Jump Start # 926

John 4:16-17 “He said to her, ‘Go, call your husband and come here.’ The woman answered and said, ‘I have no husband.’ Jesus said to her, ‘You have correctly said, I have no husband; for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; this you have said truly.’”

Our passage today comes from the conversation Jesus had with the woman at the well. We are not told her name but we are told much about her life. There are several things about this that are interesting and they are examples for us.

This takes place in Samaria. Jews did not like Samaritans. They avoided them and that region. If the Jews didn’t like someone or a kind of people, they shunned them. Many people are still doing that today. Not Jesus. He went right to Samaria. He sent the disciples ahead into the city to buy food. That would have been awkward for them.

Jesus was alone at the well. The Samaritan woman came to draw water. John specifically tells us that it was the sixth hour, which is noon according to Jewish time. Noon. Middle of the day. Most gathered water in the morning. At noon, things are going on. Cooking is being done. Laundry is being done. Noon is not the time to gather water. This Samaritan woman did. Could it be that she wanted to avoid the crowd? Could it be she wanted to avoid the gossip about her?

Jesus strikes up a conversation with this woman. He moves smoothly from well water to living water. Jesus could always do that. He was offering this woman the living water—which is salvation. That is remarkable, so remarkable that John tells us that Jews have no dealings with Samaritans. That is compounded even more when you see that a Jewish man is talking to a Samaritan woman. Worse still, this Samaritan woman seems to trash and destroy marriages. Our verse picks up on that. Jesus knew. He was teaching. He told her to go tell her husband. She answered very guarded that she didn’t have a husband. The initial thought would be that she is either single or a widow. Not so. Jesus knew. She was living with a man and they weren’t married. Worse, she had gone through five husbands already.

Five husbands! Five weddings! We are not told what happened to these five. Did they die? Was she a widow five times over? I don’t get that impression from the text. If so, why not marry Mr. Six? Instead, she was living with him. He was not her husband. The impression is that all five of these marriages fell apart, trashed and crashed. This woman doesn’t know how to pick a good man or she has some real relationship issues. I can only imagine what her family must have thought. “There she goes again, another man and another wedding. I wonder how long this one will last?”

And there she is talking to Jesus at the well, a public place. Those that happened to see this might have thought, “there she goes again, working on another man.”

Some lessons:

First, Jesus did not let her history keep Him from talking to her. He did not decide for her that she couldn’t nor wouldn’t turn around and follow God. We tend to do that. We look at a person and make the decision for them. We think, ‘They will never come if I invite them.’ So, we don’t. Or, that guy would never be a Christian. So, we don’t give him the opportunity. This woman certainly needed to learn a lot about marriage and relationships. Jesus didn’t think, ‘Oh, she’d be a problem if she became a follower.’ The guy with a foul mouth…the person with multiple tattoos…the couple who are living together…the co-worker who has flown through several marriages—we tend to “pre-qualify” them and if they don’t make our cut, we don’t waste our time with them. Shame on us. The gospel is for all. The great commission said to preach the gospel to every person—that includes the woman who has had five marriages.

Second, Jesus met with this woman in an open and public place. People could think what they wanted. It was in the open. One lesson older preachers teach younger preachers is to be aware and be careful of meeting and studying one on one with a woman. Temptation happens. People can talk. Don’t place yourself in harms way. Don’t encourage a weak soul to make the wrong choices. In the public and at noon, that’s where this conversation took place. Had it been at midnight, in a secluded place—that would not have been good. Jesus is sharp. Always.

Third, some people have made real messes of their lives. Five husbands and what she had now wasn’t a husband. People can really get themselves into all kinds of trouble. The same happens today. Many marriages. Addictions. A record from being arrested. Fired for stealing. Kicked out of school for cheating. A child by another woman, while married to someone else. Registered sex offender. Driver’s license revoked. Shamed. Embarrassed. Guilty. Layers and layers of problems and issues. This woman is not unlike many today. Living without Jesus leads to that. Some, while claiming to be a follower, have made wrong choices. Their lives mirror those who have never walked with Jesus. It wasn’t too late for this woman. It’s never too late, as long as there is life in the body. Not everyone has had an easy life. Not everyone has made right choices. Some of us could never understand this Samaritan woman. We would have never done what she did in a thousand years. If we are not careful, judgmental attitudes will rise to the surface. If we are not careful a “better than you” spirit prevails in our tone of voice. Yes, she made some real messes in her life. Yet, Jesus spent some time with her. Have you ever thought that maybe no one ever sat down and talked with that Samaritan woman. The same may be true of your co-worker, boss, classmate, or neighbor. People have heard the rumors, but no one seemed to care.

Fourth, Jesus took a simple, non-threatening concept like water, and made a bridge to the spiritual. Jesus was so good at that. Talking with people ought to be comfortable. He didn’t go into this conversation with guns blazing, condemning her and pointing fingers. He never used the word “Hell” in this conversation. He did talk about God and worship. Imagine this woman in worship. It may have been forever since she had been to worship. And with her trail of broken marriages, worship and God most likely have not been on her radar for some time. That didn’t stop Jesus. We ought to learn from this. This woman had enough guilt already. Why do you think she is getting water at noon instead of the early morning like most women do? Just happened that way or was it planned so she could avoid even more guilt. Jesus offered good news. I’m afraid we miss that. We go up to someone and tell them bad news about the good news. Not Jesus. Our conversations ought to flow like Jesus. Natural. Easy. Helpful. We should not feel compelled to iron out every problem in a person’s life. That comes later on through the Gospel. God will lead them to that through His word. Too often, we’d feel like that we had to tell her about her marriages and her worship and her lifestyle. When we finished, we would feel noble about telling the truth, but we would have destroyed her and given her no hope. Jesus didn’t do that. Lead to Jesus. Let the Gospel do the work. They are powerful. Take common things and build bridges to spiritual things. There are many subjects and topics that we can talk easily with others, even strangers. Learn how to weave Jesus into those common areas. It can be done.

Follow Jesus—that’s the key!

Roger