An
Unexpected Message
The story of the woman at
the well
is found in John
4:1-42
Do you find
it difficult to break free from the
habits of your old ways? Are you a man stuck in a wrong way of relating
to
women? Are you a woman who finds it difficult to relate properly to
men? Do you
have difficulty to be friendly to people of another group, another
tribe or the
people of a particular nationality? Then this message has been written
to help
you.
During a pause in a long journey, Jesus talked with a Samaritan woman as he sat at a well. The attitude Jesus had towards this woman lifted her up. As a result of their conversation, she became an unexpected messenger with an unexpected message for the people of her town.
There are many today
whose lives are like hers. Perhaps someone you know is like her.
Perhaps you
have no hope for that person, because he or she keeps on repeating the
same
mistake. Let’s learn from Jesus how to think about others.
When Jesus
met the woman at the well, he
planted a good seed in her heart. I am sure that when the seed
eventually grew,
it broke her free from her old, bad ways of relating to other people.
When
Jesus spoke to this woman, he gave her powerful words of hope. She may
have
been the first person on this earth to hear the particular truths Jesus
was
telling her.
Jesus answered her, “If you knew the
gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have
asked him
and he would have given you
living water.” John 4:10 NIV
“…but whoever drinks the water I
give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in
him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” John 4:14 NIV
Some moments
later, they began to talk about
worship and Jesus ended the discussion with these words: “God is spirit, and his worshippers
must worship in spirit and in truth.” John 4:24 NIV.
The woman at the well then
turned to
the subject of the Messiah, the Christ. Then Jesus declared, “I who speak to you am
he.” John 4:26 NIV. In those
minutes, as
they talked, Jesus spoke to her of spiritual matters that others knew
nothing
about.
When
the disciples returned to Christ, as he sat at the well,
they
offered him the food they had brought. Yet Jesus, refusing to eat, did
not seem to be hungry: “I
have
food to eat that you know nothing about...”; “My
food,” said Jesus, “is to
do the
will of him who sent me and to finish his work.” John
4:32 & 34 NIV. What was so satisfying to Jesus? He had spoken
to a
woman, known by all as a sinner, deep truths about the Father, about
himself
the Messiah and about the Holy Spirit.
The woman
went back to the village. Her words
to the men who were there are found in John 4:29. Before we look at
them, let
us think about what we would expect her to have said. I would
have
expected her message to be one of these sentences:
“Come, and
listen to a man who told me about
how we can have living water.”
“Come, and
listen to a man who told me that God
wants us to worship in spirit and in truth.”
“Come, and listen to a man who
told me that he is the Christ.”
She did not
say any of these things, even
though the Lord spoke to her about them. Though she did not mention
them at the
time, Jesus was satisfied that those words would bear fruit one day.
When she
returned,
her immediate message to the men of the town was different:
“Come, see a man who told me
everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?” John 4:29 NIV
Her
message was simply a challenge for others to experience for themselves who Jesus is. Her starting point was about Jesus’
attitude towards her. In the next few lines I am going to explain
this.
This woman’s statement, seen in context, reveals that it was Jesus’
attitude
that touched her heart. Have you heard the phrase “first impressions”?
What we
think about other people is greatly influenced by the first contact,
especially
the first moments when we meet. It was Jesus’ attitude towards her
that
convinced this Samaritan woman most of all. When we understand what
people are
really like, we often are guilty of putting a gap between them and us.
Jesus
was open towards this woman from the beginning, even though he knew
what she
was like. Halfway through the conversation, Jesus said to her:“The fact is, you have had five
husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband.” John 4:18. Jesus’
attitude towards her
was kind and respectful, despite what he knew about her. This opened
her
heart. It prompted her to question him further and to begin to
really
listen to him.
As
you read the account in the Bible, think about how this woman felt.
Jesus loves
you in the same way that he loved her. His attitude towards you is the
same.
Once we have realised how much Jesus loves us, we can ask
God for strength to love others in the same way (Rom.
5:5).
What was it
that caused her to conclude that
this kind Jewish man must be the Christ? Was it Jesus’ words about
living
water, the Father, or about himself? These were all important words,
seeds that
would one day bear fruit. But they were not part of the statement she
made to
the men as she entered the village. She said to them, “Come, see
a man
who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?” John 4:29 NIV. For Jesus to know “everything I ever did”
did not fully prove that Jesus was the Christ, even though it was
supernatural
knowledge. After all, occult practitioners were present in Samaria (Acts
8:9). We need to look closer at what stirred her heart. I believe
that it was Jesus’
attitude towards her that convinced her that all his words were
true. His words about her
life were
from a
heart filled with grace and truth (John
1:14).
When Jesus began to
communicate with the woman at the well, he opened the conversation with
a
simple request for a drink.
The surprise was that this request to her,
in that place, broke through
cultural and
social boundaries. And despite all he knew about her personally, he treated
this woman with utmost consideration and respect, even though she was
different
to him in every way:
1. A Samaritan.
2. A woman.
3. In moral failure and sin.
The woman at
the well showed her surprise that
Jesus was associating with her, a Samaritan. This had never happened to her before. ‘The Samaritan woman said to him,
“You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me
for a
drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)’ John
4:9 NIV. You can understand the history of why
the Jews had this attitude towards the Samaritans if you read 2
Kings
chapter
17. As that chapter clearly shows however, both Jew and Gentile
alike
are
guilty of sin (2 Kings 17:7,
24
& 41
also Gal.
3:22, Rom.
3:9).
Jesus
showed mercy to both then, just as he does today (Heb.
13:8).
The woman at
the well showed her surprise that
Jesus associated with her as a woman. ‘The Samaritan woman said to
him, “You
are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman.’ John 4:9 NIV
It did not end there. I
wonder, as I read the first few answers this woman gave Jesus, whether
she was
trying to play with him by pretending not to understand that he was
speaking
symbolically (verses 11,12,15).
Having
had at least six men in her life, she was not used to men talking to
her except
to flirt or hurt. This man Jesus was different. Her tactic was to take
his
words literally. His response was to ask her to bring her husband and
come
back. ‘“I have no husband,” she replied.’ (v.17). Jesus did not condemn her for what she left unsaid
about herself. Instead he showed understanding for the pain that she
felt about
her broken marriages: “You
are right when you say you have no husband.”(v.17)
His further response was
to challenge her by telling the full truth concerning her life. Yet he
said it
with gentleness, for he even praised her: “What you have just said is quite true.”(v. 18) Placed face to face with herself,
she admitted he was right. ‘“Sir,”
the woman said, “I can see
that you are a prophet.’ (v.19).
When she owned up to the truth, Jesus continued to talk to her
about spiritual matters as if she was the purest, most God-fearing
woman on
the face of the earth.
Perhaps the
woman at the well was thinking: “Why
does this man continue to talk to me like this, even though he knows
what I am
like?”. It must have shocked her when Jesus revealed to her that he
knew
all about her life. Yet it would have puzzled her even more as he
continued to
be open towards her. As she responded to this openness with a spiritual
question, Jesus began to reveal things that even the religious leaders
did not
understand (compare John
3:10).
At another time Jesus
said “Do not give dogs what
is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may
trample them
under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces.” Matthew
7:6 NIV. This woman appreciated the
sacred words and pearls she was given. We tend to think that such a
person as
her would reject them. But Jesus showed that it was the proud
who do not
receive him. To proud Pharisees he said: “If you were blind,
you would not be
guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.” John 9:41 NIV.
Christ’s
attitude of GRACE to her as a
sinner became her message. “Come,
see a man who told me
everything I ever did.”
It was her evidence to challenge others
with the
words: “Could this be the Christ?”
What about my
attitudes? Am I willing to speak
kindly to those who others despise? We are to associate with those who
do not
know Christ, Jew or Gentile, without compromise, watching our own lives
(Jude
22-23).
Being kind and
respectful to all does not mean that we resign ourselves to
accepting
sinful behaviour in our brothers and sisters in Christ as normal and
unavoidable (1Corinthians
5:9-11;
1Peter
4:3; 2Peter
1:4, James
4:4). We should rather, because of
genuine love,
seek to turn one another back to righteousness, with gentleness and
humility
(James
5:19-20, Gal.
6:1, Gal.
2:11-14).
You and I were brought
to Christ through his loving attitude towards us. Let us break free
from
wrong
attitudes. Let us break free from cultural and social prejudices
towards foreigners, women and those who
have
morally failed. Let us decide to treat all others with respect and
kindness.
Maybe they will, because of us, one day invite others in their towns to
Christ
with these words:
“Come, see…”
