The humility of Christ (6)

The woman at the well of Jacob

When Jesus was on the way from Galilee to Judea He went through Samaria. Having arrived in a Samaritan city called Sichar, He sat down at one of the wells that belonged to Jacob. He was exhausted from the long journey. Although He was the eternal and great I AM as a man He learned by His own experience what it means to be tired and exhausted.

Meanwhile His disciples had gone into the city to buy some provisions. Suddenly a Samaritan woman approaches the well to draw some water. Jesus asks her to give Him something to drink and starts a conversation with her. In spite of His exhaustion He thinks of the salvation of her soul. With great humility and meekness He finally wins her heart. The wonderful result is that this woman who had lived in fornication for a long time becomes an evangelist who shares with others the things that she personally had experienced with the Savior.

The proceeding conversation between the Lord and His disciples is very interesting: “The disciples asked him saying, Rabbi, eat. But he said to them, I have food to eat which ye do not know. The disciples therefore said to one another, Has any one brought him anything to eat? Jesus says to them, My food is that I should do the will of him that has sent me, and that I should finish his work” (John 4:31-34).

For Him it was way more important that a soul was won for heaven than to satisfy His human needs. It was His food to do the will of the Father. That gave real satisfaction to His heart. The Father’s will implied the Son’s reception of all those who would be drawn unto Him, as He later said: “All that the Father gives me shall come to me, and him that comes to me I will not at all cast out. For I am come down from heaven, not that I should do my will, but the will of him that has sent me” (John 6:37.38). We see therefore that Christ was not focused on the satisfaction of His natural needs, but He longed to do the will of His Father and to respond to the spiritual need of lost sinners.

Especially in the Gospel of Mark we see how Christ served with great devotedness thinking more of the needs of others than of His own comfort. We may ask ourselves the question: How much are we focused on our needs and how much do we try to respond to the needs of others? “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35).

J.P.S.

Article series: The humility of Christ