How do I share the gospel with those who are hurting? To help us become more effective in doing this, we will look at how Jesus presents the gospel to a hurting person in John 4:1-26.
1. CROSS OVER THE BARRIERS OF PREJUDICE (4:1-7a). Instead of going the normal route to Galilee by going around Samaria (because the Jews hated Samaritans), Jesus went straight north into Samaria because He had a divine appointment with a hurting person there (4:3-4). Being weary from His journey, Jesus rested at Jacob’s well in the Samaritan city of Sychar at the “sixth hour”or noon in Jewish time while the disciples went into the city for food (4:5-6, 8). While Jesus was resting, a Samaritan woman came to the well to draw water (4:7a). Jesus was willing to cross over the barriers of prejudice to reach this hurting woman with the gospel.
Who represents your Samaria? One way to find out is to ask yourself, “Who do I dislike the most? Who do I try to avoid the most?” Are we willing to do whatever it takes to reach people that no one else wants to reach? That person at work or in our neighborhood that is the subject of jokes and gossip? That person whose values and lifestyle are the opposite of our own? The person who has so many problems and needs that the only thing they can give you is a list of complaints? Ask the Lord to show you who represents your Samaria. Then surrender to His will.
2. CULTIVATE THE HURTING WITH LOVE (4:7b-9). How do we do this? Listen to them. In John 3, Jesus did most of the talking in His conversation with Nicodemus. He was confrontive with Nicodemus. But in John 4, He listened. He was compassionate with her. He cultivated the Samaritan woman with love and grace. In John 3, only three verses record what Nicodemus says. In John 4, seven verses cover what the Samaritan woman said to Jesus. God both speaks and listens. As the hurting person begins to open up, ask questions about his or her problem. Then listen. Ask more questions. Then listen some more.
Jesus asks this woman to give Him a drink (4:7b). His request is most effective in light of the fact that water is what she has come to the well for. By asking her for a drink, He goes from the problem of an empty bucket to her greater problem of an empty life.
You can do the same thing most effectively. When talking to someone who has marriage problems, you might begin by talking about marriage in general. Then mention how you and your spouse have been helped by the teachings on marriage in the Bible. Explain how you have discovered that it’s the One who created marriage that knows best how to make it work. Once the person sees the need for Christ in a marriage, you can then begin at step one: the need to know Christ personally and have the assurance of eternal life.
3. COMMUNICATE THE GOSPEL WITH RELEVANCE (4:10-26). After you’ve listened to a hurting person’s problems, you will have to speak. Christ now moves from the water that could not satisfy her thirst, to the water that could. In other words, Jesus is being relevant by communicating what this woman needs to hear in a way she could understand it. They were at a well, so He talks to her about living waters (John 4:1-26). When Christ was with the fishermen, He talked about fishing for men (Matt. 4:18-20). When He was with farmers, He talked about sowing seed (Luke 8:4-15). Jesus used methods and words they would understand and value. If we are going to be effective in reaching non-Christians, we must also minister to them in ways that they value and understand.
What does Christ say she needs to know to quench her spiritual thirst? She needs to know“the gift of God” (4:10-15) and the Giver (“who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’”) of the gift (4:16-26). Did Jesus tell her to stop living with her boyfriend (4:17-18) to be saved? No. Did He tell her to start centering her life around God or to be baptized? No. He says to ask in faith for the gift of God, and He would freely give it to her (4:10). That is grace – getting what we do not deserve.
But the woman thinks Jesus is talking about physical water (4:15) when He refers to eternal life as living water (4:10-14). She didn’t recognize her need for this gift of God. So, Jesus confronts her with the truth about her sin-stained life in which she had five husbands in the past and now she was living with a man who was not her husband (4:17-18). This woman was looking for eternal life in her relationships with men, but those relationships could not satisfy her longing for a relationship with God. Through His conversation with this hurting woman, Christ revealed His identity to her as the Messiah-God (4:19-26).
At the end of this conversation at the well, this hurting woman now knew the Gift of God and the Giver of that gift (4:25-26, 28-29, 39, 42). And that is all she needed to know (John 4:10; 20:31). That’s all anyone needs to know. And when they do, an eternal transaction occurs. Without a word or prayer, her heart had asked, and He had given her eternal life.
This tells us that no one is too bad to receive the gift of God. Perhaps you can relate to the Samaritan woman. Your life is empty and parched. You’ve tried to fill it with substitutes – relationships, drugs, your work, special projects, etc., but they leave you feeling emptier. You need the real thing – a permanent thirst quencher. Ask Jesus for the gift of eternal life and He will give it to you right now.