Gospel Harmony Joy Note 7...

I find it interesting that when the woman at the well in John 4 gave her "testimony," it was not about her or how her life had changed, but about the words of Jesus. Then, after a few days, the people of Samaria came to her to say that they also believed, not because of what she had testified, but because they heard for themselves. Again, it was the words of Jesus, the Living Word, that created belief. Again, testimony was about Jesus Christ, not about people.

This struck me as rather opposite to how so many Christians share their testimony today. They do not let the Living Word speak for itself; they do not focus on the work of Jesus Christ.

While I was reading this, John 2:25 came back to mind, in that Jesus had no need of man to bear witness for Him at that time. He had no need for He knew what is in man. He knows the depths of Original Sin; He understands our depravity.

And this also called to mind one of my favorite BOC bits: And He did all this [became man, suffered, died, and was buried] in order to become my Lord. He did none of these things for Himself, nor did He have any need for redemption (LC, II, 31).

As the Gospels go on, I know there will be talk of who gets to sit where and what rewards might come. I know that again and again and again flesh gets in the way of understanding and that belief comes where and when God wills through His Word. I know that so much of that which is to come is filled with questions. Questions of doubt, of proof, of incredulity, for Jesus simply is not the Messiah our world envisioned.

But, for now, I have a first miracle devoid of fireworks one would expect of a "miracle." I have a prophet who came to prepare the way for Jesus. I have a scholar of the Law who wanted to know the new law that Jesus had to offer, given that He was clearly from God. I have a woman who represents the way of our flesh wanting to understand what she was hearing. In all of those things, the common thread is water.

Water is our repentance.
Water is a new creation.
Water is a new birth.
Water is life.

The Living Water, that is.

I like how at the end of all of that, after all those things had come to pass, what Jesus said was, essentially: "I am."

And then, I move on, and all the doubt and disbelief from his neighbors, from those among whom He had lived and worked and never once sinned against them in thought, word, or deed, mark the rest of Jesus' path to the cross.

Because my thoughts are never far from the Psalter, I will note that I find it interesting that the prayer book of the Bible also begins with life from water.