I’ve been asking the Lord for more for a while now. I love it when He drops nuggets of truth for me to find when I least expect it. One of these times was yesterday morning when I was doing my “read the Bible in a year” morning reading. The text is John 4 :3-39 where Jesus is in Samaria and He talks to the woman at the well. The Passion Bible is what I was reading in and this verse just hit me:

Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink of water.” Surprised, she said, “Why would a Jewish man ask a Samaritan woman for a drink of water?”  Jesus replied, “If you only knew who I am and the gift that God wants to give you—you’d ask me for a drink, and I would give to you living water.”

Then I began to go on a journey of discovery. As I paused I began to think about the scene that was being formulated in my mind. Verse 6 says Jesus was at the well at the 6th hour of the day.

NIV takes the sixth hour to be the sixth hour after sunrise, which would be noon; Halley takes it as the sixth after midday, which would be 6 PM. Lancon says it’s the sixth hour after sunset (around midnight, I suppose). Which seems the most likely? Bear in mind that there are other time references; for example Jesus died at the ninth hour, when it was still light: this is generally taken to be around 3 pm.  So based on the crucifixion being at the 9th hour while it was still light, let’s assume the 6th hour is noon.

Noon is hot.  The women went to gather water early in the morning while it was still cool.  For this woman to be getting water at noon indicates she avoided the other women in her town.  After all, she had been married 5 times and the one she was now with wouldn’t even marry her.  5 men had married and divorced her.  In her mind she wasn’t even worth enough for these men to want her. A constant obstacle in her mind of low self esteem, dishonor and shame.

Women were more like property in those days.  Men could divorce women but women could not divorce men, that’s my understanding anyway.  And she would not have been the only wife.  To be clumped together with other women and always being the one discarded certainly would not give you any sense of worth or value.  I’m sure the thought, “What’s wrong with me?” had to always be on her mind.  Those pesky thoughts we all try to cover up.

So she goes to the well at noon to avoid the looks, and probably opinions of the women who should have been on her side.  After all, they too were in relationships with men who probably had more than one wife and they, too, were disposable property if they didn’t cut the mustard so to speak.  But, for whatever reason, she did not feel their kinship.

Then Jesus says the strangest thing.  He says “If you only knew who I am and the gift that God wants to give you—you’d ask me for a drink, and I would give to you living water.”

What???  In her culture a woman would NEVER ask a man for a drink.  Women were sub-class, they served the men.  Never would a woman assume to ask a man for a drink.  That did not happen.

And He insinuated that if she would ask He would actually give her a drink.  That had to have struck something within her, so she replies, “ “But sir, you don’t even have a bucket and this well is very deep. So where do you find this ‘living water’?   Do you really think that you are greater than our ancestor Jacob who dug this well and drank from it himself, along with his children and livestock?”

Obviously, from her reply, she is still thinking about physical water.  At least she is polite in her reply as she questions Him.

So she has all of these obstacles…first she is a woman.  Then she is a Samaritan.  Jews did not value the Samaritans. They even held them in contempt.  It’s my understanding that when Judah was carried off in captivity to Babylon and were allowed to return 70 years later to rebuild their kingdom, the Samaritans were occupying the area and opposed the Jews coming back to rebuild the walls to their cities.  So a hatred for each other arose.  I’m sure the Samaritans did not want them coming back to re-occupy their former land.  And the Jewish people wondered why anyone would want to oppose them returning to their own land.  You know how things can start with people.  We still see feuds today over things a lot smaller than this.

Then to make matters worse there’s the “5 times divorced” issue and living with a man who doesn’t even value her enough to marry her.  Obstacle after obstacle after obstacle in her mind.  Why would this Jew be speaking to me?  Why would this MAN be telling me that I should be asking HIM for a drink?  She is processing all of this invitation through her scratched lenses.

The same lenses we all process our lives through.  The circumstances may be different, but life does a number on us. With each circumstance that brings wounded-ness another scratch is added for us to process life through.  Some scratches are created from defense…some from denial, some from pain.  But the scratches are there, satan makes sure of that.  He does not want us “seeing” who we are called to be.  He doesn’t want us becoming  who God is calling us to be.

We walk along with baggage.  One of those zipped up suitcase that we roll along behind us on those little wheels.  Have you ever noticed that at the most inopportune times, the wheels of our baggage hit a rut in the road, the zipper pops open and all of our dirty laundry is exposed for all to see?  I hate those times…but back to the Samaritan woman and Jesus.

Then her carefully avoided issue is once again exposed. The very issue that keeps her coming for water at the hottest time of the day, avoiding contact with other women.  This Jewish man says “Go get your husband and bring him back here.”   “But I’m not married,” the woman answered. “That’s true,” Jesus said,  “for you’ve been married five times and now you’re living with a man who is not your husband. You have told the truth.”

Have you even had someone tell you the truth, even a hard truth, yet you detect no judgement?  No harshness?  No snide insinuations?  That must have been the case here because her reply is, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet.”  That would not have been her response if she had felt judged by Him.  She was used to the feelings of judgment, but she didn’t feel it from Him.

He was removing her defenses a little at a time.  With each word exchanged, her barriers lower.  With each element of truth He presents, she is drawn in.  In the beginning of their conversation she says “you” and “me” (verse 9)…her words were divisive, guarded.  But later on in their dialogue she starts saying “our” (verse 12), a sign of unity, of one-ness.  The barriers are coming down.

He finally reveals that He is the Messiah (verses 25 & 26) she leaves her water pot and goes back into town and says to the men “Come, see a man who told me all things that I have done, this is not the Christ, is it?”

So, basically, revival broke out in Samaria  (verses 39-42).  Because of this out-cast woman, whom Jesus thought worthy to reveal His true identity, she testifies of what happened to her and many came to believe in Him.  Then verse 42 says that people said to her, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this One is indeed the Savior of the world”.

What obstacles do we feel that keep us from coming to Him fully?  For each of us it’s something different.  But we all have them.  Some of us know Him, some of us have not yet accepted Him, and we all have obstacles that hold us back.

But Jesus calls us.  He looks past all of our barriers and He calls.  He draws us with no judgment and no condemnation.  He accepts us where we are and extends His gift of life.  He will take our mess of a life and bring wholeness.

Once we have tasted of His love we are never the same.  And with each healing touch we go tell others.  Once we’ve tasted of His love we call others in.  How can we not when His love is so good.  And it wrecks us for more….  status quo is no longer good enough…