And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him for the saying of the woman, which testified, He told me all that ever I did. So when the Samaritans were come unto him, they besought him that he would tarry with them: and he abode there two days. And many more believed because of his own word; And said unto the woman, Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world. {John 4:39-42}
Jesus Christ came to give us worth. Satan took it from us when Adam and Eve were kicked out of the Garden of Eden. Ever since then, Satan has had the power and dominion over us to make us feel bad about ourselves. The Bible tells us that Satan is the accuser of the brethren. Revelation tells us the end of him:
And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. {Revelation 12:10}
But when Jesus Christ came, He gave us the power over Satan that he can no longer belittle us and demean us, and make us feel worthless. We now have the power to stand up to him through the name of Jesus Christ and cast him down ourselves.
I love the story of the Samaritan woman at the well. Here is a woman that has had five husbands, and now is living with someone that wasn’t her husband. The Lord was at the well resting when she happened to come by. It seemed to me like she chose that hour when no one would be around, because the only one at this scene is her and the Lord (the disciples had gone to the city to buy food). We can imagine her surprise when she sees the Lord. But there was no other choice for her now but to go and draw nearer to the well where Jesus was. It’s foolish to have to go back home empty handed. Since she was able to tell He was a Jew, she must have firmly believed that He will not bother with her. Imagine her surprise then when the Lord talks to her and asks her to give Him water. She’s shocked at His request. It was obvious to her that He was a Jew and not a Samaritan, because she tells Him,
How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. {John 4:9}
She never expected Him to talk to her. Not only was she a woman (who at that time was treated as second class citizen), but a Samaritan out of all people. The Jews had nothing to do with the Samaritans. The Samaritans were actually a mix of people that were made up of Syrians and Jews intermarrying. During the time of the kings, God started to punish and take Israel out of their nation for their sins. He brought the kings of Syria over them. Syrians came to live in place of the Jews that were taken out. In the process of time the Syrians intermarried with the Jews. As far as the rest of the Jews were concerned, Samaritans weren’t real Jews. They were just “wannabes.”
But here is the Lord talking to this Samaritan woman. It’s so wonderful how the Lord talks to her and brings her out. This is how we come to know her story. What I love about this woman, and probably why the Lord wanted to talk to her, was that she was truthful about herself. When the Lord says to her to go get her husband she told Him the truth, “I have no husband.” In return for her truthfulness, the Lord commended her and says to her,
Thou hast well said, I have no husband: For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly. {John 4:17-18}
And then instead of being offended with Him for revealing to her what she knows about herself, she acknowledges Him and says to Him.
Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet. Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. {John 4:19-20}
I can’t help but feel in my heart that this is the kind of conversation that can elevate us to the Lord. When we are truthful and honest with Him, and when we allow Him to deal with us and show us who we are instead of closing up to Him, he will give us favor. When His Holy Spirit points out who we are, and we open up to Him and acknowledge Him for being good and honest with us, I believe He will reveal Himself more. This is exactly how this Samaritan woman was rewarded. Jesus tells her that a time is going to come when God is going to find true worshippers, that will worship Him in Spirit and in truth (and not in specific places anymore). He then reveals to her that He is the Christ. There are not a lot of people in the Bible that the Lord did this to. As a matter of fact, time and again the Lord shied away from letting people know that He was Christ. He would even rebuke devils out of people quickly because they would cry out, “We know You! You’re the Son of God!” Yet, here is this woman, a Samaritan out of all people, receiving His truth. He revealed Himself to her. She says to Him,
I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things. {John 4:25}
The Lord says to her,
I that speak unto thee am he. {John 4:26}
This is just incredible. The Lord actually tells her that He is the Messiah. She gets to know face to face who the Messiah is. Talk about being given worth! Talk about being given hope, when all you thought about yourself was what everybody else thought about you. Not only was she truthful to the Lord about herself and was then given the revelation of who Christ was, she wasn’t ashamed to proclaim Him to her people. She left her pot at the well and went around telling her people that she had found the Messiah. I find it amazing that the Lord did not stop her and tell her not to do this, but rather when the Samaritans saw Him and begged Him to stay, the Lord stayed with them for two days. Talk about getting lifted up and being given worth. Now this woman is no longer “the one who had five husbands and the one she’s with is not even her husband”. From now on she will be known as someone that brought Christ to them.
This is exactly what Jesus does for us: He gives us worth. If we allow Him to talk to us and deal with us about our true self, He will reveal Himself to us. And when we come to know Him, He will also elevate us and give us self-worth the likes of which Satan and the principalities of this world, and even our peers cannot even begin to comprehend. He will bring us to the heavenly places with Him and give us dominion over our fears in this life, and give us hope for what we can become. He gives us peace and He gives us joy. He gives us salvation and forgiveness for all of our sins. He gives us worth because He loves us so much and gave His life for us.
For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. {John 3:17}
Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. {Matthew 11:28-30}
Prayer
Lord Jesus, thank You Father for Your grace and wonderful love for us. Thank You so much for giving us worth in this life and giving us hope for what we can become. Thank You that You gave Your life up for us at the cross at Calvary, so that today we can find forgiveness for all of our sins and hope for eternal life. I love You so much Lord Jesus. I thank You for loving me.
I pray Father, Your continued grace and mercy upon my life. I pray that You will please help me to talk to You and be open and honest with You at all times, and not hide anything from You. Help me to find Your true version of me, and find healing in the process. You are the one who gave His life at the cross for my sins so that I can be set free from the power of Satan and the principalities of this world. Please Father, bless me with more of You. Bless me with more of Your love and Your truth. I pray today Father in Your most wonderful and precious name, Jesus. Thank You, Father. Amen.
