Psalm 42:1-7 (11) Isaiah 55:1-7 (13) John 4:27-42
Expanding Horizons (2)
A highly respected General was once traveling by train with a number of his officers. At one station, a poorly dressed elderly woman, entered the coach. Having no seat offered to her, she shuffled down the aisle towards the rear. Immediately, the General got up and gave her his seat. One officer after another rose offering their seat to the General. “No, gentlemen,” the General said, “If there is no seat for this lady, there can be none for me.”
Last Sunday, we saw Jesus do something similar for another woman who had been pushed aside, not only by the people of God, but also by her own people, apparently through no grievous fault of her own. But Jesus gave her more than a seat on a train…he gave her a seat at his table in the Kingdom. In a dignified manner, without cultural condescending tones, he humbly and lovingly and irresistibly drew her ever closer to the place she needed to be in order to comprehend the revelation of his Person.
Jesus knowingly flaunted all societal rules and regulations to reach a community rejected by the religious establishment of the day through a woman rejected by her own people because of the cultural customs of the day. But the disciples, who are in many ways a picture of all followers of Jesus, seemed to have been stuck in established convention. The text tells us that they were amazed that Jesus was talking to a woman, but Jesus had a special lesson for them and, through them, a lesson for us as well.
Did you notice in the reading that the woman, who had come to the well to fill her water jar, now left without it. I don’t believe that John included this small detail for nothing. There is a parallel here between her no longer needing physical water and Jesus no longer needing physical food. In many ways, this woman had become a water jar. Remember Jesus had said to her that the living water he had to offer would become within those who drank thereof a spring of water welling up to eternal life. She could not but speak out in spite of the fact that the ones she spoke to, were more than likely the source of her past hurt and humiliation. But it is instructive to note that she did not try to persuade them herself. Rather she told them simply to ‘come and see’, a low-level commitment to come evaluate the evidence for themselves. But I do believe that the way she delivered this invitation was so exuberant and exciting that her hearers were enthused and energized into action. I can’t help but wonder if the reason why the world is not attracted to the Church today is because they are not sure if we actually believe the Gospel ourselves.
But not so with this woman! The radiant transformation of a downcast outcaste – someone who had been so wounded that she had largely withdrawn from public discourse – was too great to resist. And so, they came to see…
As the villagers made their way to Jesus, John takes us back to the well to see how the disciples were progressing. While revival was bubbling up in town, what were they doing? They were still very much in their practical material world, trying to get Jesus to eat practical material food. But Jesus’ need for physical sustenance had long since passed. He was feasting on the anticipation of knowing that what was about to transpire was the fulfilment of the sovereign will of Almighty God.
For the disciples and, indirectly, for us this was a lesson about priorities. Jesus used a well-known proverb about the timing of the physical harvesting of the fields to draw their attention away from the physical toward the spiritual. This is a not so gentle rebuke similar to one he levelled at the Pharisees on another occasion. “You hypocrites!” Jesus scolded. “You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?”
At this point, I think, John would want us to ask the obvious question. What is more important to us today? We spend so much of our time in physical mode, don’t we? Buy more, get more, eat more, drink more, collect more…we are so concerned with what we eat, what we drink, what we wear. Now, an unhealthy preoccupation with these types of physical things may be a warning signal that all is not well on the spiritual front. Wealth and possessions are not always a sign of blessing…in and of themselves, they may very well be a curse. Jesus indicated in the sermon on the mount that the state of the human heart could be known by the location of the person’s treasure.
Be that as it may, Jesus redirected his disciple’s focus to see what he saw…an approaching harvest of eternal value…and he invited them to participate in reaping a harvest they had not sown.
Now, it seems clear that the villagers were making their way to Jesus because of what the woman had said…not the disciples. Remember, they had been in town, but there is no indication that they had told anyone about Jesus…they had not invited anyone to come and see. It was, in many ways, a typical man’s way of shopping. Go in, get what you want, and leave. Quite possibly, they had spoken to some of the same people, but not about spiritual things. They had spoken to them about physical things. They had bought perishable food and drink with money…the woman, in stark contrast, gave them imperishable food and drink that could not be bought, by inviting the villagers to come to the free source of living sustenance. “Why spend money on what is not bread,” Isaiah asked, “and your labour on what does not satisfy?”
And so, the disciples participated a harvest not of their own making. Why is it that she succeeded while they failed? I think it is because she had not yet lost sight of the amazing grace extended to her. The disciples were so bound by their societal prejudice and their sense of spiritual superiority as the “chosen people” that they had forgotten the mercy of God.
But it is important to note that while the testimony of this woman had a great impact on her people, it was as they spent more time with Jesus themselves, that they were directly confronted with the same truth, and consequently made their faith personal. “We have heard for ourselves,” they said, “and we know that this man really is the Saviour of the world.” Biblical faith is always personal faith…it is always first hand, never second-hand.
So, if we find that we tend to be like the officers of the General on the train, or like the disciples in Samaria, perhaps we need to ask our Lord for a lesson in humility, painful as that might be. We all need to realise that we are not in the Kingdom because of merit…it is the sacrificial love of God that brought us to the table. And from that lowly position of unpretentiousness and true humility, we will be more able to see what Jesus sees…the fields all around, white unto harvest…and we will be more willing to share the spring of water bubbling up within us with others.
Shall we pray?
© Johannes W H van der Bijl 2023
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