Word for Today
on GospelWord.org
Scriptures from the Holy Bible, King James (Authorised)
Version of 1611
Gospel of John, chapter 4, verses 22-29
22 Ye worship ye know not what: we know what
we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.
23 But
the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the
Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
24 God
is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in
truth.
25 The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is
called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things.
26 Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto
thee am he.
27 And upon this came his disciples, and marvelled that he talked with
the woman: yet no man said, What seekest thou? or, Why talkest thou with
her?
28 The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city,
and saith to the men,
29 Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is
not this the Christ?
Holy Bible -- King James
Version
Selah (Pause, and consider these things)
By Leonard L Hamilton Jr, Encouraging Words Ministries
This passage, known as "The Woman at the Well" to most Christians,
holds several messages that may not be readily apparent. To demonstrate
a few...
1) The woman says that she knows "Messias"
is coming, and that he would "tell us all things". True, but
she apparently thought "all things" ended with Jesus revealing
what he knew of her. Therefore, she tells the men "he told
me all the things that I ever did" and asks "is this not the
Christ?" What had she previously been told about the Lord; did she
understand it? Did she know he would be put to death for her sin, so that
she might be spared that awful penalty? Who, or What, did she think "Messias"
was?
2) The Lord isn't speaking to the woman as
much as to us, who read and study His Word. He is, I think, saying "ye
worhip ye know not what" because many don't fully comprehend duty
before Him, as His servants.
3) Transcending time, and therefore being always
contemporaneous to every age, the message that is needful is focused upon
in verses 23 & 24. We that are saved by His blood are His; our duty
is to spread the news of salvation to all possible, clearly, simply, without
encumbrances or falsehood.
The whole passage, from verse 7 to 29, can
be read as an illumination of the need for proper and true witnessing in
the Lord's Name. Look at verse 27 for confirmation: "What seekest
thou?"- why, salvation for all (For God so loved the world...);
and "Why talkest thou with her?"- because the Good News is to
be shared, not kept to oneself.
Your Invitation
Suppose no one had ever told you about God,
Jesus, the cross or salvation. It's too terrible to consider. If each of
us would have had to come to the realisation of God's Plan through our
own devices, well, I think its safe to say few if any would have any hope,
what with the prince of the world having blinded everyone's eyes. We are
the disciples of Jesus; onward!
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