Master Class Part 2
Opening Prayer
As you prepare to take another lesson from Jesus, pray for openness to what you see in this passage.
Read John 4:27-42
[27] Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no one asked, “What do you want?” or “Why are you talking with her?” [28] Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, [29] “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?” [30] They came out of the town and made their way toward him. [31] Meanwhile his disciples urged him, “Rabbi, eat something.” [32] But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.” [33] Then his disciples said to each other, “Could someone have brought him food?” [34] “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. [35] Don’t you have a saying, ‘It’s still four months until harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. [36] Even now the one who reaps draws a wage and harvests a crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. [37] Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true. [38] I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.” [39] Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.” [40] So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. [41] And because of his words many more became believers. [42] They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.” Scripture taken from the THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
How did this woman lead others to faith?Yesterday we noted Jesus’ boldness, grace, insight, persistence; now we see his passion. The disciples’ minds are focused on the next meal. “My food,” says Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me” (34), to proclaim the Kingdom of God (Luke 4:18,19). The disciples have gotten sidetracked. Jesus is focused, encouraged by his dialogue with a responsive stranger. Let’s pause for a moment and consider whether our passion to bring people to Christ has grown a little cold. If it has, pray for a rekindling. Meanwhile, the Samaritan woman has been networking (28,29) to dramatic effect. Jesus has been talking about the harvest field and now, as he lifts his eyes, he sees a stream of people moving towards him. Intrigued by what they have heard from the woman, they come to see for themselves and seeing, they believe. “… this man really is the Savior of the world” (42). This is the ripple effect of passionate witness. Once you start, you never know where it will end as God graciously inhabits our nervous efforts. So take heart: among the people you meet today there may be someone who is longing to discover that Jesus is the Savior of the world.
Apply
What lessons and encouragement for sharing your faith can you take from this story? What will you do now?
Closing prayer
Lord, give me an opportunity today to put into practice the lessons You have taught me from this story.
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