July 9, 2020 -- John 4:43 -- Striations and faith

After the two days he departed for Galilee.

John 4:43 English Standard Version

Once the Samaritans—remember these people were considered to be unclean because they’d married outside of the tribes of Israel and they did not hold to the Old Testament—recognized Jesus they asked Him to stay. Jesus did. He did not consider them unworthy of His attention, or teaching or His love. It is dramatic and a beautiful testimony to our Savior. Because He remained, the twelve disciples had to stay with Him also. Even so, Peter would not fully appreciate what Jesus was demonstrating or the powerful work of the Holy Spirit in believers to send them to reach beyond the Jewish people until Acts 10 (cf: Acts 10:9-34 and especially verse 34).

What happened in those two days? Here is what I think might have happened in these days. Consider this: Jesus taught them Who He Is. He answered their basic questions. Jesus showed them the Old Testament and explained to them how to find Him in the Bible. Jesus taught them elemental truth so that they could live as His followers: be accountable to one another for their walk with God and walking in community. He stayed long enough so that these new Christ-followers would be able to sustain themselves in our precious faith. The disciples learned disciple-ship practices. The disciples learned their Savior had no prejudice against Samaritans (nor any other people group for that matter)!

One of my favorites among the berries is: black currant. They are very tart and high in vitamin C. In order to propagate them the seeds need striation. That is the seeds need to be subjected to some stress (what works well for currants is temperatures of near freezing, like refrigeration, for 3 - 4 months) in order to break the seeds’ hard coating and allow germination. Interestingly, I think Jesus’ brief stay among the Samaritans could have caused stress. They realized how much more He had to teach. They realized how precious His work and His Words. When He left they knew they’d have to overcome stresses and challenges in order to cling to Jesus. Remembering Him and rehearsing Who He Is would take on particular urgency among them. Jesus knew these stresses would allow their faith to germinate and add urgency to their desire to propagate our precious faith.

Father in heaven, thank You for Your tremendous love shown most beautifully in Jesus Christ. Thank You for the seeds of faith thrown far and wide in our sin-darkened world. Thank You Father for the Spirit of God Who uses the Word and all the circumstances of our life to bring such seeds to fruit-bearing in our lives. Spirit of God, sustain us in the storms of our life so that we will be found faithful to Jesus Christ and trust Him alone for every good thing. Spirit of God, cause us to be faithful witnesses to Jesus, in times of joy and in times of trial, in the stresses of our life and in the times we have experienced Your mercy. Triune God, bring many sons and daughters to the glory of knowing You! Amen.