The Woman at the
Well: Thirsty for Truth
We don't know her name or age. But her conversation with the Lord
is his longest one-on-one chat recorded in Scripture. Reason enough to give our
sister from Samaria a fresh look.
It was high noon on a hot day. Jesus, tired
from traveling, chose a sensible rest stop—Jacob's well outside the town of
Sychar—while waiting for his disciples to go into town for food. When our
unnamed woman appeared with clay jar in hand, Jesus made a simple request:
"Will you give me a drink?" (John 4:7).
Uh-oh. (1) Jews weren't supposed to speak to
Samaritans. (2) Men weren't permitted to address women without their husbands
present. And (3) rabbis had no business speaking to shady ladies such as this
one. Jesus was willing to toss out the rules, but our woman at the well wasn't.
"You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman," she reminded him.
"How can you ask me for a drink?" (John 4:9).
She focused on the law; Jesus focused on
grace.
An Offer She Couldn't
Refuse
He began, "If you
knew the gift of God … " (John 4:10). If. A tantalizing
invitation. And gift. A truly irresistible
offering. Especially "the gift that came by the grace of the one man,
Jesus Christ" (Romans 5:15).
Instead of insisting
she pour him a drink, the Lord offered her "living water" (John
4:10). Water from the ground was common, but living water?
Now he had her attention.
This polite but gutsy woman pointed out the
obvious: "You have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can
you get this living water?" (John 4:11). Her natural curiosity prompted
her to ask questions, as seekers do today. Such queries are no cause for
nervousness. Jesus knows how to handle doubt and disbelief.
To quench her spiritual thirst, the Lord first
confessed the truth about plain H2O: "Everyone who drinks this water will
be thirsty again" (John 4:13). Then Jesus made a bold promise:
"Whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst" (John 4:14).
In one sentence he shifted from everyday life to everlasting life.
Was our girl ready for that leap of faith? Not
quite. She wanted whatever he was offering, but only so she could avoid
returning to the well for water. If we're honest, we get this motivation. Eager
to satisfy our physical desires, we overlook our spiritual needs.
Time for an intervention.
Speaking the Truth in
Love
Jesus told her, "Go, call your husband
and come back" (John 4:16). Not an odd request, since women couldn't
converse alone with a man in a public place. But Jesus' request was more about
uncovering truth than about following society's rules.
When she confessed,
"I have no husband" (John 4:17), Jesus affirmed her answer, then
gently exposed her sin: "The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the
man you now have is not your husband" (John 4:18).
Five marriages didn't make her a sinner. Due to warfare, famine,
disease, and injury, men in those days dropped like flies. A widow became
either a beggar, a prostitute, or another man's wife. Each time, this Samaritan
woman had chosen the best option.
But sharing her bed with a sixth man who wasn't her husband?
That was a sin.
Did she fess up? Nope. She changed the subject.
She talked about worship, Jerusalem, the differences between
Jews and Samaritans. Again, we get her evasion. Before I knew Jesus as my
Savior, if someone steered conversation down a spiritual path, I veered toward
religion and away from relationship. Too scary, too personal.
Finally, the woman at the well did her best to shut Jesus down.
"When [the Messiah] comes, he will explain everything to us" (John
4:25).
How stunned she must have been at Jesus' revelation: "I who
speak to you am he" (John 4:26). The next moment, the arrival of his
followers confirmed his identity and gave the woman time to process the truth:
The Anointed One had come!
Overjoyed, she left her water jar and went back into town to
urge her neighbors, "Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did.
Could this be the Christ?" (John 4:29).
In any century, our response to the Lord is the same. We
confront our true selves, experience God's grace, and share the good news.
Be bless and be a blessing!
A
study of John 4:5-42 by Liz Curtis Higgs
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