Unlikely Evangelist

 Nobody would have picked this person to become an effective evangelist. The past was far from squeaky clean. The candidate failed morally. This one was also a social outcast. This one was also the wrong nationality. A minority despised by the ruling religious class. This person would have been easy to walk right past, to prejudge, and to eliminate from consideration for the work of evangelism. 

None of that mattered to Jesus. Jesus looked past nationality and cultural customs of prejudice. Jesus saw the sin clearly and even called it out. Somehow the sinner did not get offended nor reject Jesus. In fact, just the opposite reaction occurred. After being confronted with sin, this person gathered others to come to Jesus. Many people. A good portion of the hometown. The crowds flocked to Jesus and believed. 

This unlikely evangelist is not even named in the Bible. She is only known as the Samaritan woman. Her checkered past included five different husbands and living with a man outside marriage. We are spared other details. Did her previous husbands die? Did they divorce her? We are not given those details, but we are told she was living with a man the day she met Jesus. Blatantly committing fornication. 

A recent study reported that over 70% of couples under age 40 lived with their spouse before getting married. Sex outside marriage is common today. [I Thess 4:3-5] minces no word. Sex outside marriage is sin. The Bible defines marriage as between one man and one woman. The two shall become one flesh. [Gen 2:24] Nobody would have identified this woman to ever become a flaming evangelist for the Lord. Nobody but Jesus. 

Jesus identified Himself to her as the Messiah. She went to the men in town and encouraged them to come see for themselves. They did and many believed. She was not a theologian. At best, she was a new believer. She had no training, no track record of success, nor did she even fully understand what Jesus being Messiah meant. 

She did know that Jesus knew all about her. Her painful past and sinful present. He did not condemn her. Something about Jesus attracted her to summon others to Him. The Lord used her mightily. The Bible does not clarify what "many believed" meant. It was more than one. More than a few. Many means a large number. Her first evangelistic campaign was very successful. All she did was tell her story. 

That is something we can do. We can tell people our story and invite them to discover Jesus for themselves. People are ripe for this message. Not more religiosity. They yearn for something real. The fields are still white unto harvest just like they were on the day this story unfolded in John 4. May the Lord do it again through unlikely evangelists like us.