From Hopelessness to Hope
(Part Three)
Text John 4:4-42
The woman at the well has taken a journey to a well one half mile from
her home; a journey that she must have taken every day. (See Archives
for previous Studies.) She has journeyed to meet a stranger who is going
to take her on a journey to a hope that can only be found in Him. She
has traveled from being, in all probability, a sarcastic, resentful individual
to someone who desires to partake of living water. She is yet unaware
of what this living water entails.
The conversation between Jesus and the woman has been about water but
Jesus is ready, and the woman is ready for the next step. “Go, call
your husband and come back.” It is proper to have the woman’s
husband present when talking to her. But our Lord’s intent goes
much deeper. The woman needed to recognize her true thirst. Before she
could repent, she had to recognize her sinful nature. When Jesus told
her to call her husband, He knew both her circumstances and her very thoughts.
“I have no husband.” Was her head downcast with her response?
Was she now hesitant to converse with this stranger? In all likelihood,
she did not want to discuss any of the details.
“You are right when you say you have no husband. The fact is, you
have had five husbands and the man you are living with now is not your
husband. What you have just said is true.” What a shocking revelation!
The light has been shone on this woman in full force.
Many questions had to have gone through her mind. How does He know this?
Why does He continue to talk to me knowing the kind of person that I am?
What is going to come of this conversation where I am exposed for the
person I am? And perhaps, how can I change the subject?
Which she does…
“Sir, I can see that you are a prophet.” This is a genuine
recognition of the fact that Jesus was a prophet. “Our fathers worshiped
on this mountain [The mountain to which she was referring was nearby Mt.
Gerizim where a Samaritan temple was located (See Deuteronomy 11:29, 27:12-13,
and Joshua 8:33-35)] but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship
is in Jerusalem.” It is possible that she really wanted an answer
to this question. This had been an item of contention between the Jews
and the Samaritans. It is also possible that she does not wish to discuss
her personal life and personal needs so she asked a non related question.
On numerous occasions I have been asked a question like, “Yes, but
where did Cain get his wife?” from individuals who did not wish
to discuss their personal relationship to Christ.
Jesus answered her question but more so answered her need. “Believe
me woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on
this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not
know; we Jews worship what we do know for salvation is from the Jews.”
This brief answer to the theological question indicates that Jerusalem,
as God directed during the Old Testament period, was the proper place
of worship. He also noted that salvation was to come through the Jews
in fulfillment of the promise to Abraham. (See Genesis 12:7, 13:15, 17:3-8,
18:18, and 24:7 and Galatians 2:6-9 and 3:15-29)
Little did she realize at this time that the One standing before her
was the fulfillment of that promised salvation. In Him was the hope of
the world.
In our next Studies we will see Jesus reveal that
the Messiah has come. |
