4th March 2026

4th March 2026


Pray (ACts)


Read (John 4:16-42 focus v27-30)


Message (Alan Burke)


Attitudes change. If you have a Kenwood Chef in the house, apparently it is the king of mixers. We have one, which was bought as a wedding present, and the lady who bought it for us was of the mind that my wife needed a good mixer for all the baking she’d do throughout our marriage. Maybe she took literally the 1960s advertising campaign by Kenwood that said “The Chef does everything but cook - that’s what wives are for!”. If they tried such a campaign today, there would be a media outcry because you can’t say things like that. In Jesus’ day, there were Rabbis that taught some what we might see as extreme views, but they were pretty standard. Like in the Pirkei Avot 1:5 (Pirkei Avot in English is Ethics of the Fathers). It contains sayings that are attributed to sages from Simon the Just (200 BCE). Simon the Just was a high priest at the Temple, and he taught that; “And do not engage in excessive conversation with a woman. This is said even regarding one's own wife—how much more so regarding the wife of another. Hence, the sages said: One who excessively converses with a woman causes evil to himself, neglects the study of Torah, and, in the end, inherits purgatory”. Not sure how well he would fit in in Britain in 2026. The reason why I brought all this up is that, yes, attitudes change; they have changed immensely over the past number of years on this island, but for the disciples seeing Jesus talk to this woman was a surprise to say the least. 


That is what we are told. When they returned, they were surprised to find Jesus talking with a woman. But no one asked, “What do you want?” or “Why are you talking with her?” The disciples were surprised, but they said nothing; there were plenty of times that the disciples just jumped into questioning Jesus about what he was doing, but for whatever reason, they did not this time (see Matt 19:13 for example). If only these disciples had known what Jesus knew about this woman, I’m sure they would have been in there with their two left feet. In Jewish culture at the time, they had a fairly low view of women. I know that this isn’t the thrust of the passage, but when God made man in his image, male and female, he created them, two distinct genders, both equal in status and worth, yet they are both different, given different roles in God’s ordained order of life; they are distinct but equally resemble and represent God and have equal value to him. Men and women are both different, yet are both the same; we are image bearers of God.


Ok one last thing, this woman had come to get water that morning, and she goes as they arrive, leaving her water jar behind. This woman had gone to tell others of the wonder of what has happened to her and the message that she has heard. So she goes to tell anyone who will listen to her about Jesus. She could not help but take the good news to others; she did not care about their response to her, such was the impact that Jesus, the Messiah, the Christ, had upon her, and as a result of her testimony, there were many who came out of the town to meet Jesus that day. I suspect that there were many that still met this woman with cynicism, even distain, but for her, the encounter with Jesus is one that she wanted others to know the wonder of. Who is the gospel for? It is for all who will hear and respond, who will repent and believe; it is open to all, the respectable, the outcast, those whose lives are a mess, and those who seem to have everything together, are not. Salvation comes through God's grace alone, by faith alone, through Christ alone; this woman was a woman we’d probably not have near us and hoped no fella was foolish enough to ensnare, but she needed the water Jesus offered; we all do, and all who will drink of it will have living water that wells up to eternal life. 


Pray (acTS)


Sing


WSC
Q6 How many persons are there in the Godhead?
A. There are three persons in the Godhead; the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; and these three are one God, the same in substance, equal in power and glory.
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