Hi, my name is Jim Garlow, and I have a wonderful ministry called Well Versed. I want to talk to you about John 4, an amazing passage. Now, this is the question, when Jesus revealed who He was, where did He do it? Did He do it to the most important people religiously? The Pharisees? Did He call a press conference in Jerusalem? Did He set up an appointment with the Roman government? When Jesus decided to reveal who He was for the first time, who He really was, where did He do it? In a very unlikely place to a very unlikely person.
He was traveling through Samaria. Now, good Jews weren’t supposed to be in Samaria. Why? The Samaritans were considered sort of half-Jews. The Jewish people would go around Samaria. But Jesus went through Samaria. And who did He talk to? A woman. In that culture, a woman was treated like property. A man was not supposed to be speaking to a woman who was not his own wife, in public. And what was this woman known for? She had been married 5 times, and the man she was with now was not her husband. This was not a well reputable woman in the community. We don’t know why she had so many husbands. One theory is that she was unable to conceive and so one husband after another threw her aside.
This was a woman who did not have a lot going for her except she really needed to know who Jesus was. And in that spot, in that location in John 4:26, Jesus revealed who He was. And He said, “I am He. I am Messiah. I am the one you are waiting for.” Jesus chose this unlikely place, an unlikely person to reveal who He was. Why? Because she needed to know. And you, like that woman, are valued. No matter who you are. You are so profoundly valued to God. She was so valued, that what He saved up, He shared with her. “I am the Messiah.” That is how much He cares for everyone. That is how much He cares for you.
You might feel like, “Well, I am not all that important.” You sure are to God, you sure are to the Son of God. You are very important to Jesus.