The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe…
"At the Well"
Sometimes in Scripture, the briefest of statements opens a door into glories we can never fully fathom. This happened yesterday as I prepared a sermon on the the encounter of the Lord Jesus Christ with the so-called "woman at the well."
"Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with His journey, sat thus on the well" (John 4:6).
?????? The One of whom Isaiah wrote, "the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary," nevertheless became "wearied?" (Isaiah 40:28). How can this be? In the most basic terms, we know the answer: "The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us" (John 1:14). The second Person of the Trinity, God the Son, took upon Himself our humanity in the womb of Mary, was born into an earthly lifetime, and lived being "touched with the feeling of our infirmities" (Hebrews 4:15). This truth provides a primary tenet of Biblical truth and Christian doctrine through the ages. Thus, we understand the Lord Jesus became tired in His humanity, and also experienced all the realities of our existence, even being "in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin."
The consideration stopped me in my tracks. "The woman at the well?! We cannot refer to this story in such terms! This is about God at the well! About God as man at the well!" Indeed, a brief episode in time speaks to our hearts of an eternal wonder beyond all comprehension, as declared by no less than a mystified Apostle Paul: "Great is the mystery of godliness! God was manifest in the flesh" (I Timothy 3:16). Yes, somehow "the Ancient of days," boundless in being, measure, character, nature, and power, became the Present of our days (Daniel 7:9). He also took upon Himself our experience to the degree He could become human in a womb, resident in a body, wearied by a journey, broken in heart, and ultimately, nailed to a cross and entombed in death. God the Son at the well. The son of man at the well. Glories of grace eternally unfathomable at the well!
The cross of Calvary most drives us to our knees and faces in wonder, praise, thanksgiving, and often in a stilled silence because we cannot find words to express what moves upon the waters of our innermost being as we consider that "Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). However, the mystery of how God the Son could have ended His earthly life on the the cross begins with how He became human in the womb of Mary. Moreover, we wonder in how He found Himself "wearied with His journey" as God at the well, as man at the well.
What led Him there? The best answer is love. Yes, love for His Father and love for the human race brought the Lord Jesus to the well as a man, a tired man. Love for you. Love for me. Love for all. The consideration could go on forever. It will. For now, let us not be surprised when seemingly insignificant details of Scripture stop us in our tracks, direct our attention upon an open portal into eternity, and then fill our hearts with wonder as some sublime glory of the Lord Jesus Christ glimmers before us and illuminates our hearts with realities of grace never to be fully comprehended. Great indeed is the mystery of God and man, of God as man, at the well.
"And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father) full of grace and truth."
(John 1:14)
Weekly Memory Verse
And the heavens shall praise Thy wonders, O Lord, Thy faithfulness also in the congregation of the saints.
(Psalm 89:5)
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