Extraordinary Faith: Part One

Lessons from the Woman at the Well

What is the definition of extraordinary? According to the Cambridge English Dictionary, extraordinary means “very unusual and special; different in type or greater in degree than the usual or ordinary.”

Do you think there are any extraordinary women in the Bible? Who comes to mind? Maybe names such as Esther, Deborah, Sarah, Ruth, Mary, or Lydia come to mind. Maybe there are others that I didn’t name that you think of as extraordinary from your study of God’s Word.

​What is it that makes them extraordinary? I would submit that it is their actions, attitudes, and aspirations that make them stand out from others. Whole books have been written about women such as these and others.

I want to take the next few months of my blog posts to examine a few of these extraordinary women from God’s Word and how we can follow their example and become extraordinary Christian women of today!

The first woman that I want to examine may not have been on your list or even mine above. It is the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4!  In two areas, I believe this woman was an extraordinary woman – She made SURE of her faith and SHARED her faith.

Let me introduce you to this woman. She was married five times and living with a man who wasn’t her husband when she met Jesus. She might not be the first woman you think of to be called extraordinary, but let’s think of this from Jesus’ perspective and not ours. We find the account of this extraordinary woman in John 4. Take time to read the whole chapter before going on.

What we find in John 4 is a most interesting interaction of our Lord with a most unlikely, extraordinary woman. Jesus, unlike the Jewish people of His day, chose to make His way from Judea to Galilee by going through Samaria. He had a purpose in that route – there was an extraordinary woman for Him to converse with. Jesus meets this woman at the well and startles her by speaking to her and asking for water. Remember, Jewish people hated the Samaritans, and it would have been out of the ordinary for a teacher like Jesus to speak to a Samaritan, but even more unlikely that He, a man, would speak to a woman, especially a Samaritan. Jesus’ conversation with her about the living water and her need for everlasting water is an insightful conversation. But I want to point out a couple of things that I find extraordinary about this woman.

First, this woman made SURE of her salvation. The fact that Jesus offered “living water” — that is, salvation — to this societal outcast tells me that Jesus saw her as extraordinary. Salvation is not for the elite. It's not for the intelligent. It is not for the religious. It is not for a specific people group. Salvation is for everyone who realizes their need. Jesus crossed the social, religious, and racial boundaries to take the Gospel to this extraordinary woman and to share some of the most profound truths about Himself with her. This was a special encounter. This woman interacted with Jesus about her need for water that would keep her from ever thirsting again. Look again at John 4:11-15. Jesus gave her an extraordinary message that showed her the need she had. Then Jesus pointed out her sin. Maybe this point doesn’t make her extraordinary because we are all sinners. It is part of our nature. Paul tells us this in Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” He also points out that “There is none righteous no not one” (Romans 3:10). Ephesians 2:3 tells us that each of us has a sin nature that must be dealt with – “Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.” The penalty for every man is death, meaning separation from a holy God, according to Romans 5:12 – “Wherefore as by one man sin entered the world and death by sin so that death passed upon all men for that all have sinned.” This was the plight of this woman and every person born into this life after Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden.

Now, back to John 4, Jesus’ interaction with this woman continues. When Jesus asked her to call her husband, He highlighted the fact that this woman was living in sin. She needed a Savior who surpassed the traditions of the religious groups that told the people where to worship. She needed to worship God in truth!  She recognized that she needed the Messiah (4:25), and Jesus spoke one of the clearest and most pointed declarations of being the Messiah to her, a lowly Samaritan woman. Read John 4:25-26. This person – no, this WOMAN – this extraordinary woman recognized who Jesus was! And she made SURE of her salvation in Him!

Friend, I must stop here in the story and appeal to each of us here today. If you do not know Jesus in a saving way, may today be the day that you realize, like this extraordinary woman, that the ONLY One who can help with your need of a Savior for your sins is Jesus. Don’t take my word for it. Look at these verses!

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16

“The wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 6:23

“The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness, but is long-suffering to us-ward, not willing to that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9

It doesn’t matter what you have done in the past or who you are now, Jesus is offering salvation to you today! He loves you and showed that by sending His Son to die for you. It is only by His grace that you can receive this gift of salvation offered to you freely (Ephesians 2:8-9). Trusting Him alone for your salvation will make you an extraordinary woman, just like the Samaritan. If you have any questions about how to call out to God to be your Savior, please reach out to us here at IE. We would love to show you how you can meet your Savior today!

Now let’s look at another aspect of this extraordinary lady’s life that I really love! Once she made SURE of her faith, she began SHARING her faith. Back in John 4, the disciples come in and start talking to Jesus and really seemingly messing things up, asking why He is even talking to this woman. Jesus’ dealings with the disciples are another lesson for another day. But I don’t want you to miss what this extraordinary lady did AFTER she was saved! Read John 4:28-30. She SHARED her faith! Some might say in her haste, she left her water pot behind. But I believe she left it behind as a pledge to return to this place not only for natural water but for more spiritual water she wanted to share! She didn’t keep this extraordinary message to herself! She shared it with everyone in the town. I can imagine that some of the people she witnessed to were aware of her past, but that didn’t stop her from sharing the good news. They must have been so curious about her transformation because the text tells us that they followed her out of the city.

Jesus is dealing with the disciples’ shortsightedness and gives this famous statement in John 4:35, “Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.” In my mind’s eye, I imagine that the harvest Jesus was speaking of was literally walking toward Him with the Samaritan woman leading the way. We know from John 4:39-42 that the people came to confirm the message she had shared, and many of the city trusted Christ as Savior in the two days that Jesus and the disciples stayed and ministered in Sychar. This woman was not ashamed of her salvation and chose to share it immediately, yielding a great harvest of souls.
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As we close out this first study on an extraordinary woman, how can we apply these truths to our lives? First, are you SURE of your salvation? If not, please get that settled today. I am not trying to scare you into making a decision, but, dear friend, if you don’t know Christ, the future is scary! Paul said it this way, “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2). Don’t delay! Trust Christ today! Second, are you SHARING your faith? This woman’s testimony sparked a revival in Samaria, a place that most Jewish people avoided. But maybe all those people would not have been saved if she had ignored the Jewish man who wanted to talk to her. And then when she understood and received this extraordinary message, she could have just kept it to herself. But praise God, she did not do that. She shared! Who have you shared your faith with recently? I believe that in order to follow the example of this extraordinary woman, we must be active about sharing our faith. Take a moment to think – who is in your Samaria? Your hometown, your neighborhood, on your morning walk, at your favorite coffee shop, in line at the grocery store, or in your class at the gym? What about your unsaved family members, friends, or children? Have you shared your faith with these people? May God help us to first be SURE of our salvation and then to be extraordinary women by SHARING our faith!

​What if the very thing you think disqualifies you—like the Samaritan woman’s past—is exactly what God wants to use to bring others to Him?