Come Meet A Man

Scripture: John 4:27-30  (Click link for scripture in Bible Gateway)

27 Just then his disciples came back. They were shocked to find him talking to a woman, but none of them had the nerve to ask, “What do you want with her?” or “Why are you talking to her?” 28 The woman left her water jar beside the well and ran back to the village, telling everyone, 29 “Come and meet a man who told me everything I ever did! Could he possibly be the Messiah?” 30 So the people came streaming from the village to see him. (John 4:27–30 NLT)

The disciples were shocked to find him talking to a woman! To a Samaritan woman! They were learning that Jesus did a lot of things that no one would expect and that most people wouldn’t approve. But none of them had the nerve to ask the questions that were on all their minds.

Ask More Questions! I worked with my Dad a lot when I was growing up. He was a mechanic, a handyman, and could figure out a way to fix almost anything. I learned a lot from him, but not as much as I could have. See, my Dad didn’t like for me to ask questions. His approach was: watch, pay attention, figure it out. So I learned some of the “what” but very little of the “why.” If someone asks you questions, give them the best answers you have. Invest in them.  If you’re a learner, ask lots of questions when you’re with someone who knows stuff you don’t know. (By the way, the only “dumb question” is the one you didn’t ask!)

The woman seems to have ignored the disciples completely. She left her water jar and ran back to town telling everyone, “Come and meet a man who told me everything I ever did!” Did Jesus tell her everything she ever did? No. But he told her enough that she knew a couple of things. 1) She knew that Jesus had some kind of link with God and that God knew everything she ever did. 2) She knew that even knowing all that stuff about her, Jesus, and the God he represented didn’t condemn, despise, or reject her. And that’s the Good News of the Gospel! It got her so excited she wanted to tell everyone in town about Jesus and give them an opportunity to meet him personally. That’s about the best description of evangelism I’ve ever heard. And she didn’t need to know a lot to do it!

Prayer:

Father, My prayer for my friends and me today is that we’ll realize that you know everything we’ve ever done and you still love us. Help us get excited again about what Good News that is, excited enough to tell someone else who needs to know. Amen!