"Come, see a Man..."

At the well of Jacob, where man would have seen a promiscuous woman who was just hopping from one man to another in a fit of greed for money or supply of her wants, Christ saw a woman who was thirsty for love and contentment but was looking in all the wrong places. Only He can give love and contentment. Christ did not whack her with more laws telling her that what she was doing was wrong and how she would perish for her sins, which she already knew.

We know that this Samaritan woman who had had five husbands and was currently living in adultery with a sixth went to the well at noon. How? John 4 tells us what time our Saviour went there specifically for her--

3 "He left Judea and departed again to Galilee. 4 But He needed to go through Samaria. 5 So He came to a city of Samaria which is called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. 6 Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, sat thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour."

The sixth hour is Bible-speak for 12 noon— the middle-eastern sun shining at its peak. And why do we think the Samaritan woman went to draw water from the well in the heat of the day? It was because of shame and disgrace! She went to the well in the heat of the unrelenting middle-eastern sun to avoid the gossipy giggles and stares from other women which she knew would follow her had she gone to the well in the cool of the morning or evening when most women usually went to draw water. Plus recall what is written of Christ in the passage above:

"He left Judea and departed again to Galilee. 4 But He needed to go through Samaria."

Christ “needed to” go through Samaria. Now any self-respecting Jew at the time would NEVER go through heathen Samaria to get to Galilee from Judea. The Jews preferred to endure the additional stress of going through a much longer route than to taint themselves by passing through Samaria which provided a shorter route to Galilee. But our Lord Jesus (a Jew!) went through Samaria specifically for this sinner woman, beloved- just as He is doing specifically for all who are dealing with any sins or addictions and the shameful or disgraceful fallout of such actions.

And when He met her, He did not ask:

"But how can you be xyz? How can God bless you with all of this your ashawo work? Don't you know that exchanging body fluids with men is Satan's blah blah blah?"

He did not tell her: "God will punish you if you don't abc..."

He did not repeat to her a list of rules and regulations that she already knew by heart neither did He threaten her with Satan's attack or God's wrath if she did not "change."

No friend. Christ lovingly let her know that He knew all of her dirtiest secrets (even complimented her for being honest!,) showed her love, took her shame and condemnation, offered her Himself- Living Water - and plainly revealed Himself to her as the Messiah. And the result? She who was bogged down in sins and was so ashamed of her life was transformed to become one of the first evangelists- boldly telling her entire village about Jesus. Verse 28-29 tells us-

"The woman then left her waterpot, went her way into the city, and said to the men, 29 “Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?” 30 Then they went out of the city and came to Him."

Very interesting the Greek word from which "waterpot" is translated. It is "Hydria" meaning:

"water-jar, i.e. receptacle for family supply:—water-pot."

After her one conversation with Christ who is Grace-personified, she abandoned her own "container" which she was trying to fill up as supply for herself and BECAME a source of supply- Christ's life in her- to her entire village. Notice that after she became filled to overflowing with Christ's Supply, she did not go about telling her village people:

"See your stealing, mode of dressing, porn/drug addiction, depression, Valentine fornicating habits, bad behaviour, promiscuity, whatever."

No friend. She said: “Come, see a Man..."

She did not say to others: "Hmmmmm. See all of your dirty sins! How can you be doing xyz and expect God to bless you? How can Jesus offer you Living Water with your kind of sins? Very bad indeed. God is angry with you for this so you'd better stop or else He will punish you!"

How could she? She experienced first-hand that it is those who are doing "xyz" that Christ came, not to condemn, but to save, as He Himself says in response to self-righteous people who thought they were good in Mark 2–

16 “But when the teachers of religious law who were Pharisees saw Him eating with tax collectors and other sinners, they asked His disciples, “Why does He eat with such scum?” 17 When Jesus heard this, He told them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.”

This is what the Ministry and Message of Christ is all about, beloved-

“Come, see a Man..."

Pointing all to Jesus Christ and Him crucified; not that pointing out of sins and ills and threatening people with the wrath of God for their sins up and down as many church leaders do. That is the work of Satan the Accuser. That same wrath that false pastors use to threaten the helpless flock, God gave His own Son to die to save us from it--

"And there is still much more to say of His unfailing love for us! For through the blood of Jesus we have heard the powerful declaration, “You are now righteous in My sight.” And because of the sacrifice of Jesus, you will never experience the wrath of God." Romans 5:9.

Our work as believers in Christ is not to point out sins, threaten the sinner with God's wrath/punishment or even teach the sinner how to live right by dishing out rules and regulations for man to keep in order to be good. Grace- Christ Himself- is our Teacher, not you or I or rules and regulations that many use to whack their congregation on behalf of Satan and under the guise of preaching a "balanced" message--

11 "For the [remarkable, undeserved] grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. 12 It teaches us to reject ungodliness and worldly (immoral) desires, and to live sensible, upright, and godly lives [lives with a purpose that reflect spiritual maturity] in this present age,"

Grace is our Teacher, beloved. Point the helpless sinner who is still mired in (replace the sin of the woman at the well with any sins or anything that bugs you) and Grace will do His work which is written for us in verse 14 of the same Titus 2-

"He gave His life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us His very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds."

Yet some might say "But we have to tell them..."

Beloved, Christ TOLD the woman! But not in that condescending manner that threatens people with punishment and Satan's attack which the self-righteous employ. Christ’s telling is NEVER towards condemnation. It is always towards SALVATION--

"For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved." John 3:17.

And saved from what exactly? See what Christ saves from in Matthew 1:21-

"She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

Beloved, "He gave His life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us His very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds."

By God's Grace, let's not be found among those who think that they can achieve even a tittle of Christ's job description above by human effort. Those two betrayals (by Peter and Judas) that happened during Christ's passion which were recorded for us, it is not a mistake that they were recorded. They show us the only two reasons that unleash the evil that is the default mode of man apart from Christ. People commit acts of sin either because --

• They challenge Christ's word ("There is none good but God") and like Peter did, trust themselves to produce good (be like God) thus opening the door for Satan to sift them like wheat for the good they claim to be when Christ says differently. So sin multiplies.

• Satan entered them, like Judas whom "Satan entered" See Luke 22- 2 "The chief priests and the teachers of the Law of Moses were looking for a way to get rid of Jesus, because they were afraid of what the people might do. 3 Then Satan entered the heart of Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve apostles. 4 Judas went to talk with the chief priests and the officers of the temple police about how he could help them arrest Jesus."

Those are the two reasons why acts of sin are manifested in man whose default mode (apart from Christ) is the sin nature inherited from Adam. Based on the vagaries of Time and Chance as well as Satan's sifting which God is restraining many from falling victim to, all would be wallowing in copious sins like Peter, depression and suicide like Judas and Job-type calamities. Beloved, God's mercy is the "skeleton" that is keeping all upright. Yet some claim to be living sinless lives by no-good arm of flesh/human effort. Beloved, antichrist is not necessarily anti-God. By Grace, let's forsake all self-righteousness and silly efforts to save ourselves and look to Christ alone for Salvation.

And there is much more to the event at the well of Jacob. This happened when the disciples returned from their trip to get food:

31 "In the meantime His disciples urged Him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.” 32 But He said to them, “I have food to eat of which you do not know.” 33 Therefore the disciples said to one another, “Has anyone brought Him anything to eat?” 34 Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work."

Beloved, Christ finds His satisfaction in doing and finishing the Father's work of saving you and I.

Beloved, whatever bugs you, even sins, bring ALL of your worries and cares to Jesus. They can never be too much. He can never tire of your inconsistencies. He will save you from them all. He came, not to point out your sins and tell you to save yourself from them or else punishment. Beloved, He came to save His people from their sins- Matthew 1:21–

"She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

We have no other part to play than to believe Jesus and even our believing is a gift of Grace. When your believing is right, right living will follow.