18-04-30 Jn 4 28 She Left Her Waterpot CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO

When Jesus met the woman in John 4, she had come to the well to draw water [Jn 4:7].  Jesus then began dealing with her about the “gift of God,” [Jn 4:10], “who” he was [Jn 4:10], and “everlasting life,” [Jn 4:13-14].  When she understood that she could have the living water of everlasting life as a gift of God, she asked for it [Jn 4:15].  And when she realized that Jesus was Christ, the Messiah [Jn 4:25-26], “the woman then left her waterpot,” [Jn 4:28] and went into the city to tell the men that she had met the Christ.

It is notable that she left her waterpot.  She had come to the well to draw water.  Meeting Jesus changed what she was doing completely.  She stopped what she was doing and rearranged her day to go tell others what Jesus had done for her.  You know what’s wrong with a lot of people today?  They won’t leave their waterpot when they come face-to-face with someone who can tell them about Jesus Christ and everlasting life.  Their waterpot is more important to them than the living water of everlasting life.  They won’t stop to consider Jesus.

Think about what this woman’s waterpot represents.  That will give you some insight into why more people don’t respond to the preaching of the gospel.

Drawing water was essential – people draw water for cooking, drinking, cleaning, bathing.  Must have it.  Draw it everyday.  Though water was very important to her and to her family, she neglected this necessity when she heard about the gift of God.  She and her family survived without that water that day.  But they couldn’t survive without living water.  And so, she chose to leave the less important water for the more important living water.  People place more value on the temporal than they do the eternal.  They will say, when you preach the gospel to them, “I have something more important to do.”  Not this woman.  She left her waterpot.

Drawing water was her responsibility – women draw the water.  This was her duty.  She neglected her duty to listen to Jesus.  Many people will stop you when you begin to preach the gospel by letting you know that they have an important duty that they are doing right then.  They have a job to finish and they can’t put it off.  They don’t realize that what you are doing when you preach the gospel is also your duty and your responsibility.  Or, they think that their job is more important than your job.  Of course, we cannot cause a person to cheat his employer out of time.  But the plain truth is that we often waste much time in idle chatter.  This woman recognized that she could fulfill her responsibility later.  She could pause for the purpose of hearing the truth.  So, she left her waterpot.

Drawing water right then was her schedule – people usually draw water about the same time everyday.  Stopping to talk with Jesus was inconvenient.  She might have said, “If I talk with you now, then I am going to be off my schedule, and I’ll have to hustle to make up for this lost time.”  She just blew that off and listened, instead.  Suddenly what Jesus was talking about was more important than anything else she had to do right then.  Most people don’t want you to inconvenience them.  They schedule Jesus right out of their lives.  Not her.  She left her waterpot.

Drawing water was on her mind – talking about eternal life, while she was concentrating on the task of drawing water, could have been a distraction.  Watch how people react when you talk to them about Jesus, while they focus on a task.  You preach a verse or two, and they will talk about what they are doing, as if you haven’t even spoken the words of eternal life.  Mentally, they are fixed on the task at hand. They are preoccupied with what they are doing.  They don’t want to be distracted by your conversation.  This woman was so taken by her conversation with Jesus, it’s as if she had forgotten why she had come to the well, in the first place.  She left her waterpot.

Conclusion: when you talk with people about Jesus, it is important to remember these reasons why people don’t seem to hear what you are saying.  For some, temporal life necessities are more important than eternal life necessities.  For others, what they are doing is more important to them than what you are saying.  Still others just won’t make time for Jesus.  And then there are those who are so focused on what they are doing, they won’t listen to what you are saying.