Aug 24 - Jesus Doesn't Cause Shame

Read John 4:16-37

Context: Jesus has taken a break near a well in Samaria while his disciples look for food. He's been talking to a woman who is drawing water at noon.

Text:
16He told her, "Go, call your husband and come back."

17"I have no husband," she replied.

Jesus said to her, "You are right when you say you have no husband. 18The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true."

19"Sir," the woman said, "I can see that you are a prophet. 20Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem."

21Jesus declared, "Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth."

25The woman said, "I know that Messiah" (called Christ) "is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us."

26Then Jesus declared, "I who speak to you am he."

The Disciples Rejoin Jesus
27Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no one asked, "What do you want?" or "Why are you talking with her?"
28Then, 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[b]?" 30They came out of the town and made their way toward him.

31Meanwhile his disciples urged him, "Rabbi, eat something."

32But he said to them, "I have food to eat that you know nothing about."

33Then his disciples said to each other, "Could someone have brought him food?"

34"My food," said Jesus, "is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. 35Do you not say, 'Four months more and then the harvest'? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. 36Even now the reaper draws his wages, even now he harvests the crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. 37Thus the saying 'One sows and another reaps' is true. 38I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor." (NIV)

taken from www.biblegateway.com

What was it about Jesus that put people at ease and convicted them at the same time? I imagine that most people who are openly confronted with their sin would either leave in a huff or make some kind of smart retort. Or, when convicted directly by the Savior, they would grovel at his feet in shame.

But Jesus didn't elicit shame from this woman. She changed the subject, but she changed it in a way that allowed him to reveal his true identity -- something he didn't share very often. At that point, instead of begging forgiveness or retreating in shame, she runs joyfully to the others in town and shares the good news. These others, who were most likely her tormentors who caused feelings of shame.

God doesn't want to shame us, he just wants us to accept him and change. He won't dwell on our wrongs (we do a good enough job of that all by ourselves). Instead, he takes us where we are and loves us into becoming better.

Shame may be good if it keeps us from sinning again, but to wallow in it takes away precious time that we could be spending getting closer to our Savior. If you are feeling shame today, turn to Jesus for the excitement of his truth. He won't announce your sin to the world, he'll remind you of the glorious eternity he has planned for you. Share that with joy!