Come, See A Man Who Told Me All That I Ever Did

Sometimes I think we need to be reminded of the freedom we have from our sin (a lot of reminding). So this week, I want to talk to you about the Samaritan woman (John 4:1-45) and give a picture of this woman’s healing and what her testimony of healing did for others. The story starts with the woman coming to the well where Jesus was. Jesus strikes up the conversation with her about drinking water but quickly moves from the water in the well to the living water where she would never thirst again. She responds by saying, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water” (John 4:15). At this point, Jesus starts to reveal himself as the Messiah. The way he chooses to do this to the woman is to reveal her sin.

By showing her sin and still revealing himself as the Christ (John 4:26), Jesus says, “Because I am the Savior of the world I don’t see you as they see you” (John 4:16-18). Immediately, she goes back to her town and tells the people, “Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?” (John 4:29). The Samaritans believe her, based on her testimony (John 4:42) of “a man who told me everything I ever did”. The Samaritan woman was no longer held captive to her own sin.

The townspeople then came to Jesus and asked Him to stay with them, and he did. After two days, the towns’ response was, “we had believed because of the woman’s testimony of ‘He told me all that I ever did,’ but now, we no longer believe because of what the woman said. We have heard what Jesus has said and believe for ourselves” (John 4:41-42).

There are three points I want to unpack here. First, hidden or un-confessed sin keeps you in bondage. The moment Jesus revealed her sin the Samaritan woman was free. Living the gospel, you have to reveal sin because un-confessed sin keeps you in darkness. Jesus shows us, if we walk in the light as He is in the light, this cleanses you from all sin (1 John 1: 7). So, walk revealed as He is revealed. Second, being freed from the bondage of hidden or un-confessed sin allows us to worship in Spirit and Truth. Once you worship in Spirit and in Truth, which is through the power of the Holy Spirit, you are no longer in bondage to your sin. Third, the Samaritan woman didn’t just receive her healing and keep it to herself. She instantly told others, which is the true image of healing; giving away what you have been given. The only way to give away what she had was that she saw she was no longer a victim to others’ thoughts about her, or condemnation from others. The bottom line is you can give to others, because you are no longer a victim.

So, my question to you is: What keeps you from confessing and revealing sin? Shame? Guilt? Condemnation? You know that the Cross of Jesus Christ has rescued you from these things. When someone reveals sin to you, is it a reminder of how bad you are? With the right lenses of the Cross, revealing sin to you is a reminder of how good God is because He crushed His Son to reconcile you. Because of this, you are no longer a victim to your sin.