The Grace That Breaks Barriers

3 So He left Judea and returned to Galilee. 4 He had to go through Samaria on the way. 5 Eventually He came to the Samaritan village of Sychar, near the field that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there; and Jesus, tired from the long walk, sat wearily beside the well about noontime. 7 Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Please give Me a drink.” 8 He was alone at the time because His disciples had gone into the village to buy some food. 9 The woman was surprised, for Jews refuse to have anything to do with Samaritans. She said to Jesus, “You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. Why are You asking me for a drink?” 10 Jesus replied, “If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask Me, and I would give you living water.” 11 “But sir, You don’t have a rope or a bucket,” she said, “and this well is very deep. Where would You get this living water? 12 And besides, do you think You’re greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us this well? How can You offer better water than he and his sons and his animals enjoyed?” 13 Jesus replied, “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. 14 But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.” 15 “Please, Sir,” the woman said, “give me this water! Then I’ll never be thirsty again, and I won’t have to come here to get water.” 16 “Go and get your husband,” Jesus told her. 17 “I don’t have a husband,” the woman replied. Jesus said, “You’re right! You don’t have a husband — 18 for you have had five husbands, and you aren’t even married to the man you’re living with now. You certainly spoke the truth!” 19 “Sir,” the woman said, “You must be a prophet. 20 So tell me, why is it that You Jews insist that Jerusalem is the only place of worship, while we Samaritans claim it is here at Mount Gerizim, where our ancestors worshiped?” 21 Jesus replied, “Believe Me, dear woman, the time is coming when it will no longer matter whether you worship the Father on this mountain or in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans know very little about the One you worship, while we Jews know all about Him, for salvation comes through the Jews. 23 But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship Him that way. 24 For God is Spirit, so those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth.” 25 The woman said, “I know the Messiah is coming—the One who is called Christ. When He comes, He will explain everything to us.” 26 Then Jesus told her, “I am the Messiah!” 27 Just then His disciples came back. They were shocked to find Him talking to a woman, but none of them had the nerve to ask, “What do You want with her?” or “Why are You talking to her?” 28 The woman left her water jar beside the well and ran back to the village, telling everyone, 29 “Come and see a Man who told me everything I ever did! Could He possibly be the Messiah?” 30 So the people came streaming from the village to see Him.

John 4:3-30 [NLT]

3 Things Grace Did Then and Still Does Now.

1. Grace Pursues You Where Religion Avoids You.

4 “And He had to pass through Samaria…”

John 4:4 [ESV]

8 God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 5:8 [ESV]

10 For the Son of Man came to seek and save the lost.​​​

​​​​​​​Luke 19:10 [ESV]

16 “You didn’t choose Me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit…”

​​​​​​​John 15:16 [NLT]

2.  Grace Redirects Our Thirst.

13 “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again…”​​

John 4:13-14 [ESV]

13 “For My people have done two evil things: They have abandoned Me - the fountain of living water. And they have dug themselves cracked cisterns that can hold no water at all.”

Jeremiah 2:13 [NLT]

12 There is a way that seems right to a man but its end is the way of death.

Proverbs 14:12 [ESV]

1 “O God, You are my God; I earnestly search for You. My soul thirsts for You; my whole body longs for You in this parched and weary land where there is no water..”

Psalm 63:1 [NLT]

3. Grace Turns The Broken Into The Bold.

28 The woman left her water jar beside the well and ran back to the village, telling everyone, 29 “Come and see a Man who told me everything I ever did! Could He possibly be the Messiah?” 30 So the people came streaming from the village to see Him.​​​​​​

John 4:28-29 [NLT] 

​​39 Many Samaritans from the village believed in Jesus because the woman had said, “He told me everything I ever did!”

John 4:39 [NLT]

11 They overcame him by the blood of the lamb and the word of their testimony.

Revelation 12:11 [NKJV]