“Come, see a Man who told me all that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?”
Reason #4: In John chapter 4 we find a 4th reason to study John. This series of encouragements have particularly been aimed at inviting you to sit under a series of sermons on John’s gospel to begin shortly at Immanuel Chapel on September 4, 2011. But they might equally be understood as a general encouragement to study this gospel. Solid, Biblical preaching is one of the best aids to the sincere study of any book in the Bible.
The fourth reason to study John is actually taken from the very mouth of a woman in John 4, the Samaritan Jesus met at the well.
Here it is: “Come, see a Man who told me all that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?” (John 4:29)
Notice:
1) This encouragement is to “come” and “see.” See for yourself. Friend, it is very likely you have heard a lot about Christianity. Your parents have, by word or example, given you their opinion. Your teachers have given you their perspectives. Your friends and the circle of people that surround you have some ideas about religion. No doubt the music you listen to, the books you read and the TV, movies and videos you have seen have all conveyed some impression of Christianity and of Jesus Christ. No doubt you have read of religious scandals and hypocrisies all carried out under the cloak of “Christianity.” You have, on the basis of all this various testimony, come to some conclusions. My word to you today is this: Come and see. See for yourself. Don’t rest solely upon the opinions you have formed so far. Inquire into the true nature of this “Man” called Jesus of Nazareth. Do not rely solely on those impressions which have been given to you by others. What have you got to lose?
2) This encouragement is not conditioned upon your worthiness or goodness. Notice what the woman at the well says to the people of her city “Come, see a Man who told me all that I ever did.” This woman was not a “likely” convert to Christianity (if we can put it that way). She is not someone who had her life “just right” before believing in Jesus Christ. She had 5 husbands before, and was currently living with a man who was not her husband. Her relationships were a mess. But more than that, this woman rightly perceived that Christ knew everything about her: “all that I ever did.” Jesus Christ is the only one who truly knows “all that I ever did.” He knows about the sins of your youth. He knows about the sinful patterns in your life and mine. He knows about those sins that are simply to shameful to mention. He knows. Yet He is the one who says to this woman, and to us, “if you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, Give Me a drink, you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.” Jesus used the idea of a never-ending supply of water to convey the fact that He was offering to her “everlasting life (John 4:14).” Friend, you don’t need to hide any longer. Jesus is a Savior who invites us to repent and believe in Him…BECAUSE He knows “all that I ever did.”
3) This encouragement may bring you to a surprising conclusion: “Could this be the Christ?” That is the real question that every soul born into this world must deal with. It is, in a sense, the whole reason that John wrote this gospel. Could this be the Christ? Could Jesus be the One? Look at His life, consider what He said, weigh in your heart of hearts what this Man did. Could Jesus Christ be the very Savior you have been looking for? Maybe you have been looking for help. Maybe you have given up all hope. Maybe you have begun to think life itself is not worth living any longer. This Samaritan woman got a new start on life through Christ. So did many in her city: “And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him.” Maybe you will too. Friend, let me encourage you again, “come and see.”
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