Easter Sunday 2023

In John 4:1-42, Jesus encounters a woman at the well in the middle of the day. As they talk, Jesus brings to the surface the parts of her life that she would rather keep hidden; she’s been married five times and is living with someone who isn’t her husband. Relational brokenness has weaved itself into her identity. Jesus isn't bringing up her past to harm her – but rather to heal her. She was an outcast among outcasts, and Jesus came to her. When she had given up hope, he offered her a new life. She came alive to God at that moment and returned to her village, sharing everything that happened to her, and her village also came alive to God. The good news of Easter is that the same Jesus who saw and loved this woman in the middle of her mess is alive now and pursuing you. He is not a philosophy, tradition, or symbol of love and goodness. Jesus is a person who lived and died. But death couldn’t hold him; he is living now. He is still speaking. Still acting. Still leading. He still offers us the same thing he offered the woman at the well; a transformed life.