How to Talk About Your Faith

⁴ Now he had to go through Samaria. John 4:4 (NIV)

Why did Jesus have to go through Samaria? It’s true that it was the most direct route from Jerusalem back to Galilee, but it was common for Jews to skirt Samaria. They would go around Samaria to avoid contamination with Samaritans. But Jesus had to go through. Why? Because he had a divine appointment there.

One scholar says Jesus had “a compelling divine necessity.” Jesus presents himself in the gospels as the Anointed One, anointed and led by the Holy Spirit, who does only what the Father leads him to do. We are to be led by the Spirit, too. We should know that we also have divine appointments. As we spend time with the Lord, people will come to mind. God may prompt you to send a text, to call, to visit, to give a word of encouragement.

Remember, the good works to which we are called are prepared in advance for us to do (Ephesians 2:10). 

Don’t be Afraid of Crossing Social Barriers

⁶ Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon. ⁷ When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” ⁸ (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.) ⁹ 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 4:6-9 (NIV)

Jesus reached across social barriers. As a righteous Jewish Rabbi, he would not have been expected to interact with an unrighteous Samaritan woman. There are lots of applications we could make here, but the main thing I want to emphasize is this: Don’t be intimidated because people are different from you. Don’t be intimidated because they’re more educated or wealthier than you. Don’t be intimidated because they’re scary to you.

There was a time I might have been uncomfortable talking to someone who rode a Harley motorcycle. Then I got one, and had an automatic bond with many Harley riders! I’ve also found riding to be a point of connection with young riders on Honda and Suzuki bikes. God has used it. 

You Don’t Need a Miracle

One evening Lisa and I were in Reading for a church event. We stopped at Wawa on the way home, and pulled in right next to a young guy on a Honda. After getting my Diet Coke, I stopped and talked with him a little bit before getting in the car. I commented to Lisa that it was great to have the motorcycle connection, and I wondered why God didn’t seem to lead me to witness to him.

The next day, I’m riding my motorcycle, miles away from Reading, and have to stop at Wawa to get gas. I pull up to the pump and look at the motorcycle a couple of pumps over from mine. Guess what: It was the same guy! That interaction set us up to go from small talk to God talk, and he acknowledged that his coworkers had been talking to him about Jesus and that God was getting his attention. I love it when God works that way! 

A few days later, I shared this story with a friend who is a true evangelist. He was not impressed at all! He said, “Ed, you don’t need something like this to happen for you to share your witness with people!” That’s entirely true–as I’m sure the young motorcyclist’s coworkers could attest. At any rate, don’t be intimidated by people you might tend to write off as potential candidates for a spiritual conversation. The woman at the well was shocked that Jesus would cross the barriers. We shouldn’t be. 

Jesus was Vulnerable

Jesus was vulnerable, he presented a need to her. The most perfect person who has ever lived, the one through whom all the universe was created, did not present himself as perfect, or as having everything that he needed. He needed water. And as the woman pointed out, he didn’t have anything with which to draw water. Jesus was being authentic, willing to share the vulnerability he took on when he became a human being.

I know that having an out-of-control life will not help us in our witness. We need some evidence of God’s work in our lives. There has to be something desirable about our walk with God. But we don’t have to act like we’re superhuman, either. We still live with vulnerability. Think about this: If being the Christ didn’t mean trying to prove he had it all together, then certainly being a Christian doesn’t mean we are trying to prove that we have it all together either. Jesus was willing to reveal the vulnerability he shared with all other human beings. This is part of Jesus’ willingness to be a true friend of people.

Jesus had all the answers, but didn’t try to come across that way. We don’t have all the answers, but too often try to seem as though we do. 

Connect With the Needs You Share

¹⁰ Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.” ¹¹ “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? ¹² Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?” ¹³ Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, ¹⁴ but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” ¹⁵ The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.” John 4:10-15 (NIV)

Jesus connected to the woman’s needs.

He made a connection with the woman based on something they had in common. We can do this, too! We could possibly get a little silly with this. 

Last week, I was at my physical therapist’s office, and noticed the tagline on the wall: “Providing Hope, Encouragement, and Healing.” I was very tempted to tell someone there–the receptionist, or maybe the physical therapist–“Hey, that’s what I do! I provide hope, encouragement, and healing through Jesus!”

Or perhaps you meet a travel agent, and you say: “Oh, I’m a travel agent, too. I help people get to heaven!” You could say to someone in life insurance: “I’m in life insurance, too. Insure that you have eternal life!” Ba-dum-tssss. We do not need to be silly to connect with those around us.

Ask God for Wisdom

Jesus listened. He engaged her in real conversation. But he’s not just listening to the woman, he’s listening to the Father:

¹⁶ He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.” ¹⁷ “I have no husband,” she replied. Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. ¹⁸ The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.” John 4:16-18 (NIV)

He knew things about her through revelation, through listening to the Father and the Spirit. Remember, Jesus only did what he saw the Father doing. Revelation is better than jumping to conclusions! If you pay attention, God will show you things. If you are trying too hard, you will jump to conclusions. Learn how to distinguish between the two.

Sometimes, when people read this story, they conclude that she myst have been unrighteous. We jump to conclusions about her. We make some big logical leaps to explain why she was there at noon. Why did she have five husbands? We have no clue about her living arrangements and why she was living with a man who was not her husband. Yet, Jesus chose her to be the first to deliver the news of the Messiah to Samaria, part of the commission of Acts 1:8. Why would the Samaritans have believed her if she was such an outcast?

Not a Coincidence

As you read the Bible, you will find that you engage in conversations with people, those principles will be just what you need to share. This is not a coincidence. My friend Ron told a story about a time he had studied a passage of Scripture, then went in to work. Later that day, he was talking with coworker who brought up a situation directly related to that passage! Ron was prepared for the relevant spiritual conversation in which the other person had a real interest. 

Sometimes, we don’t need spiritual revelation to know about people’s life situations. Maybe they will just tell you! You might be amazed at what people will begin to reveal about themselves when they know they have found a sympathetic ear. Just letting people know that you’re interested in them, that you’re listening to them, will open up doors for people to share their lives with you. Jesus took time to listen.

Engage Their Belief System

He engages the woman’s belief system. In a lot of our interpretation of the life of this woman, we emphasize how sinful she must have been. We don’t actually get that from John or from Jesus. In fact, the passage doesn’t dwell on the woman as a sinful person. I think that what the passage puts the emphasis on is the vulnerability of the woman. We don’t know why she had had five husbands. We don’t know the circumstances of her living with a man she wasn’t married to. The passage just doesn’t tell us.

Instead, what is emphasized is Jesus’ engaging with the woman in a real conversation, and she’s not put off by it. Jesus did not cut off conversation with the woman by revealing what he knew about her. He didn’t shame her. I think he was showing her, as God showed Hagar in the Old Testament, that he saw her unsettling predicament. I’m sure she didn’t want to talk about her marriages, but she is intrigued enough to want to have a religious discussion:

¹⁹ “Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. ²⁰ Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.” ²¹ “Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. ²² You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. John 4:19-22 (NIV)

Some see the Samaritan woman’s discussion of religious beliefs as an attempt to avoid what Jesus was really wanting to deal with. That’s possible. What’s also possible is that she really was interested in spiritual and religious things, that she brought up a topic that she knew something about, and that it was relevant for her situation and times. 

Be Willing to Differ

Jesus didn’t just say, Whatever you Samaritans want to believe is OK. He was gently and respectfully willing to differ. He doesn’t argue her down. Instead, he continues to make an offer in keeping with the one he’s already made, to give her living water: 

²³ Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. ²⁴ God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” ²⁵ The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.” ²⁶ Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.” John 4:23-26 (NIV)

Jesus revealed himself as Messiah. Jesus had revealed his vulnerability, and he also didn’t hide his true status. This is very significant in this passage. Jesus didn’t always openly announce this truth about himself, yet he revealed it to this woman. Jesus is still revealing himself to others through us. He is drawing people to himself. One place he does that is in the presence of those who worship him in Spirit and in truth. 

Share the Truth

We can’t share that we are the Messiah, as we are not, but we have truth to share! 

1. We can share who we are. We are sharing our lives with others. This is part of real relationship. 
2. We can share that Jesus is the Messiah. What has Jesus done for you? Many of your friends are willing for you to share with them about Jesus if they know that you are serious about your faith. 

Our most important message is that the Father is seeking a relationship with every person. It needs to be on the right foundation: spirit and truth. But God is revealing to you all you need for a relationship with him. His Spirit is drawing you. He’s revealing the truth about himself. Will you come into relationship?

³¹ But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. John 20:31 (NIV)

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