At the Well: For the Helpless

Up to this point Jesus was alone with the woman at the well. John 4:27 shows what happens when the disciples return to Him:

“And at this point His disciples came, and they marveled that He talked with a woman; yet no one said ‘What do you seek?’ or, ‘Why are You talking with her?”

The disciples judged. That’s what it means that they marveled. Not that they were amazed with Him. Instead they wondered why He, a Jewish rabbi, was lowering himself to talk to some lowly Samaritan woman. They judged her as unworthy of His time. This is a good example of a time the disciples teach an important lesson by doing something stupid.

They should not have judged, and yet they did. So do we in such times. When someone confesses the name of Jesus we often feel anger toward them because we get offended for others. When they break through social taboos to share the gospel, as Jesus did here, we are more concerned with the rules they break than with the truth they share. When we consider witnessing or reaching out to others in the name of Christ we often ignore the needs of those who are homeless, drug addicts, or consumed by perversion because we are better than that. We are too good to witness to such people. We are above them, and would have to lower ourselves to be in their presence.

This ought not to be. If we must lower ourselves then we should. The homeless person under the bridge deserves the chance to hear Jesus as much as the rich guy in the gated community. We are not called to share the gospel with only certain types of people. All have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God. All need to be redeemed. We shouldn’t refuse to go on a mission trip to Africa because we might get a little dirty. It is wrong to leave a pregnant teenage girl to fend for herself when she’s been thrown out of the house because of the mistakes she’s made. We are called to help the helpless, and to love the unlovable.

That’s the example Jesus set when He witnessed to a fallen Samaritan woman. We should never judge as the disciples did when we see others loving the unlovable as Jesus taught them to. We should join in. We represent Christ, and we should be like Him. Look beyond your own social circles, and see there’s a whole world out there that needs salvation. Get down, and get dirty to make sure others can know Jesus. Humble yourself. Help the helpless. Love the unlovable. Share the love of Jesus.