in life. And only that and that if you just simply get married out of high school and start having kids that you're not very valuable, but when we look at the Bible, it says, no, that's not the case. And so don't agree with society when it says that being a wife and a mother is a low calling in life. Now, if you can't be a mother and if you're not married, that's fine too, but don't despise yourself for being a woman. God doesn't despise you for being a woman. God put you here for a reason and he wants you to be you, not somebody else. And once you to add your gifts and abilities, our session was talking yesterday, our session was talking yesterday about this, you know, one that 85% the guys typically aren't is empathetic. This would probably be a pretty cruel world if women weren't around to temper us. The Myers Hall on my campus in college was all guys, the last all guys dorm. And so what did they do while I was there? They made it co-ed by floor because you know, if we put women's floors in between those five floors, if we put makes floor two and floor four, women's floors, the guys won't do as terrible things as they're doing right now when it's 500, you know, 500 guys in that dorm. But women add such a gift to this life, so be it be a woman, be yourself and don't try to be something else there. But beyond valuing women as Christians, we value, this is your number two, value Jesus as this woman did, value Jesus the Christ, value Jesus the Christ. And this is versus 25 through 29 prized value Jesus is the most important, most important thing and knowing and prizing and valuing Jesus is the most important thing you can do in your life as each human being, valuing Jesus is the most important thing you can do in your life. This is what earns this Samaritan woman a place in the scriptures that she valued Jesus as the Christ. Not that she achieved, not that she was a brain surgeon but that she valued, she cared about the right thing who is the Christ and that she identified that thing rightly, that Jesus is the Christ. So be like her or John 6, many are turning away from Jesus, Jesus says to his disciples, are you going to turn away from me too and Peter gets it right for once. He rightly answers to whom shall we turn? You alone have the words of eternal life. So Peter cared about the right, he didn't care about what everyone else was doing. He didn't care about other people turning away, he knew Jesus had what only Jesus could give and what he needed. That's what he cared about and where to be like that or Matthew 13, that's Jesus parable the treasure in the field, the pearl of great value. What's that parable about? If you find Jesus in the good news of him, he's our king who protects us and gets us past our death into the blessing of God forevermore, what we do is we make sure we don't lose it. So we hide it so no one takes it away from us. Then we go grab her money and then we find the owner of the field, we pay him money for the field and we give that owner the field all that we have because that's how worth Jesus is. And that's how worth it is for us to have Jesus be our Christ our king who saves us. If you lose everything but gain Jesus, you've gained everything. That's it, that's the picture here. If you see a pearl of great price, you sell everything to get that pearl. And Jesus says, I'm that pray. If I'm your king, you have everything. And we need to value Jesus as Christ a more than the stuff of daily life. More than the stuff of daily life, that's the lesson here. Jesus said in Matthew 6.25, therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life. About what you eat or drink or about your body, what you'll worry about that stuff is not life more important than food. Jesus says in the body more important than clothes. This woman had come to get water for daily needs and when she finds out Jesus is a Christ as she care about getting water anymore. No, John makes sure he tells us the disciples returned but then verse 28, leaving her water jar. She just goes and spreads the news that Jesus come see the man who told me everything I ever did. So so that we care more about Jesus than the stuff of daily life. She abandoned her life before which was just about daily life and how am I getting along today and getting some water for the day. She abandoned that because Jesus is more important. Now be value Jesus as the Christ more than you value what others think of you, more than you value what others think of you. Verse 17 and 18, we learn number one, she has five husbands and she also has another man. This means she's a woman of great shame. People know this in the town. Some have commented she's gone out to get water in the hot hours of the day because that's when no one was there because she bears all this shame. She had five husbands. Now she's with somebody else who's not her husband but she doesn't she doesn't care what people think about her anymore. She goes right into town and beyond this number two. She says he told me everything I ever did and she knows what people are saying. Well but that was ex-rated. She doesn't care. She doesn't just say come see the man I think is the Christ. You know they're going to say why should we listen to you? You've had five husbands and that man that you're listening that you're living with now isn't her husband. They knew her life but she brings it right up front. She doesn't care. Here's how I know he's the Christ. He told me everything he ever did and you guys know he's never been to our town. So she doesn't care what anyone thinks of her anymore. He told me everything I ever did. He told me I had five husbands plus one. She doesn't care what people think of her and then number three. For her finding the Christ was more important. For her finding the Christ was more important than her dignity and the respect of others. She didn't care about her dignity anymore like David right. He doesn't care. The Ark of God is coming into Jerusalem. The presence of God will be here in Jerusalem with us. And he's dancing around and his wife is upset with him because he's been undignified and David said the Ark of God is entered Jerusalem and I shall be even more undignified than this. David doesn't care what people think of him. He cares about the Lord and he's so happy about the Lord and joyful in the Lord. If people are upset at him because he's happy about the Lord, he says I don't care about their opinion. And that's a lesson for us and that's what this Samaritan woman is like. She's like David. She goes in the midst of town and in an undignified way and all her lack of dignity and she exposes that indignity saying he's told me everything I've ever done. He highlights that. She highlights that for the for the people. So she doesn't care about her dignity and the respect of others and that's that's the gospel. That's what Jesus does right. He cares about his dignity and never would have gone to the cross force. But instead he doesn't care about our dignity or doesn't care about his own dignity. He cares about us. He cares about us finding our Christ, finding our King him so we can survive death. And that's good news that Jesus wasn't dignified that he was with and beaten that he was spit upon that he was mocked and that he was hung on across. And so we walk in his steps like Paul Peter tells us to and first Peter to he's our example of suffering of being undignified. And so we care about Jesus more than we care about the opinions of others which leads to our next point. See so much so caring about Jesus being the Christ and not caring about our dignity. That is so much so in our lives is to be so much so in our lives that we tell others of him versus 28 and 29. So she goes into town tells others of him knowing that there is shame in her. I always appreciate. I can't help it. I'm an Ohio State fan. So CJ Straub the quarterback we had last year's leading the league and yardage is number one in the NFLs are rookie leading lead in passing yard right right now. I know that Ohio State during his two years of starting and now in his interviews now watch any interview when the mic gets put in his face they ask him a question and he says first of all I want to thank my board and say to Jesus Christ because I wouldn't be here without him and then he goes on and answers their question. I've never seen an interview and he was one of the guys they put up after every game when he's at Ohio State he always said that he always said that. And so but there's he knows there's a lack you know what people not accept me. Well my teammates make fun of me. Well the interviewers you know rag on me because I always say this before I answer their questions. One time I was put in a situation like this I was in English majors I mentioned in college and taking a class on the required classes we had to take was on Greek mythology because in literature mythology Greek mythology is used so much referenced so much. And so at the beginning of a class Dr. Jackson of Mabel Jackson one of my favorite teachers she said we'll refer and we covered Old Testament stuff first. So we looked at things like the flood and Samson that kind of and she said we'll defend any of you if we just speak of this is myth and so I'm put in that position. So I'm a young Christian and you know reading Bible and all that kind of stuff and so I have to raise my hand. And so I say you know I understand if you don't believe the Bible you know that you'd see this is myth like I think what the Bible says is true. And I think that the miracles and the things in the Old Testament were all real things that happened if you need to speak about it as a myth you know I understand that but I don't think it is. And we continue to have a great relationship and all that kind of thing but sometimes you get places like that and the Samaritan woman teaches us don't care about what other people think. Care about who your king is and honor your king in those in those situations and he'll give you strength he gave me strength as a young Christian back then and fall over winter of 1987 you know that to say those things. So tell others of him and then your next line there this can simply be saying in essence what this woman says come and say we talked about that in a previous sermon come and see come and see. This is what she says in verse 29 come and see the one who told me whatever all that I've ever did all that ever did chapter 1 verse 36 John the Baptist says that to John and Andrew his disciples look the Lamb of God go follow him. Verse 39 of chapter 1 Jesus says to John and Andrew and John and Andrew come say follow me verses 41 and 42 chapter 1 Andrew go get his brother Peter and says come and see. Then Jesus says to Philip says Philip come follow me then verses 45 and 46 Philip goes get and gather Nathaniel and says come and see. I think we found the Christ the Messiah note note this is the burden is not great on you if you don't have to prove somebody there when you first talk to them about Jesus everything that they need to know about Jesus so that they believe all you need to simply do is say come and see. Here about Jesus every week I'm more amazed at him come and see if you don't come to church here I'll get your Bible and you can start reading you know one of the gospels or something or raw meat with your just come and see you don't have to be the expert or you don't have to prove everything just say come and see like this woman did she said come and see the man who told me everything I've ever did could he be the Messiah. And I think probably that's a rhetorical question in her mind as she said that so our summary our summary Jesus is always valued women from time he created them Genesis and you should do Jesus is always valued women and you should do and more than anything whether you're a man value woman or whether you're woman value you're being a woman. And more than anything you should value that Jesus is the Christ value that Jesus is the Christ the Son of God and you should like this woman invite others invite others to consider it or see for themselves invite others to consider themselves that Jesus is the Christ the Son of God and that but believing they'll have life in his name let's pray.