Give Me a Drink/Part One

 Give Me a Drink/Part One

The “Red-Letter Words” of Jesus

Day 39

(This is my opinion on the Samaritan woman and I'm sharing from my perspective. You are free to disagree.)

A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.” John 4:7 (NKJV)

Jesus went from an encounter with Nicodemus in John three to another one with the woman at the well in chapter four.

His meeting with the Samaritan woman had a more positive outcome than it did with Nicodemus. Although we know Nicodemus became a [secret] follower of Jesus, he didn’t make his position clear at the conclusion of their middle-of-the night meeting. With the woman, not only did she believe Jesus was the Messiah, but an entire village believed in Him as a result.

I’m going to mess with your theology…with all those things you thought you knew about the Samaritan woman at the well. Let’s begin by revealing who this remarkable woman was not.

1.         A rejected woman

I’ve heard numerous sermons about this wretched woman who had to go to the well in the middle of the day (instead of in the morning) because she was ostracized by the other women in Sychar. Chapter and verse please. We read she went to the well to draw water. Nothing more. We do not find in scripture where she was rejected and ridiculed by the other women because of sexual promiscuity. 

2.         A sullied woman

We do know she had five marriages; however, we don’t know why. Nowhere does it state she was unfaithful to any of her husbands or did anything worthy of divorce. She could have been widowed five times for all we know. Also, in those days, a man was allowed to divorce his wife for even the smallest reason. If she didn’t please him, he could serve her with divorce papers. If he decided he no longer loved her, he could divorce her. Nowhere in scripture do we find that these men divorced her because of illegitimate sexual acts on her part.

 

She was a hurting woman, I’m sure. How could she not be wounded after five marriages for whatever reason? But sullied? I don’t see any evidence in the scriptures.

3.         A timid woman

When the Samaritan woman and Jesus got into a theological discussion she didn’t back down. She held her own with Him. I like that about her. She’s not the shameful, timid woman I’ve heard so much about in sermons.

4.         A woman living in sin

Jesus pointed out the man she lived with was not her husband. She admitted she lived with him although the scriptures never state they were having an illicit affair. Many people read between the lines and assume something sinister happened. Jesus never addressed her sexual sin. He never told her, “Go and sin no more.” Nor did He demand that she change her lifestyle. Just because she lived in this man’s house doesn’t mean she slept in his bed. In fact, if she was a widow, law required a kinsman to step up and provide for her.

Did I rattle your theology a little bit? I sure hope so. In the next devotion, we’ll look closer at her true character.

Father, I misunderstood this woman because I looked at her through my modern-day American interpretation of the Bible. I’ve come to realize there’s much more to this woman than I’ve given her credit for. I love it when You challenge me to look at scripture from a new perspective. Thank You for teaching me new and wonderful truths from Your Word. In Jesus’ name, Amen.