Text: John 4: 27-42
Focus: John 4: 29 & 39
In the previous pericope we saw that Jesus; conversation with the Samaritan woman led her to believe that Jesus is the Messiah.
In this passage we see that Jesus’ disciples rejoin Him and when they insist on Him eating something, He refers to this conversation with the Samaritan woman as food of which they do not know.
It is Jesus’ food to save lost people. It is his food to do the will of the Father. In it He receives greater nourishment and satisfaction than ordinary food can give Him.
Then John tells us that the people of Samaria came to Jesus from the city based on the testimony of the Samaritan woman. That is why Jesus calls his disciples to gather the harvest. In this way the disciples can also partake in this food of which they did not know.
Preaching the gospel is a great reward. It is fruit that gives every believer eternal joy. It satiates you. It is the living water that quenches your thirst forever.
Yet we have all kinds of excuses why we do not want to or cannot preach the gospel. You may not be able to speak well, have a degree, or know the Bible well enough.
Let's look at this woman. She is the last one we would expect to preach the gospel to. She is a woman, a harlot, a Samaritan and an outcast. Humanly speaking, we will say that she will have no success. But look at what happen in verse 42. The gospel of salvation makes her so excited that she testifies of what happened to her. She did not convince people. Jesus convinces them.
To be an effective witness, we need to know two things. We can deduce these two things from her words:
“Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?” (John 4:29).
Jesus knew her sin.
She knows that she can’t hide anything from Jesus. He knows that she is full of sin and not worthy to be a child of God. Yet Jesus accepts her completely in his love. Jesus accepts her completely as no man could have before. His love for her heals her from within. It is not love that expects more from her, but a love that heals.
We can only be true witnesses when we too, like this woman, experience this deep redemptive power.
God use the weak
The gospel does not seek the most beautiful or strongest, but the weak and rejected, because they know that they are capable of nothing by themselves. The power of the gospel is best expressed in the weak. Therefore, our shortcomings should never be an excuse for not being able to preach the gospel. On the contrary, it qualifies us more because then we will not rely on our own strength. We will be at Jesus’ mercy.
The cross shows us that Jesus was willing to be stripped of all power. As an insignificant man, He hangs on the cross in full confidence that God will raise Him from the dead at His appointed time.
Our comfort lies in the fact that God does not want us to be strong or smart. He just wants us to faithfully adhere to what Jesus has done for us. We need to talk about this. We should be happy about it.
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