Jesus: The Truth Who Sets Us Free
By Michael Youssef, Ph.D.
Read John 4:4-42.
In our culture today, people mistakenly reason: “If Jesus is truly loving, then He will accept my sinful lifestyle.” But this false Jesus can’t set anyone free. Few people know this better than one woman whose encounter with the real Jesus left her forever changed.
On the way from Judea to Galilee, Jesus stopped in Samaria, encountered a woman at the well, and asked her for a drink of water. She was astonished—for her gender and Samaritan background rendered her inferior. But Jesus knew her desperation. He knew her deepest secrets—the failed marriages, the promiscuous living. He knew that He alone could set her free—so He called her out.
“Go, call your husband,” He said. “I have no husband,” she replied. “You’re right about that,” Jesus said. “In fact, you’ve had five, and the man you’re currently living with is not your husband.”
Jesus didn’t say, “No worries—just keep living your truth!” No; He is God in human flesh—holy and righteous! And because He loved her, He couldn’t just sweep her sin under the rug. Instead, He exposed it so that He could set her free.
Despite what culture says, God does not wink at sin. He is not your yes-man. No, He sees everything—all the sin, guilt, and shame inside each one of us—and He knows our deepest need: Living Water. He did not come to excuse our sin but to save us from it that we might have fullness of life. Will you not drink of Him? For only He can quench your thirst, give you peace, and set you free eternally.
Prayer: Jesus, thank You that I am truly free from the shame and wages of sin because You have atoned for it all on the cross. Knowing what my sin cost You, may I live righteously for You, pursuing goodness for Your name’s sake. I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.
“Jesus answered, ‘Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst’” (John 4:13-14a).
Learn more in Dr. Michael Youssef’s sermon series Jesus: Know Him and Live: LISTEN NOW | WATCH NOW
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