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54. HER?


Isaiah 55:1-5, John 4:1-30
Key verse: "Come see a man who told me everything I ever did.  Could this be the Christ?"
John 4:29

He knew it all, and yet He talked with her.  He knew of her reputation, yet He asked her to serve Him.  He knew of her marriages, the adultery.  He knew that her, being seen with yet another man, and that one a Jew, might start the tongues of gossip wagging anew with fresh tidbits of delight.  Isn't that why she was at the well in the middle of the day in the first place, instead the usual morning time, to avoid such chatter?  Yet, He pursued her, the half breed Samaritan woman, because He knew that she needed what He had to offer and He loved her and had come for even the likes of "HER!". 

He was not concerned about His reputation if He were seen with her.  He wasn't impressed with the foolish divisions that humanity is so good at creating.  He had created her and He loved her, and now He was calling out to her soul. 

"Indeed, the water I give will become, in you, a spring of water welling up to eternal life." (4:14B)
At first, the woman was practical.  Could it be true that she might never have to come to this well again and face the people of the village?  Then, Jesus addresses the source of her shame, not to condemn her, but to let her know that He knows and He understands. 

Next, this woman is concerned about barriers.  Jews considered Samaritans to be only half Jewish and the other half was Gentile.  This came from the fall of the ten northern tribes of Israel seven centuries earlier, into Assyrian hands, because these tribes had wandered away from worship of the one true God. 

Jesus assures her, however, that the time has come for barriers to be removed.  The barriers will come down as people learn to worship God the way He was meant to be worshiped.  "God is Spirit, and His worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth." (4:24) There are no divisions in the Holy Spirit.  As we will see in later events, Jesus believed that the Jews had much to learn about worship as well.  They weren't right either. 

"Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare.  Give ear and come to me; hear me, that your soul may live." (Isaiah 55:2B-3A) As we worship, and our souls are nourished by Him, our petty differences fall away, and, like the woman at the well, we can be satisfied.  For He knows us all, for He has created us, yet He loves us and cares for our souls.  This woman found an openness and acceptance from Jesus that she may have never known before, not even from her own towns people.  He was not put off by her sin.  That doesn't mean that He approved of her lifestyle or ignored it.  He demonstrated to her that He was very aware of who she was and how she was living, but just by acknowledging her, talking with her and even requesting some water from her, He also demonstrated that she had worth in His eyes.  By doing so, she was ready and willing to listen to Him. 

Prayer: Lord, may I be of Your Mind toward the outcasts in my life. In Jesus' name, Amen."

Hymn: "Fill My Cup Lord"
& "All Who Are Thirsty" by Kutless

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