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 Christ?" 30 They came out of the town and made their way toward him.
In our verses for today our protagonist goes from miserable to missionary as she scurries from the well anxiously desirous to share her good news of Jesus with others. From apostate to apostle, this woman shows how solicitous she was to have her friends and neighbors acquainted with Christ. What a delightfully proper response from a heart that has been touched by our Lord!
“Has he done the honour to make himself known to us? Let us do him the honour to make him known to others; nor can we do ourselves a greater honour. This woman becomes an apostle. I have most opportunity, and therefore lie under the greatest obligations, to do good to those who live near me.” Matthew Henry
How our earthly duties pale in light of our heavenly ones! This lady rushes off with her good news leaving behind – seemingly without a care – her reason for being there. She had a story to tell and she was not going to be hindered. There is nothing more convincing than one’s own testimony. How can anyone argue against our own experience? In her haste, she leaves her water jar behind. Perhaps she left it in kindness to Christ that He may have something to drink with His dinner; perhaps she did not want to be encumbered in her sense of urgency and excitement to tell the town of Jesus; perhaps she had become careless of worldly things and enamored with things from above – whatever the reason, she left on a different mission from whence she came.
I am reminded of Jesus’ words to His disciples as He was sending them forth explaining to them that obedience to God - who is ultimately in charge of both the physical and the spiritual - is by far the most important:
27 What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs. 28 Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. 30 And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. 32 "Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. 33 But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven. Matt 10:27-33 (NIV)
In the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew, Jesus rightly describes proper priorities in the following way:
31 So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Matt 6:31-34 (NIV)
Her testimony was a plain and simple one: “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did” – Jesus has told her what only God and her conscience had known. She was affected by the extent of His knowledge and by the power of His words to her – secret sins, she was reluctant to even admit, He brought to light leaving a great impression on her – loving her even having full knowledge of her. Is there anything quite as beautiful or peaceful or winsome as unconditional love? Do we not all seek such a love as that? This is exactly what God offers to us as His motivation toward people is always love demonstrated to us through His precious Son Jesus:
16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16 (NIV)
8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8 (NIV)
Inviting the town to come and partake of the living water so that their insatiable thirst may also be quenched, this woman becomes to us a wonderful example of explosive evangelism simply by stating her testimony – one of which, prior to this time, she would have been embarrassed to even have whispered in the dark. Jesus makes all things new does He not? Paul rightly states:
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 2 Cor 5:17 (NIV)