John 4:29 Come, see a man who told me all things I ever did. Could this be the Christ? 41-42: Then they said to the woman, now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the savior of the world.
This conversation is taken from the story of the woman at the well. Her story is typical of this world. She has moral failings and as a result she is shunned by her neighbors, and family. So, one day while going about her normal routine she has an unexpected and unplanned encounter with a stranger. Now Jesus asks her for a small favor, please give me a drink of water and her skepticism of motives is revealed by her reply. "I'm a woman and you're a Jew and you are asking me for water?" You can imagine her shock when he doesn't reply in kind, but says "yeah, and if you only knew who you are talking to you would have asked me and I would have given you living water." This encounter reveals something to us. We don't recognize Jesus when he first comes into our moment. He looks like any other guy. There's nothing distinctive about him that clues us into his real essence. Yet the dialogue once initiated must continue on until he reveals who we really are talking with.
The woman realizes, she is talking to someone unique in some way that she can't quite put her finger on. So she tries to challenge his words concerning living water. To which Jesus tells her I will give the living water to you but first go get your husband and come back to which she replies I have no husband. How deeply this request must have hurt her, because this is the area where she has been wounded so severely. It is because of these moral failures that she is ostracized by her community. She has had five failed marriages and is currently shacking up with a man. This is why she goes to the well by herself everyday, because the arrows of the other women are too hurtful and she needs respite from their meanness, their judgements, their self righteousness. So with the arrow she thinks has been shot at her by this man, she quickly puts up the mask, her poser, so he won't ask about her moral failings. Yet Jesus doesn't stop there. He finally reveals who he is and her fears are over. She is transformed and she knows that others in her community need to meet this man because they pose also.
So in my life as well, Jesus comes in and says I know you and proceeds to expose the poser so there will be no doubt in my mind that he is who he says he is. But there is a difference between how Jesus and everyone else reacts when my poser is exposed. When Jesus exposes my poser he is compassionate towards my wounds. The world celebrates my being exposed. Jesus knows how deep my wounds cut and the hurt they bring and why I created the poser to prevent the hurts from happening again. The world on the other hand doesn't care about the pain, and indeed wants me to hurt even more through my exposure.
Jesus affirms, I know you and I care deeply for you anyway. Your wounds are real and the pain and heartbreak they bring is difficult. But I won't hurt you I will heal you. The relief that comes through such an encounter is life transforming, and when another person's poser is exposed, I don't want to celebrate instead I can say come and meet Jesus he can heal your wounds because he healed mine.
