Go as a Witness to the Truth

Partners in a New Creation The Great Hope of the Saints The River of Life Live in the light of God (Isaiah 2:5)  John 4:37-42 The Message 36-38 "The Harvester isn't waiting. He's taking his pay, gathering in this grain that's ripe for eternal life. Now the Sower is arm in arm with the Harvester, triumphant. That's the truth of the saying, 'This one sows, that one harvests.' I sent you to harvest a field you never worked. Without lifting a finger, you have walked in on a field worked long and hard by others." 39-42 Many of the Samaritans from that village committed themselves to him because of the woman's witness: "He knew all about the things I did. He knows me inside and out!" They asked him to stay on, so Jesus stayed two days. A lot more people entrusted their lives to him when they heard what he had to say. They said to the woman, "We're no longer taking this on your say-so. We've heard it for ourselves and know it for sure. He's the Savior of the world!" For Reflection "A trial motif runs throughout John from the introduction of John the Baptist in as a witness. Giving testimony is something Jesus' friends are called to do. The woman testifies to her city. As a witness, she is intriguing. She certainly cannot be said to overstate the case. She says only what she knows and then leaves the question with them in such a way that they are compelled to come and see him for themselves.  This text suggests in a number of ways that it is not about what we know but who we know. It is about having an encounter, experiencing the light of Jesus' truth and love shining on our past and our future, and then having the courage and the wherewithal to drop anything that isn't that and go share what we know (not what someone else knows, just what we know) as witnesses to his abundant grace gushing up to eternal life in us."* *Meda Stamper is a minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA) with a Ph.D. in New Testament from Princeton Theological Seminary. https://www.workingpreacher.org/authors/meda-stamper Pray Pray and experience the light of Jesus' truth as a witness to His Grace. Forward to a friend Sign up for our mailing list!