The Blessing Of Embracing The Truth

We have experienced the first miracle of Jesus at Cana of Galilee, where water was turned into wine, then we moved to the first ministry of Jesus at Jerusalem. Jesus was interviewed by Nicodemus concerning Who he really was. Nicodemus represented the best that the nation of Israel had to offer. He was a scholar, a teacher or Jewish Rabbi, and a member of the ruling counsel the Sanhedrim Court. John tells us that the news had gotten out that Jesus baptized and made more disciples than John the Baptist. So Jesus is stirred or compelled to leave Judea and go through Samaria. "He must needs go through Samaria" was the expression the Bible uses. John moves us from the best that the nation had to offer to the worst that the region had to offer.

This second interview is another illustration of the fact that "He knew what was in man." The Samaritan woman contrasts sharply with Nicodemus. Nicodemus came seeking; the woman was indifferent. He was a respected ruler; she was an outcast. He was serious; she was flippant. He was a Jew; she was a despised Samaritan. He was a good moral man; she was classed as immoral. He was learned in religious matters; she was ignorant. Yet in spite of all the differences between this churchman and this woman of the world, they both needed to be confronted by the truth. Both had a need that only Christ could meet.

In the days of Christ earthly ministry, the relationship between the Jews and the Samaritans was greatly strained. The animosity was so great that most Jews bypassed Samaria as they traveled between Galilee and Judea. But Jesus rebuked his disciples for their hostility to the Samaritans. Jesus healed a Samaritan Leper, He honored the Good Samaritan in one of his parable, he praised the Samaritan for returning to give thanks after his cleansing, and now Jesus engages a woman of Samaria by asking her for a drink of water.

The lesson reveals several things about this woman. Many have described this woman as a person of low moral because she had five husbands and is living with a man unmarried. She comes the Jacob’s well alone in the middle of the day to get her daily supply of water. The woman of Samaria, probably never expected her life to turn out this way. Can you see her as a young maiden with so much promise, excited about her engagement and prospect of having children and a happy family. I wonder what really happen to her? What brought on her first divorce? During her lifetime, women were not allowed to initiate divorce proceedings. She was sent away five times! Maybe she was barren and childless. She find herself disappointed with life, disillusioned about the future and living a life where happiness and fulfillment seem beyond her reach. All her life the well of contentment has been deep and she has had nothing to draw with. I thought this woman was a stranger, but I know her and sometimes see her in the mirror.

Sometimes the first step to changing our situation is being confronted by real truth. Christians are called to be God’s light of truth in a dark and confused world. Some Christians failed to teach the basic tenets of the Christian faith in our homes. Others failed to model the Christian faith in the world. And the church itself has failed to clearly teach the fundamentals of the Christian faith and give clear definition to right and wrong. Instead, we have opted for vague notions about what it means to be tolerant.

How did we get to this place when Jesus Christ, the center of our faith, was ruthlessly clear and truthful? Whenever people confronted him, they were often stripped of their pretenses and made vulnerable by the truth with which he confronted them. Some of those individuals ran from the truth, others were staggered by it, and still others embraced it, difficult as it was. But people were always confronted by the truth. They had to face the truth about themselves and the reality of who Christ was. This is the case with the woman Jesus encountered by the well in Samaria, in this Scripture. Let’s look at what this story teaches us. I believe it teaches that when Jesus the way, the truth and the life encounters us, the first thing that happens is:

1. Embracing the Truth Clarifies Who We Really Are. The truth this woman was forced to see was not very pleasant. She wanted a family, a husband who would love her, children to enjoy, acceptance by her community, and a place to belong. She has been typically seen as a person of low morals, inappropriate behavior, and discredited in her community. All of her life, acceptance and fulfillment had eluded her. She kept meeting people who took advantage of her weakness. When Jesus offered her water from the well of living water, she didn’t understand what he was saying. She misinterpreted what Jesus meant when he said, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:13-14). She foolishly replied, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.” She thought that since Jesus was a stranger she could pretend to be someone she was not, but Jesus quickly unmasked her pretense by saying, “Go, call your husband and come back.” Now her disguise began to unravel, and her true self was laid bare. She said to Jesus, “I have no husband.” He said, “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 4:18). Jesus knew the truth about her, and forced her to see and admit the truth about herself. But that is the way it is when we come into contact with God. Suddenly his light shines on us and reveals the truth about us, and we understand that he sees us as we really are. And when the real us is exposed by God, we have to admit the truth.