Lessons from Christ’s meeting with the Samaritan woman at the well of Jacob?

On that day 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 true 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 man went to the well at midday- in the blazing heat of the middle-eastern sun. How do we know this? John 4 tells us what time our Saviour went there specifically for her sake--

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 when the middle-eastern sun is up with its heat at full blast. 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 the shame and disgrace that she felt for her actions! She went to the well in the heat of the unrelenting middle-eastern sun to escape the gossipy giggles and the judging stares 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 no self-respecting Jew of that time would ever go through heathen Samaria to get to Galilee from Judea. The Jews preferred to endure the additional work 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, just as He is doing today 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 so xyz? Don't you know that exchanging body fluids with different 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 which she already knew by heart neither did He threaten her with Satan's attack or God's wrath if she did not "change."

Much different from what many pastors who claim to represent Him today are doing, don't you think?

But not Christ. He lovingly let her know that He knew all of her dirtiest secrets (even complimented her for being honest!,) showed her love, took away 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 with 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--- "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 waterpot — a picture of man trying to supply his own needs or wants by himself. And she became a source of supply- Christ's life in her- to her entire village. That is the effect of being under the teaching of Grace- undeserved, unearned, unmerited favour which false preachers try to associate with license to sin. Not so, beloved of God. Grace saves from sin and death.

Notice that after she became filled 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 committing xyz sins and still 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 struggling with sins 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 for salvation from sin and death; not that pointing out of sins and ills and threatening people with the wrath of God for their sins as many church leaders do today. That is the work of Satan the Accuser. That same wrath which 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) to Grace (Christ Himself) 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 as much as a tittle of Christ's job description above by human effort. Such who think they can do so trust in the flesh/human effort and are no different from pre-denial Peter who thought his Maker was confused and wrong about his then upcoming denials. Doing so only opens the door for Satan to sift a person like wheat for the good he claims to be when Christ says “There is none good but God.”

Let's not be found among the self-righteous who are always pointing out sins without pointing the sinner to Christ as Saviour. Such usually believe that everyone (except them) just loves to commit sins with reckless abandon: as if Peter enjoyed and could not wait for another opportunity to deny Jesus; as if Judas was somewhere splurging on stuff with his betrayal money. In reality, Judas was depressed and suicidal because of his sin, as are many churchgoers who are struggling with sins and are being whacked with the law (things to do in order to be good with God) by their pastor who believes that they just love to wallow in sins. In reality, many who are held captive by sins are looking for the Way of escape who is Jesus Christ, but some who claim to represent Him point the sinner to himself for salvation from sins. There is no freedom on that self-help path.

It is not a coincidence that two betrayals (by Peter and Judas) which happened during Christ's passion are recorded for us. The events show us the two reasons that unleash sins which is the default mode of man apart from Christ. People commit acts of sin either because --

1. 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.
2. Satan entered them, like Judas whom "Satan entered"- 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 no man can control and which God is restraining many from falling victim to, all would be wallowing in copious sins like Peter, depression/suicidal thoughts like Judas and Job-type calamities. Beloved, God's mercy is the "skeleton" that is keeping all upright. Christ says:

“There is none good but God.”

For we who are in Christ, whenever we find ourselves doing things that we never thought we could as Peter did, our failings are meant to cause us to see less of ourselves and more of Jesus, to make us trust Him more:

12 "So beware if you think it could never happen to you, lest your pride becomes your downfall. 13 We all experience times of testing, which is normal for every human being. But God will be faithful to you. He will screen and filter the severity, nature, and timing of every test or trial you face so that you can bear it. And each test is an opportunity to trust Him more, for along with every trial God has provided for you a way of escape that will bring you out of it victoriously.""

Only by God's grace do we stand.

Beware of preachers who claim to be living sinless lives by their no-good arm of flesh/human effort and try to pass off that Satan's doctrine of trying to be good (be like God) by human effort at using the knowledge of good and evil as Christianity. Beloved, the spirit of the antichrist is not necessarily anti-God. In fact, as Satan did to Eve in Eden, it seems to desire godliness in all men but its own means of attaining godliness (be like God) in never through what Christ has done for us but through what you must do by your own human striving. 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 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 then 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.