I've begun the new year in the book of John and pondering today the passage where Jesus talks with the woman at the well (4:1-45). He has told her things that only Someone who sees into the heart and mind can know, and she realizes that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah people have been waiting for. When she tells others about Him, they also believe.
The Scripture says that "many of the Samaritans believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, 'He told me all the things that I have done.' '' So they went to Jesus and heard what He Himself had to say. The Samaritan woman is, of course, an example to us to tell others about Jesus. They believe because it is evident that Jesus is more than mere mortal.
What struck me today is that they believe because of the word of the woman. It isn't who she is that draws others to Jesus. It is Jesus Himself. The important point is that she is astonished at what Jesus knows about her, amazed at what He says to her, affected by who He is. And she tells others.
But it isn’t about her. She pointed to Him. The people who came to Jesus then heard Him and believed, and told the Samaritan woman, "It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this One is indeed the Savior of the world."
The spotlight goes on Jesus and who He is, not on us and who we are. We have no life-changing power, but we can point others to the One who does.
Image ~ A Girl Reading, Charles Edward Pergini, 1870
public domain via WikiMedia Commons
