“It is not that we hold the truth; it is that we have the life of the truth.” T. Austin-Sparks, The Essential Newness of the New Creation
Jesus had to pass through Samaria. Exhausted, he sat down by a well of water. At the same time a woman arrived from a nearby village to draw water. After a brief conversation, she dropped her water-bucket and sprinted back to the village proclaiming, “Come and see a man who told me all that I ever did!”
What was the power of the message of Jesus, to have such an impact on this woman? What was the power of her one-line message to her fellow villagers that compelled them the way it did?
First, there was the utter improbability of their meeting. Jews, as Jesus was according to ethnicity, avoided contact with Samaritans by traveling around rather than through their territory. And if a Jew found himself face-to-face with a Samaritan, he certainly would not initiate a conversation. A Jewish man, furthermore, would not address any woman in public, let alone a woman of Samaria. Jesus set aside all these conventions. He shared his Father’s love with all people impartially.
It seems that this woman also had reason to avoid contact with others, seeing that she chose to visit the well outside of the usual times—morning or evening. Her expectation was that she would see nobody at that well. She never imagined that the recurring need to fetch water would that day change her life dramatically for the better.
Second, there was the person of Jesus. He embodied love, yes, but also joy and peace and kindness and humility. He spoke with grace. He had been trained to deliver a word in season to those who were weary. Although he was righteous and never condoned evil, he did not use righteousness as a weapon. His personality was inviting. The Father had taught him to be the ultimate Witness. As Jesus told Philip, “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9).
Every witness has a testimony. The conversation of Jesus with this woman was profound, touching on truths historical, religious, and personal. Jesus conveyed each revelation with love. The encounter culminated in his revealing himself as the Messiah, the promised King.
Each factor contributed to the ultimate effect of Jesus’s meeting. The shocking circumstance of the meeting itself, the manifest godliness of the witness, the content of his testimony—all these led to the woman’s change of heart. She was inclined to believe the claim he made when he revealed his identity. She forgot her shame. The influence of Jesus turned her from a recluse into a witness. It inspired her to use her own disreputable past as a testimony. “Come and see a man who told me all that I ever did, and that God still loves me! Who can this be but the Christ?”
Her message electrified the town. This was at a time when the testimony of a woman would not stand in court. Yet many of the villagers came out to see for themselves. They then had their own experience with Jesus, confirming the truth of the woman’s message and bringing them to believe in Jesus as Messiah.
When Paul visited Corinth, he recalls that he “did not come to proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:1-2). The phrase “testimony of God” is also translated “mystery of God” or “secret of God.” The authentic witness of God testifies to Jesus Christ in some new, previously unknown, aspect. The truth of the testimony is backed by the very life of the witness. That was the power of the preaching of the woman of Samaria. That is one aspect of God’s transforming work in our lives as well. He empowers us with an effective expression of the life of Christ among His people and in the world.
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