The residents of Sychar, the Samaritan village of John 4, looked up from their tasks as the woman approached. Uh oh, here comes trouble. This lady had a reputation. She had been enough men’s ex-wife that no one wanted to be around her. She had been keeping to herself, so this was unusual. She came from Jacob’s well – but where was her water jar?
Distracted by this observation, one villager stared a bit too long. She made eye contact. Oh no, here she comes! What does she want?
“Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?”
Descended from apostate Israelites and Assyrian colonists, the Samaritans had established their own temple, disregarded the Prophets, and adopted their own version of the Law; but it still included Deuteronomy 18’s promise of a coming prophet like Moses. He would speak words to them given by God: the kind this Jesus spoke.
Normally, she would not be an authority on the topic. But there’s something about her. The way she overcame her nervousness to speak. The way she wasn’t asking for anything but inviting. She seemed so genuine, so enthusiastic. Maybe it’s worth checking out.
One after another, the villagers went out of the town and came to Jesus. Hearing Him speak, they knew she was right. “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.”
This is what Jesus does. He changes us from hopeless to so incredibly hopeful we just have to share Him. Learning His words completely transforms how we speak to people – and how they respond to us. Then it’s not about who we’ve been but who He is. If He can change us like that, He just might be worth checking out.
Ready to start speaking more words of life yourself? Listen to our sermon series “Selfie: What Our Words Say About Us.”