Meet Them At The Well
John 4:1-42
Jesus is our model for evangelism.
In John 4, Jesus meets a Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well around noon. Jews and Samaritans didn’t care much for each other, but they did have one thing in common—a connection to Jacob.
The well was common ground.
Jesus starts the conversation by asking the woman for a drink. The woman immediately reminds Him of the tension between Jews and Samaritans. Why would a Jewish man speak to a Samaritan woman?
But the drink wasn’t really the issue.
Jesus isn’t interested in debating cultural differences. He was interested in her soul. Jesus was trying to offer her a better life.
The woman had a complicated past. Men had become a vice in her life. Jesus begins to reveal details about her background and you can almost imagine what she was thinking:
“How does this man know so much about me?”
But Jesus wasn’t concerned about her past. He was focused on her future.
He saw beyond her mistakes. He revealed her past to show her that He already knew everything about her and loved her anyway.
The encounter changed her life.
In verses 28-30, the woman leaves her water jar, goes back into town, and tells the people, “Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did.”
The woman who came to the well looking for water left as an evangelist.
Notice what Jesus didn’t do.
He didn’t put her on blast.
He didn’t shame her.
He didn’t embarrass her.
He was sensitive to where she was and offered her a solution.
That’s our example.
We should be willing to meet people where they are, not where we think they should be. We are called to build bridges, not barriers. We are called to find common ground, and point them to Christ trusting Him to do the transforming work.
So here’s the challenge:
Who is God calling you to evangelize?
Or maybe God is sending someone to speak truth into your life.
Whichever it is, be willing. Commit to sharing Christ or receiving what He wants to teach you through someone else. You never know what God can do through a simple conversation.