The Woman at the Well
Read John 4:4-30. How did Jesus go about winning the confidence of this woman and, essentially, turning her into a disciple?
The process of winning the woman of Samaria deserves the most careful study on the part of all who set out to win others to Christ.
There were four main stages in this process: (1) The awakening of a desire for something better (vss. 7-15); (2) The awakening of a conviction of personal need (vss. 16-20); (3) The call for a decision to acknowledge Jesus as the Messiah (vss. 21-26); (4) The stimulus to action appropriate to the decision (vss. 26-30, 39-42).
Imagine what must have gone on in the mind of this woman. First, this stranger, a Jew, shows her unexpected kindness. The next thing she knows, He reveals to her some of her deepest and darkest secrets, something that most likely no one but she knew. Her response, "Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet" (vs. 19), is a confession, not only of her own sins, but that Jesus is Someone special. Notice, too, that when the woman sought to change the subject, Jesus did not press her anymore with her sins. Instead, He picked up on her conversation and used it to point to more truth, ultimately leading her back to Himself, this time not as a prophet but as the Messiah. Impressed by Jesus—no doubt mostly by His knowledge of her secrets—the woman believed Him.
Look at how she witnessed to her own people (vss. 29, 39). What so impressed her about Jesus? Might there not have been a bit of a confession in her own witness? How effective was this witness?
The Lord changed this woman, apparently no bastion of purity and piety, into a powerful witness for Himself. What lessons can you draw from this story about (1) not judging the hearts of others, and (2) forgiveness and grace even for the worst of sinners?
1 comment:
No matter the background, class, race or sex, God isn't biased towards anyone. Murderers and others of ill repute; even I have been used by the grace of God. The woman at the well had such a reputation already that it became a great resource in bringing a whole town to meet Christ. No one is too small or too bad to surrender a life and have Christ make great things happen for His glory.
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