Inviting people to follow Jesus in a way that follows the example of Jesus requires that we lovingly engage those who are far from Jesus and far from us...

This week we are looking at an event from history that is recorded in a section of an account of Jesus life that is recorded for us in the Bible called the gospel of John. So far this week we looked on as Jesus engaged a Samaritan woman, who was an ostracized outsider, by asking her for a drink. Jesus responded to this ostracized outsider by being vulnerable and exposing a need that He had in His life. Jesus responded to this ostracized outsider in a way that gave her dignity and by inviting her to step into His life to meet a need that He had in His life.

John then gave us a glimpse into the ethnic and religious animosity between the Jews and Samaritans as the Samaritan woman basically said to Jesus “aren’t you Jewish people too good for us, so why are you even talking to me”. Instead of responding to the ethnic and religious animosity of the Samaritan woman by ignoring her, Jesus chose to engage her. Jesus intentionally chose to set aside the customs of the day and the Jewish Law of the day by asking her for a drink of water that would have come from a container that would have been viewed as “unclean”. Instead of bowing to the prevailing ethnic and religious animosity and hatred, Jesus treated the Samaritan woman as a social equal and with respect.

The Samaritan woman however was solely focused on meeting her immediate personal needs to maintain life. Jesus responded to the woman by basically saying to her “everyone who comes to drink this water will have to come back again later, because this water only maintains life. This water may temporarily reduce thirst, but this water never removes the thirst. However, the water I have, this water removes even the deepest thirst. The water that I have becomes a source of water that produces life”.

And once again, we see the Samaritan woman miss the point. Instead, the Samaritan woman responded by focusing on her pressing immediate needs. The Samaritan woman was focused on attempting to satisfy her deepest thirst from the wrong source. We see Jesus reveal this reality in the Samaritan woman’s life in John 4:16-18:

 He said to her, "Go, call your husband and come here." The woman answered and said, "I have no husband." Jesus said to her, "You have correctly said, 'I have no husband'; for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; this you have said truly."

Instead of being frustrated at the Samaritan woman’s faulty focus, Jesus lovingly reveals her faulty focus. And it is here that we see why the Samaritan woman was at the well at high noon. Here we see why the Samaritan woman was an outsider who was far from God and far from others. You see, the Samaritan women had not been divorced one time. The Samaritan women had not been divorced two times. Instead, the Samaritan women had been divorced five times. And now, the Samaritan woman was living with a man who was not her husband.

You see, the Samaritan woman was focused on satisfying her deepest thirst from the well of  a relationship with a man. However, those repeated relationships were empty wells that held no water and could not satisfy that thirst. And now the Samaritan woman had a story. A story of being a home wrecker; a story of being an adulterer; a story that left her far from God and far from others, ostracized and isolated; a story that you might relate to. Maybe you have been trying to satisfy the deepest thirst in your life with position, power, or pleasure, only to find that you may reduce the thirst for a while, but the thirst only returns.

Now you might be thinking to yourself “well Dave that does not sound like Jesus is being very loving here. I mean it seems that Jesus just called her out as a sinner. How can you say that Jesus was loving here”? If those questions are running through your mind, I just want to let you know that they are great questions to be asking. And my response to those questions is this: The reason I can say that Jesus was loving here is based on how the Samaritan woman responded to what Jesus said. We see her response in verse 19-20:

 The woman said to Him, "Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. "Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship."

You see, the Samaritan woman did not respond to Jesus by being offended and bailing on the conversation. Instead, the Samaritan woman did what we all tend to do when we find ourselves vulnerable after being exposed for who we truly are. The Samaritan woman attempted to change the subject. Exposed for attempting to satisfy her deepest thirst from the wrong well, the Samaritan woman changed the subject to a theological debate on worship.

The Samaritan woman basically says “You seem to be a man who knows God and God’s will, so I have a theological question for you: my ancestors believed that true worship occurred on that mountain over there, but you people burned down our temple and told us that Jerusalem is where true worship occurs. So who is right?”

Now imagine yourself as Jesus. Place yourselves in His shoes. How would you respond to this woman’s attempt to change the subject? Would you call her out: “hey don’t try to change the subject! Let’s talk about your life that’s off the rails. Let’s talk about your sin that has ostracized and isolated you from everyone else”. Would you let her change the subject or would you keep the spotlight focused on her? We see how Jesus responded in verse 21-24:

 Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. "You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. "But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. "God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."

Now Jesus response, if communicated in the language we use in our culture today, would have sounded something like this: That is a great question and what I am about to tell you is 100% true and worthy of trust. You see, a time is coming where location will not matter when it comes to worship. The reason that your worship is wrong is because you really do not know the object of your worship. Since you have rejected most of what the Old Testament says about God you really do not know who God is so that you can worship Him. Jewish people, on the other hand, know who the object of their worship is supposed to be, because they have accepted what the Old Testament say about God. And because the Jewish people have accepted all of the Old Testament, they know that God has promised a rescuer, a deliver, a Messiah, who God had promised would bring them back to God. But, here is the thing; the time has come where those who worship God will do so because the Spirit of God has awakened their spirit to the truth of who God is. Those are the worshipers that God truly seeks. God is Spirit; and those who truly worship Him must do so by the power of the Holy Spirit awakening their spirit to the truth of who He is”.

You see, instead of rebuking the Samaritan woman for attempting to change the subject, Jesus graciously and lovingly answered her question. Instead of rebuking the Samaritan woman for attempting to change the subject, Jesus engaged in a respectful conversation with her. You see, so often as followers of Jesus we unlovingly provide answers to questions that those who are far from God are not asking instead of lovingly answering the questions that those who are far from God are asking.

Throughout the accounts of Jesus life, we see Jesus be incredibly patient, gracious, and loving with those who were far from God. What Jesus did not have patience for and repeatedly confronted was the self-righteous religious people who did not see their need for forgiveness. I mean, do you think that the Samaritan woman did not know that her life was off the rails? Do you think that the Samaritan women needed to be repeatedly reminded of her past selfishness and rebellion? There seemed to be plenty of other people around her who were more than willing to do that. We see how the Samaritan woman responded to Jesus answer in verse 25:

The woman said to Him, "I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ); when that One comes, He will declare all things to us."

The Samaritan woman basically says to Jesus “Well one thing about theology that I do know is that God promised a rescuer and a deliverer and when He comes, He will be able to proclaim and teach us what the right answers are when it comes to the worship of God.  And when He comes, we will find out whether I am right or you are right”. What the Samaritan women was not prepared for, however is what happened next, which John records for us in verse 26:

  Jesus said to her, "I who speak to you am He."

Now can you imagine what must have been running through the mind of the Samaritan woman at this point? Can you imagine the look on her face? After all, she had already acknowledged that there was something different about Jesus. Jesus seemed to know her life story, even though he had just met her. Jesus seemed to be a person that was inspired by God and knew a lot about God. And Jesus engaged her in a way that was so different than what she was used to by religious people, or irreligious people for that matter.

Jesus treated here as a social equal in spite of their ethnic and religious differences. Jesus treated her with dignity by being vulnerable and asking her to meet a need that she could meet in His life. Jesus graciously and respectfully engaged in a conversation regarding their differing religious beliefs in a way that answered her questions. And while Jesus called her on her sin, Jesus did not judge her. Instead Jesus seemed to be calling her to something else. Jesus was inviting her to follow Him and experience the forgiveness and the relationship with God that she was created for.        

And it is here that we discover a timeless truth when it comes to following the example of Jesus by inviting those who are far from Jesus to follow Jesus and live in relationship with Jesus. And that timeless truth is this: Inviting people to follow Jesus in a way that follows the example of Jesus requires that we lovingly engage those who are far from Jesus and far from us.

In order to invite people to follow Jesus in a way that follows the example of Jesus, we must lovingly engage those who are far from Jesus and far from us. Inviting people to follow Jesus in a way that follows the example of Jesus requires that we lovingly and intentionally engage those who are far from Jesus and may have hostility or animosity towards us. Inviting people to follow Jesus in a way that follows the example of Jesus requires that that we lovingly and intentionally engage those who are far from God and may be ostracized outsiders in the eyes of others.

Inviting people to follow Jesus in a way that follows the example of Jesus requires that we intentionally overcome any ethnic barriers that get in our way, because every human being is created in the image of God and deserve to be treated with dignity, regardless of ethnic or religious background. Inviting people to follow Jesus in a way that follows the example of Jesus requires that we lovingly engage those who are far from Jesus by being vulnerable and receiving the good things from those who are far from Jesus may have for us.

Inviting people to follow Jesus in a way that follows the example of Jesus requires that we engage in respectful discussions that take other people’s theology seriously and respectfully by graciously and lovingly answering the questions that they are asking instead of unlovingly providing answers to questions that they are not asking. Inviting people to follow Jesus in a way that follows the example of Jesus requires that we set aside the religious customs and rules that promote either legalism or license to instead live in the tension of faithfully and obediently following the message and teaching of Jesus while lovingly extending gentleness and grace to those who are far from Jesus and far from us. 

And inviting people to follow Jesus in a way that follows the example of Jesus requires that we lovingly and intentionally engage others who are far from God in a way that helps them see that Jesus is the only One who can satisfy their deepest hunger and thirst.

So here is a question to consider. Are you willing to invite people to follow Jesus in a way that follows the example of Jesus by lovingly engaging those who are far from Jesus and far from us?

Because that is what it means to invite people to follow Jesus in a way that follows the example of Jesus…