Jesus, The Focused One
John 4:27-42
Throughout the book of John, there are different ways in which we study the person of Jesus.
On one hand we look at who He is from a preacher’s standpoint.
(THEOLOGICALLY)
The Living Word
The Light of the World
The Incarnate One
The Savior of the World
On another hand we look at who He is from a sinner’s standpoint.
(SALVATION)
The Essential One
The Exclusive One
The One to Follow
The Living Water
But sometimes we look at who He is from a disciple’s standpoint
(EXAMPLE)
The Evangelist
Tonight we see Him again from this standpoint.
We don’t see Him in this regard in the book of John as much as we do in the other gospels, but when we do, it is very beneficial to pay attention.
Tonight, we have another opportunity to learn from the example of Jesus.
In some regards He is very much exclusive,
We could in no way fill His shoes, or go where He went.
But in some regards He is very much and example,
That He intended that we follow.
Tonight we are going to look at the tremendous concentration and focus of Jesus.
His concentration is so far above any that we may ever demonstrate that Jesus definitely earns the title: “The Focused One”.
No one ever demonstrated the focus that Jesus had.
1) He could have forsaken Jerusalem
Luke 9:51 “When the days were approaching for His ascension, He was determined to go to Jerusalem;”
Luke 12:49-50 “I have come to cast fire upon the earth; and how I wish it were already kindled! “But I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is accomplished!”
2) He could have flattened Judas
John 13:21-27 “When Jesus had said this, He became troubled in spirit, and testified and said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, that one of you will betray Me.” The disciples began looking at one another, at a loss to know of which one He was speaking. There was reclining on Jesus’ bosom one of His disciples, whom Jesus loved. So Simon Peter gestured to him, and said to him, “Tell us who it is of whom He is speaking.” He, leaning back thus on Jesus’ bosom, said to Him, “Lord, who is it?” Jesus then answered, “That is the one for whom I shall dip the morsel and give it to him.” So when He had dipped the morsel, He took and gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. After the morsel, Satan then entered into him. Therefore Jesus said to him, “What you do, do quickly.”
3) He could have followed Peter
Luke 22:49-51 “When those who were around Him saw what was going to happen, they said, “Lord, shall we strike with the sword?” And one of them struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his right ear. But Jesus answered and said, “Stop! No more of this.” And He touched his ear and healed him.”
4) He could have flattered Pilate
John 19:8-11 “Therefore when Pilate heard this statement, he was even more afraid; and he entered into the Praetorium again and said to Jesus, “Where are You from?” But Jesus gave him no answer. So Pilate said to Him, “You do not speak to me? Do You not know that I have authority to release You, and I have authority to crucify You?” Jesus answered, “You would have no authority over Me, unless it had been given you from above; for this reason he who delivered Me to you has the greater sin.”
5) He could have found angels
Matthew 26:53-54 “Or do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels? “How then will the Scriptures be fulfilled, which say that it must happen this way?”
Jesus was focused.
Nothing could deter Him from getting to the cross.
Hebrews 12:2b “…who for the joy set before Him, [He] endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
Jesus was focused, but not just on the cross.
Jesus was focused on doing the will of God.
He was focused on seeing the salvation of sinners.
While we are not seeking to be the sacrifice for the world, we are seeking to be witnesses to a lost and dying world, so in this regard, we look to the focus of Jesus as an example of how we are to view our mission in this world.
I am going to show two main truths about Jesus tonight, that will solidify in our minds how successful we can be when we follow the evangelistic example of Jesus.
#1 THE EXAMPLE OF JESUS
John 4:27-38
Now you will immediately notice the setting to which this story takes place.
After having a conversation with the woman at the well, Jesus’ disciples show back up, and are a little confused as to why Jesus was talking to her, but at least they have the wisdom not to question Him.
On the other hand you have the woman who is so excited that she has run to town to tell everyone she know about this Jesus she just met.
So, fresh off of the excitement of leading a soul to salvation,
Jesus now finds Himself in a teaching opportunity,
And one that He takes full advantage of.
As He turns to teach the disciples, it allows us to see three wonderful characteristics about Jesus.
1) JESUS IS COMMITTED (31-34)
Jesus was committed to the complete and total will of the Father.
Other places in Scripture give us a hint as to what that might be.
Ezekiel 33:11 “Say to them, ‘ As I live!’ declares the Lord GOD, ‘I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil ways! Why then will you die, O house of Israel?”
2 Peter 3:9 “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.”
Luke 15:7 “I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.”
There is no doubt that God has always had a heart for the lost.
When the children of Israel came out of Egypt, God told them:
Exodus 19:6 “and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the sons of Israel.”
When God spoke of the Messiah through Isaiah:
Isaiah 49:6 “He says, “It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant
To raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved ones of Israel;
I will also make You a light of the nations So that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”
Consider God sending Jonah to Nineveh…
Consider God sending Amos to the North…
Consider God sending His Son to the World…
There is no doubt what God has been working to accomplish since the creation of the world. He is seeking the lost to be saved.
John 3:16-17 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.”
Jesus was committed to this cause.
Not only in the sense of being the sacrifice for sins, but also through being a personal evangelist to those He came into contact with.
Here, we are provided a glimpse into that commitment
As the disciples offer Jesus some food.
And Jesus said, (32) “I have food to eat that you do not know about.”
Of course the disciples completely miss the point.
“So the disciples were saying to one another, “No one brought Him anything to eat, did he?”
And Jesus answers, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work.”
Jesus makes it real clear what is important to Him.
It is fulfilling the mission of His Father.
This is exactly what Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount.
Matthew 6:31-33 “Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ “For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”
FASTING
Jesus was committed to His Father’s work.
John 5:19 “Therefore Jesus answered and was saying to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner.”
John 5:30 “I can do nothing on My own initiative. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.”
John 6:38 “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.”
John 8:29 “And He who sent Me is with Me; He has not left Me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him.”
Jesus was committed to the point that nothing could deter Him.
Remember feeding the 5,000
So what if He was mourning John’s death…
So what if they didn’t have any food…
So what if His disciples were doubting…
That wouldn’t stop Jesus, He was committed.
Remember Lazarus?
So what if the disciples didn’t want to go…
So what if Martha was doubting…
So what if there would be a stench…
So what if he was wrapped in death rags…
That wouldn’t stop Jesus, He was committed.
And yet today our commitment fades away when a person appears uninterested from a distance.
We learn from Jesus example, He is committed.
2) JESUS IS COMPASSIONATE (35)
Picture the disciples giving Jesus that familiar look of embarrassment and shame as they put their bread back in their bags.
And remember what we learned in verse 30, “They went out of the city, and were coming to Him.”
So while the disciples’ heads are hanging in shame,
Jesus is looking over their shoulder
to the crowd that is topping the hill, and He makes a statement.
“Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, and then comes the harvest?”
Now picture the disciples saying, “Yeah, but what does that have to do with anything?”
And then Jesus gives them the head nod to turn around and see the crowd, “Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest.”
Don’t you know that it sunk in
When the disciples turned and saw the people.
They learned a valuable truth.
When Jesus sees people He sees souls.
He didn’t see people as popular or not.
He didn’t see people as rich or not.
He didn’t see people as religious or not.
HE SAW PEOPLE AS SAVED OR NOT.
Matthew 9:12 “But when Jesus heard this, He said, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick.”
Jesus was compassionate to the needs around Him.
Matthew 9:35-38 “Jesus was going through all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness. Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. “Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.”
I think we are often times more like the disciples.
They had just come from the city, but they didn’t see what Jesus saw.
They saw Samaritans. They saw bread sellers. They didn’t see lost people.
Casting Crowns has a new song out.
She is running a hundred miles an hour in the wrong direction. She is trying, but the canyon’s ever widening in the depths of her cold heart. So she sets on another misadventure just to find she’s another two years old and she’s three more steps behind
Does anybody hear her? Can anybody see? Oh does anybody even know she’s going down today? Under the shadow of our steeple, all the lost and lonely people searching for the hope that’s tucked away in you and me. Does anybody hear her, can anybody see?
She is yearning for shelter and affection that she never found at home. And she is searching for a hero to ride in, to ride in to save the day. And in walks a Prince Charming, and he knows just what to say. Momentary lapse of reason, and she gives herself away.
Does anybody hear her? Can anybody see? Oh does anybody even know she’s going down today? Under the shadow of our steeple, all the lost and lonely people searching for the hope that’s tucked away in you and me. Does anybody hear her, can anybody see?
Judgment looms under every steeple, with lofty glances from lofty people. We can’t see past her scarlet letter, and we’ve never even met her.
Judgment looms under every steeple, with lofty glances from lofty people. We can’t see past her scarlet letter, and we’ve never even met her.
Does anybody hear her? Can anybody see? Oh does anybody even know she’s going down today? Under the shadow of our steeple, all the lost and lonely people searching for the hope that’s tucked away in you and me. Does anybody hear her, can anybody see?
He is running a hundred miles an hour in the wrong direction…
Would I have witnessed to the Woman at the Well?
3) JESUS IS CLEAR (36-38)
As Jesus and His disciples gaze at the crowd that is topping the hill and coming to them… Jesus makes a very clear point to the disciples,
And that is that the time for reaping is now.
“Already he who reaps is receiving wages and is gathering fruit for life eternal”
We don’t have to wait four months, the time is now.
Hear comes the harvest, go get it.
And He shows us how it works.
“For in this case the saying is true, “One sows and another reaps.”
The disciples were about to able to reap, but they didn’t sow.
They missed their sowing opportunity. The woman at the well did the sowing, but they were going to get a chance to reap.
Sometimes it works that way, sometimes we sow, sometimes we water, but we all are in this together.
And then Jesus gets extremely clear.
“I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored and you have entered into their labor.”
There again, the disciples heads must have dropped.
I sent you to do something, did you?
We know the command of Jesus.
Matthew 28:18-20 “And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Acts 1:8 “but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”
How many times Jesus says, “Go witness to that person.”
For all we know it is their day to get saved,
And we get to reap where we have done no work.
I’ve had it happen like that to me.
I was coming back from Canton, and Sedrick Thompson was ready.
I was walking across Seminary, and a young boy was ready.
Other times I’ve planted, and other times I watered,
But what a tragedy when we don’t fulfill our part.
You have a pretty tough time picking cotton if you never plant it.
And you will lose your desire to plant cotton if no one ever picks it.
That is the example of Jesus.
Now I want you to see the effects of Jesus.
When we do it the way Jesus says, when we follow His example.
Look at how this works.
#2 THE EFFECTS OF JESUS
John 4:39-42
Because Jesus took the time to see the woman at the well, three things happened.
1) SHARING (39)
I want you to know, if you lead a person to Christ,
And they really accept Him, they will share it.
I believe this with all of my heart. If Jesus gets inside of you, you will share
Luke 8:16-17 “Now no one after lighting a lamp covers it over with a container, or puts it under a bed; but he puts it on a lampstand, so that those who come in may see the light. “For nothing is hidden that will not become evident, nor anything secret that will not be known and come to light.”
C.H. Spurgeon says, “Every Christian is either a missionary or an imposter.”
William Barclay says, “The Christian life is based on the twin pillars of discovery and communication. No discovery is complete until the desire to share it fills our hearts; and we cannot communicate Christ to others until we have discovered Him for ourselves. First to find, then to tell, are the two great steps of the Christian life.”
Matthew 4:19 “And He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
Mark Cahill, “If you aren’t fishing, then you aren’t following.”
And when you lead people to Jesus, so will they.
The effects of following Jesus example is sharing
2) SEEKING (40)
Notice that when this woman shared what God had done for her,
Other people wanted to know more about this Jesus.
Heart Changes are contagious, and people will seek what is going on.
Acts 9:19b-22 “Now for several days he was with the disciples who were at Damascus, and immediately he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.” All those hearing him continued to be amazed, and were saying, “Is this not he who in Jerusalem destroyed those who called on this name, and who had come here for the purpose of bringing them bound before the chief priests?” But Saul kept increasing in strength and confounding the Jews who lived at Damascus by proving that this Jesus is the Christ.”
Now I’m not saying everyone will get saved, but I can guarantee they will want to know what made you change. They wanted to know what made this woman, who was once so ashamed of her past, now come broadcast it all over town.
The effects of following Jesus example is sharing, seeking
3) SALVATION (41-42)
And I love this, when they started seeking Jesus, and hearing Him preach, they were coming to Him.
I know a lot of times we focus on the difficulty that is promised to believers, but I also want you to realize that success is promised as well.
Isaiah 55:11 “So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.”
Galatians 6:9 “Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary.”
Ecclesiastes 11:6 “Sow your seed in the morning and do not be idle in the evening, for you do not know whether morning or evening sowing will succeed, or whether both of them alike will be good.”
1 Corinthians 15:58 “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.”
Christians will be victorious.
Remember, “The gates of hell will not prevail”
WE ARE THE WINNERS
Jesus designed this thing to be a circle.
A person gets saved and they share…
They share and others seek…
They seek and they get saved…
They get saved and they share…
But we have to be willing to follow the example of Jesus.
Jesus was Committed – nothing got in the way of kingdom growth.
Jesus was Compassionate – He saw souls going to hell.
Jesus was Clear – the only way to win the lost is to spread the seed.
SO WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH THE EXAMPLE OF JESUS?
John 4:35 “Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest.”
