Jesus Shapes, not Shames

 

There is a fascinating account in John chapter 4 in the Bible, of an encounter between Jesus and a woman of Samaria. It seems she was shunned by the other women of the town and had come to the well at a time when there would be no one else there. But Jesus was sitting there alone and asked her for a drink.

After opening a conversation with the woman, Jesus told her to go and get her husband. She stated, “I have no husband.” Jesus, who knew that she had had five husbands previously and was now living with a man she was not married to, matter-of-factly agreed. He did not condemn her or shame her, but gently went on to reveal to her His identity as the Messiah.

We can follow Jesus’ example of not shaming someone, but rather focusing on Jesus Himself, who He is and what He wants to do for us.

As He told the Samaritan woman, “Those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.” (John 4:14 NLT)

People around us are thirsty for truth, hope, and forgiveness. Let’s tell them how to find that in Jesus.

“We can follow Jesus’ example of not shaming someone, but rather focusing on Jesus Himself, who He is and what He wants to do for us.”

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John 4:14

“But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.”

Sara hansenLuis Palau, Jesus and the Samaritan Woman, Identity, Evangelism, John