John 4 - a woman so completely transformed from the inside out
a community so transformed by the simple witness of this one changed woman
a church transformed to include those who would never be together otherwise see Acts 8:5-25
Jesus love, care and inclusion of 'the other'
finding his fountain in dry and difficult circumstances
when I feel unloved
when I feel I cannot do this one more day
Jesus is enough to fill me
Jesus is enough to know me
Jesus is enough to transform me
my deepest desires
perceptions
interactions
Jesus is able to use me, even me,
regardless of my past and my sin to reach others
regardless of my past and my sin to reach others
Jesus treats me with dignity, respect, caring honesty and truth
Jesus is patient with my self defensive and self deflecting questions/discussions
I can be a refreshment to Jesus
He was weary with the journey
and yet,
He found his sustenance, his nourishment in doing your will
He transformed a woman who came to the well alone,
quite possibly avoiding the other women of her community
very possibly avoiding the other men in her community
most certainly wanting to avoid the Jew she encountered at the well
she came to the well alone because she thought she would be safe from critical eyes and the judgements of others
how surprised she was that this Jewish man would even acknowledge her presence
attempt to speak with her
make a simple human request of her
as any human to another
The way he spoke with her showed such respect, dignity, compassion
yet
yet
no patronizing sticky sweet condscenion or over simplication
but a genuine dialogue
he encounters her as a fellow human
He treated her as if none of the barriers that separated them even existed: race, gender, class and religion
Truth and love
He is patient and loving and kind
but he does not avoid the glaring need in her life
He does not just make polite small talk
avoiding the volital, dangerous, uncomfortable and taboo subject
avoiding the volital, dangerous, uncomfortable and taboo subject
He address the need in her life calmly, squarely and directly
He does more than address her need
He invites her to a life she cannot imagine
to a relationship she cannot imagine
He tells her the truth about herself
yet in such a way she wants to tell everyone she meets,
'Come meet a man who told me everything I ever did'
She responds to him in truth, 'I have no husband'
she is not afraid to admit
what she probably does not talk to anyone else about
what she probably does not talk to anyone else about
maybe even herself....
but with him,
she can face the truth because she is seeing Him and not herself
she sees hope
she sees love
acceptance
true care that intends true change
a lasting love
a lifetime friend
the love of a lifetime and more
Transformed to love
Transformed to love
It is in this brief exchange that she is changed so completely
that she is no longer hiding away from people
but was running towards them
not ashamed or afraid to invite them
'Come, come see a man who told me everything I ever did!'
she knew, he knew her deeply, completely, absolutely
faithfully committed, and forever unchanging
so that even when he pressed on that most painful of areas in her life
she did not run away
like a divine chiropracter or a diving physical therapist
you press on me
you press right where it hurts the most
the tangled ball of over-tight nerves
the tangled ball of over-tight nerves
right where I do not want you to put any pressure
the tender and swollen hurt
the tender and swollen hurt
why can't you put pressure somewhere else?
somewhere I could handle it?
it is because you want to heal what is hurting
what is out of joint
what is tense, strained, inflamed, twisted
pressing on it releases the tension
increases blood flow
bringing extra oxygen
bringing extra oxygen
and releasing endorphines
which speed healing
which speed healing
right where I need it the most in the most painful areas of my life
all you desire of me
is to be honest
open, vulnerable
cooperative
talking to you about it
willing to let you touch, press, stretch, move
heal
willing to let the truth of your Word penetrate, convict, bring desire for change and hope for healing
14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming.15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. 16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
willing to let the truth of your Word penetrate, convict, bring desire for change and hope for healing
Ephesians 4:10-20
New International Version (NIV)
10 He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.) 11 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature,attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
speak the truth in love to grow up in all things like him who is the head even Christ
It was through this one woman
that many in her community were also brought to saving faith and loving dependence on Jesus.
She was not wise
she was not an eloquent speaker
she did not know any apologetics
she only knew Jesus and his deep love for her
she no longer cared about what others thought of her
she just cared about inviting them to know this wonderful saviour too
Regardless of my circumstances
my past
the limitations of who I am
who I am around and why
I can know Jesus
know that fountain of living water springing up in my soul
not just changing me
but pouring out to change all those around me as well.
not because of me at all
but because of you
I only need to live with an audience of one
Oh praise you Jesus you are so beautiful!
so amazing!
I love you.
It was through this one woman
that many in her community were also brought to saving faith and loving dependence on Jesus.
She was not wise
she was not an eloquent speaker
she did not know any apologetics
she only knew Jesus and his deep love for her
she no longer cared about what others thought of her
she just cared about inviting them to know this wonderful saviour too
Regardless of my circumstances
my past
the limitations of who I am
who I am around and why
I can know Jesus
know that fountain of living water springing up in my soul
not just changing me
but pouring out to change all those around me as well.
not because of me at all
but because of you
I only need to live with an audience of one
Oh praise you Jesus you are so beautiful!
so amazing!
I love you.
John 4
The Message (MSG)
The Woman at the Well
4 1-3 Jesus realized that the Pharisees were keeping count of the baptisms that he and John performed (although his disciples, not Jesus, did the actual baptizing). They had posted the score that Jesus was ahead, turning him and John into rivals in the eyes of the people. So Jesus left the Judean countryside and went back to Galilee.
4-6 To get there, he had to pass through Samaria. He came into Sychar, a Samaritan village that bordered the field Jacob had given his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was still there. Jesus, worn out by the trip, sat down at the well. It was noon.
7-8 A woman, a Samaritan, came to draw water. Jesus said, “Would you give me a drink of water?” (His disciples had gone to the village to buy food for lunch.)
9 The Samaritan woman, taken aback, asked, “How come you, a Jew, are asking me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?” (Jews in those days wouldn’t be caught dead talking to Samaritans.)
10 Jesus answered, “If you knew the generosity of God and who I am, you would be asking me for a drink, and I would give you fresh, living water.”
11-12 The woman said, “Sir, you don’t even have a bucket to draw with, and this well is deep. So how are you going to get this ‘living water’? Are you a better man than our ancestor Jacob, who dug this well and drank from it, he and his sons and livestock, and passed it down to us?”
13-14 Jesus said, “Everyone who drinks this water will get thirsty again and again. Anyone who drinks the water I give will never thirst—not ever. The water I give will be an artesian spring within, gushing fountains of endless life.”
15 The woman said, “Sir, give me this water so I won’t ever get thirsty, won’t ever have to come back to this well again!”
16 He said, “Go call your husband and then come back.”
17-18 “I have no husband,” she said.
“That’s nicely put: ‘I have no husband.’ You’ve had five husbands, and the man you’re living with now isn’t even your husband. You spoke the truth there, sure enough.”
19-20 “Oh, so you’re a prophet! Well, tell me this: Our ancestors worshiped God at this mountain, but you Jews insist that Jerusalem is the only place for worship, right?”
21-23 “Believe me, woman, the time is coming when you Samaritans will worship the Father neither here at this mountain nor there in Jerusalem. You worship guessing in the dark; we Jews worship in the clear light of day. God’s way of salvation is made available through the Jews. But the time is coming—it has, in fact, come—when what you’re called will not matter and where you go to worship will not matter.
23-24 “It’s who you are and the way you live that count before God. Your worship must engage your spirit in the pursuit of truth. That’s the kind of people the Father is out looking for: those who are simply and honestly themselves before him in their worship. God is sheer being itself—Spirit. Those who worship him must do it out of their very being, their spirits, their true selves, in adoration.”
25 The woman said, “I don’t know about that. I do know that the Messiah is coming. When he arrives, we’ll get the whole story.”
26 “I am he,” said Jesus. “You don’t have to wait any longer or look any further.”
27 Just then his disciples came back. They were shocked. They couldn’t believe he was talking with that kind of a woman. No one said what they were all thinking, but their faces showed it.
28-30 The woman took the hint and left. In her confusion she left her water pot. Back in the village she told the people, “Come see a man who knew all about the things I did, who knows me inside and out. Do you think this could be the Messiah?” And they went out to see for themselves.
It’s Harvest Time
31 In the meantime, the disciples pressed him, “Rabbi, eat. Aren’t you going to eat?”
32 He told them, “I have food to eat you know nothing about.”
33 The disciples were puzzled. “Who could have brought him food?”
34-35 Jesus said, “The food that keeps me going is that I do the will of the One who sent me, finishing the work he started. As you look around right now, wouldn’t you say that in about four months it will be time to harvest? Well, I’m telling you to open your eyes and take a good look at what’s right in front of you. These Samaritan fields are ripe. It’s harvest time!
36-38 “The Harvester isn’t waiting. He’s taking his pay, gathering in this grain that’s ripe for eternal life. Now the Sower is arm in arm with the Harvester, triumphant. That’s the truth of the saying, ‘This one sows, that one harvests.’ I sent you to harvest a field you never worked. Without lifting a finger, you have walked in on a field worked long and hard by others.”
39-42 Many of the Samaritans from that village committed themselves to him because of the woman’s witness: “He knew all about the things I did. He knows me inside and out!” They asked him to stay on, so Jesus stayed two days. A lot more people entrusted their lives to him when they heard what he had to say. They said to the woman, “We’re no longer taking this on your say-so. We’ve heard it for ourselves and know it for sure. He’s the Savior of the world!”
