In John 4, Jesus visits a Samaritan village, meets a woman at a well, and talks to her. A simple story, right? No miracles, no healings, no drama. Perhaps, but this seemingly simple story is loaded with profound significance.
For one thing, in Jesusโ day, most Jewish people did not travel to Samaria. In fact, they often went well out of their way to avoid it. For another thing, most Jewish people didnโt talk to Samaritans. They considered Samaritans second-class citizens. (Thatโs why Jesusโ parable of the Good Samaritan was so shocking to His Jewish listeners.) And for another thing, most Jewish men did not talk to women, not even their wives, in public.
So, why did Jesus do all three of these things? In answering that question, we unlock two very important principles of the Christian lifeโprinciples that should guide our efforts to share the Good News of Christ with others.
First, we must go to where the people are. Jesus went to a Samaritan village because there was a Samaritan woman who needed to hear His words. That mentality fuels the servant heart. Jesus didnโt say that the whole world should go to church; He said that the church should go into the whole world. Mark 16:15 records one of Jesusโ last interactions with His disciples. โAnd He said to them,ย ‘Go into all the worldย and preach the gospel to every creature.’โ That was the message He left them with. And thatโs the assignment His followers today are given.
When Harvest Ministries was doing an outreach in Disneyland several years ago, I was asked, โWhy are you doing this in a place like Disneyland? Why would you hold an event in a place like this?โ
I said, โBecause Jesus said, โGo into all the world,โ and He did not exempt Disneyland. There are people here. And we want to reach people.โ The glorious thing is that many people came into Godโs kingdom through that outreach. We need to go to where the people are.
Second, we must care about the people we speak to. Jesus needed to go to Samaria because He cared about this woman (see John 4:10). When the apostle Paul was in Athens, he saw that the city was given over to idolatry, and his spirit was โdeeply troubledโ within him (see Acts 17:16โ17). He felt righteous indignation as he saw so many people turning to false gods.
In the same way, any effective sharing of the gospel must always begin with a God-given burden. We must care. Jesus cared. Do you? Do you want to reach out to perishing people?
We must go to where the people are. We must care about them and reach out to them.
