Give Me a Drink/Part Two

  

Give Me a Drink/Part Two

The “Red-Letter Words” of Jesus

Day 40

(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)

I hope my last post regarding the Samaritan woman messed up your theology. Many times, we interpret scripture through the context of our culture instead of Jewish culture. I believe Christianity in America reads way more into her story then what transpired.

Last post I focused on who the Samaritan woman was not. Now let’s look at John 4:7-42 to understand who she was.

1.         A respected citizen

She lived in Sychar. She was respected by its citizens because after she told them she had met the Messiah, they didn’t hesitate to believe her. No one doubted her due to her lack of morality. Not one person suggested what the Pharisee in Luke 7:39 stated about another female, “This Man, if He were a prophet, would know who and what manner of woman this is who is touching Him, for she is a sinner.”  The moment this woman at the well told others about Jesus, they trusted her word.

2.         Knowledgeable

The scriptures don’t indicate she came to the well as the rejected, sullied person we hear about in sermons. Instead, we see an articulate woman who held her own with Jesus. They had a give-and-take dialogue on culture, tradition, and scripture. She was secure enough to challenge Him a couple times: 1) She questioned why he approached her, a Samaritan woman. She knew it broke many Jewish traditions; and 2) She challenged Him when she assumed He dissed Jacob’s well. Head on. Direct. No apparent insecurities.

3.         Honest

She projected honesty. Jesus acknowledged He knew she had five ex-husbands and that the man she lived with wasn’t her husband. Without hesitation she admitted it was true. Her forthright answer never indicated shame. In my previous post, I wrote, “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 she change her lifestyle.”

 

If she was sexually promiscuous, I believe He would’ve addressed it with her which was His custom.

4.        Strong

We don’t know why she had five ex-husbands. Most people assume the reason had to do with her being an impure woman. All I can say to that is, “Chapter and verse, please.” She could’ve been widowed five times for all we know. Also, in those days Jewish interpretation of the law allowed a man to divorce his wife for even the slightest reason. (See Phillip J. Long’s article on website, Reading Acts, titled “Jesus and Divorce in the First Century – Matthew 19:3-12.)

 

We don’t have a clue why she had five exes since it’s all speculation. We do know that she was a strong woman who endured a lot of heartache throughout the years.

5.         Thirsty for more

At first, the Samaritan woman didn’t grasp Jesus’s words about the living water. She desired to understand so she asked questions and listened. Her soul eventually understood the point He desired to make. The living water – the spiritual life - was hers for the taking. Take it, she did. She drank deeply from its waters. It affected her in a powerful way because the first thing she did was share the good news with others. As a result, revival came to Sychar.

I like this feisty woman who went to the well and received something she didn’t know she needed – a new spiritual reality. Jesus reached beyond tradition and law to minister to a woman who thirsted for more than whatever life had to offer. He will do the same for us.

“Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat.” Isaiah 55:1[a] (NKJV)

Father, I like this woman and can’t wait to sit down for a long talk with her in heaven. I do feel she has been given an unsubstantiated reputation. I’m sure right now it doesn’t bother her a bit because she’s with You. Thank You that the living water You so freely gave to her is available to me as well. Fill my cup, Father. In Jesus’ name, Amen.