The Man Who Loves Pariahs

Daily Devotional – Wednesday, October 11, 2023
Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?
John 4:29 (NKJV)

Almost everyone in the Samarian city of Sychar knew her. This infamous harlot and husband-snatcher was a household name. Other women dreaded seeing their husbands near her. The city’s grapevine had faithfully recorded her marriages and divorces. Five men had already left her.

The Outcast of Sychar

Now she was in her sixth marriage, only this time she had snatched the unlucky man from another woman. It was no surprise that she was a pariah whom everyone shunned. Aware of the negativity around her, this loose woman started shunning the limelight. In particular, she stopped joining other women to draw water from the city’s well.

Deep inside her, nevertheless, was a longing for acceptance. She was tired of rejection and stigma. Just as her sins were immense, so was her desire for forgiveness and acceptance in society. It was surprising, therefore, for a stranger, especially a Jew, to accept and treat her with respect, kindness, and unconditional love.

The Reject Finds Acceptance

Well, only Jesus could have done that. For that purpose, He had chosen to take the unorthodox journey through Samaria, something an average Jew could not attempt. The Messiah, ever the friend of society’s pariahs, sought to offer this woman the satisfaction of knowing God, the fountain of eternal life.

Now, having met the Messiah, assured of forgiveness and eternal life, she no longer feared the people in her city. So bold was she that she left her water pot at the well, ran to the city, and proclaimed, “Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?” (John 4:29). You can be sure they came out in large numbers, mostly out of curiosity, to see who it was that could love this vile outcast.

The Man Who Loves Pariahs

Jesus is still looking for pariahs to save, and we are all, to an extent, like the woman at the well. Christ longs to speak to sinners and invite them back home. To them, He becomes the friend who sticks closer than a brother, assuring them of unfettered love and restoration. No evildoer is beyond the reach of Christ, if only they open the doors of their hearts for Him to enter their lives and transform them.

Are you estranged from family, friends, or society because of your wrongdoing? Come to the Man who loves pariahs. Jesus will never reject you. Instead, He will embrace, forgive, and restore you. Do you know any person who is an outcast in the eyes of society? Lead them to the Man at the well, and they will drink from God’s well and never thirst again.

Prayer
Lord Jesus, thank You because You are the friend of pariahs like me.