Sermon
#1377 Miscellaneous
Notes
Title: THE
WELL
Text: John 4:6
Subject: Christ The Well of Salvation
Date: Sunday Morning –
Tape # V-52b
Introduction:
Everything
written in the Book of God is designed to teach us something about the person
and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ is the message of this blessed Book.
All the laws given to
Having said that, it is of immense importance that we never just
read the Scriptures casually, for mere entertainment, or to fulfil our daily
disciplines. We should always seek the spiritual message of every
passage we read. I do not mean that we should invent a spiritual message and
read it into a text; but we should always seek the spiritual message of the
text, understanding that the message of every text is Christ and him crucified.
And beginning at Moses and all the prophets,
he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself. (Luke 24:27)
And
he said unto them, These [are] the words which I spake unto you, while I was
yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law
of Moses, and [in] the prophets, and [in] the psalms, concerning me. Then opened he their understanding, that
they might understand the scriptures,
And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to
suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins
should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. (Luke 24:44-47)
Search
the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they
which testify of me. (John 5:39)
To
him give all the prophets witness, that through his
name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins. (Acts
“There
is a profound significance to everything in Scripture, even the seemingly
unimportant details.” A.W. Pink
With these
things in mind, I want us to read John 4:7 together. I want to call your
attention today to the place where our Lord Jesus met the adulterous Samaritan
woman, the place at which grace was bestowed upon her, the place from which she
found that living water, which was in her “a
well of water springing up into everlasting life.”
Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore,
being wearied with [his] journey, sat thus on the well: [and] it was about the
sixth hour. (John 4:6)
All
that transpired between Christ and this poor sinner transpired at the well
called, Jacob’s well. Frequently, it is impossible to understand the spiritual,
gospel meaning of those events recorded in the Scriptures until we know the
place where those events occurred and understand the significance of it. Let me
show you what I mean.
1. The children of
2. John the Baptist came
preaching in the wilderness of
3. When our Savior began his
public ministry, he went up into the mountain – a place of elevation, to give
us the sermon on the mount. That mountain displayed the elevation of his throne and the heavenly
nature and source of his doctrine.
4. When he gave out the
parables of his kingdom, he went down to the sea side. In the Scriptures, the sea represents the Gentile world[1].
Thus, he taught that his gospel, his
kingdom, and his salvation was for God’s elect
throughout all the world, both Jew and Gentile.
5. In the parable of the good Samaritan, our Savior portrays the poor
sinners he came to seek and save as a certain man, who went down from Jerusalem
(the place of blessedness and peace, the city of God) to Jericho (the place of
curse). That is a picture of man’s fall! He
taught us the same thing in the parable of the prodigal son. The prodigal
son left his father’s house, ran away into a far country, and brought himself
to abject poverty and utter ruin.
I could give many more examples, but these will suffice to demonstrate the need for observing and understanding the meaning of the place where things happen in the Scriptures. Everything written in this Book is written by divine inspiration and is written for a purpose; and that purpose is to teach us the gospel.
Proposition The
Lord Jesus came to Jacob’s well, choosing that spot to be the place where he
would make himself known to the adulterous Samaritan woman, because he is
himself the well of salvation.
Let’s
see if that is not the teaching of Holy Scripture. Turn back to Isaiah 12:3.
Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of
the wells (THE WELL) of salvation. (Isaiah 12:3)
In
the Old Testament Scriptures, the wells around which so many, many important
events took place were typical of our Lord Jesus Christ and the salvation that
is in him.
Today,
we will look at just a few of those wells; but, remember, those physical,
historic wells are insignificant and meaningless to us, until we see how they
represent our great Savior, who is THE
WELL from which we must draw the waters of salvation and eternal life
by faith.
I.
The
Well of Meeting (Gen. 16:6-7, 13-14)
But Abram said unto Sarai, Behold, thy maid
[is] in thy hand; do to her as it pleaseth thee. And when Sarai dealt hardly
with her, she fled from her face. And the angel of the LORD found her by a
fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way to Shur. (Genesis 16:6-7)
And she called the name of the LORD that spake unto her, Thou God seest me: for she said, Have I also here looked after him that seeth me? Wherefore the well was called Beerlahairoi[2]; behold, [it is] between Kadesh and Bered. (Genesis 16:13-14)
This
is the first mention of a well in the Word of God. It is not insignificant.
·
The poor outcast was found at the well.
·
God saw Hagar, met her, and supplied all her need at the well.
·
The only place where God and sinners can ever meet is Christ!
·
The only place at which God can or will look upon sinners in favor is
Christ.
·
The only source from which the needs of our souls can be supplied is
Christ!
II.
The Well of Revelation (Gen. 21:14-19)
Here again we see Hagar. This time, she has been expelled from the patriarch’s home with her son, Ishmael.
And Abraham rose up early
in the morning, and took bread, and a bottle of water, and gave [it] unto
Hagar, putting [it] on her shoulder, and the child, and sent her away: and she
departed, and wandered in the wilderness
of
There are many things worthy of much more attention than I can give them this morning in each of these pictures. I cannot do more, now, than skim the surface. But the thing I want you to see here is that this well was the place of revelation to Hagar.
Here is a
poor, outcast sinner, perishing in a desolate wilderness. She is helplessly
weeping before the Lord, not really praying, just weeping! Broken-hearted,
desperate, helpless, she waited to die, watching her only child die. But God
intervened. – “And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water!”
The hearing ear, and the seeing eye, the LORD hath made even both of them. (Proverbs 20:12)
And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, [even] in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life. (1 John 5:20)
· If we would be saved, we must know God.
· God cannot be known by us, except he reveal himself.
· God reveals himself to sinners in Christ alone.
Look at another well in this same chapter.
III. The Well of A Covenant (Gen. 21:27-31)
And Abraham took sheep and
oxen, and gave them unto Abimelech; and both of them made a covenant. And Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the
flock by themselves. And Abimelech said
unto Abraham, What [mean] these seven ewe lambs which thou hast set by themselves? And he
said, For [these] seven ewe lambs shalt thou take of
my hand, that they may be a witness unto me, that I have digged this well. Wherefore he called that place
Here we are told about a covenant
sealed by n oath, a covenant for good. Does that remind you of anything? It
should (Heb.
And inasmuch as not without an oath [he was made priest]: (For those priests were made without an oath; but this with an oath by him that said unto him, The Lord sware and will not repent, Thou [art] a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec:) By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament. (Hebrews 7:20-22)
IV. A Well of Prayer (Gen. 24:10-12)
Here is Abraham’s servant, Eliezer, seeking a bride for Isaac. As he went about his business, he stopped by a well to pray, seeking God’s, direction, God’s will, God’s mercy.
And the servant took ten
camels of the camels of his master, and departed; for all the goods of his
master [were] in his hand: and he arose, and went to
Christ, the Well of Salvation, is that One in whom, through whom, and by whom we have access to God. Christ is for us the Well of Prayer, the Place of Prayer.
For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as [we are, yet] without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:15-16)
V. The Well of Rest (Gen. 29:1-3)
Then Jacob went on his journey, and came into the land of the people of the east. And he looked, and behold a well in the field, and, lo, there [were] three flocks of sheep lying by it; for out of that well they watered the flocks: and a great stone [was] upon the well's mouth. And thither were all the flocks gathered: and they rolled the stone from the well's mouth, and watered the sheep, and put the stone again upon the well's mouth in his place. (Genesis 29:1-3)
· This well was found, not in the wilderness, but in the field. – Green Pastures!
· Here the flocks lie down and rest.
· Christ’s shepherds give his sheep water from this well.
Comfort ye, comfort ye my
people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to
· Christ s our Rest!
·
He is our well of satisfaction. – O that one would give me to drink of the
water of the well of
Turn to Exodus 2, and I will show you another well.
VI.
The Well of Refuge (Ex.
Now when Pharaoh heard
this thing, he sought to slay Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh,
and dwelt in the
Thank God, there is One to whom sinners can flee for refuge. Our Refuge is that One to whom this well pointed, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment. And a man shall be as an hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land. (Isaiah 32:1-2)
· To this well alone we must come, like the daughters of Jethro.
· The hireling shepherds, those preachers who hate the gospel of the free and sovereign grace of God in Christ, drive sinners away from the well of refuge to a refuge of lies.
· Yet, even in this dark, dark day, God has his servants who, like Moses, stand up to help thirsting souls, watering the Lord’s flock.
Let me wrap this message up by showing you one more thing. Let’s go back to our text. – John 4:6. I want you to see that this well is…
VII. Jacob’s Well!
Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with [his] journey, sat thus on the well: [and] it was about the sixth hour. (John 4:6)
The Lord Jesus Christ is Jacob’s Savior. Who is Jacob?
· A Self-confessed Sinner (1 John 1:9).
·
A Divinely
· A Redeemed Sinner.
Thou hast with [thine] arm redeemed thy people, the sons of Jacob and Joseph. Selah. (Psalms 77:15)
But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called [thee] by thy name; thou [art] mine. (Isaiah 43:1)
· A Sinner Who Drank from THE WELL.
God help you, now, to draw water, the water of life, out of the Well of Salvation, the Lord Jesus Christ. AMEN.