Immerse: Messiah - Flipbook - Page 417
4:19-42
John
405
“Sir,” the woman said, “you must be a prophet. So tell me, why is it
that you Jews insist that Jerusalem is the only place of worship, while
we Samaritans claim it is here at Mount Gerizim, where our ancestors
worshiped?”
Jesus replied, “Believe me, dear woman, the time is coming when it will
no longer matter whether you worship the Father on this mountain or in
Jerusalem. You Samaritans know very little about the one you worship,
while we Jews know all about him, for salvation comes through the Jews.
But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will
worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those
who will worship him that way. For God is Spirit, so those who worship
him must worship in spirit and in truth.”
The woman said, “I know the Messiah is coming—the one who is called
Christ. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”
Then Jesus told her, “I Am the Messiah!”
Just then his disciples came back. They were shocked to find him talking to a woman, but none of them had the nerve to ask, “What do you
want with her?” or “Why are you talking to her?” The woman left her
water jar beside the well and ran back to the village, telling everyone,
“Come and see a man who told me everything I ever did! Could he possibly be the Messiah?” So the people came streaming from the village to
see him.
Meanwhile, the disciples were urging Jesus, “Rabbi, eat something.”
But Jesus replied, “I have a kind of food you know nothing about.”
“Did someone bring him food while we were gone?” the disciples asked
each other.
Then Jesus explained: “My nourishment comes from doing the will of
God, who sent me, and from finishing his work. You know the saying,
‘Four months between planting and harvest.’ But I say, wake up and look
around. The fields are already ripe for harvest. The harvesters are paid
good wages, and the fruit they harvest is people brought to eternal life.
What joy awaits both the planter and the harvester alike! You know the
saying, ‘One plants and another harvests.’ And it’s true. I sent you to harvest where you didn’t plant; others had already done the work, and now
you will get to gather the harvest.”
Many Samaritans from the village believed in Jesus because the woman
had said, “He told me everything I ever did!” When they came out to see
him, they begged him to stay in their village. So he stayed for two days,
long enough for many more to hear his message and believe. Then they
said to the woman, “Now we believe, not just because of what you told us,
but because we have heard him ourselves. Now we know that he is indeed
the Savior of the world.”
