Third Sunday in Lent - The Messiah

Goes along with Adult Devotion of the same title.

Jesus chose us to be his disciples, even though we are sinners.

Read John 4:5-26.

Bible Focus: “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 4:25-26

In today’s reading, Jesus met with an unlikely disciple: a Samaritan woman at a well. The Bible gives us the impression that she was an outcast, someone that the people in her town didn’t speak to. Yet, Jesus went to her town specifically to speak with her. He had important news to share: he told her that he was the Messiah.

This is not news to us, but at this point in Jesus’s life, he hadn’t shared that fact with anyone. This woman, who felt cast out, ashamed, and alone, was the first to hear it.

Do you ever feel like the woman at the well? Do you ever wonder if you’re good enough, if people like you, or if you make too many mistakes?

Earlier, I called the woman at the well an “unlikely disciple.” Jesus doesn’t think of anyone as an “unlikely disciple.” Everyone is likely to be a disciple in Jesus’s book. He chooses us, even though we’re not always good enough. He chooses us, whether or not people like us. He chooses us, knowing that we make mistakes. He tells us the same thing that he told the woman at the well: he is the Messiah, come to save us from our sins. 

Right after the woman at the well learned this amazing news, she did something amazing, too. She ran to tell everyone she knew about Jesus. We can do that, too. Jesus chose us. Now it’s our turn to go and tell everyone!

Your challenge this week:

Talk with someone about your faith.

Please pray:

Dear Jesus, you are the Messiah. I confess that sometimes I worry whether I’m good enough to be your disciple. Thank you for choosing me, even though I’m a sinner. Please help me to tell others about you. In Your name, Amen.