Open Your Eyes

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

OPEN YOUR EYES

John 4:31-38

31 Meanwhile his disciples urged him, "Rabbi, eat something." 32 But he said to them, "I have food to eat that you know nothing about."  33 Then his disciples said to each other, "Could someone have brought him food?" 34 "My food," said Jesus, "is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. 35 Do you not say, 'Four months more and then the harvest'? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. 36 Even now the reaper draws his wages, even now he harvests the crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. 37 Thus the saying 'One sows and another reaps' is true. 38 I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor." 

NIV

The truth for us here is all about is only bringing people to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ but to actually harvest them for Jesus. Although being a witness does mean that we can only tell what we have seen, heard or experienced, there is also a responsibility of leading them to accepting Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Sowing seeds is a great thing, sharing the gospel is the sowing of the seed, sharing what Jesus has done for us is sowing the seed. Living a nice life is not sowing any seeds, as we are just living hoping someone might recognized we are a Christian and then ask us how they can be so nice as we are. Now it is also true that if we go around wearing our Christianity on our shirt sleeve but are not really, really nice to everyone all the time, we are certainly not a very good witness by our life. But the point Jesus is making here is that we have to actually harvest people. We simply cannot be content being a witness or a sower, we have to harvest as well. Now some of us need to sow, and some need to harvest, so we can be glad together. Jesus is the ultimate harvester, he harvests the souls of men, but by our bringing people to Jesus we participate in the harvest. The question we have to ask ourselves is how many people have we actually effected, or sown the seed correctly so that it will be harvested? How many have we harvested? Do we thing inviting them to hear a sermon prepared for believers will bring them to salvation? Do we think if we witness to them, someone will come along and invited them to accept Jesus? Perhaps we all should sow and we all should be able to reap as well. We only have to look around the see the people that are ripe for the harvest. Yes we might get a lot of rejections, but we must remember that is their choice, to reject Jesus. True, they are rejecting the way we believe, but that is no reason to keep our faith to ourselves. We need to open our eyes.  

Could He Be?

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

COULD HE BE?

John 4:27-30

27 Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no one asked, "What do you want?" or "Why are you talking with her?" 28 Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, 29 "Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?" 30 They came out of the town and made their way toward him.

NIV

It does seem rather odd that narrative here does not include the fact the woman was a Samaritan, perhaps the reader is supposed to insert that from previous recorded narrative, but it might simply be that in that cultural men did not engage in conversation with woman who were strangers. This was a patriarchal society unlike ours of today in which there is a far greater equality. Nevertheless his disciples did not want to question him why he was talking to her as they did have some clue to his nature or they understood him being a rabbi, he was the leader and they would not dare question his authority. But we should focus on this woman who did as Jesus suggested, she went back to town and told others to come and see this man who told her everything she had every done. We are not clear if his disciples grasp the fact he is the Christ, as we will see they still call him rabbi, but it does appear this woman has had a glimpse into the divinity of Jesus, seeing how he told her he was the Christ. But she did not tell people come to see the Christ, she only put the question out there, “Could this be the Christ?” This is certainly a unique form of witnessing, yet a very effective way. The people, how many we do not know, came out to see Jesus. He knew this would happen, this was his plan all along, give one a special moment and that one would tell others. Of what value is a great truth if kept to oneself? Of what value is church if it is just for those who know Jesus already? Actually, of what value is a life of knowing Jesus if we do not tell others about what he has done in our lives? If all we do is expect his blessings in our lives, go to church and attempt to be spiritual with all the others doing the same thing what good is that? Should we not be going to town and telling everyone about our encounter with Jesus? Surely we cannot think that everyone will simply know we are such great believers just because we of the way we live. There are hoards of nice people out there, doing acts of kindness in only their humanity. Being a good person just doesn’t make it, we have to tell everyone we have met someone who has revealed our whole life to us, maybe asking them, “Could he be the Christ?” “Could he be?”

Not Any Clearer

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

NOT ANY CLEARER

John 4:25-26

25 The woman said, "I know that Messiah" (called Christ) "is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us." 26 Then Jesus declared, "I who speak to you am he." 

NIV

If this was any clearer a blind person should be able to see it, or any louder a deaf person should hear that Jesus just told this woman, a Samaritan woman at that, he was the Messiah, he was the Christ that came and just explained everything to her, at least everything she needed to know in order to gain eternal life and what worship was all about. But even greater than telling her, he is also telling us, telling all of mankind that he is the Christ, yet it still boils down to accepting his words as the truth. This woman had an experience, a personal one in which he revealed her life to her. Although Jesus is no longer here in the flesh, we too can have that kind of personal relationship with him in which he reveals our lives to us, but even that requires an open mind, seeking truth. Those who refuse to accept that Jesus is the Christ, the one and true way to gain eternal life, are living in a fog of their own making. Jesus will reveal our deepest most inner self, if we are willing to allow him to. He is the one who speaks to us, and he is the Christ, the Messiah, the one who takes away our sin and makes us able to stand in the presence of God. It just doesn’t get any clearer than that. 

True Worshipers

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

TRUE WORSHIPERS

John 4:19-24

19 "Sir," the woman said, "I can see that you are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem." 21 Jesus declared, "Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth." 

NIV

It is sort of funny that once this woman thought Jesus was a prophet she said something to show him she was spiritual. Maybe that is just human nature, or maybe that is that façade of spirituality when with someone who is thought to be a prophet, teacher, pastor, or evangelist. We should consider if we are anything like that. But the real truth in this section of the conversation between Jesus and this Samaritan woman is in the response of Jesus. The words of Jesus are always the top priority for lessons to live by, not that the rest of scripture is not as it is all God breathed, but those words spoken by Jesus are something perhaps a little more special. We can see the lesson Jesus is teaching here about worshipping God. Neither on the mountain or in Jerusalem, neither in one denomination or another, the place we denote to worship God has little meaning at all. No matter if it is the greatest edifice filled with gold inlaid statues, a great ornate cross overlooking a huge alter, with wonderful decorations all around or a stark warehouse style structure, with a great multi-media filled platform glowing from a great array of stage lights, Jesus says a time is coming when true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. It would seem Jesus may be implying there are false worshippers, perhaps those who put all the emphasis on the place of worship, the system of worship, the organization of worship, the denominational doctrine of worship, rather than simply worshipping God in spirit and in truth. It seems God is not impressed with all mankind’s effort to show off their spirituality, by either their great places of worship or their great statements of faith, but he is seeking those who will just worship him in spirit and in truth. This we can do no matter where we are, no matter what church we attend, no matter what denomination we affiliate ourselves with, no matter how young, old, educated, or not, no matter of our financial situation, or our lifestyle, we can worship God spirit and in truth. We could spend a great many words trying to define what it is to worship God in spirit and in truth, but it seems rather plain and self-explanatory. It is not what we do that is worship, but it is who we are that is worship, that is what makes us true worshipers.

Looking Past the Physical

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

LOOKING PAST THE PHYSICAL

John 4:15-18

15 The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water so that I won't get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water." 16 He told her, "Go, call your husband and come back."  17 "I have no husband," she replied. Jesus said to her, "You are right when you say you have no husband. 18 The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true." 

NIV

This is just an excerpt from the middle of the whole story, but there is a truth we should ponder on for a minute here. Jesus had just finished telling the woman that if she knew who he was that she would be asking him for living water that would spring up within her to eternal life. Her response is almost outlandish but in reality is it simply human. Here she has the opportunity to ask, “Who are you?” or she could of asked, “What is living water?” or she could of said, “Sir, I want that eternal life.” But no, what she was looking for was a way to be lazy, a way to get something for free, a way to not have to come to the well every day to draw water. He only thing this woman could see is the physical world of her life, she could not see into the reality of what Jesus had offered her. She was looking at what this man she just met at the well could give her to make her life easier. So Jesus went the extra mile, as he always does, to reveal to her the truth she really needs to see. Knowing full well her life and the facts of her situation, as only Jesus could, he told her to bring her husband back. We all know the truth of this, as we know the entire encounter, but at this point the woman is beginning to understand she is in the presence of not just an ordinary man, but a prophet, which we will see later on. But for now we should understand that Jesus knows about our lives as well, He sees deep within our hearts and knows our deepest thoughts, or secret thoughts, our lives that we may think we only know. If we are harboring anything within attempting to conceal whatever from other people, Jesus knows about it, it is not hidden from him. The proof of this is right here in this story, for he had never met this woman before yet he knew her whole life, and was revealing to her his divine nature, but she still only saw a human prophet. How blind some people can be to the divine nature of Jesus? How blind can some people be to the truth of the scriptures? Why do so many only see the physical world they live in and think they are an island onto themselves, living only for self, perhaps even using a divine opportunity for personal gain. We need to know our lives are and open book to Jesus and make every effort to live in a many pleasing to him. Yes we will fail, we will fall short, we will sin, but we still have make the choice to want that living water, not for our personal gain on earth, but so that it will spring up within us to eternal life. Let us look past the physical. 

Whoever

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

WHOEVER

John 4:7-14

7 When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, "Will you give me a drink?"  8(His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.) 9 The Samaritan woman said to him, "You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?" (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.) 10 Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water."  11 "Sir," the woman said, "you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his flocks and herds?" 13 Jesus answered, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." 

NIV

This might be a large amount of words to deal with but it is difficult to divide them and considering they speak to a singular issue it benefits us to take the whole of it at once. Well actually there are several issues that we could spend some time with, the first being the simple fact Jesus was not only talking to a Samaritan but that he was asking for a drink from this woman. Again we have to know that God does not show favoritism, or in other translations, he is not a respecter of any person. Although the Jews as a whole did not associate with the half bred Samaritans Jesus engage this woman to bring her salvation. We could learn a lesson from this as far as not being a respecter of any person, or showing favoritism in choosing who we share the gospel with and who we don’t. We also could look to a more pointed truth about how we look at and deal with sinners. Are we more accepting of one kind of sinner than another? Could we say that we would tell a person in adultery even befriend them in order to bring the gospel into their lives, but we would shun a gay man or lesbian woman because their sin is an ‘abomination’ to God? How can we decide to shun any sinner when Jesus shows us he will talk to the most despised group of their culture? This does not say we should accept their sin as alright, for not one sin, even any of ours is alright, and we have enough sin of our own to content with, so why should we shun another person who has sin, oh right ours is not as bad as theirs, but we should accept them as a person in need of the gospel as we were and are. Have we quite all our sin, so why should we expect them to as soon as they accept the gospel? Jesus has a gift available for this Samaritan woman, a gift of living water that will well up within a person to eternal life. Should we not offer this gift we have knowledge of to all, even the most despised sinners in our culture? How can we share this gift if we do not engage with them in conversation, without condemnation? How can we share this gift if we respect them as much as we respect our pastor or some other who we think is a “great Christian”? How can we share this gift if we show favoritism? Jesus told her that whoever drinks the water he gives, which mean whoever, that is inclusive, which mean anyone, not matter their sin. Whoever drinks. 

He is Waiting

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

HE IS WAITING

John 4:4-6

4 Now he had to go through Samaria. 5 So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob's well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour.

NIV

We all know the story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman which is narrative is the set up for, but there is something else here that perhaps might be of a slight interest to investigate. Why would John write that Jesus was tired from the journey?  Why would Jesus get tired, isn’t he God in the flesh? How can God get tired? Although it is true that he is fully God he is also fully man, but why was he the only one that was tired as his disciples kept going on into town to buy food and bring it back to him? Weren’t they tired as well from the journey? It does seem strange that Jesus was the only one that was so tired he had to sit down by Jacob’s well. Now if he had not gotten tired he would have never had the opportunity to talk with the woman which led to a whole area of people experiencing his divine personality and coming to believe in him. Is it possible that Jesus, although fully human, and maybe experiencing tiredness so he can identify with us when we are tired from a journey, was actually pretending to be tired so as to have this encounter with the Samaritan woman. Is it possible that Jesus is always right there ready to have an encounter with whoever needs to have an experience of a lifetime? The answer is a resounding yes. Jesus will always reveal the truth about our lives to us. He will be there waiting to meet us, to speak with us, to give us an opportunity to serve him, as he was to ask of this woman. But we get ahead of ourselves here and we should simply see the truth here of Jesus waiting for us to come along, to be there ready to show us the truth of our lives. He was not really tired, he needed to be there, he knew want he was going to do and he set it up perfectly as only he could. Whenever we need, Jesus will always be there waiting by the well to speak with us. He is waiting.