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.
