“And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, ‘He told me all that I ever did.’ So when the Samaritans had come to Him, they urged Him to stay with them, and He stayed there two days. And many more believed because of His own word. Then, they said to the woman, ‘Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world'” (John 4:39-42).
Paul Harvey used to call this “the rest of the story.”
We preachers dearly love the Lord’s encounter with the woman at the well, given in the first half of John 4. It’s insights and teachings, its power and pathos, make it one for the ages. But the story does not end the way we generally conclude it, with her rushing back into the town to tell her friends about the Man she had met. There is more.
As the townspeople flowed out to meet the Lord, they begged Him to stay, which He did. Then, two days later, when He left, Jesus left behind a lot of new believers. That’s when some of them gave us the memorable statement which I’m calling “overlooked scripture.”
“Now we believe…not just because of your testimony that He told you everything you ever did…but because we have met Him for ourselves, and we know that He is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world.”
That’s strong stuff.
Second hand faith can be a good thing.
At first, the speakers said, we had a second hand faith. We believed because of what you said.
There is not a thing in the world wrong with second-hand faith in Jesus. In fact, it’s an essential step toward getting the real thing. Someone tells you of Jesus and you see the change that has come about in their lives, and you believe in Him because of them.
And yet, you do not know Him yet.
You know about Him.
Now, if you go no further, you have a remote faith in Jesus but you do not know Him personally. This is not saving faith. This is a hearsay faith, a second-hand religion.
To believe in Jesus because Mama did or Grandma believed and “that’s good enough for me,” is not good enough.
God has no grandchildren, the old-timers used to say. And, to use a similar phrase, no one is grandfathered into the kingdom.
You must be born again.
A good reason to believe in Jesus Christ, let me say before moving on, is the quality of the outstanding people who have believed and have lived remarkable lives. Names like Charles Colson, Jim and Elizabeth Elliot, Bill Wallace of China, and a few thousand others come to mind. We do not become Christians by this kind of faith but it draws us to Jesus where we place our trust in Him.
A first-hand faith is the goal.
“Now, we have met Him for ourselves,” said the townspeople to the woman. “And we know and believe that He is the Savior of the world, the Christ.”
I know and I know that I know.
When you meet Jesus Christ for yourself, you no longer have to rely on hearsay evidence. You rejoice at the testimony of others, but you have your own now. And the person with a testimony is never at the mercy of someone with an argument.
We are reminded of the man born blind in John 9. When opponents pressed him to deny Jesus, he insisted, “One thing I know. Whereas I was blind, now I see.”
Some things you know and there is no denying it.
We know that we have passed from death to life.
We know that we know Jesus.
We know because we have met Him for ourselves.
True, there is no exact place in Scripture that speaks of “accepting Jesus as your personal Savior,” the way some of us speak of it, but that’s still the point.
We must never discount second-hand faith, but encourage it because it leads to the real thing.