Who is This Person?
A Sermon on John 4:13-14
Originally preached Dec. 18, 1966
Scripture
13Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: 14But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting …
Sermon Description
The Bible tells that when Jesus came down to earth, He came as both fully God and fully man. What proof is there that Jesus was both God and man? Listen to this sermon on John 4:13–14 titled “Who Is This Person?” as Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones answers this question through Jesus’s encounter with the woman at the well. First, He shows the woman that He is equal with God by telling her to believe in Him. This statement shows His authority and His claim of being equal with God. However, He goes on to speak of Himself as being a man by referring to Himself as being a Jew of the line of David. Here, He is transitioning to saying that He was also fully man. Many would argue that Jesus was not fully man, but only appeared to be man. Dr. Lloyd-Jones points out how the Bible is very clear that Jesus did not just appear to be man, but came to this earth as fully man with a human soul. He goes on to state that because Jesus was fully man, He was made subject under the law. Therefore, the reason Jesus had to come as both fully God and fully man was because in order for Him to save all from the law, He also had to be under the law as a man. Because of His sacrifice in coming down to the world as God and man, all can find salvation in His work for humanity.
Sermon Breakdown
- Jesus makes exclusive and authoritative claims saying "believe me" and "I am he". He claims to have knowledge and authority that separates him from everyone else.
- Jesus also says "we" and refers to the Jews as "us". He claims to be one of them, a Jew among Jews. This seeming contradiction is puzzling.
- Jesus is God, as evidenced by his claims of exclusiveness and authority. But he is also man, as evidenced by his claims of being one of the Jews. This is the mystery of the incarnation.
- Jesus, though God, humbled himself by not using his divine powers and lived as a man, in dependence on God the Father and obedience to him. He lived a truly human life.
- Jesus had to become man to save us. As man, he could represent us. He had to take on human nature to bear the punishment for human sin and conquer human enemies like death.
- Jesus, as both God and man, is the only savior. He alone could accomplish what was needed for our salvation.
The Book of John
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) was a Welsh evangelical minister who preached and taught in the Reformed tradition. His principal ministry was at Westminster Chapel, in central London, from 1939-1968, where he delivered multi-year expositions on books of the bible such as Romans, Ephesians and the Gospel of John. In addition to the MLJ Trust’s collection of 1,600 of these sermons in audio format, most of these great sermon series are available in book form (including a 14 volume collection of the Romans sermons), as are other series such as "Spiritual Depression", "Studies in the Sermon on the Mount" and "Great Biblical Doctrines". He is considered by many evangelical leaders today to be an authority on biblical truth and the sufficiency of Scripture.