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by Sandy Shaw
In John’s Gospel at Chapter 4, we have this astonishing and revealing conversation between Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and a woman of Samaria, who has come out to the well at noon to draw water and Jesus is soon referring to the Holy Spirit. She attempts to shrug it all off. We meet people like this far too often.
The deeper Jesus went, the shallower she became! Have you ever noticed that?
Some try to laugh it off, and treat it all so lightly, and make a joke of spiritual things. Never joke when Jesus is serious, and never be flippant with Christ and over spiritual truths.
Verse 16. Jesus commands her. Bring your husband, and I will talk to both of you.
I have no husband. Jesus was getting a bit too close for comfort now. Her conscience was troubled. She was under conviction, and she tries to put Jesus off with half a truth, or with a half truth. That is something else we cannot do.
Verse 18. You have had five husbands and the man you are living with is not your husband! Jesus knows everything about her. He turned her life inside out, before her.
Verse 19. She tries to divert his attention. You are clever. You are a prophet, and she raises a theological question. “We worship here, but you Jews say we should worship in Jerusalem. Who is right?”
There is an enemy who tries to get people divided over some trivial issue. This is his desire. We do things this way, but you do things that way. Who is right?
This was soon to be an obsolete issue. Temples will soon go. Denominations one day will vanish. You cannot tie down the Holy Spirit.
You have got to re-think things. You are only thinking about this water, and your Samaritan denomination. The hour is coming when true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth. That is what the Father is looking for.
Verse 25. This is all so very interesting and quite challenging. The Messiah is coming! One day I shall know the answer. One day He will explain everything to us!
Verse 26. At this point Jesus surprises and shocks and explains. I AM HE. IAM THE MESSIAH! So let’s get it all sorted out now.
She had to make up her mind about Jesus Christ there and then. She was facing the Christ – the Messiah – the Saviour – the Promised One.
It had all begun so simply. Now she is confronted with the most important decision she would ever have to make. A similar thing can happen at any time.
People can be talking with you and all of a sudden they are faced with Jesus, and when you go away Jesus can still be talking to them and with them.
Alexander 'Sandy' Shaw is pastor of Nairn Christian Fellowship in Nairn, Scotland. Nairn is 17 miles east of Inverness - on the Moray Firth Coast - not far from the Loch Ness Monster!
Gifted as a Biblical teacher, Sandy is firmly committed to making sure that his teachings are firmly grounded in the Word.
Sandy has a weekly radio talk which can be heard via the Internet on Saturday at 11:40am, New Orleans time, at wsho.com.
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