Seeing people as God sees Them

Read John 4.

Here is a lesson in overcoming bigotry and discrimination.  Jesus taught how to begin seeing people as God sees them.  In John chapter four, the issue concerns Samaritans.  These were the off-scouring of the Jews.  A Jew wanted nothing to do with a Samaritan.  Racially, they were half-breeds.  Centuries before, during the Assyrian invasion, some of the Jews had intermarried with some of the Assyrians.  These half-Jew, half-Gentile outcasts settled in Samaria in the center part of the nation, between Galilee and Judea.  Culturally, they were despised as traitors to Israel.  Since the Samaritans were not allowed to worship at the temple in Jerusalem, they made up their own religion, based upon Judaism.  Jews wanted no contact with them, not even eye contact.

But that is not how God sees human life or human need.  If followers of Jesus were going to be all that God wanted them to be, if they were to be used as God wanted them to be used, then some wrong attitudes would have to change.  How did Jesus teach for this life-change?

First, Jesus provided an unforgettable illustration. (vv.1-30)
Jews did not speak to Samaritans.  Rabbis, or any other upright citizen of Israel, did not associate with immoral people.  Men did not speak to women in public.  With one simple request, Jesus cut across all the lines of cultural separation, discrimination, and rejection of certain people.  Jesus masterfully moved from the known to the unknown, from physical needs to spiritual needs, and from false beliefs to transformational truth.  

Second, Jesus provided an unforgettable instruction. (vv.31-37)
It began by sending the disciples into town for food.  This had to be a strange thing for them to do.  "For the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans." (v.9)  They were considered "unclean" and, perhaps, the disciples were the only Jews there at the time.  Being the minority in a city was a new experience.  Then, after returning with the food, Jesus said, "I have food to eat you do not know about."  Again, the Teacher moved from the physical to the spiritual.

He compared reaching people with the Good News of forgiveness and eternal life with a harvest.  That is how God sees the human population.  The harvest is ready and abundant.  The opportunity to see lives changed with the message of Jesus is ripe.  The disciples thought they were to go into town to buy food.  But while the disciples were going about their business, they ignored the spiritual needs of each person around them.

To correct this, Jesus gave them three steps to create spiritual sensitivity of others.
1. Look (v.35).  Pay attention to the people around you.  What do you see?  What do you hear them say?  What are they feeling?  What is their spiritual need?  How can you use this appropriately as a divine appointment to introduce them to Jesus and His Word.

2. Know (vv.36-37).  In agriculture, when the farmer knows that it is time for harvest, there is an urgency.  Reaping time takes priority above everything else.  It is a Satanic scheme that causes believers to be negative and think people are not interested in removing their sin and guilt.  Faith in Jesus is the one and only solution.  There is no guarantee of tomorrow.  Truly understanding these facts will create urgency in our prayers and actions.  

3. Go (v.38).  Seeing the need and knowing the solution is not enough.  Jesus said, "I sent you to reap...you have entered into their labor."  There is work to be done in the name of Jesus.

Third, Jesus provided an unforgettable involvement. (vv.38-43)
Then, Jesus did the unthinkable.  At the invitation of the those who had believed, He and the disciples stayed in that town for two days.  It meant a change in thinking, a change in plans, a change in the disciples, and a change of eternity for many in the town of Sychar.

Do you see people as God sees them?