How did Jesus establish a meaningful conversation with the Samaritan woman? He met basic needs in her life, needs that every person has when it comes to Christ. Someone needed to go to where she lived; she was not likely to go find Jesus in Galilee or Jerusalem. Therefore, Jesus needed to get her attention.
o The
need to be needed, v7. Jesus’ request, “Give
Me a drink,” indicated to her that He was thirsty and she could help Him since
she was there to fill a water pot. Given
what we find out about the woman later, this was likely quite unusual. Having had several husbands (v18), she was
likely often taken advantage of by men.
For the same reason, she was likely judged harshly by the women in
town. What Jesus asked for was not hard
or harsh, and by doing it she would meet a need in His life. People need to be needed.
o The
need to be respected, v7-9. Again,
everyone needs this. Our relationships
with the people of this world can be filled with disrespect. In disrespecting, we make people small. We act like we need nothing, or that they are
worth little or at least less than we are worth. What Jesus asked for and the way He asked
surprised the woman in a good way.
We
Christians can sometimes be quite proud and unwilling to submit ourselves to
the “sinners” around us. It is just too
easy to come across as superior to others, forgetting that we also are sinners
and as righteous as filthy rags apart from Christ.
·
Cross the gospel bridge to life by meeting basic
spiritual needs, v10-14. Christ now had
her attention. The door was open. But He still needed to go to where she was so
that He might give her the good news of salvation. He did this by meeting the spiritual needs
that every person has. For example …
o
They need to hunger for the gospel, v10. Everybody needs Christ, but often (usually?)
they don’t realize it. Christ created a
curiosity or hunger in her life by raising two issues: What is God’s gift? and
Who is this man talking to me?
We need to give this some thought. It is possible to offer people something that
is not tied to the gospel. We often offer
something that is the result of having received the gospel. “Would you like to go to heaven when you die?” “Would you like an abundant life?” “Would you like to have peace in your life?” What Jesus used to pique her curiosity was
the gospel itself. Go back to John 3:16
again. What is the gift of God? It is His only begotten Son! Who is talking to the woman? It is the Son of God! I cannot say what Jesus said because I am not
who Jesus is. But my desire is always to
whet people’s appetite for the gospel. I
have actually found, on several occasions, that people respond to an offer to
get to know the Bible so they can read it for themselves. Sometimes a personal testimony that really
exalts Christ can create curiosity in a person’s life. Not one that concludes with what a great
Christian I am, but one that focuses on Christ and His death and resurrection.
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