LESSONS FROM THE WOMAN AT THE WELL

LESSONS FROM THE WOMAN AT THE WELL

                Have you ever noticed that Jesus never engaged in arguments over doctrine? There were plenty of controversies boiling in His day, but Jesus operated on a totally different plain and even though His life and His teachings have resulted in libraries full of doctrine, His truth itself remained on the level of One who spoke with authority concerning His kingdom that many of our doctrines fall short of.

                We tend to argue over our interpretations of scripture while Jesus Himself is the Scripture. He is the Word made flesh and His life was the outliving of a divine truth that even to this day somehow remains above our petty interpretations. We, like the Pharisees of old tend to wrangle over our various denominational points of view and yet it was Jesus’ clear superiority over all such wrangling that caused the people to marvel at His authority and His words.

                Nicodemus tried to engage Jesus in the manor of the Pharisees and Jesus bypassed it right from the first word, saying something that shocked Nicodemus out of his customary composure. He said, “You must be born again” “You’ve got to start from scratch. You aren’t even on the right track. My kingdom starts with a complete death to all that you hold dear in this world. Paul called it rubbish or dung… and he reached a point in his life where he was willing to throw it all out, or to count it all as loss for the sake of Christ (Phil. 3:7) “… that I might know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings , being conformed to His death. (Phil 3:10)

                Doctrine is important, but for some it can become an idol that stands between them and a direct relationship with Jesus. They tend to worship their doctrines instead of Christ Himself and for them every turn of phrase is highly important… and especially so if their denomination has developed a set of interpretations that are not readily found in Scripture and this was the problem with the Pharisees. By the time Jesus came, their secondary sources had become more important than the Torah itself. So their traditions had made void the unmitigated word of God. The Talmud had taken the place of Scripture and their traditions over truth so much so that they rejected Truth Himself...

                So it is within this setting that Jesus did the unthinkable. Unlike the Jews who gave it a wide birth, Jesus went through Samaria. This, in itself, was scandalous, but He didn’t stop at that. He also engaged in conversation with a woman… a Samaritan woman no less and He asked her for a drink from a Samaritan well, which also meant that He would drink from her Samaritan cup and “defile” Himself beyond repair. (Or so the Jews of the day would think.)

                And the moment she perceived that He was a prophet she immediately tried to engage Him in their age old controversies saying: “Our fathers worshiped in this mountain; and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.”

                Well, Jesus cut right to the chase. He replied to her saying: You worship that which you do not know; we worship that which we know; for salvation is from the Jews. But an hour is coming and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. God is spirit; and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” John 4:22-24

                Our pastor posed the question this week in his sermon: “Who do you say Jesus is? Is Jesus God or is He something less than that? For if you really believe that Jesus is God… to follow Him… to receive Him into your heart changes everything. HE IS THE TRUTH AND WHEN WE HAVE HIM WE HAVE EVERYTHING… and having Him changes everything in our lives.

                This is what the woman at the well discovered in Jesus. He was more than anything she had ever experienced in terms of religion or worship. He was above it all. He had a kind of authority that melted her heart and changed her life so radically that she ran home and told everybody about it and in the end the whole village turned up to hear the words of Jesus that had so unseated her from the usual.

                “According to tradition from the early church, the Samaritan woman was later baptized by the apostle Peter and given the Christian name “Photina, meaning “enlightened one.” Her five sisters and two sons also became Christians and they all evangelized in northern Africa where they were martyred for Christ after leading many to faith in Him. Never underestimate what one converted soul may accomplish for Christ.” (Quoted from this week’s Sunday school lesson.)

                Our teacher this week unknowingly prophesied to me with this lesson, saying that when we witness to people, don’t engage with them in doctrinal arguments with them. Such things lead nowhere and everybody loses. People need to Know Jesus Himself, for He is the Way, the Truth and the Life. It is all about Jesus and we should take Him as our example in all things. Remain above the fray of doctrinal disputes and walk in divine truth.

                This is something that I had been praying about just this week. People will often try to engage you in doctrinal disputes that to me have lost their meaning. Why engage in petty arguments over human interpretations when we can know Jesus personally and the power of His resurrection to transform us into His image as we look to Him. There is a way to walk about the fray of human traffic and to be seated with Jesus in heavenly places. Eph.2:4-6

                With this I heartily agree for I finally had that encounter with Jesus after 40 years of religion. It’s not that my religion was bad; but rather that it was centered in something other than Jesus. I was zealous for the “truth” but I had never encountered Truth as a Person. When it finally happened, He came in like a fresh breeze and a warm anointing of oil. He kicked the devil out and took up residence in my heart and His life in me has been changing and transforming me ever since that day. Before that I had based my life on doctrines that never managed somehow to win me to Christ, but when Jesus Himself showed up… well everything changed for me.

                My advice is that if someone tries to win you to a set of doctrines or interpretations of scripture, do what Jesus did. By pass all of that and come directly to Jesus. Ask Him to deliver you and to come into your very heart and soul. When you do this then His Word will become something other than a set of doctrines to be wrangled over…they will testify of Him and in knowing Him you will be saved.

                Jesus IS God… and as such He is able to save you to the uttermost. He alone can transform you into His image and what can be more important than that? His Word was not designed for arguing points of doctrine. It was designed to bring us into a face to face encounter with Jesus Himself and this is exactly what Jesus said to the people in His day. “You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is these that bear witness of Me.” Only God Himself could say something like that and have it be true.

                When Jesus was transfigured before His 3 disciples Peter immediately said, “Lord it is good for us to be here. If you wish I will make three tabernacles here, one for You and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” Mt. 17:4. Peter had no idea what He was saying. In effect he was suggesting that they build three denominations, one honoring Moses, one honoring Elijah and one honoring Jesus. He meant well, even as we probably mean well today in offering our particular brand of religion to the world. But God the Father, just like His Son, cut right to the chase saying: “This is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased; hear Him.

                As we enter the final days of life on this world, it is highly important for us to step up above the fray of doctrinal disputes and to know Jesus Himself in such a way that we will never betray Him even at the cost of our own lives. Whereas a person may not be willing to die for theoretical knowledge, he will die for love and this is the kind of love that Jesus is calling us into today. Are you thirsty?