Samaritan Woman at the Well – Part III

John 4:16-26
Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither. The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband: For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly. The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet. Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things. Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he.

In this part, we will see how Jesus brings the Samaritan woman to the knowledge of sin and then reveals Himself to her. She sought living waters from the Master but her request would be granted to her by first making her realize her sinful nature. The power of God will make her free and the living waters that she so desired will be hers. Jesus asked her to bring her husband before He provided the living waters. The woman answered that she had no husband. Now Jesus reveals her secret sinful life in that He says that she has had five husbands and the one with whom she is living with, is not her husband. He knows our secret sins and the darkest areas of our life. No matter how dark our life has been, He has the power to release us from the darkness and will put us on the road well lit by Him, if we only seek Him and His strength. By our strength we cannot be freed from the power of the enemy. Psalm 73:26 says, “My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever.” Our flesh and heart fail us because they are in the world empowered by the enemy, but God is the strength of our heart and our portion forever. When He is our strength, He keeps us from falling! He will open the eyes of our heart to the wonderful truths of the gospel message, if we believe in Jesus Christ but if we do not believe the gospel message, the god of this world, Satan will blind our minds. II Corinthians 4:4 says, “In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.” My prayer is that all of us would believe in God’s only son, Jesus Christ and accept God’s wonderful salvation through the death of His son on our behalf. In Him dwells (the four Ls, as I see) Light, Life, Love and Living Waters! We need light so we can walk without faltering; we need life so that we could live eternally; we need love to follow God’s ways and commandments; we need living waters to spring forth in us so we never thirst again!

The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet. Immediately her eyes were opened and she realized that she is talking to a prophet and not a regular man. She perceived that the person before her knows her completely, her sinful life, her walk in the world, her wicked ways and her weaknesses. She is proclaiming that He is a prophet, a great man of God. She will realize in a few moments that He is far greater than a prophet, the Messiah! She surrendered to Him and started speaking of worship and wondered what a true worship is. She is willing to worship Him but wanted to know what is considered a true worship. She knew that the Samaritan worship is not considered a true worship and she wanted to worship Him in the correct way! She said “Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.” She knew very well that the man right before her can answer her question on worshipping God. Yes, we too should seek godly answers and the ultimate place to find our answers is in the Word of God! We can also seek the counsel of godly people and ask God for answers and the Spirit of God will help us in our quest.

Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. Jesus’ response to her is that the time will come when people would worship the Father neither in mount Gerizim nor in Jerusalem. He also added that the Samaritans know not what they worship but that the Jews do because salvation is of the Jews. Isaiah 11:1-2 says, “And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD”. Out of the stem of Jesse, in David’s lineage, a Branch shall grow and this Branch is Jesus Christ, the Messiah of the world and the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him. The Spirit of the Lord has wisdom and understanding, counsel and might, knowledge and the fear of the Lord. Holy Spirit or the Spirit of the Lord is a sacred gift granted unto us when we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior. Luke 11:13 says, “If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?” If we ask Him for the Holy Spirit, He sure will grant the Spirit unto us. He is a loving Father who is ready to give us good gifts. Mark 3:29 says, “But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation.” Remember, it is a great sin to blaspheme against the Spirit of God and there is no forgiveness to this sin as mentioned in Mark but there is a danger of eternal damnation.

But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. Jesus said that the hour comes when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in Spirit and in Truth. The Father desires such worship. The Father seeks the people who worship Him in Spirit and in Truth for He sees their heart and spirit. The Spirit of God only glorifies God and the Truth of God is in His son Jesus Christ. John 14:6 says, “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”

The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things. Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he. The woman knows that when Messiah, Christ Jesus comes, He will tell them of all things. She believed that Messiah will come and reveal all things and she believed correctly. Jesus said to her, “I that speak unto thee am He”. He revealed Himself as the Messiah to the woman. She had the right quest and Jesus filled her with the truth. The Messiah had spoken to her and revealed directly to her. Christ chooses to reveal to the people who are humble, honest and who accept their sinful nature. When Christ spoke of her past life, the woman did not reject it nor hide away from Him. She kept silent and asked how she could worship because she was convinced of her sinful life. When we accept our weaknesses and surrender our guilt to Him, He will show us the way out of them and cleanse us from all unrighteousness and pardons our iniquities. Psalm 103:10 says, “He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.” He has not dealt with us according to our sins and iniquities but is full of kindness, tenderness, mercies and compassion. He loved us so much that the Cross of Calvary exhibits His love to us. Look at the Cross; we would know how great His love for us is. May the Lord enlighten our soul of His love and grace to us that are simply bountiful; the more we seek Him, the more He will fill us; the closer we get to Him, the more closer He will draw us unto Him; the more we hunger, the more He will fill us with His bread; the more we thirst, the more He will let us drink of the Living Waters!

Tomorrow: Samaritan Woman at the Well – Part IV