Jesus was nothing like the superheroes we love and admire today. Historians say He didn’t hang out with the cool kids, the rich, or the powerful. He was the last person anyone would think would be king. At one point, someone scoffed about His hometown, “Has anything good come out of Nazareth?” Nazareth basically had the same reputation as Liverpool before four shaggy-headed musical geniuses made history by sweeping the world with their tunes. But here came Jesus, bursting onto the scene, with a ragtag bunch of guys that no one thought twice about. Like David, He was gathering His own group of “mighty men,” and also like David, He couldn’t have cared less about the optics.
Jesus was never politically correct. He was an equal-opportunity irritator, dissing religious leaders and annoying the government. Jesus only cared about one thing: connecting people (you and me) to God. Period. Got one? Good. Repeat. Got another one? Great. Repeat. These were real followers, people whose hearts were transformed by coming into contact with Jesus, not just thumbs-up and heart emojis.
Jesus’s birth and life became the fulfillment of over 300 ancient prophecies. He didn’t come to earth as a mere man like his great-great-great (etc.) great-grandpa, David. And he wasn’t just a “good man” or a “man after God’s own heart.” He was God on earth. Jesus was and is the ultimate hero. He is a flawless, perfect, omniscient (all-knowing), omnipresent (everywhere at once), omnipotent (all-powerful) being…the true God.
The Real Connection
When Jesus was on earth, He didn’t go about making people “perfect.” He didn’t create His own “image.” He didn’t teach coping skills to troubled people. He didn’t filter the difficult parts of life. He spoke truth, lived truth, taught truth, and walked around as truth personified. He ripped the two religious parties—the Pharisees and Sadducees. He called them “whitewashed tombs,” saying they might look good on the outside, but they were dead on the inside. He could have been talking about influencers or social media addicts today. He could have been talking about Republicans or Democrats. He could have been talking about me.
Who wants to get in the way of those words? Ouch! But Jesus talked that way because He loved people. And He loves us today. He even loves people who have made Him their enemy! He loves the mess-ups, outcasts, and untouchables. He came to spring people out of their fake, addicted, and troubled lives and set them free.
From Outcast to Evangelist
One outcast whose life Jesus reached was a woman from the hated Samaritan ethnic group. He met her at a well in the middle of the day, during the highest heat. She was most likely there to avoid meeting up with most people, who came when it was cool. She was a Samaritan, hated by Jews, and a woman with a bad reputation, hated by her own Samaritan people. Harsh.
Jesus saw something different in her, something that others didn’t see. He saw a woman longing for real connection. So, He reached out to her and said, “Give me a drink.”
When Jesus asked her for a drink, He didn’t really need her help to get a drink. This was Jesus. He was with God creating lakes and oceans. He was with Moses parting the Red Sea. And His first miracle was to turn water into wine. No, He didn’t need help with a beverage.
Jesus asked her for water because He wanted to draw her focus to her own dry condition. He wanted her to see her parched life, her own thirst, and all the dead-end ways she tried to satisfy that thirst.
She responded, “I don’t have a bucket.” Jesus explained that He had living water He could give her. He said that if she drank it, she would never thirst again. Jesus had her attention. She said she would really, really like some of that “living water.”
She admitted her need, but she was really saying, “Please help me so I don’t have to be trapped. I don’t want to keep sneaking back here and hiding. I don’t want to have to keep performing. I don’t want to be so mad and angry. I don’t want to keep being so…thirsty for life. I want real life.”
The woman was in a trap of her own making, caused by her own choices and her attempts to correct those choices through the wrong means. She was dying for an authentic connection with someone who really loved her. Until that moment, she had lost hope.
Jesus said, “Okay, go get your husband.”
Then she admitted another need: “I have no husband.”
Then Jesus stunned her. He said, “You are right when you say you have no husband. The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you are living with now is not your husband.”
She was probably thinking, Have you been following me on Instagram? Or maybe, Stalker?!
“Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet.” But no. He is not a prophet. He has just revealed that He is the Messiah. He is the Savior all of Israel has been hoping for.
This man, who acknowledges her, knows every detail about her hurting heart and ugly past. She is stuck in a trap. Jesus sees her for who she is and for who He made her to be. He affirms her worth. Only Jesus, who cannot be trapped, can set trapped people free.
In that moment, the woman believes. Her thirst for being known and loved is quenched. This woman is no longer ashamed of herself. She no longer feels the need to hide from people. Instead, she runs back and tells everyone in her village, “Come and meet the man who told me everything I ever did. Could he be the Messiah?” (You can find the full story in John 4:7-29.)
The village outcast became the village evangelist. This is what hope looks like.
Movies often elevate humanity above God. (Narcissists!) But a life centered around the love of Jesus is the only way to have the life that we long for and the life we are made for. And in this crazy world, we need Jesus and everything He gives us. Hope. Peace. Joy. Friendship. Loyalty. Honesty. Forgiveness. Faithfulness.
Jesus gives us all the things we are looking for in our own lives and in our authentic relationships. He has already done everything necessary to give us all of this. It’s just that many of us haven’t made that connection yet.
If you want to learn more about how to make that connection with Jesus—and with others in your life—I invite you to check out my new book, Overliked: Finding Direction, Courage, and Meaningful Relationships in a Society Crippled by Social Media. Join the thousands of others who are also on this journey to the life-giving, authentic relationships you so desire!
Until next Monday, find your hope in Jesus!
~Pastor Rob
Aka, P-Ro