John 4:4-42

I am not very good at talking to unbelievers about Jesus. My infrequent efforts seem awkward and tentative. There is also a good deal of what might be considered overthinking in the mix. But what if it is fairly simple? This week’s passage of the conversation between Jesus and a Samaritan woman at a well just might hold the key I have been seeking.

She was the last person you would think Jesus would choose to have this somewhat strange conversation about salvation. First of all, she was a Samaritan, and the Jews had a complicated and difficult relationship with them. They didn't interact. They avoided each other. The world was a divided place even then. And yet here is Jesus, pausing at a well in Samaria. He shows up in her world. 

She was also a woman, and a woman who came to draw water by herself. At that time, it was unlikely men and women would interact in that setting. Jesus tells her that he knows about her five husbands. Even within her own culture, she did not lead an exemplary life. Jesus disregards some social norms and does not judge her past. 

Jesus keeps it simple and tells her he offers her the “living water” of salvation (John 4:10). This is different, he explains, from the water drawn from the well, and “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” (John 4:14). 

The woman leaves her water jar, now fueled with “living water”, and hurries back to her village exclaiming about how Jesus told her “everything I ever did” (John 4:28). This creates a ripple effect and many other Samaritans come to believe that Jesus was the Messiah as well. Throughout the New Testament, Jesus seems to tailor his miracles to each person or group and what reaches this woman was both his knowledge and non-judgement of her past behavior. In order to get her to step into his story, Jesus first steps into her story.

Now back to our own evangelism. I believe Jesus shows us one way to approach unbelievers in this passage. It does not have to be complicated. We keep it simple, meet them in their world, suspend judgment and step into their story.

Does the story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well change the way you think about talking to unbelievers? Is there some action you might consider trying?