John 4:39-42 - Your Words (Should) Lead to God's Word

Chad Werkhoven
3 hours ago
4 min read

Your testimony is a powerful tool - but it must be used correctly!

Woman in pink sweater speaks confidently to four surprised colleagues in an office with computers and a clock on the wall. — You likely give testimonies about all sorts of things that happen to you. How often do you give testimony about what Jesus has done for you?

John 4:39-42 (NIV)

CONTEXT: Jesus has just finished His famous encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well. She had run back into town to tell her community about Jesus.

39 Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.” 40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. 41 And because of his words many more became believers.

42 They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.”

Canons of Dordt

Point 1 - God's Unconditional Election

Point 2 - Limited Atonement

Articles 1-2

Article 3: The Infinite Value of Christ’s Death

This death of God’s Son is the
1. only
2. and entirely complete
3. sacrifice and satisfaction for sins;
it is of
1. infinite value and worth,
2. more than sufficient to atone for the sins of the whole world.

Summary

Why don't we have the same level of excitement about Jesus that the Samaritan woman had? Why don't we have the same eagerness to provide testimony about our experience with the Living God?

Testimonies have tremendous power. They tell of a person's unique experience, an experience other people are interested in. Maybe you think that your story is boring - especially compared to somebody as colorful as the Samaritan woman - and that nobody wants to hear about it.

But you likely don't take that same attitude in other aspects of your life. When you get home, you tell people about your day (even when it wasn't much different than any other day). At work, you tell people about what you did the night before or the interesting thing you saw on the drive in. At the store you tell the random person in the aisle about an awesome coupon or deal you just found. When it comes down to it, you're almost always engaged in some sort of testimonial! So why don't you testify about the far more amazing things you read and hear from the Bible?

The testimony of this woman of ill repute captures her neighbors' attention, enough that many of the Samaritans from that town believed in Jesus because of the woman's testimony!

Dig Deeper

As powerful as what personal testimonies are, they have their limitations. At this point, the Samaritans who believed in Him because of the woman's testimony only know about her personal experience with Jesus - that He told her everything she ever did. That's a pretty big deal for sure, but it's only a drop in Jesus' divine bucket!

Sharing your testimony is related to, but not the same as, sharing the gospel. Your testimony is simply telling how you've experienced Christ, how it's changed your life, and how it's made you feel. Again, these insights are valuable and all of us introverted upper midwesterners (and beyond!) need to do much better at it!

But nobody's going to really understand how God has unconditionally elected them or how it is that the death of God’s infinitely valuable Son is the only and entirely complete sacrifice and satisfaction for sins based only on how Jesus makes you feel.

And so it is that the woman's neighbors want to know more about Jesus. They urged Him to stay with them, and He stayed two days. John doesn't convey what it was that Jesus taught them for those couple of days, but we can tell from the people's reaction that it must have been awesome! Because of Jesus' words, John tells us, many more became believers.

Testimonies are important - the woman's testimony about what Jesus told her got her neighbors interested and piqued their attention. But testimonies are a short lived means to an end. Even the testimony of the Samaritan woman at the well. After a couple of days of listening to Jesus themselves, her neighbors told her, We no longer believe just because of what you said, but we believe because we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world!

So get better testifying to the amazing things (or even the ordinary things) that Jesus has done in your life! But use your testimony to point others to hear the Word of God for themselves, so that they too can know not just how Jesus makes you feel, but that He really is the Savior of the world.

AAA Prayer (About)

ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who sent His Son to be the Savior of the world;
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray the courage, ability and desire to share your testimony often, not just to tell others how you feel, but to help them come to know what you know about Jesus;
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: