Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit · Sermon No. 2277
“Jesus answered and said unto her, If you knew the gift of God, and who itis thatsays to you, Give Me to drink; you would have asked of Him, and He would have given you living water.” John 4:10.
I COULD not help saying, in the reading, that the woman’s answer to our Lord was, at least, somewhat abrupt, if not really rude, but, with great meekness, Jesus took no notice of it so as to blame her for her tone, or for her unkind manner. He was too intent upon saving her soul to care about a little rudeness on her part. Learn a lesson from your Lord’s conduct! When you are dealing with souls, do not always expect them to yield to you at once. Do not expect them, even, to receive your expostulations with thankfulness. Be prepared to be repelled and even to be ridiculed. And when it so happens, do not be put out of temper, or out of heart, but go straight on with your work whichever way they may go.
Our Savior, instead of being vexed at the rudeness of the woman, said to her, “If you knew.” “Ah, poor Soul, you do not know to whom you are speaking thus rudely!” “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that says to you, Give Me to drink; you would have asked of Him, and He would have given you living water.” Oh, that we might have a passion for the souls of men! May we be vehement in our desire, with a love that burns like coals of juniper! May we not be put off by any discouragements, but let us resolve that before we have done with any poor sinner, we will do all in our power to bring him to Christ, so that, if men are lost, it shall not be our fault—and if they are saved, we will, at least, have this part in it—that we have set Christ plainly before them as their soul’s only hope!
Now, our Savior, having thus set us an example of great meekness, went on to read this woman’s heart in a amazing manner and, reading her heart, He foretold what her action would be when her ignorance was removed. It is a difficult thing to tell what people will do under such and such circumstances, for men and women are very unaccountable creatures. But the Savior made a prediction as to what this woman would do. That will be my first point—Jesus foretold what her action would be when her ignorance was removed. And then, secondly, I will show you that the fact justified the prediction. As soon as the woman knew who it was that spoke to her, she asked Him for the Living Water—Jesus gave it to her and she went on her way rejoicing!
I. First, then, JESUS FORETOLD WHAT HER ACTION WOULD BE WHEN HER IGNORANCE WAS REMOVED. He saw in her a kindly disposition towards right things, but she was hindered by her ignorance. If that hindrance could be taken away, she would at once travel in the right road.
Let me mention the points of saving knowledge which it was desirable for her to know.
These were, first, the nature of salvation. “If you knew the gift of God.” Thousands of people in the world do not know what salvation means. They conceive, if they have any notion of it at all, that it means escaping from Hell and going to Heaven when they die, which is a very imperfect and incorrect idea of salvation. “The gift of God is eternal life”— and that is salvation! God gives to all who believe in Christ a new life, a vital principle, something to be within them always—the reigning and ruling principle of their lives. Salvation means salvation from sin. To the drunk, it is salvation from the drink. To the swearer, it is salvation from a profane heart. To the unchaste, it is salvation from impurity. It means deliverance from the power of evil in the life and submission to the power of that which is good and gracious, by which sin shall be cast out.
Do you remember the meaning of the name, Jesus? “You shall call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins.” The salvation that we have to preach produces a change of heart, a renewal of nature, a deliverance from the
power of the devil and brings the renewed man under the supreme power of the Holy Spirit of God! If some men knew this, they would begin to seek for it. Are there not many here who feel that they ought to turn over a new leaf and they do not know how to do it? They have not the power, even though they have, in a measure, the will. Now, salvation brings you both will and power—it saves you not only from the wrath to come, but from the sin that is now within you. That is the nature of salvation.
This woman did not know the freeness of salvation. “If you knew the gift of God”—“the gift of God.” She thought, perhaps, that it had to be bought with money, or procured by sacrifices, or attained by good works after a long period of preparation. The Savior assured her that salvation was the gift of God—freely given, not because it is deserved, but because God delights to bless even the unthankful and the evil! Given, not because of penances, or austerities, or myriads of prayers, or floods of tears—but freely given to every soul that is willing to accept it by faith in Jesus Christ! Oh, if many knew this, they would seek to have it! But they do not know what salvation is. And they do not know that it is to be had for nothing and to be had on the spot. “If you knew the gift of God.”