Thursday: The Testimony of the Samaritans
Daily Lesson for Thursday 31st of October 2024
Read John 4:27-29. What surprising action did the woman take?
Jesus’ discussion with the woman was interrupted by the arrival of the disciples. Though surprised that He was speaking with a woman, they did not question Him. Instead, they urged Him to eat.
The woman, meanwhile, left her water pot and rushed into the city to share with others what she had just experienced with Jesus.
Read John 4:30-42. What happened following this encounter, and what does it teach about how the gospel can be spread?
Image © Lifeway Collection at Goodsalt.com
It seems strange that Jesus’ narrative about a harvest would interrupt the story of the conversion of many in the city. But John wants us to see how Jesus understood what was happening. Sharing the plan of salvation with a Samaritan woman was far more important to Him than eating. To lead souls to salvation was His purpose, and He used this occasion to teach His disciples the urgency of sharing the gospel with all people, even with those not like them.
There are many high points in the Gospel of John. Surely John 4:39-42 is among them. Many of the Samaritans believed because of the woman’s testimony: “ ‘He told me all that I ever did’ ” (John 4:39, NKJV).
The Samaritans asked Jesus to stay with them. The result was that many more believed because of the Word of Jesus. “Then they said to the woman, ‘Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world’ ” (John 4:42, NKJV).
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What should this story tell us about how powerful the witness of even one person can be? How powerful a witness are you to what Jesus has done in your life? |
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In recent times we have seen the development of megachurches, typically focused on the preaching of one person. Or, you have friends who will invite you to watch so-and-so on YouTube because they preach the Gospel with great power. One of the issues I have with this notion of the Gospel is that it is often focused on the person presenting the message rather than the message itself. And, I have lived long enough to have seen some of these preachers come unstuck. When that happens the followers often lose faith.
I am not denying the effectiveness of a good preacher, but we should be careful that our preaching of the Gospel is Christ-focused. The comment that John makes regarding the witness of the Samaritan woman is very important:
This was not a denial of the Samaritan Woman's work, but rather an affirmation that Jesus was the focus.
And that raises the question about our witness today: Do we point to Christ, or are we doing a little empire-building of our own?
Man works on the basis of addition. God works on the basis of multiplication. Never underestimate the power of one. It was one boy's lunch that Jesus used to provide a "happy meal" for over 5,000 people. It was the testimony of one formerly demon possessed man that caused nearly a whole village to come out to see and hear Jesus. It was the testimony of one partly pagan woman, who wasn't living right, that lead many in her village to "come and see" and believe in Jesus. These individuals weren't in any way qualified to do "evangelism" yet they did it quite successfully. The saying is as true today as ever that "God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the called". What could He do with you? Probably more than you will ever believe. Never underestimate the power of one in the Hands of the One True God. Little in the hands of God, is much.
The question asked at the end of the lesson today is a salient point. It raises several important points about what the Holy Spirit is anxious to do in our lives.
1. He drives us to spread the gospel. However, our motive should be that others turn to Christ and not us.
2. Our temporal needs for food, sleep, etc., take second place to the working of the Spirit in our lives.
3. The Spirit creates an urgency within us. Note that the woman hurriedly left her water pots and went on the Spirit's mission.
4. She didn't just keep quiet about the deep Spiritual revelations she had just received.
5. The result of her action was that an entire city responded to Christ. Their focus was on Christ and not the woman, although she was clearly used by the Spirit.
Hello good morning I would like to know more about the teaching of Christ.
Hello Shekara! We really appreciate your desire to know more about Jesus. I would like to recommend some resources to help you in your quest to do that.
First, I recommend that you read the Gospel of John. John's Gospel is the one gospel that focuses mostly on Jesus and His miracles. It has been called the most relational of the gospels.
Secondly I would like to share links to a couple of books that have helped many, myself included, to know Jesus better. If you click on the links you will be brought to the books.
The first book that is excellent in teaching about Jesus Christ is "Steps to Christ" by Ellen G. White. This book has brought a clearer understanding of Jesus, His life, and teachings to countless numbers of people.
https://m.egwwritings.org/en/book/108/toc
The second book, "The Desire of Ages", is a more comprehensive discourse of the life of Jesus Christ. It has been called the most comprehensive book on the life of Jesus by the United States Library of Congress.
https://m.egwwritings.org/en/book/130/toc
If you will prayerfully read these resources I believe that you will be drawn closer to, and know more about Jesus than even many Christians.
We at ssnet.org exist to lead others, as well as ourselves, into a deeper knowledge, and more fulfilling relationship, with our Great God.
Many blessings await you as you embark on your journey to know more about Jesus. We are here to help you in that journey. May God richly bless you and anyone else who has such a desire.
May the Lord fill your life with the "Living Water" that He promised the woman at the well.
I keep reading this story again and again, I see myself in the Samaritan woman. The encounter of Jesus with the Samaritan woman is so loaded with great insights to help us in our christian journey especially how we ought to go about the mission of soul winning. The first thing Jesus did was to win the heart of the woman. He created such a safe environment full of compassion (psychological safety). Even though he told the woman about her not so pleasant past, she didn't take a offense, because she felt the love of the Saviour. People don't care so much about what we say until they feel that we care and love them. Some people feel that leading with love and compassion is weak but it is indeed the most effective way to truly win souls.
I keep reading this story again and again, I see myself in the Samaritan woman. The encounter of Jesus with the Samaritan woman is so loaded with great insights to help us in our christian journey especially how we ought to go about the mission of soul winning. The first thing Jesus did was to win the heart of the woman. He created such a safe environment full of compassion (psychological safety). Even though he told the woman about her not so pleasant past, she didn't take a offense, because she felt the love of the Saviour. People don't care so much about what we say until they feel that we care and love them. Some people feel that leading with love and compassion is weak but it is indeed the most effective way to truly win souls.
I live near a small municipal airport. It's a large open field with not much activity around there on a typical day. But one day last summer, my brother texted me that I might want to head over to the airport. The President of the United States would be landing in under 15 minutes!
What, in our little town?! I'm not a celebrity chaser and have no strong attachments politically, however this did seem like big enough news to get me out of the quiet house. It would be interesting, at the least, to see all the bustle, the secret service, the president's own plane landing in our quiet field! No president had visited our airport since William Howard Taft in 1912.
Under the deep rumble of an array of military aircraft and helicopters, I was able to see through binocs the presidential limousine inching out of a cargo craft, see the President greet the Governor, see all the black suits and the rolled-out red carpet, yes literally. There were several dozen cars who had done like me, people lined up along the chain-link fencing with cameras and viewers, all chattering excitedly. Many were curious at the hubbub, cars slowed and someone asked me out the window, "Who's here? What's going on?"
I'm imagining it was like this that noonday in the tiny, dusty village of Sychar. The woman came running back into her town sleeping under the hot sun.
"Someone really powerful is at Jacob's well! Could he be the Messiah? I'm pretty sure I just met God...He knows everything about us! I mean everything, secrets no ordinary person could know. And he's kind. Hurry up, come meet him!"
She ran past women washing the lunch dishes, men sharpening their gardening tools, children and dogs napping in the shade, old people staring off dreamily on their mats. This moment wasn't at a religious retreat, this wasn't a Sabbath at the place of worship, this wasn't a prayer meeting or Torah study time,...everyone was "minding their own business".
It was an everyday moment when God broke through into an everyday town and brought the divinely dramatic, huge love of God and the rumbling joy of all heaven (Luke 15:7) to everyday people. God arrives "out of the blue".
I love how the woman’s testimony is simple and honest, she shares her personal experience with Jesus, inviting others to "come and see" just like Philip did to Nathaniel. Her openness about her encounter with Jesus shows that the gospel can spread effectively when we share our genuine experiences. Personal testimonies are often relatable and can inspire others to seek Jesus for themselves. Even something like one's character can testify to Christ abiding in you. When we live out and share the transformative power of the gospel authentically, it inspires others to discover "that this indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world."
I want to start by pointing out that the Samaritans already believed in the same God as their Jewish brethren; both were waiting for the promissed Messiah. The only issue dividing them was 'where to assemble to worship Him'.
By sharing the Good News, Jesus was not only able to heal the breach between them, He was giving them the Bread of Life and the Water from the well which will never run dry to settle everything about the past that had divided them; setting both of them on the road to fully recover their unity in spirit.
For them as for us, receiving the Word of God unto Salvation opens the door into a new world, a new reality, one which is guided by the Holy Spirit. The same physical world surrounds the born-again believer, but life is taking place on a different plain – the spiritual plain; there it is where decisions are made which impact one's eternity.
Can we fully grasp the spiritual application of Jesus' reply to His disciples' as they urged Him to eat their food? ”My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.” - John 4:34. 'Doing the Will of the Father' was the food which kept Him alive. Continuously partaking of the 'bread and water' He offers the believer is needed nourishment for the living soul to do the Father's Will.
One can not force-feed the disinterested, those not willing to hear that they have a ‘Messiah’ who offers them spiritual bread and water which would point them to their heavenly Father. But those receptive to Jesus' 'Good News' will find themselves born-again in heart and mind, body and spirit as their life will be transformed.