Courtyard to Entrance - Part 4 ...
Woman at the well
What do we really need to be satisfied? Remember the story of Jesus in John 4;4, that talks about Him and His disciples leaving Judea and passing through Samaria on their way to Galilee? And then they stop at a town called Sychar and he sits down to rests at the well that Jacob dug in his days and the disciples go into town to buy some supplies, leaving Jesus alone.
First of all. We are told that “this time” he had to go through Samaria, which tells us that it was not the only route there was. However, we are left to wonder, if it was Jesus divine foreknowledge that led Him there or His practically applied wisdom, that had Him plan to pass through Samaria, since it was a whole week shorter than the other route, when travelling by foot. So either, the He knew she will be there and planed to meet her, or, He made a point of not avoiding Samaria, as it would have been normal to do, since Jews despised Samaritans.
Both of these assumptions independently showcase a purposefulness towards the kind of people Jesus was seeking out and approaching.
Secondly, it doesn’t take 12 grown up Men to go and buy supplies and carry them back to the well.
I’m sure at least 1 or 2 could have stayed with Jesus without it having the slightest effect on their endeavor. But they all went.
That implies that Jesus might have wanted to be alone -again, maybe out of foresight or maybe just a feeling- when the woman came. Perhaps it was because He wanted her to encounter Him and Him alone. He was not even going to risk one of them -I’m thinking of Simon Peter or maybe the sons of Zebedee perhaps- to try keeping her away -even just verbally- only for Him to have to correct them or some similar scenario. He might have wanted her full attention, and for her to feel His full attention on her and what that would do to her. At least that it is the assumption I make.
Remember that she came during midday while the sun is the hottest because she would have avoided to go out in the morning where she would encounter the other townswomen who would shun her, for her culturally, socially, and religiously undignifies conduct. So, we can firmly assume, that by the time she was approaching, and was in His eyesight, Jesus knew she was alone and lonely.
I can only imagine the thoughts that were racing through her mind on the way there.
The sun blazing and making her uncomfortable alone, would have been inspiration enough for her to think “Again, in the hot sun. This Jar feels a lot heavier when the clothes are sticky and itchy on my skin. Maybe I should try going in the evening tomorrow. But what if a man finds me alone and harms me then? The law says…. But this is so hard. If only the people of the town would give me a chance, they would know that I am not all together dirty and unworthy. Or am I ? We grew up together. I was always kind to them. They ought to know. But then again. They are right to shun me. I am after all … If I had only… then I would not have… But now I am waisted good. Besides I don’t even know if the man I am with really loves me…What if he is just waiting for…”etc.
Remember that she was not the first to speak once she reached the well. She was all about her business and perhaps even emersed in those very thoughts or upon seeing Jesus, wondering, what a whole Jewish man was doing in this place when Jesus spoke to her first and asked her for something to drink. And in doing so He basically continued in breaking not just cultural conduct -because jews did not deal with but despised Samaritans- but also challenging social norms by addressing a woman, who is not even in company of other women, nonetheless. And then in her mind not only is she a Samaritan and a woman but she is also the shunned one of the town.
If you will the woman might have been triple shocked because she found herself being addressed by an individual who should have found her to be triple unworthy.
I love the fact that the number 3 is in here somewhere. Anyway.
The Lord -the way, the truth, and the life- goes on to ask her, to give Him something to drink. As if He needed anything from her at all. But He said something so important and beautiful here, that we needn’t overlook. Similar words were repeated by those same lips, on the day Jesus gave His life away for us. Since there are no coincidences in the Kingdom of God, we need to ask ourselves “Why did Jesus ask for something to drink/admit to being thirsty twice” or “what is that drink, Jesus was thirsty for?”
I hope we can all agree that a man who can raise the dead or simply upgrade water into wine can make water come up out of a well straight into His mouth until He has had His fill. But that was not the nature and Character of Jesus. Being fully man, is how He spent His time on earth because it was necessary in order for Him to relate to and understand our suffering. Just in the same way, it was necessary for Him to live through a Human life and “graduate” perfectly in order to fulfill His duty of salvation as the “second Adam”, who reversed the fall of the first.
Jet He was also fully God, since He is the 2. Person on the holy trinity and He was connected to the Father and had direct access to the Father, otherwise He would not have been able to invite us to that same direct access. Now, back to the well.
Seeing that He had been alone for a while, it would not even have cost Him an uproar or too much attention to perform a self-serving miracle. But when Jesus performed miracles, He did it as a sign and so that those around Him and following Him would believe.
But He waited for “a mere unworthy, Samaritan woman” to show up and asked her to give Him a drink.
I just think that’s so curious. Now, what do the cross and the well encounter have in common? On both occasions Jesus is filling a need, the recipient wasn’t even aware they had. At the well it is the woman and then the Samarian town Sychar. At the cross it is mankind. On both occasions Jesus thought it important to express His need to quench thirst. On the cross He said, “I am thirsty” or “I thirst” which translates to asking for a drink and the well he said, “will you give me something to drink?”. On both occasions He is physically in a state, that would make that question very logical if not critical. On the cross He has gone through torture, physical abuse, exasperation, exhaustion, hunger and thirst, spiritual warfare, temptation, anxiety, embarrassment, loneliness, treason and abandonment, loss, mental torture … oh and imagine all the anguish and sin of the world flooding towards you all at once. No that’s right, you can’t, because no one has ever done that before and no one ever did after Jesus, so we don’t know what it’s like.
At the well, they had been walking -as they usually traveled by foot-, then the fact that they needed groceries means they had run out of food and water or had not taken a lot with them to begin with and then it was also around noon, so we can assume it was hot and He must have been very thirsty. In both cases, Jesus first uses simple language for that sentence and not parables -which He is known for- AND yet, he switches gears, and one is actually quoting scripture, and two HE continues with a parable. Almost as thou there is a part, that was definitely meant for the ones addressed to hear, understand and react to and another part for us disciples to unwrap layer by layer.
The parable He uses at the well is “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked Him, and he would have given you living water.”
The scripture He quotes is by David in Psalm 22:15 “My mouth is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; you lay me in the dust of death.” If Jesus then is the living water and is telling her that she is the one who needs the water He has to offer, why indicate thirst to her in the first place? Jesus yearns for another thing. And it’s not just that water from a man-made stone well – let’s not forget He has the living water-. He yearned for Her! His price, His due, His reason for the cross. He wanted her! He wanted her heart. How do we know that? Scripture tells us about the heavenly Fathers heart towards us and we know that the Father and the son are one and that the son only does what He sees His heavenly Father do.
And this is the heart of the Father: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”
John 3:16-17 “The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.”
Zephaniah 3:17 “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.”
Revelation 3:20 Or if you need it even more plain “God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.”
Ephesians 1:5
Can you imagine that? The creator of the universe takes great pleasure in adopting you into His family and all you need to do is accept that living water. I was that woman at the well.
One of the things that made me equivalent to her is precisely what Jesus was pointing out to her. He did not list her partners to her in order to shame her, but to paint for her -and later readers- that she was looking for something that she tried to find in the men she had been with. She was searching for love and Jesus was showing her, that she did not and would not find it there. She was searching for belonging and Jesus was pointing out to her, how quickly and often that kind of belonging had changed throughout her life. She was searching for purpose, safety, satisfaction and so much more and was looking to quench a need she did not even know she had. So, Jesus is telling her, her life so that she can believe in Him in order for Him to be able to touch her heart and essentially quench her thirst and save her.
I was looking and searching for such a long time, that I did not even remember how or why I had set out on that journey in the first place.
I started to rebel against my family and God at around 15..16 and had my first boyfriend at 18 after having slowly separated myself from family affairs and my home.
Once we were together he became my family and I poured my everything into that relationship. My time, emotions, money, survival skills, thoughts and yes after struggling with it for a long time, I poured my body into it as well. I remember feeling pressured, because he would say he wont pressure me but was a man after all. And then in arguments he would bring the topic up and use it as one of the reasons we might be fighting -regardless of whether or not the fight started with something else entirely-. In my heart I think he really did not want to pressure me but could not help it, since he was not a belier and did not know romantic relationships without sex.
I remember thinking my time was running out and if I don’t give myself to him soon, he would cheat on me or leave. According to his past, both those options where realistic.
Today I know, it was not so much the pressure that had me giving in to a lifestyle of premarital sex but because form the get go, I DID NOT VALUE MYSELF AT ALL.
Neither my strength nor my talents, neither my character, nor the things others valued about me, neither my inner nor my physical beauty. None of it really meant something to me, because I had started believing a few lies from a young age and never combated them. So that when I started to rebel, it felt mor like giving up on me, on believing that anything good could come out of believing in God, on the idea that being good got you where you wanted because it looked like as everyone doing what they wanted always seemed to succeed and everyone who was doing what this God said ended up loosing.
I had watched a diligent, faithful, truthful, meek, obedient, quiet, submissive but also strong, wise, innovative, intelligent, creative woman go through life with this God and from what I could tell, she was loosing. The main reason I thought that was because She was married to this super busy, somehow funny, very manipulative, often angry, unreliable, double minded, unwise, lying & cheating, good actor of a man who would often say or do abusive things to his wife and children -when he actually was home-.
My father.
One common conversation he used to have with each one of us children that stuck in my mind clear as day was this.
Whenever he was there and “wanted” or rather needed -mostly because my mother constantly warned him to build a relationship with his children, least he regrets it in later years- to have a conversation with us he would go “How is school?”, Id say “good” and he would ask if I’m sure and request to have a look at the school repots – I just realize how often and how long he must have been away if sometimes it was not dividual tests but a whole school report he had missed while away- . I’d bring whatever evidence of my verbal report he would understand and show it to him. Then he would say something like “How good is this grade?” and Id try to explain, the he would ask “What grade did the best person have?” then id tell him and he would say “Why do you have this grade and or that one or better even ?”. Being a scared child of course I mostly did not know how to answer that question, so he would proceed with his famous words to me “If you stay this stupid, you will end up with a stupid job at the counter”. Sometimes he would be creative and interchange “job” with husband or simply add it to the phrase.
I was then usually abruptly dismissed -witch was the kinder version of an outcome of that conversation, since with my brothers he used any opportunity thought was valid to beat them or physically hurt them in another way. For me that was only sometimes- and would disappear into my room or somewhere he could not see me, to be able to have a good cry. Speaking of witch. Sometimes when he hurt us physically and we would dare loose a tear he would command we stop crying before he gives us a real reason to cry -meaning the beating-.
The physical and psychological degrading treatment I think, crushed a lot of self esteem, regardless of my mothers relentless opposite behavior towards us. Somewhere I had started to believe, that is the treatment I was worth. If someone wanted something, they had the right to have it and otherwise I was more a silly nuisance than anyone you would voluntarily choose to spend time with. Not only that but, as a child you become acclimatized to the role handed to you by your environment. And while my mother spoke life into me he spoke destruction and I belied it. Not so much because I necessarily trusted his word more. In fact, the opposite is the case. But God designed the father to be the head, and when HE did that he put rules into the universe, that are always alive and active, even when we are not walking within the design originally meant for us.
So weather or not, you father is a Christian man, later on a godly one, the words he says to you will always have a certain ungraspable weight or often even authority over you. While the treatment of a mother regardless of whether or not she is a Christian, later on a godly woman, will always have an impact on your emotions.
So I ended up being confused, hurt and disappointed. Disappointed -sad to admit this now- in this so called father in heaven who is my mothers bestie and apparently care for her and yet her life is miserable -or so I thought-. And I did not want any of that to continue or even become my lot, so I ran from that life and searched the world for love, affirmation, purpose and belonging.
Crazy enough, I did not believe I deserved any of these things while running. But I thought, once I caught sight of any of it, id fight for it, grab or snatch it and hold on to it for dear life, because someone would probably try snatching it from mee, since I didn’t deserve it in the first place. Which is the behavior of an orphan.
And there, at the other side, the enemy opened his arms wide, welcomed and embraced me, in his cold, lonely, sinful, dark and deadly arms.
That was the beginning of my almost end. But then again, it was not an almost end because God never left me out of his sight. And it took me through 3 relationships, abortion, alcohol, drugs and depression and a few more ad-ons, just to make sure I was well set up with misery.
Until about 5-6 years later -after wrecking my life and ending up in a metaphorical dark pig cage, eating the scraps and waist at some street corner- I started to hear a distant but loud and somehow familiar voice, calling me to the well of everlasting water.
And yes, it did take me a while to get up that hill, in the hot sun, dressed uncomfortably and carrying a heavy jar of emptiness. In fact, my third and last relationship was around that time and going to and end. And yes I was alone and lonely because I had forfeited help, family and friendships and I was worth shunning. And yes I had done things and lived a life morally appalling and despicable to God and deserve punishment and death. And yes I had continued to wrestle with that seed of dignity, that every human is born with, that demands to be nourished and sustained and those seeds of truth that my mother had planted in us by the word of God and by wisdom, vs. having practiced living in the many lies for a long time now.
So that when I reached the well and Jesus spoke to me, I most definitely wondered, what the son of God would want from me, because I simply felt unworthy of anyone -period-.
BUT, I did not receive punishment. Instead I was shone what it was I had been looking for and on understanding I followed Him and He brought me to our Father.
Have you ever felt like the women at the well speaks to you just a little louder?
Maybe it´s because Jesus is telling you, that he thirsts…
What is your answer? Would you give Him a drink? Your past, present and future? Would you entrust your very heart to Him?
Because He wants you. And He has patiently waited for you because you are worth it and HE VALUES YOU A LOT!
Jesus does not only long for you to accept salvation and be free. No in that freedom He wants you to draw closer to Him and He closer to you. He wants you to remain in Him as He remains in the Father. He wants not only to be your friend but call you His friend and reveal to you the secrets of the kingdom of our Father. Here is what you want to do if you feel like that women approaching the well
- Listen for the voice of Jesus. He says “my sheep know my voice and follow it”. Practically that means to start studying the word of God intently and more purposefully and getting to know His character, so that when He speaks, you can tell it is Him.
- Pray for your faith to increase, so that you not only accept salvation, but the authority of being a child of God, that comes with it, purchased for us by Christ Jesus.
- Ask God to reveal Himself to you constantly and in every area of your life.
- Ask to be filled with the Holy Spirit, because that is the one true spirit of truth and wisdom.
- Tell our father about your wishes for your life and actually ask what He thinks of them and if they are within His will for your life.
Summed up, start pursuing Jesus back! It seems difficult at first but is so, so beautiful with time.
Psalm 22 For the director of music. To the tune of “The Doe of the Morning.” A psalm of David.
1My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish? 2My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, but I find no rest. 3Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One; you are the one Israel praises. 4In you our ancestors put their trust; they trusted and you delivered them. 5To you they cried out and were saved; in you they trusted and were not put to shame. 6But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by everyone, despised by the people. 7All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads. 8“He trusts in the Lord,” they say, “let the Lord rescue him. Let him deliver him, since he delights in him.” 9Yet you brought me out of the womb; you made me trust in you, even at my mother’s breast. 10From birth I was cast on you; from my mother’s womb you have been my God. 11Do not be far from me, for trouble is near and there is no one to help. 12Many bulls surround me; strong bulls of Bashan encircle me. 13Roaring lions that tear their prey open their mouths wide against me. 14I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart has turned to wax; it has melted within me. 15My mouth is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; you lay me in the dust of death. 16Dogs surround me, a pack of villains encircles me; they pierce my hands and my feet. 17All my bones are on display; people stare and gloat over me. 18They divide my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment. 19But you, Lord, do not be far from me. You are my strength; come quickly to help me. 20Deliver me from the sword, my precious life from the power of the dogs. 21Rescue me from the mouth of the lions; save me from the horns of the wild oxen. 22I will declare your name to my people; in the assembly I will praise you. 23You who fear the Lord, praise him! All you descendants of Jacob, honor him! Revere him, all you descendants of Israel! 24For he has not despised or scorned the suffering of the afflicted one; he has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help. 25From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly; before those who fear you I will fulfill my vows. 26The poor will eat and be satisfied; those who seek the Lord will praise him— may your hearts live forever! 27All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations will bow down before him, 28for dominion belongs to the Lord and he rules over the nations. 29All the rich of the earth will feast and worship; all who go down to the dust will kneel before him— those who cannot keep themselves alive. 30Posterity will serve him; future generations will be told about the Lord. 31They will proclaim his righteousness, declaring to a people yet unborn: He has done it!
A prayer of a woman at the well
I now call you Lord. Will you take care of me. Will you guide, guard and protect me?
Will you tend to my needs and quench my thirst?
I ask of you, to be with me and never leave me, nor let me leave your side.
The answer of the almighty God:
Isaiah 43:1 But now, this is what the Lord says— he who created you, Jacob, he who formed you, Israel: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
My prayer
We are the Lord's.
Yes Lord. Because you chose us to be and found delight in it!
Thank you lord, that you choose to peruse us.
Thank you, that you patiently wait for us to come and we do not find punishment once we do
but steadfast Love and grace upon grace.
Keep us Lord and do not leave us, for your own names sake.
For your promises are yes and amen.
Amen. So be it.