Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.” The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.” You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things.” Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he.”- John 4:16-18,22-26)
Warrior;
What a great story, what a great message, what a great lesson! A few things about Jesus’ ministry on earth. The people Jesus confronted and attacked where the RELIGIOUS leaders. People who thought they were better than the lowly peasants. Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, “The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees are the official interpreters of the law of Moses. So practice and obey whatever they tell you, but don’t follow their example. For they don’t practice what they teach. They crush people with unbearable religious demands and never lift a finger to ease the burden. Everything they do is for show. On their arms they wear extra wide prayer boxes with Scripture verses inside, and they wear robes with extra long tassels. And they love to sit at the head table at banquets and in the seats of honor in the synagogues. They love to receive respectful greetings as they walk in the marketplaces, and to be called ‘Rabbi.’ “(Matthew 23:1-7) The entire chapter 23, of the book of Matthew are attacks on the religious leaders. See also Matthew chapters 12 and 3. The Bible is clear; Teachers, Pastors, educators will be held to a higher standard than a layperson. Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. (James 3:1) Paul goes a step further in his letter to Timothy; desiring to be teachers of the law, without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions. (1 Timothy 1:7) We must remember it is the RELIGIOUS people who crucified Christ!
Leader, the People Jesus nurtured and protected were the sinners, the prostitutes, the outcasts, the dirty, the broken, the adulterers, the liars, the tax-collectors, the outcasts of society. One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment. Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.” (Luke 7:36-39) See also John 8:1-11. There is no sin that the BLOOD OF JESUS cannot cover. You are never too far, too sinful, too broken, too messed up- for JESUS! He meets us where we are at, and then He changes us into who WE CAN BE THROUGH HIM! The group who always knew who He was, who never doubted He was the MESSIAH, the SON OF GOD, the MASTER OF THE UNIVERSE- Demons! The demons always identified Christ, always asked His permission, and always responded to His word, His voice, His command! So they arrived in the region of the Gerasenes, across the lake from Galilee. As Jesus was climbing out of the boat, a man who was possessed by demons came out to meet him…As soon as he saw Jesus, he shrieked and fell down in front of him. Then he screamed, “Why are you interfering with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? Please, I beg you, don’t torture me!” For Jesus had already commanded the evil spirit to come out of him. This spirit had often taken control of the man. Even when he was placed under guard and put in chains and shackles, he simply broke them and rushed out into the wilderness, completely under the demon’s power…Jesus demanded, “What is your name?” …The demons kept begging Jesus not to send them into the bottomless pit. There happened to be a large herd of pigs feeding on the hillside nearby, and the demons begged him to let them enter into the pigs. So Jesus gave them permission- Luke 8:26-30)
Conduit, Jesus violated so many taboos of the Jewish people. There were huge RACIAL issues. Samaritans were avoided by the JEWS they were “Crossbreds”. When Assyria would conquer a Kingdom they would mix up the population. They would take some of their people and relocate them to the new conquered territory and they would take the captured people and send some of them to Assyria. The purpose was to mix up the cultures, so they would diminish any plans of an uprising. When the Jews would marry and breed with the Gentiles, they created these “half breeds”, and to the Jews they were unclean, they were dogs, they were no better than GENTILES. Jews would take an extra day’s journey to go around Samaria to avoid them, JESUS went through Samaria and stopped and talked with people. Also women were inferior in that culture. And this woman was an adulterer, probably considered a prostitute, or lower class, of the lower class. Yet, there was Jesus talking with her, sharing the GOOD NEWS, and compelling her to REPENT, and CONFESS and turn to GOD! Jesus did more for RACE RELATION, more to promote WOMEN as equals with men, than any social justice warrior today. JESUS did not come for SOCIAL JUSTICE- there is no Justice on this side of eternity. Jesus was never at an ANTI-SLAVERY meeting, HE was NEVER at a WOMANS MARCH- He was always sharing the GOSPEL and the LOVE OF GOD! I hear people of color say all the time- MY PEOPLE. I have heard people say JESUS was BLACK, JESUS was white- WHO CARES WHAT COLOR JESUS’ TENT WAS?! Jesus told us clearly who HIS PEOPLE WERE: He replied to him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” Pointing to his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.” (Matthew 12:48-50) The last lesson for this passage is; Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest. Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. (John 4:35-36) The time of the GENTILES is coming to a close. Jesus is separating SHEEP and GOATS, see Matthew 7:13-15. There is a plentiful harvest, but you cannot harvest anything, if you are NOT spreading seed, teaching, and proclaiming the RETURN OF OUR KING! We are on a RESCUE MISSION! Are you more wrapped up in earthly Justice and what trial is happening and what cities are burning? If you are a CHILD OF THE KING then you are NOT TO BE involved with SOCIAL JUSTICE, we have a different calling. “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed. (Luke 4:18) Today STOP being a CLOWN in the WORLD’S CIRCUS and be about our FATHERS BUSINESS! KNOW JESUS, KNOW PEACE! No JESUS, No PEACE! JESUS IS the gift of Christmas!
Way of The Warrior- A Daily Devotional 