“I UNDERSTAND”

Jesus’ long conversations with unlikely people—Nicodemus, the woman at the well in Samaria, among others—are a unique element of John’s Gospel.

They reveal deep truths, as well as the personal interactions that Jesus had with those diverse people. Significantly, in His conversation with an outcast Samaritan woman—the longest personal conversation in all of the Gospels—Jesus first confessed that He was the expected Messiah. In the story, their conversation is interrupted at that point, so we do not hear the woman’s response, but the conclusion of the people of her town is this: “We know that this man really is the Savior of the world” (John 4:42). But this was not the testimony the woman led with. It seems she was more affected by the personal aspect of her encounter with Jesus: “Come, see a man who told me everything I’ve ever done. Could this be the Messiah?” (John 4:29). Jesus, uninvited, had recounted her troubled relationship history.

But from the woman’s reaction, this was not what she heard. Instead, she had met a Messiah who had seen her troubles, disappointments, and fear.

What she heard from Jesus was not accusatory—“I know what you have done,” but was instead, “I understand”—spoken gently and with love. This was the moment that most touched her heart and that she proclaimed to the people of her town.

Hearing that voice of Jesus—perhaps in contrast to some of the tones of voice in which Jesus has been presented in our past—can transform our faith and our lives.

“We need to ask ourselves, Do I really believe the Good News of Jesus Christ? Do I hear His word spoken to my heart: ‘Shalom, be at peace, I understand’?”*

* Brennan Manning, The Ragamuffin Gospel (Milton Keynes, UK: Authentic Classics, 2003), 136.