When I was serving as a youth pastor, I had the privilege of not only seeing teens get saved and sanctified but watching them grow into leaders in the church. But as you can imagine, there were moments when they had to be nudged to take on that role or given instruction on how to perform in a role.
There was an extremely talented young lady. She had an incredible singing voice and could play the piano. Her gifts would lead her to be part of the Sunday morning worship team. This young lady was also a high school cheerleader and regularly dressed like many teen girls during the week. One Sunday as she was leading worship, she wore some short jean shorts. They were very short. After the service, the senior pastor and I debated on whose responsibility it was to have a conversation with her about them. Before we could end our discussion, the young lady came up to us and said, “I will never wear shorts like these again up there.” For whatever reason, she came to desire to change on her own.
I am always amazed looking back on that event. And I am very proud of that young lady, not only for that moment but for who she has become now. Also, I marvel at how God worked without the need for my intervention. What would have happened if I opened my mouth?
Our passage today is a lot like that. Jesus has a remarkable conversation with a Samaritan woman. Then the disciples enter the scene with questions in their minds, but they never voice them to Jesus. But what if they had asked those questions?
John 4:27-30(CEB):
Just then, Jesus’ disciples arrived and were shocked that he was talking with a woman. But no one asked, “What do you want?” or “Why are you talking to her?” The woman put down her water jar and went into the city. She said to the people, “Come and see a man who has told me everything I’ve done! Could this man be the Christ?” They left the city and were on their way to see Jesus.
This is the word of God
For the people of God
Thanks be to God
We are jumping in at the tail end of a powerful conversation between Jesus and a Samaritan woman. The disciples had left Jesus at a well to go into town for food, not knowing this was the spot for divine interaction. He proceeds to tell this less-than-virtuous woman her entire life story, including all of her five failed marriages and current relationship. But then Jesus offers her living water and shares with her that He is the Messiah.
Verse 27 records that the conversation is brought to a halt by the return of the disciples. The text says, “They were shocked that he was talking with a woman.” Notice it has little to do with her being a Samaritan woman, but that she was a woman. This was scandalous in this period. Rabbis taught that a man should not talk to any woman in public, even their wives. Thus the questions the disciples think, but do not ask. “Why are you talking to her?” And “What do you want?”, which comes from the assumption the Samaritan woman initiated the conversation.
But while the disciples think about such questions, they do not ask them. The situation was very unusual, but they knew Jesus and trusted Him. So in a custom very much unlike the disciples, none of them say anything.
Verses 28-30 share the change of the Samaritan woman. She leaves to go share about Jesus in her town, but she leaves behind her water jar. The very reason she came to the well was forgotten because of the gift of living water Jesus had offered her. The Samaritan woman returns to town with a simple message, sharing it with the same people she tried to avoid just hours earlier. And the people listened to her! As one commentator points out, the disciples returned with food but the Samaritan woman would return with people.
What does this have to do with us? Again, this goes to the question of “what if”? The disciples return to see Jesus talking with the Samaritan woman. It was such a scandalous sight that questions immediately formulated in their minds. A miracle happens, just like God shut the mouths of the lions for Daniel, He shut the mouths of the disciples. But what if the disciples did say something?
The Samaritan woman was so excited to leave and share about Jesus that she forgot her water jar. But if the disciples had asked, “What are you doing talking to her?” that might have caused the woman to pause and leave discouraged rather than encouraged. The disciples would have responded understandably given the tradition of the time, but it would have risked the gains Jesus had made in the woman’s life. Jesus had spoken to her as someone valued by God, and the disciples’ question would have undermined the value.
Glory be to God, that is not what happened. The disciples give us a lesson on making disciples, sometimes it is better to be quiet and trust Jesus. On the other side, the Samaritan woman also teaches us something. When she shares Jesus with those in her town, she says, “Come and see a man who has told me everything I’ve done! Could this man be the Christ?” Notice she does not say, “This is the Christ,” even if that is what she believed. Instead, she presented it as a question so the other people would investigate for themselves and have the freedom to answer that question on their own. The decision to follow Jesus is the right of every person on their own. And it cannot be made for someone anyway.
Both the disciples and the Samaritan woman shared something in common. They trusted Jesus. The disciples took one look at an unorthodox situation, but rather than speak they trusted that Jesus knew what He was doing. The Samaritan woman, after one encounter and conversation, trusted Jesus to leave behind her water jar and go share about Him with her whole town. And that is the lesson for us.
We think the work of making disciples, evangelism, is about our talents, words, and adherence to manmade traditions. But what it is really about is you and me trusting Jesus. Something may look out of place to us but at some point for true disciple-making to take place, there has to be a collision between the holy and the common. That collision takes place whenever Jesus is shared with someone outside the faith, and impacts the heart. Sometimes it will require us to speak, and other times it will require us to not give into our knee-jerk reactions. It may require us to stay quiet or it may require us to speak.
How do we know the difference? By trusting in Jesus. Trusting in Jesus allows His Holy Spirit to guide us in our conversations and reactions. And the Holy Spirit will never lead us outside the will of God. Can we trust Jesus?
