Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no one asked, “What do you want?” or “Why are you talking with her?”

Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, "Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?” They came out of the town and made their way toward him.

Meanwhile his disciples urged him, “Rabbi, eat something.”

But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.”

Then his disciples said to each other, “Could someone have brought him food?”

“My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. Don’t you have a saying, ‘It’s still four months until harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. Even now the one who reaps draws a wage and harvests a crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true. I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.”

Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.” So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. And because of his words many more became believers.

They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.”

-John 4:27-42

Why do we witness? Because we are compelled by the truth and love.

Compelled by the Truth

The Samaritan woman leaves her jar at the well and tells the people: "Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?" (vs 29). She is compelled by the truth-- the truth about herself and the ways she falls short, but also the truth about Jesus and the Good News.

The question isn't, "Should we share the good news?", but "What is the good news?"

Compelled by Love

"Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman." (vs 27)-- they are surprised because Jesus is talking to a woman, and because she is a Samaritan. There are barriers in gender, ethnicity, and in morality, and yet Jesus reaches across them to offer eternal life. The woman tells about Jesus because he reached out to speak to her, despite the things that separated them. 

Being a witness is essential for a healthy church, because it is a sign that you believe the Good News and cherish it, and cannot help but share it with others.

How to Share the Good News?

Consider your approach. Jesus approaches the woman with gracious friendship, welcoming her where she is and how she is. The woman then approaches the villagers with humility, truth, and love.

Know the person you're talking to. Jesus knew the Samaritan woman, where she came from, and what she needed. 

Don't do it alone. The Samaritan woman invites the people to come and see, to come with her to the place where Jesus is. Evangelism isn't all on you or on me-- as the body of Christ, it's on all of us, together. One person plants, another person waters, but God will make it grow.

"My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work." vs 34 

 

 

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