Savior of The World

Scripture: John 4:39-42 (Click link for scripture in Bible Gateway)

39 Many Samaritans from the village believed in Jesus because the woman had said, “He told me everything I ever did!” 40 When they came out to see him, they begged him to stay in their village. So he stayed for two days, 41 long enough for many more to hear his message and believe. 42 Then they said to the woman, “Now we believe, not just because of what you told us, but because we have heard him ourselves. Now we know that he is indeed the Savior of the world.” (John 4:39–42 NLT)

When “The Woman at the Well” realized that Jesus knew things about her that he couldn’t possibly know, she immediately concluded that he was a “prophet.” When she realized that Jesus wasn’t merely interested in telling her God didn’t care about her life because she was a Samaritan, she leaned in a little, and when Jesus told her “The Father is looking for people who will worship in spirit and in truth” he had her full attention. When he said, “I’m the one you’re looking for!”, she believed! She believed Jesus, she believed God, and she believed God cared about her!

So she rushed into town and invited everyone to come and see the man who had changed her life! They came and saw, and Jesus stayed two days with them so the whole village could meet him and hear his message. Imagine what was happening in the minds and hearts of his disciples as they spent two days with these Samaritans! By the end of that time, they knew that Jesus is the Savior of the World!

The believing Samaritans told the woman, “We came out to see him because of what you told us, but now we believe in him because we’ve met him and heard him ourselves!” That’s still how it works, friends. We encounter Jesus. We believe in him. We tell someone about that. They meet him. They believe. Our responsibility is important, but it isn’t the whole thing. God’s Spirit does the transforming, faith-releasing work.

There’s another thing we must notice and it’s so common to us we often overlook it. The Jews, even Jesus’ disciples, believed that Jesus was the Savior only of the Jews. Please let’s never forget that he’s the Savior of the world! He’s the Savior of people like us and of people who are not like us! He’s the Savior of the World!

Prayer:

Father, Please help my friends and me to be excited enough about Jesus to invite others to come and see! And help us to remember that Jesus is the Savior of the world, not merely the Savior of people like us! For the Kingdom’s sake! Amen!