THE RESURRECTED LIFE -- Day 20

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Day 20:  The Woman at the Well  (John 4: 1-30, 39)

Being a Samaritan woman, she knew very well “her place” among the Jews.  She was of a rejected race.  As a woman of that race, she was less than a dog to the Jews.  So why was this Man, obviously Jewish, even speaking to her, let alone asking her to draw water from the well for Him to drink?  Even if she obeyed His command, surely He wouldn’t drink out of her cup!

And what was this “living” water that He was speaking of?  How could you drink it and not thirst again?  Could it really cause you to live forever as well?  Whatever this water was, she certainly wanted to have some of it!  But would He give it to her, a Samaritan woman?

“Sir, give me some of this water that You are talking about,” she pleaded.  She was prepared to drink the water He spoke of, but she could not have been prepared for His reply.  “Go, call your husband and come,” He answered.  She was thrilled that He was going to give her the water, until His words settled into her excited thoughts.  Husband?  I can’t go get my husband because I have no husband now.  “I have no husband,” she answered Him.

Seeing her look of despair, He reassured her that He knew that she had no husband.  In fact, He knew that the man who was living with her this very moment was not her husband.

Now she was completely humiliated. How did He know such things? Obviously He was some kind of a prophet.  But the more He spoke with her, the more convinced she became that He was not merely a prophet; He was her Messiah, the long-awaited Christ.  Her heart was transformed in that moment, and she dropped everything, ran into the city, and testified about the Man who had seen what she had desperately tried to keep hidden.  Many believed in Christ because of her humbling testimony.

Jesus sees all that we do.  When He reveals our sins to us, do we repent and turn from them?  Do we allow our repentance to be our testimony to others, or does pride keep us from being transparent and humble?

THE RESURRECTED LIFE -- Day 17

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Day 17:  The Woman Caught in Adultery (John 8: 1-11)

Early one morning Jesus was walking by the temple and entered.  He sat down and began to teach those who had already gathered there for the morning teaching.  Commotion filled the air outside, and the sounds of a struggle could clearly be heard.  The voice of a woman crying caught Jesus’ attention over the angry, loud words of the men with her.

“Rabbi, this woman has been caught in adultery, in the VERY act!” the Jewish leaders cried.  Filthy, humiliated, and ashamed, the woman stood in the center of the entire gathering.  The eyes of the crowd burned holes in her heart.  Anger welled up inside of her as she considered the injustice of this law.  “Where is the man who was with me?” her thoughts screamed out. “Isn’t he just as sinful as I am?  Have I been set up?  How did the religious leaders know?  They didn’t just “happen” by that early in the morning, did they?”

Her thoughts were interrupted by, “Our law says such a woman must be stoned!”  It was then that all attention turned toward the Teacher.  It was the first time the woman had taken notice of Him.  It seemed like hours passed while He wrote in the dirt.  She wondered if He would condemn her.  Her eyes dropped to the ground as she realized she had no hope of forgiveness. 

Jesus answered the Pharisees who had brought the accusation against the woman.  “He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.”  Her eyes still cast downward, she heard the murmurs, then the shuffling of feet, and when she dared to look up, she met the eyes of her Savior.  Turning to where her accusers stood she discovered that not one of them remained in the street.

Do you run in to be the first to accuse, judge, and condemn when someone has been caught in a sin?  Or maybe you are the “adulteress”—caught and in need of repentance.  Either way, we must know who we are……SINNERS, all of us!  Jesus told the woman, “From now on, sin no more.”   It applied to both the woman and the Pharisees in this story.  It applies to us as well.  Which sin do you relate to?  Stop sinning now, if you are.   Or begin now to be the first to love and restore the sinner.