Chapter
four describes another conversation – this time it's a “chance
encounter” with a woman at a well as Jesus was traveling through
Samaria on his way to Galilee. As they arrived in the town of Sychar
in the region of Samaria, Jesus' disciples had momentarily left him
to go buy food while he found a place to sit and rest next to Jacob's
well. The Samaritan woman came to the well to draw water and Jesus
started the conversation by saying to her, “Give me a drink.”
(v. 7)
While
the encounter with Nicodemus and the encounter with the woman are
much different in content, it is remarkable to realize that they are
very similar in structure:
Jesus
gives a spiritual metaphor to Nicodemus: new birth (John 3:3)
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Jesus
gives a spiritual metaphor to the woman: living water (John 4:10)
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Nicodemus
is confused (John 3:4)
|
The
woman is confused (John 4:11-12)
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Jesus
clarifies things with Nicodemus (John 3:5)
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Jesus
clarifies things with the woman (John 4:13-14)
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Nicodemus
is again confused (John 3:9)
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The
woman is again confused (John 4:15)
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More
clarification & a mild rebuke towards Nicodemus: (John
3:10-12)
|
More
clarification & a mild rebuke towards the woman: (John
4:21-24)
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Jesus
identifies himself to Nicodemus (John 3:13-21)
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Jesus
identifies himself to the woman (John 4:26)
|
The
conversation unfolds as the woman responds to Jesus' request for a
drink of water. She points out that Jews and Samaritans simply do
not socialize. The
Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a
drink from me, a woman of Samaria?” (For Jews have no dealings with
Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and
who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would
have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” (vv.
9-10).
And
by mentioning “living water”, Jesus was able to pique her
curiosity and then he prods her to ask him, “Where
do you get that living water?”
(v. 11).
It's likely that you are aware of an effective
technique in sales called the “take away”. It is a
counter-intuitive technique which takes attention away from the item
you are selling. It can work effectively because when executed
properly, the other person will feel a sense of control of the
conversation and they will re-focus their attention to the item in
question on their own initiative. The technique itself has received
somewhat of a bad rap only because it can be used by rookie salesmen
in an over-dramatic, guilt-driven way. But when done respectfully
and genuinely, it works very well. If you have children, chances are
you've used this technique yourself.
Jesus is not a salesman, nor does he encourage us
to “sell” the Gospel to others. But I do believe we can learn a
lot about how to relate to others in this scenario. Notice how he
passively mentions God, his own greatness, and “living water” in
one breath – and he does this without arrogance or pretense. His
loving sensitivity makes her curious about all of these things and he
provides a wonderful explanation – Jesus said to her, “Everyone
who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of
the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water
that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up
to eternal life.” The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this
water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw
water.” (vv. 13-15).
Let's set theology aside for a moment – in
this passage we can learn a lot from Jesus about how to communicate
with people, how to listen, how to show sincere love, etc. There is
no question that Jesus comes across very genuine and loving in this
situation. I am certainly not trying to say that Jesus is relying on
sales techniques – but it is his genius and skill and sensitivity
that is displayed in this encounter.
Notice how, in five minutes,
he builds trust and gets her to open up about her personal life.
Jesus
said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.” The woman
answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are
right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; for you have had five
husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have
said is true.” The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you
are a prophet.
(vv. 16-19)
I
believe she might have became embarrassed at this point and attempted
to steer the conversation to a theological discussion. She does this
by immediately making a distinction about where Jews and Samaritans
worship (v. 20). But whenever anyone makes an attempt to confront
Jesus with theology, Jesus is sure to respond with a theology that
they will never forget. Jesus does this superbly, and he sets her
straight before revealing himself as the Messiah. But
the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will
worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking
such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him
must worship in spirit and truth.” The woman said to him, “I know
that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he
will tell us all things.” Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you
am he.” (vv.
23-26).
It is at this point when the disciples return and
find Jesus speaking with this woman. From their point of view, they
saw this scene as scandalous, for the passage says, “They
marveled that he was talking with a woman” (v. 27). In their
minds, she had three strikes against her: 1.) she was a woman,
2.) she was a Samaritan, 3.) she had a questionable
reputation. But none of these seemed to bother Jesus.
The
scriptures tell us that many Samaritans believed in Jesus because of
her simple testimony. She told everyone that the Messiah knew
everything about her life (v. 39). And because of this, the town
convinced Jesus to stay with them for two days (v.40). I've often
wondered what those two days were like to fellowship with him – it
must have been amazing. Then the scriptures then tell us the depth
of trust those people eventually had for Jesus: They
said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that
we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is
indeed the Savior of the world.” (v.
42). This is a story about everyone in one town who comes to a
personal relationship with the Lord. And all of this was sparked by
a woman's simple and honest story.
What is truly amazing about this story is that
after a short encounter with the Lord, this woman immediately went on
mission by telling all the people in her town about how Jesus changed
her life. John carefully tells us in verse 28 that she actually left
her water jar because she was so excited to tell others! I've known
Christians who have known the Lord for more than twenty years...and
they are still trying to figure out God's will for their life.
They're still trying to determine if God is calling them to be on
mission. Can I please tell you...if you know the Lord, your mission
has already begun...in your own town!
Over
the years, I have heard many people talk about John 4:1-45 and one
comment that's made so often about the woman is that she is
“spiritually bankrupt”. While I would certainly agree with that
assessment, I feel compelled to ask: why do we not say the same about
Nicodemus? We tend to condemn the woman, while subconsciously we
respect the Pharisee. And yet, there is clear evidence that this
woman was immediately changed and that she glorified God by spreading
the news of Jesus. Her life helped change the lives of many. On the
other-hand, there is only vague biblical evidence that Nicodemus
became a true believer in the Lord (John 7:50-52 & John 19:39).
So
why do we so easily judge the woman, and excuse Nicodemus? Is it
because of the woman's questionable past? Or the Pharisee's
credentials? The truth is that without Jesus, we are all spiritually
bankrupt. Before we met Jesus we were all dead in our sins...just
like the woman and just like Nicodemus.
If
you do not know Jesus as your Lord, please know that you can never
please God by the life you live. Your sins prevent that from ever
happening...and just like Nicodemus, you can never please God by your
wonderful accomplishments. For as Paul said, “Now
we see how God does make us acceptable to him. The Law and the
Prophets tell how we become acceptable, and it isn’t by obeying the
Law of Moses. God treats everyone alike. He accepts people only
because they have faith in Jesus Christ. All of us have sinned and
fallen short of God’s glory. But God treats us much better than we
deserve, and because of Christ Jesus, he freely accepts us and sets
us free from our sins.” (Romans 3:21-24; CEV). This means that we can never please God by our
actions. But if we believe and have faith in Jesus, we are set free by his blood on the cross. Our faith in him is the only thing that
pleases a Holy Father. This redemption is given freely to us by
grace...a gift from God. My prayer is that you will place your trust
in Jesus and allow him to completely change you. If you yield to him
like the woman did, he will change you forever!
