The Samaritan woman shares the gospel with others.  

Donn G. Dobberstein

She had long, flaming-red hair matching the lipstick she wore—dead giveaways of her Irish roots. She stuck out from the normal crowd: tall, equal to my height due to the extra-high heels on her feet. Every Sunday, she dressed to the hilt. Combined with a warm extrovert-personality bred from a southern Appalachian upbringing in the foothills of Tennessee, conversation with her was never lacking or boring. She spoke as if every word ought to be in capital letters and every sentence punctuated with an exclamation mark! Unafraid to say what was on her mind, she would tell you exactly as she saw things. “You don’t lie to people,” she was taught growing up.  

When she heard something in the sermon she liked from the church pew, her cultural instinct kicked in: “Mm mm! Oh! Amen!” she would say out loud. What a stark contrast to midwestern sensibilities. I was strangely fascinated by someone doing the exact opposite of what most of us were told to do growing up, “Be quiet in church.”  

Roxanne couldn’t be quiet, but she wasn’t doing it for show. Nor was it contrived. She heard the gospel, and it affected her. She just had to say something!  

She caught on to people looking at her. She came out of church and whispered to me, “Pastor, I don’t think people here have seen the likes of me before. . . . You probably want less now, don’tcha?”  

Changed by Jesus 

Have you ever known someone with a reputation for being a bit over the top? I don’t know the personality of the Samaritan woman in John chapter 4, but from the little we know of her scandalous life, it caused people to rubberneck and stare as if slowly driving by the scene of a stalled vehicle alongside the road. She already paid dearly for it with ruined relationships and a tarnished reputation. She quietly melted into seclusion. 

Then she met someone beautiful at the well. He pulled her out of societal obscurity and onto the enduring pages of Scripture where we meet her to this day. He tantalized her with living water to quench her thirsting soul and revealed her sin-scarred, mis-lived life. As the two of them talked, the conversation changed from casual to spiritual and from water to Word.  

Something else changed: “Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, ‘Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?’ ” (John 4:28,29). 

Jesus changed her! Can you see the changes? 

She arrived with an empty water pot and an equally empty heart. She left without her water pot (John 4:28) but with a heart so filled that it became a vessel overflowing with a message that could quench more thirsty souls!  

She arrived during an off-hour, probably to avoid cold stares and judgmental looks of her townspeople. Yet returning to town, the townspeople were the very ones she eagerly sought out! Why? Jesus changed her priorities. Hope replaced hopelessness. A desire to love supplanted any grudge she might have harbored. People became her priority. She was given something precious. She now wanted to give it to them.  

She arrived with a life she wanted to hide. She left with her past life as the perfect lead for sharing God’s grace: “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did.”  

She arrived hesitant to speak to Jesus. She returned emboldened, passionate, and with purpose. “Come, see,” she simply told others.  

Compelled to speak 

When you see something beautiful, you want others to see it too! Jesus was the beautiful hero of her story. “Come, see!” she declared. These simple, yet powerful words piqued the curiosity of more people.  

They came. They saw. The Samaritan woman’s excited, passionate testimony (4:39) led them back to the well to find the one whom she had found. They returned and said to her, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world” (4:42)  

That’s evangelism.  

It’s simply sharing the One who has changed your life. The Savior’s love compels us to speak and to share the gospel with others with the boldness, passion, and purpose of the Samaritan woman. It didn’t matter what she had done or how others had treated her in the past. All she knew was a man who showed her genuine love and caring. Jesus was the hero of her story. His love softened her heart so completely that she had to share the One who changed her.  

It’s fascinating to note the people God uses to share. The Samaritan townspeople had a socially-outcast woman invite them. Red-haired Roxanne was invited by a quiet, reserved believer on the day of his adult confirmation. The kingdom came into his heart, so he shared it with her. Roxanne loved it. She invited two of her friends to join her.  

Roxanne said, “Pastor, I don’t think people have seen the likes of me.” But Jesus has seen the likes of the Samaritan woman, and he’s seen the likes of Roxanne and all of us! That’s why he wants all to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth!  

Return. Repent. Rejoice.  

Why is it so easy for us to lose our passion for sharing the good news of Jesus? With that loss of passion, why are we tempted to share the gospel less and less? And what can we do about it?  

Return to the well with Jesus. Keep drinking the same living water the Samaritan woman found there: Jesus and his love. 

Repent daily of the mistakes and flaws in your life. How desperate is our need for him! 

Rejoice to hear again and again of the peace of forgiveness found in the One who knows everything about you. He’s changed you! “If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” (2 Corinthians 5:17). 

The one changed by Jesus becomes the one who shares Jesus. The gospel of salvation through the crucified and risen Christ is incredibly personal. But it never was meant to remain private. It is to be shared publicly. The beauty of sharing your faith with someone is that it doesn’t have to be complicated or difficult. There is no one conversation or formula for sharing Jesus. You don’t have to be an extrovert. Just find a way—your way. 

Rekindle and refresh your faith like the Samaritan woman. Have your own visit with Jesus. The Samaritan woman can inspire you to say, “Come, see.” Can you find the courage to say such simple words to someone?  

If a Samaritan social outcast could invite an entire town of people to come and meet Jesus for themselves, think of those who can meet Jesus through you!  

Donn Dobberstein, director of discipleship for WELS, is a member at Trinity, Waukesha, Wisconsin.

This is the last article in a four-part series on evangelism lessons from the account of the Samaritan woman in John chapter 4. 

Author: Donn G. Dobberstein
Volume 105, Number 10
Issue: October 2018

Copyrighted by WELS Forward in Christ © 2021
Forward in Christ grants permission for any original article (not a reprint) to be printed for use in a WELS church, school, or organization, provided that it is distributed free and indicate Forward in Christ as the source. Images may not be reproduced except in the context of its article. Contact us

Listening 

Donn G. Dobberstein

The average human speaks 125 to 150 words per minute, but the human brain is capable of comprehending and listening to 600 words per minute. We listen to music and movies for enjoyment. We listen to directions to reach our destination. We listen to podcasts and educational videos for continued growth.  

Given all the listening that we do, you would think we’d be good at it. Yet researchers believe we only remember somewhere between 25 to 50 percent of what we hear.  

We don’t really listen 

Why is that? I’ll venture out on a limb to give some answers:  

1. People like to talk more than they listen.

Studies have shown that 40 percent of everyday speech is devoted to telling other people how we feel or what we think. So for most of us. we think we know where the conversation is going and begin formulating our response. Instead of concentrating on what is being said, we are busy preparing our reply or mentally rejecting the other person’s point of view. We’re half-eared, because our attention is divided.  

2. People are more interested in what they are doing. 

How many of us haven’t been part of a conversation that goes something like this: 

Mom: “Hey Sweetie, can you take the recyclables out to the garage and take the laundry basket of clothes to your room?” 

Distracted teen watching TV or playing a game: “Uh, yeah . . . okay.” 

A half-hour later . . . 

Annoyed Mom: “Didn’t I ask you to do something? Why haven’t you done it yet?” 

Distracted teen: “Yeah, I heard. . . . I’m going to do it in a sec’.” 

Another half-hour later . . . 

Exasperated Mom: “Why does everyone around here ignore what I say? I feel like I’m talking to myself!”  

You may ask them to repeat back what you just said to see if they were really listening. Even if they regurgitate it correctly, it still doesn’t address what annoyed you in the first place or what they think is more important. It’s the frustrating feeling of not being heard.  

Jesus shows us how to listen 

In John chapter 4, Jesus models what real listening looks like in a short conversation with a Samaritan woman. During those few minutes, Jesus took the conversation from friendly and casual to deeply spiritual and personal.   

The conversation went something like this: 

Jesus: “Can I have a drink of water?” 

Samaritan woman: “Are you sure you want to ask ME for a drink?” (Jewish men did not talk to women, and she was not with the women of the village.) 

Jesus: “If you knew who was asking you for a drink, you’d ask him to give you a drink of living water.” 

Samaritan woman: “Are you saying you’re greater than our ancestor, Jacob, who made this well?” 

Jesus: “Jacob’s water will leave you still thirsty. The water I give takes away thirst forever.” 

Samaritan woman: “Give me some of your water so I don’t have to keep coming back here!” 

A discussion about water led Jesus to speak about spiritual thirst that only God can quench. Every response to her questions led to deeper conversation. Jesus did it in such a way that it did not end the conversation, but rather steered it toward her personal life, which mattered most to him. Even when the woman later tried to redirect the topic away from her marred, marital history toward the location of worship (4:16-24), Jesus kept the focus on her heart with simple, sacred truth.  

Jesus did more than talk. He listened.  

With every word he spoke, Jesus was telling her, “I’m listening to you.”   

Listening is a way of loving 

There is a direct connect between the words love and listen. When you really love someone, you desire to hear them. In The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey explains the ways we listen: 

• We ignore a person (not listening at all). 
• We pretend to be listening (“Yeah. Uh-huh. Right.”) 
• We pay close attention to what someone is saying (active listening). 

But the highest form of listening is the kind that dives into someone else’s world in order to understand his or her perspective. How many of your best friends are your best friends because they truly “listen” to you? Is not listening a way of loving? That’s Jesus!  

He walked straight into this alienated woman’s world of isolation and brokenness. He observed her hands drawing water—out of the sight of others—and understands why. He knew her crushed heart and the baggage she was carrying inside. He listened and watched to understand her questions.  

We don’t possess Jesus’ ability to see within a person and know their real needs. How much more then our need to listen rather than talk! Are we losing the ability and willingness to love by listening to people who sound and look nothing like us? Does prejudice block our ears? We say we love people, but do we show love only if it is on our terms or if they are interested in coming to our church or if they respect our way of life?  

Listening is important. When you need to pour out your heart or seek sound advice, to whom do you go to talk? Is it someone who can talk a good talk or someone who intently listens to you because they genuinely care about you? 

Jesus engaged and listened to a Samaritan woman because he genuinely loved her. Our love for others often takes a back seat. It’s me and my self-absorption that doesn’t like to listen to someone who may have absolutely nothing to offer me in terms of personal friendship. Self-absorption is not love.  

Listening helps build relationships 

Listening is one of the most important skills you can have in building relationships with others for Jesus: 

• Listening provides a direct connectionwith people. It is a way to engage in a relationship. The better we get at listening, the less scary it is to share our faith.  Becoming a better listener can improve your ability to influence with God’s Word. What’s more, you’ll avoid conflict and misunderstandings. 
• Listening creates“space” for someone else to open up and talk. It will mean you have to be quiet. Can you do that? Can you set yourself and your life aside in order to focus 100 percent upon another person? Some have said that the best conversations with me were the ones I hardly said anything! I just listened to them as they unburdened themselves. 
• Listening sounds easy, yet it’s one of the hardest things to do.It takes time and practice. And, it takes a caring heart.  

Next time you’re in a conversation with someone, try giving both ears to him or her! Listening tells people they matter. If love for God begins with listening to his Word, then love for others is learning to listen to them. 

“Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening” (1 Samuel 3:9). 

Donn Dobberstein, director of discipleship for WELS, is a member at Trinity, Waukesha, Wisconsin.

This is the second article in a four-part series on evangelism lessons from the account of the Samaritan woman in John chapter 4.

Author: Donn G. Dobberstein
Volume 105, Number 8
Issue: August 2018

Copyrighted by WELS Forward in Christ © 2021
Forward in Christ grants permission for any original article (not a reprint) to be printed for use in a WELS church, school, or organization, provided that it is distributed free and indicate Forward in Christ as the source. Images may not be reproduced except in the context of its article. Contact us