The Ultimate Know It All

John 4:29 (NIV)

‘Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did’

Currently, on the Bar Practice Course, most of my classes are advocacy. This is where we all pretend to be barristers and our tutor, the judge. After we’ve performed our pieces our tutor allows us to critique and praise our classmates. Now one of my peers, let’s call him Tom, thinks he knows it all. The last time I tried to give him feedback he proceeded to give me feedback on my feedback. I think the reason it rubs me the wrong way sometimes is that he is not always correct. This is not the case in John 4 at all!

In this scripture we see a woman, in the hot middle of the day, going to draw from a well when she meets with Jesus who tells her everything about herself. He knew it all! Where she came from, current relationship status, past husbands, the lot! One thing that stands out to me in this story is how empathetic Jesus is. I’m thankful for a God who just ‘gets it’.

‘Jesus was a complete human being, with a human mind and human emotions and a human psyche and a human subconscious as well as a human body. He had everything that pertains to humanity and everything that pertains to divinity’*

He too was tired, weary after walking from Judea to Galilee in the heat. He too was thirsty. The story shows that Jesus is fully aware of our physical needs and the pressures that life presents as well as our spiritual needs. He knows that life gets hot and thirst is real. He knows the things we hoped for and lost. He knows the places we usually draw from for strength, peace, comfort and points us to something more sustainable.

Prayer – Lord thank you that you know and understand all that I face. Would this push me to trust that you know and have better in store for me.

*Lloyd, M., 2012. Café theology. 3rd ed. Hodder & Stoughton.