I have always loved to read to my children. Earlier this year I ordered a book series called Bible Belles to read with my daughter. If you haven’t heard of it, it’s about several women, or superheroes, of the Bible. My favorite, the woman at the well, doesn’t have her own book yet. It wasn’t until recently that I learned to appreciate the story because it wasn’t one of my favorites growing up. Long before I actually started studying the Bible, I “knew” that the woman at the well was “promiscuous” and “immoral.”
I’ve since learned that nowhere in John 4 is the Samaritan woman described as promiscuous or immoral. Nowhere does Jesus call her a sinner or tell her to “go and sin no more.” This is a story about Jesus revealing himself as the Messiah to a woman whom He sees genuine spiritual thirst, an eagerness to learn, and a gift for evangelism. Though we are never told her name, she had the longest recorded conversation with Jesus in the Bible and there is something valuable and inspiring in this story for everyone.
One thing I know about Jesus is that nothing is random. John 4:4 tells us, “Jesus had to pass through Samaria.” Jesus was obedient to His Father and it was necessary for Him to travel through Samaria to meet the woman at the well in order to accomplish His purpose. As He later told His disciples, “As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me” (John 9:4).
Jesus arrived in Sychar, a town in Samaria, around noon. He was hot and tired from his journey so he stopped to rest at Jacob’s well while his disciples went into town. As He was resting, the Samaritan woman came to fetch water. Usually, women would go in groups to get water for their families earlier or later in the day, when it was cooler. Knowing this, we can assume that she was an outcast, or looked down upon, by other women in town.
Imagine her surprise when Jesus, a Jewish leader, spoke to her. Jesus not only spoke to her, but he requested that she do Him the favor of drawing water and giving Him a drink. He teaches us so much in these passages. Jews viewed Samaritans as unclean and they disagreed about everything related to God. It was not appropriate for a Jewish man to speak alone with a Samaritan woman, much less ask her for a drink of water. His disciples were even surprised to learn of his conversation. Jesus was willing to break all the social rules of his day so we, his followers, must also put aside stereotypes and prejudices. He wants us to look at the Samaritan woman and see a sister in Christ, not a harlot or a foreigner.
He won her trust by humbling himself and asking for her help. He is thirsty and asks for something she can give. At first, she took Him literally. Jesus explained to her that the water He offers is not physical:
“Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.”
Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.” The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.” – John 4:13-18
As a divorced single mother, I related to her for years as I struggled with feelings of shame and guilt. I felt judged and believed the devil’s lies that I could never be accepted. I’ve learned that Jesus sees me the same way he saw her. All of me. My past, present and future. He names it all without shaming or condemning. He made her feel known and loved, not judged. Not diminished, but restored.
As a result, she decided to take their discussion a step further and asked him about the proper place for worship, one of the major differences between Jews and Samaritans. In response, Jesus tells her of a future time when true worship will not be in a particular place but “in the Spirit and in truth” (4:23-24). For her to be able to worship in the Spirit and in truth meant that she could be free to no longer hide anything from God. She only needed to accept the free gift of God’s grace, which Jesus was offering.
She shared her excitement for the coming Messiah and in response, Jesus told her, “I am He.” Suddenly, the woman whom Jesus asked for a drink, had found her own thirst quenched. She had met the Messiah, the one she had been hoping for! There’s so much to love about this moment. I love that in her excitement, she forgets all about her water jar and rushed back to the village proclaiming, “Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done. He cannot be the Messiah, can he?” (4:29). I love that she wants to share the good news with the people that rejected her. She allows her pain to become the evidence she uses to proclaim Jesus is the Messiah.
Throughout the gospels, it’s rare to find Jesus declaring exactly who He is. His disciples tried to drag it out of Him multiple times, and yet this nameless woman was worth telling the incredible truth. She was worth having a long conversation with and, most importantly, worthy to receive salvation by grace through faith.
She demonstrated a posture of discipleship, learning from Jesus, and quickly became an evangelist. She left her water jar behind just as the disciples left their fishing nets. She returned to her town and shared her experience with Jesus, inviting them to come and see if they believe He is the Messiah. In the end, “Many Samaritans from that city believed in him because of the woman’s testimony” (4:39).
The story of the woman at the well proves that Jesus comes to the least of these. It is a reminder to us that God meets us where we are. “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in…” (Revelation 3:20).
Regardless of the number of marriages, we are all women at the well. Whether we feel called to evangelize as she does or we are called to use our gifts in other ways, her story reminds us that our callings are opportunities to put our faith in action for the sake of others. When we accept the gift of His living water, we will be transformed and we will transform the world around us.
Dear Lord,
As we have listened in on your conversation with the woman at the well, help us to see in her what we need to see in ourselves. Open our minds and hearts to see what you want to show us about how we have defined ourselves or let the world define us and others. Just as she listened attentively and asked questions about her faith and hope, help us do the same. May we worship in the Spirit and in truth so that out of our hearts will flow rivers of living water. In Jesus' name, Amen.
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