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John 4:39-42
I’m going to assume this morning that most of us gathered together on this live stream, have made up our minds who Jesus is. That He is the Messiah, the Son of God who has died for humanity’s sin that we might have a reconciled relationship with our Creator.
But I want you to think back to before you came to believe this. I’m not sure that anyone is simply born with the knowledge and understanding of Who Christ Jesus is in their minds. At some point in time, like the Samaritan woman at the well, someone taught you about Jesus. And at some point you went beyond knowing about Jesus to knowing Jesus.
There was once a radio personality named Paul Harvey. He was famous throughout the land and probably what most of us remember was the segments he called “The Rest of the Story.” This was a segment of back stories of various people and events that he started in 1976 and continued until he passed in 2009.
We’ve heard the life changing story of the Samaritan woman at the well, but what happened after that to her – and those she went to testify to? Here’s the rest of the story.
John 4:39-42 (NIV) Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.” So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. And because of his words many more became believers.
They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.”
This woman simply went back to the people of her village and gave a simple testimony. She testified that she believed that she had indeed met the Messiah. You notice she didn’t try to explain everything herself, She simply wanted them to experience Christ Jesus for themselves. It was an invitation to come and see.
And that’s exactly what they did. They believed her and came to Jesus. And after He spoke to them, they invited Him, and Jesus stayed with them. It was just two days, He spoke to them over the course of two days. The Bible doesn’t say He performed miracles or signs and we don’t really know what He talked about for those two days. But when He was done, the Bible tells us that many more became believers to the point that their belief was no longer contingent on the woman’s testimony. Their belief was no longer about her faith in Jesus but that they had, over those two days, developed and owned their own faith in Jesus Christ.
I say all of this to communicate to you, that you believing Jesus is the Son of God cannot be because I say so, not because your 3rd Grade Sunday School teacher or parents or grandparents tell you so. I don’t think they taught you incorrectly. But you cannot get into heaven on their faith – it has to be yours. You have to own this for yourself, just like the rest of that village.
Your testimony has to be that you no longer believe because I’ve told you. But you have heard His voice in your heart, and that you know He truly is the Savior of the world.