Related Message
This post is the first of a new feature of our 24/7 tools, a blog called Resources. Resources is intended to be a place where we expand the conversation about what God is doing in our lives and in our community, and further reflect on what it looks like to live a life of full devotion to Christ, 24/7. This post was composed by Ron Esau, a longtime member of the Southridge community and Bible teacher in a variety of contexts.
As we heard this past Sunday, in John 4 Jesus decided to do the unthinkable as a Jew and headed straight through “enemy” territory. Why? He was already under “great scrutiny” from the religious establishment. Why would he do this knowing that it could place him in a position of ridicule? This would hamper his ministry with the Jewish people.
We know the trip through Samaria resulted in an “accidental” meeting with a woman who was a “five times loser at the game of marriage” and in a sixth dead-end relationship. Jesus, thirsty from a long trip, did the unthinkable; he asked a woman for a drink. It is difficult to believe that a Jew would even talk to a Samaritan, let alone a woman. As we look at the rest of the story, we know that the woman was very vocal and raced to let her friends in the community know how she met someone who “knew everything about her and must be the Messiah”. Many people came and talked Jesus into staying there for a couple of days. Many believed in Him but again, why did he go that way?
The message The Power of Proximity, brought to mind another “fluke” meeting that Jesus had. You can read about it in Luke 19:1-10. As he was walking through the town of Jericho with a huge crowd of people around him, he acknowledged this little guy sitting in a tree because he could not look over the six foot guys in the front row. He pointed to him and said “Hey Zach, got the coffee pot on, my guys need some caffeine”. That may not be exactly the way it went down, but we know that Zacchaeus, a real reprobate in that society, did certainly bring Jesus to his house and the result was a changed man who distributed half his wealth to the poor and for anyone he cheated, his repayment would be fourfold.
The message initiated the idea of being more deliberate in our faith, moving from lifestyle evangelism to friendship evangelism. It reminded me of the days (years ago) when I coached a hockey team and we were in a tournament. We were having success and advanced into the semi-finals. The problem was that the game was on Sunday morning and it was expected that we would be in church. Being the coach, I felt pressure to direct the team and at the same time, guilt that I would be causing some of the kids to miss church. To help ease the guilt, I decided to give the team a short “Sunday School” lesson. Following the Bible story as the kids were dressing, another coach approached me outside the dressing room and opened a ten minute conversation that gave an opportunity to share Jesus with him. It was not the norm at the time, but a friend heard about Jesus.
The more I think about circumstances surrounding the meeting between Jesus and the Samaritan woman, the more questions I have. Did Jesus go out of his way so that he would be in close proximity to the people that really need to know him? Did he do it to fuel the scrutiny the religious leaders were putting him under? Is Jesus giving us an example to follow to be in close contact with people like the Samaritan woman or even Zacchaeus? What do you think?
