The Samaritan woman in John 4 had problems. She had been married and divorced five times, and was now living with a man who wasn’t her husband. That’s a lot of marriages, even for this century, much less the first century.
We know that first-century women in that region did not have the right to leave their husbands. We know that this woman had been left, discarded, by five different men, and her current man didn’t even bother to go through the ceremony. What pain she must have harbored in her heart!
And then she met Jesus.
He had a physical need (He was thirsty), and He allowed her to meet that need (she gave Him a drink). They had a conversation, and then the woman ran back into her village (where everyone knew she had problems). She said to them, “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?”
This story begs the question: How much did the Samaritan woman actually understand? During the conversation, she’d been confused by Jesus’ double meanings for different terms and ideas. Later, after they finished talking, she testified: “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did.” How very interesting!
The woman didn’t say, “Come, see the man who claims to be God,” or, “Come, see the man who did this amazing miracle,” or even, “Come, see the man who is the best teacher I’ve ever heard.” She doesn’t mention any of those points. We don’t know if she even knew Jesus could do miracles at that point.
But what she did know was this: Jesus knew her, inside and out. So, she ran back to her village and proclaimed that to anyone who would listen. We mention this story because of another story one of our movement catalysts shared:
Nicole* and Neha* met every Monday to discuss Bible stories. On this particular morning, they were joined by Bharthi, Neha’s neighbor. As soon as Bharthi sat down, Nicole started to feel a little nervous. Nicole and Neha had a routine. They would chat a little over some chai and then Nicole would share a Bible story. This new person introduced some uncertainties. Would she understand Nicole’s accented Hindi? Did *Bharthi really want to be there? Or was she simply being polite?
Nicole decided it would be best for Neha to read the story out loud. As soon as Neha finished reading, Bharthi started complaining about her difficult life. Nicole didn’t know what to do. Should she gently remind Bharthi that they hadn’t gathered to complain but to read and discuss the story? Should she try to steer the conversation back to the creation story? Then suddenly Neha spoke.
As Nicole listened to Neha share her thoughts, she realized she didn’t need to say a word.
Neha was no Bible scholar. She knew a total of maybe three Bible stories, but she was sharing with her neighbor about all she had learned from applying those three stories to her life. She shared about the peace in her heart, now that she, like Mary (Martha’s sister), chose to sit at God’s feet each day and be with Him.
There was so much Neha didn’t know, but that didn’t matter. Because like the Samaritan woman, she simply shared what she did know. For her, the message was, “You’ve got to believe me, spending even two minutes at God’s feet has changed me.”
Nicole could only watch, listen, and pray. Watching Neha share all she knew of God in her gentle, authentic way was beautiful, humbling, and inspiring. Like the woman at the well, Neha simply shared her experience. It was all she knew. But it was more than enough.
Bharthi left, saying she wanted to return the following week because she wanted to once again feel the peace that she felt while talking with Nicole and Neha.
*pseudonym
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