When the Twelve returned from purchasing food in the town of Sychar, in Samaria, they were “amazed” to find Jesus talking with a woman (John 4:27). Apparently, such a thing was culturally inappropriate. That, however, didn’t stop Jesus. More specifically, it didn’t stop His amazing grace, because He offered a “gift of God”—which He called “living water”—to a woman who had likely been divorced and remarried five times and who was currently living with her boyfriend (John 4:10). That’s grace. But was Jesus’ gracious gift “unconditional?” Could she receive His gift without changing her behavior? Was Jesus offering her a license to continue in fornication?
Interestingly, when she then requested the living water He was offering, He, knowing she was not married, said to her, “Go, call your husband and come here.” I can’t imagine His words didn’t cause her some immediate guilt-laden anxiety, and surely that was Jesus’ purpose. She then replied that she had no husband, which was technically true, but it hid a BIG lie.
Jesus then revealed to her that He knew all about her five failed marriages and that she was currently living with a man to whom she was not married. Surely that revelation elicited a rush of emotions, including shock and shame. “You know!!! How do you know?”
Not surprisingly, she tried to change the subject to the contemporary Jewish-Samaritan debate about the proper place to worship God. Suddenly, a woman who had been married and divorced five times and who was now living with her boyfriend became interested in discussing the proper place to worship God! It is always interesting to watch how people suddenly become religious when they find their behavior under the spotlight. Very graciously, and without calling out her hypocrisy, Jesus told her that the geographic place of worship is actually irrelevant to God. He is seeking those who worship Him “in spirit and in truth.” That last word certainly pegged her. God wants true worshippers, not phony worshippers, that is, those who don’t obey His commandments.
Although Jesus never directly told her to repent, He did gently expose her as a woman who had been (1) married and divorced five times, and who was (2) a current fornicator, (3) liar, and (4) religious hypocrite. Implied in all of that, of course, is His call to repentance. Jesus called everyone to repentance. (To those who suggest she was widowed five times and was currently living with her brother, that is a very far-fetched notion on several levels. Please go back and read the story!)
She then professed her belief that the Messiah would come, and her belief that when He did come, “He will declare all things to us” (John 4:25). She implied that she, of course, would listen to that Messiah and heed what He said, even though she had been ignoring her Messiah-given conscience for a long time! She was just waiting for Him to show up so she could understand what He wanted her to do. Real religious, this gal! She represents so many religious people.
And that is the moment Jesus revealed Himself to her, saying, “I who speak to you am He” (John 4:26). In other words, “You say you will heed the Messiah when He comes? You are looking at Him right now. So let’s see now if you heed what He has been saying to you all your life through your God-given conscience. If you do, that will be the beginning of the end of your fornication, deception, and religious show.” All communicated with amazing grace!
Apparently, the “gift” of “living water” wasn’t a license to sin. It was a temporary opportunity to turn from sin, be forgiven, and to walk uprightly from then on as a “true worshipper.”
How about you? Have you received the gift of living water? Have you become a true worshipper? God’s amazing grace is just waiting for you!
