John 4

Read John 4

Verses chosen for meditation: John 4: 7, 23, 28, 29, 34 - 38, 39, 47, 48 - 49, 53

7 A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink."

23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.

28 So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people, 29 “Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?”

34 Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. 35 Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest. 36 Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. 37 For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ 38 I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.”

39 Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony, “He told me all that I ever did.”

47 When this man heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went to him and asked him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death.

48 So Jesus said to him, “Unless you see signs and wonders you will 

not believe.” 49 The official said to him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.”

53 The father knew that was the hour when Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” And he himself believed, and all his household.

Reflect

From the passage, what are your thoughts on witnessing?

How did Jesus model witnessing for us?

Is it right to say that there is no one to witness to? 

What are some of the common excuses we hear from those whom we try to witness to?

How did the 2 people in the passage respond to Jesus?

What do you think is at the heart of witnessing?

What other thoughts from the passage inspire you?

Relate

In this passage, we see Jesus affecting and impacting the lives of two very different individuals who subsequently testified for him in their own unique ways. As a result, many others were brought to the faith, highlighting the basics and power of evangelism.

The basics of evangelism is nothing more than sharing how the Lord has affected and impacted us. This personal or first – hand approach is more palatable than zeroing in straight away on salvation since most people need to hear and see first for themselves.

The power of evangelism is altogether on another level. It goes beyond our understanding. How or why someone decides to believe in what we say is simply beyond us. In most instances, it may not have anything to do with what we say or do. But this doesn't discount the importance of witnessing or sharing the gospel.

Jesus, the master evangelist, showed us from the passage that witnessing is both intentional and situational.

He was intentional with the Samaritan woman. He knew that she would be coming by the well to fetch water. He even used water as a talking point to illustrate the truth that our needs can never be fully met by physical things alone such as water.

In so many ways, she was an unlikely person for him to meet. Yet, it didn't stop him from meeting her. It goes to show that there is no such thing as an unlikely person when it comes to evangelism. Prejudice has no place in witnessing.

On the other hand, his encounter with the royal official was more situational in nature. It had more to do with what he did than what he said. 

It shows that witnessing is not just about sharing the gospel. It is about being the gospel, the 5th gospel as someone put it. The important point here is that the needs of a person should not be brushed aside or trivialised. Rather, it should be addressed in the best possible way.

Opportunities abound around us if we care to look for them. The problem is we often rationalise them away. Most times, it is because we do not sense the urgency or feel comfortable enough about witnessing. There are also the presuppositions that witnessing must be done or spoken in a certain way when witnessing is simply the sharing of our personal experiences of how Christ has touched us. That said, many of us could even be witnessing without realising it. It’s relevant to note that despite good intentions and efforts, not everyone reaps at the end. But sowing still remains necessary and important, if not more.

Just as we have our excuses or reasons, more the former, for not witnessing, our pre-believing contacts have theirs, too. The two common ones are:

I don't see the need to be a Christian when the Christians that I know are not living up to the example.

Or

I find it hard to believe in something that I cannot see. For seeing is believing.

However, we read in the passage that the people believed in what the Samaritan woman said as she shared with them candidly. They didn't regard her background as reasons for not to believe in her. They could, but it would probably only be an excuse like the many who cite others as reasons for their own unwillingness to believe.

In the passage, too, we see that the royal official was willing to believe even before witnessing the miracle, not the other way around. Again, it is probably more of an excuse for those who want to see first before believing.

But what really matters at the heart of evangelism is not so much the saving of lives, important as it is, but the true worship of God. In order that more will come to know him and worship him in spirit and truth until the whole earth is filled with his glory, we need to be his witness.

Rest

Lord, let us be a witness of who you are and what you have done. Let our lives speak for you as well. Let our approach be spirit – led, and one that's compelled by your love. May we seize every opportunity to sow the gospel seeds and reap the fruits of salvation. Let us not lose heart in sowing or reaping until the whole earth is filled with your glory as more and more people turn to you and worship you in spirit and truth.

Naville Chia