A woman of Samaria came to draw water… John 4:7 NKJV
John records, ‘A woman of Samaria came to draw water.’ After five failed marriages her trust levels are demolished and her self-worth is zero, so she approaches Jesus cautiously. Brick by brick He takes down the wall she’s hiding behind. When He gets through, she leaves transformed. What a contrast: one chapter earlier, Nicodemus, a religious leader, came to Jesus by night, suggesting he didn’t want to risk being seen with Him. After telling him he must be born again, Jesus said, ‘… Whoever lives by the truth comes into the light… ‘ (John 3:21 NIV). At that point, Nicodemus has to make a choice. There are three lessons here:
1) Christ sees potential in you when others don’t. ‘… The Pharisees… complained, saying, ‘This Man receives sinners and eats with them” (Luke 15:2 NKJV). They were right! This woman was the first person Jesus introduced Himself to as the Messiah. Why didn’t He do that when He called His disciples, baptised John, cleansed the temple, performed His first miracle, or interviewed Nicodemus? Because Jesus doesn’t measure you by your past, He measures you by your potential.
2) Christ will change you, then use you to change others. Amazingly, she was the first person to preach the gospel in Samaria. ‘… Many… Samaritans… believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified… ‘ (John 4:39 NKJV).
3) Christ doesn’t need to be defended, just introduced. ‘… Many more believed because of His own word. 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 Saviour of the world”‘ (John 4:41-42 NKJV). Today, tell someone about Jesus.
From Word for Today, By Bob Gass, The Vine