It's not every day that you get to see a master evangelist at work, and yet John's gospel has recorded for us a timeless account between Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well. Alistair Begg demonstrates that Jesus' evangelism was marked by compassion and truth. Every encounter we have takes place in the grand sweep of God's providence, and these everyday encounters can be used by God to expose the true needs of the heart and reveal His Son.
Jesus and the Woman of Samaria
1Now when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John 2(although Jesus himself did not baptize, but only his disciples), 3he left Judea and departed again for Galilee. 4And he had to pass through Samaria. 5So he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6Jacob's well was there; so Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well. It was about the sixth hour.1
7A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” 8(For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.) 9The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) 10Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” 11The woman said to him, “Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? 12Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.” 13Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again.2 The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” 15The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.”
16Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.” 17The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; 18for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.” 19The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. 20Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.” 21Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. 22You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. 24God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” 25The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things.” 26Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he.”
27Just then his disciples came back. They marveled that he was talking with a woman, but no one said, “What do you seek?” or, “Why are you talking with her?” 28So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people, 29“Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?” 30They went out of the town and were coming to him.
31Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.” 32But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” 33So the disciples said to one another, “Has anyone brought him something to eat?” 34Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. 35Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest. 36Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. 37For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ 38I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.”
39Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony, “He told me all that I ever did.” 40So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. 41And many more believed because of his word. 42They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.”
Series: The Pastor's Study, Volume 6
Other messages in: The Pastor's Study, Volume 1
Martyn Lloyd-Jones once said that "the work of preaching is the highest and greatest and most glorious calling to which anyone can ever be called." Such a high calling, however, comes with a high level of responsibility: As a pastor places his confidence in the Gospel’s power, the task of proclamation must be his chief concern. In the Pastor’s Study, we present a collection of sermons designed to help and encourage the Gospel-centered pastor as he evangelizes faithfully and establishes believers in the sound doctrine essential to spiritual growth.
In volume one of this series, Alistair Begg looks to Scripture for examples of biblical leadership. In Nehemiah’s efforts to rebuild Jerusalem’s walls and Paul’s work to establish the New Testament Church, today’s pastors find patterns of God-centered leadership worthy of imitation. True leadership, the Bible reminds us, is about submitting oneself to God’s vision for His people.
Other messages in: The Pastor's Study, Volume 2
Martyn Lloyd-Jones once said that "the work of preaching is the highest and greatest and most glorious calling to which anyone can ever be called." Such a high calling, however, comes with a high level of responsibility: As a pastor places his confidence in the Gospel’s power, the task of proclamation must be his chief concern. In the Pastor’s Study, we present a collection of sermons designed to help and encourage the Gospel-centered pastor as he evangelizes faithfully and establishes believers in the sound doctrine essential to spiritual growth.
In volume two of this series, Alistair Begg addresses practical aspects of preaching common to every pastor. Throughout Scripture and Christian history, we see God using biblical preaching to build His Church and save the lost. While methods vary and styles differ, a pastor’s practice in the pulpit should reflect his careful stewardship of God’s Word and point hearers to the cross.
Other messages in: The Pastor's Study, Volume 3
Martyn Lloyd-Jones once said that "the work of preaching is the highest and greatest and most glorious calling to which anyone can ever be called." Such a high calling, however, comes with a high level of responsibility: As a pastor places his confidence in the Gospel’s power, the task of proclamation must be his chief concern. In the Pastor’s Study, we present a collection of sermons designed to help and encourage the Gospel-centered pastor as he evangelizes faithfully and establishes believers in the sound doctrine essential to spiritual growth.
In volume three of this series, Alistair Begg reminds pastors to stay focused on God’s Word as the source of inerrant truth. Preachers should teach the Bible in a manner that glorifies God, since He alone can change people’s hearts and draw new worshipers to Himself. Regardless of the challenges or changes that may come, a good leader places his trust in God’s strength, not his own.
Other messages in: The Pastor's Study, Volume 4
Martyn Lloyd-Jones once said that "the work of preaching is the highest and greatest and most glorious calling to which anyone can ever be called." Such a high calling, however, comes with a high level of responsibility: As a pastor places his confidence in the Gospel’s power, the task of proclamation must be his chief concern. In the Pastor’s Study, we present a collection of sermons designed to help and encourage the Gospel-centered pastor as he evangelizes faithfully and establishes believers in the sound doctrine essential to spiritual growth.
Volume four of this series addresses the value of evangelistic preaching for the modern pulpit. Drawing on biblical figures, personal experience, and known theologians, Alistair Begg explores the merits of biblical preaching that draws listeners to Christ. When pastors and congregations depend on God for strength and victory, His word is proclaimed and His name glorified.
Other messages in: The Pastor's Study, Volume 5
Martyn Lloyd-Jones once said that "the work of preaching is the highest and greatest and most glorious calling to which anyone can ever be called." Such a high calling, however, comes with a high level of responsibility: As a pastor places his confidence in the Gospel’s power, the task of proclamation must be his chief concern. In the Pastor’s Study, we present a collection of sermons designed to help and encourage the Gospel-centered pastor as he evangelizes faithfully and establishes believers in the sound doctrine essential to spiritual growth.
In volume five of this series, Alistair Begg explores the Gospel’s central role in the pastor’s preaching ministry. If a preacher isn’t watchful, his pulpit can easily become a platform for chasing fame or sharing worldly wisdom that leaves the hearer without real hope. Only the Good News of God’s grace can truly kindle belief in the lost and ignite the Church for its holy mission.
Other messages in: The Pastor's Study, Volume 6
Martyn Lloyd-Jones once said that "the work of preaching is the highest and greatest and most glorious calling to which anyone can ever be called." Such a high calling, however, comes with a high level of responsibility: As a pastor places his confidence in the Gospel’s power, the task of proclamation must be his chief concern. In the Pastor’s Study, we present a collection of sermons designed to help and encourage the Gospel-centered pastor as he evangelizes faithfully and establishes believers in the sound doctrine essential to spiritual growth.
In volume six of this series, Alistair Begg examines the Bible’s instruction on pastoral priorities. Scripture teaches that the pastor must give himself wholeheartedly to the preaching of the Gospel—a duty built on prayer and personal holiness. With this priority in view, pastors can equip their congregations in the confidence that God Himself empowers their work.
Other messages in: The Pastor's Study, Volume 7
Martyn Lloyd-Jones once said that "the work of preaching is the highest and greatest and most glorious calling to which anyone can ever be called." Such a high calling, however, comes with a high level of responsibility: As a pastor places his confidence in the Gospel’s power, the task of proclamation must be his chief concern. In the Pastor’s Study, we present a collection of sermons designed to help and encourage the Gospel-centered pastor as he evangelizes faithfully and establishes believers in the sound doctrine essential to spiritual growth.
In volume seven of this series, Alistair Begg emphasizes the sufficiency of Scripture in the pastor’s work. When pastors compromise the Bible’s truths or doubt its power, their ministry crumbles: God’s Word must be preached faithfully, regardless of the cultural climate. Pastors will be strengthened by these messages as they fulfill their callings and faithfully exposit Scripture.
