- What Causes You to Believe?
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When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” For Jews do not associate with Samaritans. – John 4:7, 9 (NIV)
The Jews avoided Samaria because there was a longstanding, deep-seated hatred between them and the Samaritans. The Samaritans were of mixed ancestry, part Jewish and part Gentile. In the minds of the Jews, this mixed ancestry made the Samaritans an inferior lot. Not so, however, with Jesus.
Jesus didn’t just speak to the woman at the well. He shared with her about the living water, available only through Him, that provides eternal life-giving properties to those who receive it. He indicated to her that He was aware of things going on in her personal life. He even revealed to her that He was the long-promised Messiah.
The woman returned to the nearby town and shared, with the men of the town, her encounter with Jesus. Her past would indicate that, not only did she know where to find these men; but that it is very likely her story might be their story as well. So, when she tells them about this person “who told me everything I ever did,” it got their attention.
So, whether it was out of curiosity, or guilt, or fear of discovery, or whatever, they went to find Jesus. Whatever drew them to Jesus, John tells us that many believed in him as a result of their coming to him. In fact, they invited Jesus to stay with them for a while, and many more believed.
What causes them to believe that Jesus is really the Savior of the world? Perhaps it was they were able to see the whole “He told me everything I ever did” thing in a wonderfully different light. Maybe what causes them to believe is not just that Jesus told them everything they ever did, but that He loved them in spite of everything they ever did.
Maybe these Samaritans…outcast, despised, hated, considered unworthy to even be spoken to…were some of the first ones to be the recipients of a wonderful gift that Paul would describe years later in his letter to the Ephesians.
At that time you were without the Messiah, excluded from the citizenship of Israel, and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus, you who were far away have been brought near by the blood of the Messiah. – Ephesians 2:12-13 (HCSB)
This Advent and Christmas season, invite people to come to Clarksburg Baptist Church and see Jesus. But, remember it is up to you to make sure He’s here when they come.
Your Pastor,
David Hulme
Senior Pastor