Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - What Makes an Effective Evangelist? | The Gospels | John 4:27-42

Episode Date: June 23, 2026

Do you ever feel unqualified to share the Gospel? Are you waiting for the perfect opportunity to talk about Jesus? What if God wants to use you right where you are? In today's episode, Tanya shares how John 4:27-42 reveals four qualities of effective evangelists through the unexpected example of the Samaritan woman. Read the Bible with us! This year, we’re exploring the Gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—and it's never too late to join! Download your reading plan now. Your support makes TMBT possible. Ten Minute Bible Talks is a crowd-funded project. Join the TMBTeam to reach more people with the Bible. Give now. Like this content? Make sure to leave us a rating and share it so that others can find it, too. Use #asktmbt to connect with us, ask questions, and suggest topics. We'd love to hear from you! To learn more, visit our website and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @TenMinuteBibleTalks. Don't forget to subscribe to the TMBT Newsletter here. Passage: John 4:27-42

Welcome to 10-minute Bible Talks, where we connect the Bible to your life. In the time it takes to get to work. I'm Tanya Wilmuth. My guess is that you, like me, have also encountered weird moments of evangelism, and we could probably spend a whole podcast just talking about those. But what is so moving about the passage we're in today in John Chapter 4 is the authenticity of this evangelist, this woman, and how Jesus works through that authenticity to warm hearts to his gospel. because this woman, a Samaritan woman, was from every human angle the most unlikely person to become the first evangelist.

Consider who she was, the wrong gender, the wrong ethnicity, and the wrong social standing to have the power and influence during that time. Yet, Jesus chose her, and through her, many believed. In case you didn't hear Keith's episode yesterday, I want to set the scene from John, Chapter 4, what came earlier in verses 1 through 28. So Jesus arrives at Jacob's well in Samaria, and he's tired from the journey. His disciples have gone into town to buy food. A Samaritan woman comes to draw water. She's alone at noon. It's the hottest part of the day when no one else would be there.

That detail alone tells us something. She was an outsider, even among her own people. She had to come and draw water at a time when no one else wanted to. But Jesus strikes up a conversation, which itself was pretty scandalous. Jews didn't talk to Samaritans. Men didn't address women, alone or in public, but Jesus, who condescended himself to take on human flesh, to experience hunger and thirst, sees past every label and go straight to what this woman actually needs, offering her living water. She's curious but guarded. Why would this man have a conversation with her?

Then Jesus does something remarkable. He points out her problem. She's had five husbands, and the man she's with now isn't her husband. He names it not to shame her, but to show her that he sees her fully. And then he reveals who he is, the Messiah, she's been waiting for. She found what she was searching for. She came for water to drink and found living water, the source of life. Right there at a well in the middle of the day when no one else was around. Now we pick up in today's passage, where John immediately follows up with this commentary from verses 28 to 30. He says, then leaving her water jar, The woman went back to town and said to the people, come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah? They came out of the town and made their way toward him. Notice, she didn't go home first or prepare speech. She left her water jar, the whole reason she came, and she ran. She ran to tell people about Jesus, and she was so moved by her encounter that her simple words,

come see a man who told me everything I ever did or enough now while she's doing that john shows us what jesus is doing he addresses the disciples and in doing helps the readers understand that this story of the samaritan woman is also about evangelism in john chapter four verses 35 and 36 jesus is looking at the disciples and he says do you not say four months more and then the harvest i tell you open in your eyes and look at the fields. They are ripe for harvest. Even now, the one who reaps draws a wage and harvests a crop for eternal life so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. Now, I, from a farming community, I remember you plant the seeds and it takes a while for the harvest and you're looking out the window, the soybeans growing, do they have enough water,

how is it going out there? Is the corn knee high by the 4th of July? And Jesus is saying, like, no, forget all of that waiting in between. The sewing and the reaping are one in the same because of the gospel. Like get to work, sharing what you know to be true about me. Now in the end, the Samaritan woman goes to fetch some of the townsmen to come and see Jesus for themselves. And the scripture says, many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony. She shared, they went to see Jesus. The Samaritans asked Jesus to stay with them and teach them. And John says, because of his words, many more became believers. They said to the woman, we no longer believe just because of what you said. Now we've heard for ourselves. And we know that this man really is the savior of the world. She didn't have to worry so much about what she was saying or how she was saying it. She just told them about what Jesus did for her. And she brought them to Jesus. And that's where they learned more about who he really was. And it's where they believed. So what made this unlikely testimony from this woman. So a Well, first, she had encountered Jesus. The woman didn't share a theology, something that she read about, or something that she typed down on paper. She shared an experience. She'd met Jesus personally, and it had changed everything. She no longer needed a new husband to save her. She had found the source of living water. When we truly encountered Jesus, we began to see our lives through a completely different lens. John 414 says,

whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become a spring of water welling up to eternal life. Sometimes I think more about how I'm going to share what I believe about Jesus with others or how I'm going to be the light of Jesus to others without actually having an encounter with Jesus, without actually taking the time to stop and meet him in scripture and just to have a prayerful conversation. The second thing that made this effective is that She didn't wait. She didn't wait for the right time. Remember what Jesus said to the disciples, you know,

don't wait four months until the harvest. She didn't wait until she had her life together, but she ran straight from her encounter at the well into the town. Effective evangelists aren't waiting for opportunities. They're creating them. Simply by living a life of gratitude and purpose, Jesus said the fields are already ripe. The harvest doesn't wait.

The third thing is that she got to the point. She didn't soften the message. She didn't hide what house. happened or try to make it culturally appropriate. She said, come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. She was so moved and changed that she couldn't help but be clear and candid. Effective evangelists don't obscure what they're saying. They live it. They say it. The gospel doesn't need our packaging. It just needs authenticity. And finally, she didn't take ownership. Let's look at how the story ends. They said, we no longer believe just because of what you said. Now we have heard for ourselves.

saw that she was just one part of the bigger story. She was happy to step back and bring them to the feet of Jesus. She didn't need the credit. The glory goes to God. And she was content with that. Effective evangelist are sower of seeds. Jesus talks about sowing seed. And like I mentioned, where I grew up, sewing seeds was everything. It wasn't optional. It was a way of life. It wasn't something you got around to when you felt ready because your livelihood depended on it. It was a rhythm, a practice. You have people who have been placed in your life for a reason. You don't have to live a perfect life or have the right words. Who needs to hear your story?

You might have someone in your family that you've written off or someone at work that you think isn't interested. But there's no one more unlikely or better equipped than you. Jesus has called you to tell other broken people how he met you and rescued you.