When Jesus arrived at the well in Sychar, as reported in John chapter 4, he was thirsty, but he had no bucket and the well was deep. Sychar was inhabited by the dreaded Samaritans, so the thought of asking one of them for help would not have occurred to an upstanding Jewish man. However, Jesus used his own need as an opportunity to reach out into the life of a Samaritan woman, and through her into the lives of her network of friends and neighbours.
This “successful outreach” conducted by Jesus was a sort of transaction: “You give me some water, and I’ll give you some water.” It was a two-way communication, rather than a one-way communication, a conversation rather than a speech, and an exchange rather than a gift. Effective communication of the gospel usually requires some sort of interchange which goes beyond just one person speaking and another person listening.
It is often surprisingly difficult to get someone to accept a gift. A message which is spoken from a perspective in which the speaker is seeking the assistance of the listener in a substantially equal-power arrangement often falls on more receptive ears than a message which is spoken from a position of authority and strength. Perhaps the message is that the greatest influence of a follower of Jesus may well come from that person’s weaknesses and pain.