One day, Jesus chatted with a woman.
And that chat changed her life. Forever.
That little encounter happened by a well.
In Samaria he came to a town named Sychar, which was not far from the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob's well was there, and Jesus, tired out by the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon. A Samaritan woman came to draw some water, and Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink of water.” (John 4:5ff)
I don’t think so. Obviously, this woman was hiding. She didn’t like people to see her. Because she was an outcast, an ostracized person. (Later in the story, you’ll find out why.)
For her, it was the well of humiliation.
We too have our own wells of humiliation.
Because all of us are hiding something shameful. All of us have something in our past that we’d rather not remember. All of us wear a mask and pretend.
But God knows. He knows every foul thing we did. He knows every time we lied through our teeth. Every time we gave in to our lusts. Every time we used people for our selfish gain. Every time we became cowards.
Yet despite knowing all our inner garbage, Jesus still sits by the well of our shame, accepts us, and loves us...
A Samaritan woman came to draw some water, and Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink of water.” The woman answered, “You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan — so how can you ask me for a drink?”
In ancient Middle Eastern culture, if I used your cup, that meant we’re friends. By asking a drink of water from the Samaritan woman, Jesus was declaring his friendship with someone who had three negative things about her.
First, she was a woman, and men don’t talk to women in public. Because during that time, women were property. They were only a little higher than cows. (Sorry sisters. Just reporting historical data.)
Second, she was a Samaritan. Jews hated Samaritans. Because Samaritans were half-Jews, a result of an intermarriage between Jews and Gentiles.
And there was a third reason, the biggest reason why Jesus shouldn’t be talking to her…
“Go and call your husband,” Jesus told her, “and come back.” “I haven't got a husband,” she answered. Jesus replied, “You are right when you say you haven't got a husband. You have been married to five men, and the man you live with now is not really your husband. You have told me the truth.”
She was an adulterer. A home-wrecker. A loose woman who jumped from one man to another.
This was the person Jesus was befriending.
Jesus didn’t say, “I’m shocked. You’ve got five husbands. Five, my goodness! Have you no respect for yourself? You’ve committed adultery not once, not twice, not three times—but five times!”
Jesus said no such thing.
There was no condemnation in his voice.
What was Jesus doing? He was telling the woman, “I know you. And yet here I am, talking to you as a friend. The people of this town don’t want to talk to you. They reject you. But I don’t, even if I know your darkest secrets.”
Today, I want you to picture yourself to be this person.
I bet God doesn’t have to look too hard to find reasons not to like you. But He doesn’t focus on those negative things. Instead, He focuses on the reasons why He wants to call you “friend”.
This Holy Week, I invite you to have a chat with Jesus.
Let this conversation change your entire life.
Allow Him to love you where you are.
With your weaknesses. With your sins. With your lies. With your hypocrisy. With your discrepancies.
That chat with Jesus changed that Samaritan woman’s life forever.
Her well of humiliation become her well of hope.
God can do the same thing to your life.
Go to Him now and receive this miracle.
How?
Spend time with Him this Holy Week.
Hear His Word.
Talk to Him.
Go to a quiet church and spend time with him.
Do the Way of the Cross.
Go to confession.
Better yet, go to a retreat.
Pour out your heart to Him.
Jesus will be waiting by your well.
May your dreams come true,
Bo Sanchez
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