Face to Face with Jesus

A face to face meeting with Jesus: the woman at the well

 

Have you ever felt isolated or unwanted as you think about your relationship with God or with His church?  I often run into people who have expressed these feelings.  They tend to avoid fellowship and often it’s because they feel unworthy to be around others.  It might be because of self judgement or perhaps because others have made them feel like a second-class citizen. 

 Sometimes they try to rationalize the feeling or deflect attention with statements that aren’t necessarily at the heart of the issue.  They might tell you:

“Church is boring.”

             “Churches are hypocritical.”
             “Church is irrelevant.”
             “I never feel like I fit in when I’m there.”

 Any one of these statements may have some truth and be accurate to a degree, but what might be at the heart of the issue is that an individual might have special history that contains a spiritual / emotional wound.  Out of that wound a lie about themselves is birthed.  Often people don’t want to deal with the pain.  So, they create diversionary excuses for staying away from the Body of Christ.

For example, someone might have experienced physical / sexual abuse in their past and end up thinking “God would never choose to love me because of who I am and what I’ve done.”  Or they might have feelings of anger toward God because of the way they were victimized. “Where were you God?  Why didn’t you intervene?”

 Another example might be that they were or are rejected by family, friends, or faith community because of their history with sin. The result:  isolation and a deep feeling of emptiness and loneliness. It’s a terrible feeling because God created us for relationship with him and with others.   

 It has often been said that God created each one with a hole in their heart that only God can fill.  Psalm 42 1-2 touches on this need:

      
             As the deer pants for streams of water,
             So my soul pants for you, my God.
            My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
            When can I go and meet with God? (NIV)

Many Christian counselors agree that people have several essential core longings that represent this hole in our hearts. 

Core longings are feelings that manifest a desire:

       •        To be known. 

       •        To be heard, understood, and appreciated.
       •        To have a sense of identity: individually and communally.
       •        To have meaning, purpose, and significance to one’s life.
       •        To have a sense of security.
       •        To be loved.

 When we become distanced from God and from His people as well, it is very challenging if not impossible to fulfill the need to be affirmed as a human being. Unfortunately, people often look to worldly solutions to fill that need.  Without God, when these longings are unmet, we find ourselves in a deep pit. 

The universal anecdote is to have a tangible encounter with Jesus.  How is this possible?  Ask Bill Gather who write the song, “He touched Me.” Or John Newton famous for writing “Amazing Grace,” or Darlene Zschech who wrote, “I Will Never Be the Same Again.”

They, and so many more, testify to something more than a chance meeting with Jesus that changed their life, turned it upside down.  It is so sad that so many people past and present never experience Jesus in such a powerful way.

During his three years of ministry, lots of people were in the presence of Jesus but not everyone HAD a life changing encounter with Jesus.  So many saw him and witnessed his miracles but not all were changed through a specific personal genuine “feel his presence” encounter with Jesus.   What’s the difference maker between knowing Jesus exists and having a heartfelt interactive personal relationship with Him?

 Many came to Jesus with a physical need for healing. What they did not realize was that embedded within these physical needs was a deeper spiritual need: the longings only The Messiah could fill.

Each one of the following people had physical needs that only Jesus could take care of but each one had core longings that called out from the deep for fulfillment:

·         The woman who touched Jesus robe.
·         The blind man.
·         The crippled man by the healing pond.
·         The crippled man lowered through the roof by his friends.
§         Martha and Mary as they grieved the death of Lazarus.
§         The Roman Centurion who had a sick servant.
§         The father who had a sick child and knew he himself dealt with unbelief.
§         The man possessed by a legion of demons.
§         Those who grieved the death of Jesus who ended up meeting the resurrected Christ.
§         The despondent disciples on the road to Emmaus.
·         The adulterous woman needed forgiveness.
·         The woman who bled needed physical healing but also an end to years of isolation and being shunned isolated and marginalized.
·         The rich young ruler need to have obstacles removed; go and sell everything.
·         The insane man in the cemetery needed deliverance from torment from bondage.
        Paul needed humility and an encounter with authority, grace and mercy.

 

Of particular focus for today’s discussion is the story of the woman at the well found in Chapter 4 of the Gospel of John.  As we engage this section of scripture we find a woman approaching a well in a setting that is away from the busyness of the local village. It is a time of day when she is most likely not to encounter other people. 

As the narrative unfolds, there are obvious reasons revealed why this woman comes alone.  As well, her choice of words reveals a life time of experiencing defending herself with conversation skills to deflect attention away from her woundedness.

 

(Read John 4:1-30) ESV

4:1  Now when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John. 2  (although Jesus himself did not baptize, but only his disciples), 3  he left Judea and departed again for Galilee. 4  And he had to pass through Samaria. 5  So he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6  Jacob's well was there; so Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well. It was about the sixth hour. 

7  A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” 8  (For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.) 9  The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) 

10  Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” 

11  The woman said to him, “Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? 12  Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.” 

13  Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14  but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” 

Joh 15  The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.” 

Joh 16  Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.” 

Joh17  The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; 18 for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.” 

19  The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. 20  Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.” 

21  Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. 22  You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23  But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. 24  God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” 

25  The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things.” 

26  Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he.” 

27  Just then his disciples came back. They marveled that he was talking with a woman, but no one said, “What do you seek?” or, “Why are you talking with her?” 

28  So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people, 29  “Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?” 30  They went out of the town and were coming to him. 

 

 

The setting: 

Jesus and his disciples were in the process of crossing through Samaria: a territory that was not necessarily hostile toward Jews but definitely unfriendly.  The Jews and the Samaritans had become adversaries over the years.  While both had ancestral roots to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the years of the captivity had produced the Samaritans.  They were a mix of Jewish and Assyrian blood.  And there was bad blood between the two sects. 

 Commentaries reveal that Jews did not speak to Samaritans and that they were considered so detestable even to the point that coming into contact with any of them would cause a Jew to be unclean in the same way as being in contact with a pig.

The timing:

The six hour of the day was their language expression for noon.  This was not the normal time of day to go to the well.  People went to the well in the cool early morning or early evening.  It was a time of day though when social outcasts would not have to be concerned with encountering other people.  It was very hot. Barclay points out that it may have been at least a half mile from the village and that the village likely had a well she could have drawn from.

 The woman: 

the fact that she was there at such an inconvenient hour and location indicates a significant need to be away from others.  This speaks to social and emotional conditions of an outcast.  The circumstances and her conversation with Jesus reveals a lot about her background:

     Beaten down by life
     Known to be of poor reputation
     Not likely to be heard: suffering isolation
     Not appreciated
     Living a meaningless existence
     Undoubtedly unloved.
     Most likely emotionally abused by having been married 5x
     Living a life of sin looking for love in all the wrong places.

 

The circumstances: Jesus took the initiative to speak

Surely it must have startled this woman as she progressed up the path to see that she would have to work around this man to get water.  Remember this was a remote location and not normally inhabited at this time of the day.  Jesus sat by the well in most translations and on the well in the KJV translations: without a doubt he was unavoidably positioned to be “in the way . . . in your face!” 

 Personal safety would have been a concern.  Was this a safe person at the well waiting for her? As well, social interaction would be required. At this point it may have been a long time since she had to interact with anyone in public and for sure with a rabbi.  She was used to her role as a marginalized second class citizen. A potentially uncomfortable situation was awaiting her as she arrived at the well.  

The fact that Jesus even spoke to her would have been considered unthinkable on several levels:

     ·         In that culture and time, a man would not have spoken to a woman. Especially not practiced between strangers.

     ·         A rabbi would not have spoken to a woman: also not the custom of the day.
     ·         A Jew would not have spoken to a Samaritan: another no-no.
     ·         A righteous religious citizen would not have spoken to an adulterous woman, an unrepentant sinner. Frowned upon as well.
     ·         Add to this that Jesus asked for drink: that would bring him in contact with the unclean.  A fifth no-no.

Just having Jesus speaking to her probably brought on a flood of emotions including fear and shame, but as the conversation progressed this WAS to be the most healing, restorative, and comforting event of her entire life.

 Jesus first engages the woman by talking about a different kind of water: living water. Not a temporary fix, but nourishment that possessed eternal value.  A cure for what ailed her spiritually.

He draws her into dialogue. He reveals his knowledge of the intimate details and history of her life and her failed relationships.  He gradually pulls confession out of her without demonstrating disapproval of her.  Most importantly he does not abandon her as she confesses.  He stays in the moment with her without bringing condemnation down upon her. 

 Like any seasoned sinner would do, there are several moments in the conversation where she attempts to hijack the agenda and divert attention away from her.

 

Defensive tool #1

Intentionally and immediately the woman notes their differences.  She attempted to get Jesus to talk about the great gap between their races.  It was an invitation to lower themselves and get in a religious debate.  This practice was frowned upon in the day. Jesus instead kept the conversation on track.
 

Defense # 2 

She again notes their differences and tries to change the subject over to talking about their different worship traditions.

Defense # 3 

She compliments Jesus calling him a prophet as an attempt to take the focus off His words which were calling her out on a life of sin.

 Don’t we often do similar things ourselves?  In an attitude of denial, we try to divert the attention away from the fact that we are sinners.  We try to differ attention from our wounds as well as it is often too painful to deal with them head on.

 

And isn’t it also interesting that this woman is such an incredibly experienced sinner but still has knowledge of the coming Messiah, worship traditions, and religious practices?   This so identifies with our condition sometimes:  that we might know spiritual truths and yet live a life that is in rebellion to those truths.

 

So let’s review the facts so far:

• Jesus initiates the conversation
• Identifies the cure before the problem is even identifie
• Draws confession out
• Stays with her; did not condemn
• Offers the cure
• Finally reveals himself

In this brief but concise conversation, Jesus has exercised his mercy and grace to forgive and restore this woman thus dealing with most of her core longings.  Jesus met many of her emotional spiritual needs extending his grace, undeserved blessing, just by the fact he took the time and initiative to talk to her.

 

·         He gave her a sense of being known: Jesus told her enough to make her realize he knew things about her before she opened her mouth.

·         Jesus engaged her and listened to her.  He validated her.  She was heard, understood, and appreciated.  He took the time to talk to her.

·         He gave her a new sense of identity removing the old one that separated her from God and from community.

·         He made her feel significant: a woman, a Samaritan, a sinner. He made special provision to talk to her.

·         He gave her a sense of security.  He came to her.  He validated her with conversation.  He did not send her away in her moment of confession.   

·         His conversation restored her to a personal relationship with the Messiah.

·         He revealed his identity. How favored that must have made her feel!

 

She was so overwhelmed by this encounter with Jesus.  Suddenly she was energized from being at “The Well.”  She actually forgot her water jug and went back to the village to witness about her fresh encounter with the Messiah!

Her feelings of being a second-class citizen were gone.  The Messiah had favored her with personal acknowledgement, conversation, and an opportunity to receive a cure for the consequences of her past and a hope for eternity!

 She was so changed by this episodic encounter with Jesus that she ran to those who shunned her and told of the Good news of the Messiah who she had just met!

 

How does this encounter with Jesus speak to us today? 

 We too can personally have an encounter with Jesus and have that same outpouring of love in the same way as the woman at the well if we let Him speak to us “softly and tenderly”.  We are assured that if we seek Him we will find Him.  He does not hide himself from us, we only attempt to hide ourselves from Him because of our hurts hang-ups, and unhealthy habits.

 It is of utmost importance for each one of us to come to a deep awareness that only God can completely fulfill the most important longing: to be loved. Only then can we experience abundant satisfaction for all our core longings.

Some people try to have an encounter with Jesus through performance.  He’s not interested in performance. We cannot earn His favor.  We have it already.

It is not a matter of going to the local coordinates for the last reported sighting of Jesus and expecting God to repeat the event.  We need to be seeking him:

 

             We need to have an open heart

Believe that he exists

Seek him with all our hearts

Understand he is sufficient

Be yielded in a submissive surrendering posture

Recognize the need in our lives for:

            Forgiveness

            Mercy

            Grace

            Restoration

            Reconciliation

            Adoption

            Eternal security

            Worth as an individual

Recognize Power of prayer

acknowledge sin separates us from God

and lastly confess.

 

 Are you ready to take a drink from the well that provides intimacy with Jesus?  He’s waiting just as the Father waited for his prodigal son. 

 And we who have already had that episodic encounter with Jesus, we need to guide our friends to the same well where we met Jesus.  Take them with grace, without condemnation, in prayer and with the love of Jesus.

 

Come taste the living Waters and see that the Lord is good!

 

 

 Here is just a small sampling of scriptures that affirm we can know God personally through Jesus Christ and have the personal encounter we so desperately need

 

Proverbs 8:17  I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me.    

 Mat 7:7-8 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. Mat For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. 

 Heb 11:6  And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

James 4:8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 

Psa 9:10  And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek you.

Psa 34:17  When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. Psa 34:18  The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. 

 

Core Longings: The Desires of the Soul - by Robert Shaw, M.A., D.Min.  Each core longing is discussed in a scriptural context and our understanding of psychology. The core longings can only be fully met through a relationship with the Jesus Christ.