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The Samaritan Woman - John 4
The Samaritan Woman - John 4
When studying the story of the Samaritan woman, one point that stands out is the fact that faith grows. When the woman first met Jesus, she knew that he was a Jew (vs. 9). Within a short time of conversing with him he mentions that she has had 5 husbands and the one she is now living with is not her husband. While WE try and figure out her marriage status, SHE deduced that Jesus was a prophet of God (19). To be privy to such information having never met / known her meant that Jesus was connected to the knowledge of God in some way.
That opened up a great opportunity for her. The Samaritans had argued that Mt. Gerizim was where Joshua built the first altar and where the temple was suppose to be built. While the rest of the Jews moved the tabernacle to Shilo and then built the temple in Jerusalem, the 'faithful remnant' of the people in Samaria (as they saw themselves) continued to worship at Mt. Gerizim. Later they built a temple on Mt. Gerizim and offered the sacrifices that Moses had proscribed in the Torah. This question of which mountain to worship at had been debated for hundreds of years and the woman now had an opportunity to have an authoritative answer from a prophet of God. If he can tell her marriage history surely he can answer such religious questions. He did, but a bit differently than she expected.
When she returned to the city, she told the men of the city: "Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?" (vs. 29). Her faith has grown a point at a time: he is a Jew, he is a prophet, he is the Christ. I like the way that Jesus led her up each step of faith. He didn't start with the last point but built on each established point.
Common questions concerning talking to people about Jesus include: “What will I say?” “Where do I start?” “How do I go about teaching them what they need to know?” We don't have the knowledge or ability to tell of one's marriage history like He did, but we can start with common knowledge and life and begin a conversation that leads to greater faith. For us, this requires listening and observing before we begin talking!
Hugh DeLong
