Woman at the Well

The Woman at the Well

John 4:7

There came a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus said to her, Give me to drink.

The mundane, everyday task of a woman drawing water is about to be the encounter of her entire lifetime.

Good Jews avoided Samaria. (the Samaritans were considered the black sheep of the Jewish family) Jewish men did not speak to women who were unaccompanied by their fathers or husbands, let alone a Samaritan woman. But here we see Jesus in Samaria talking to a Samaritan woman, alone! God isn't limited by human judgments or prejudices.

He was tired, he was thirsty, after all, He may be the Son of God but He was human also. Being born of a woman, He had a human need for food and water.

He says to her, "Give me to drink."

I love it! Jesus the living water asking a mere woman, an outcast woman at that, for water.

Jesus was born of a woman, he alone of all men knows their true worth. After the fall, Eve is told it would be her seed, born of a woman alone, that would redeem mankind from sin and death. And so the virgin conceived and brought forth a child.

In many ancient cultures women were held in high esteem. They were worshiped as goddesses. Mankind recognized that the human race depended on the womb of a woman to go on. Her fertility, her submission sexually to the man and to the burden of pregnancy and childbirth, assured mankind that the human race would continue. They considered it powerful magic. This is the reason for some sexual taboos and cultural mores about women's sexuality, not to keep them down but to protect and honor them as vessels of this powerful creative force. Mankind then and now has polluted and perverted this truth and women have suffered much abuse because of the hardness of men's hearts, as well as their own ignorance of their immense worth to God.

I think this Samaritan woman was one who had suffered from ignorance of her worth. Perhaps, she just didn't have any other way to survive, and had to depend on a man who would not make her his wife, she had to make compromises. I don't really have scripture to back that up, but I do know that the gentleman in Jesus treated her with tenderness and respect despite the cultural mores that gave him permission to judge her.

When he told her she had no husband, he did not accuse; instead he stated the truth with love. She was living with a man, unmarried, (back to those taboos and mores) He did not call her a whore, which in the eyes of her community, she was. He offered her living water, refreshment for the soul, healing for all the hurts. The subtleties of this exchange might be lost on the men reading it. After all they'd assume, Jesus was male and he is God. He has a right to demand a drink and the right to judge her harshly. But Jesus is not demanding anything here, nor is He judging. He is offering her the refreshment of living water. What a Savior! What an example to live by! What love!

This touches my woman's heart. No brow beating, no accusing, no superior attitude. Rather, respect and tenderness. "You were right when you say you have no husband." Again, he spoke the truth in love.

She is embarrassed. She tries to change the subject. She says, "Our fathers worshiped in these mountains, you Jews worship in Jerusalem." She tried to turn the conversation from the spiritual need of her heart to the religious reality of her culture. Jesus was attempting to get her to see her need of forgiveness and she shifts the conversation to religion. So many of us see only the "religion" and not the salvation that comes from God's love. It is hard to accept that we are in need, especially hard for a woman who has been used and abused, to trust a man.

But the true topic was salvation. And her heart hears the message. She says, "I know Messiah is coming. When He comes He will explain everything to us." (the title Messiah means the LORD saves)

"I who speaks to you am he."

What is amazing to me is she did not doubt or argue, she did not question. She just believed. Like a flash. It all became clear. Once we let our heart soften enough for the Savior to come in, we understand His message of great love.

Their conversation and her faith led to her whole community believing on Jesus. Here was the Messiah, who told her everything she had done! Not in judgment, but in mercy and with an offering of cleansing and forgiveness.

The heart of this woman who came to the well to quench physical thirst, found the living water of forgiveness and mercy and never thirsted again.

No more being afraid of being alone without protection, of being at the mercy of her circumstances. Never having to defend herself to those who would judge her or ever having to make compromises with the world to survive. Never being ashamed again. For the Messiah had told her the truth and shown her mercy by forgiving her her sins.

It changes how you view things to know you are forgiven by God, to know of His great love for you. It causes you to hold your head up a little higher. It is reassuring to know that God knows all about you and that He loves you anyway. He comes to you and offers you living water, eternal life. All that is required is to have faith in Him. Faith gives new meaning and purpose to being here. When Jesus offers you his love and you accept it in faith, you are forever changed by the encounter.