A study of John 4:16–19
“Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.” The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.” The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet.”
John 4:16-19 ESV
Definitions of the original language in the context of this passage:
-Go: “ὕπαγε”; “hypagō”, “ὑπάγω”; verb — to go away, depart.
-Call: “φώνησον”; “phōneō”, “φωνέω”; verb — to call, call to one’s self by one’s own voice.
-Husband: “ἄνδρα”; “anēr”, “ἀνήρ”; masculine noun — with a reference to sex so as to distinguish a man from a woman; as a husband in John 4:16.
-You Have Had: “ἔσχες”; “echō”, “ἔχω”; verb — to own, possess: Under the head of possession belongs the phrase ἔχειν τινα as commonly used of those joined to anyone by the bonds of nature, blood, marriage, friendship, duty, law, compact, and the like.
-Five: “πέντε”, “pente”; indeclinable noun — five.
-Truly: “ἀληθής”, “alēthēs”; adjective — literally: not hidden, unconcealed; true.
-I Perceive: “θεωρῶ”; “theōreō”, “θεωρέω” — verb — to ascertain, find out, by seeing.
-A Prophet: “προφήτης”, “prophētēs”; masculine noun — universally, a man filled with the Spirit of God, who by God’s authority and command in words of weight pleads the cause of God and urges the salvation of men; he may be known — now by his supernatural knowledge of hidden things (even though past).
Observation/Summary (short explanation of what the passage says in your own words):
After the Samaritan woman asked Jesus for the living water He told her about, Jesus told her to go get her husband and come back. The woman then responded honestly by telling Jesus she had no husband, but this was not the full truth. Jesus tells her she has spoken truly, but also that she has had 5 husbands and the man she lived with at the time was not her husband. Hearing this the woman realized Jesus was a prophet of some kind because there was no other way He could have known that.
Implication (what does this mean to us):
This passage is a portion of a conversation between Jesus and a Samaritan woman. This scenario is strange in and of itself because Jesus, a Jewish Rabbi, is speaking to a woman of Samaria. This is peculiar because Jews and Samaritans hated each other, and Rabbis would never speak to women in public, let alone Samaritan women. But this woman is quickly finding out Jesus is different. He has just told her about the living water that only He can offer, which will quench a person’s thirst forever and grant eternal life. After hearing this she asked Him to give her this water so she would not have to go to this well to draw water anymore. She did not understand yet that Jesus was talking about quenching her spiritual thirst. She thought He was offering her temporary comfort and ease in this world, but Jesus was talking about meeting her far greater need to have the deepest longings of her soul satisfied.
From our study of the previous verses we know Jesus is talking about the Holy Spirit, but she is still unaware of this. In response to her request for some of this “living water” Jesus tells her to go and call her husband. It would have been more culturally appropriate for Jesus to speak to this woman if her husband were present in this time and place. So, for that reason there is nothing particularly strange about this. But Jesus told her to get her husband for another reason too. At first glance it seems like He is telling her to get her husband and then He will give her this living water, but He is actually beginning to prepare her to receive this living water now. Before she can receive the living water Jesus offers though, her sin must be acknowledged and confronted. More specifically, the sin she has been trying to quench her soul’s thirst with must be dealt with if she is to understand that only Jesus Christ can satisfy her soul’s unslakable thirst.
The way Jesus brings this up affords her the opportunity to choose whether or not she will honestly acknowledge her painful past. Instead of leaving she honestly answers that she has no husband, but Jesus exposes the rest of the story. Jesus sees not only the shameful details she left out, but also the hurt, sorrow and tears that have been shed through the heartache of multiple failed relationships. He tells her rightly that she has had five husbands and was currently living with a man who was not her husband. Jesus supernaturally knew everything about this woman’s past when there was no other way a Jewish man from a small town in Galilee could have known the tawdry details of this woman from Samaria’s life. In gently pricking this woman’s conscience, Jesus is helping her to break up the dry soil of her soul, to make room for His living water to flow.
This woman has had five husbands. We do not know whether they died or divorced her, but we do know she is currently living with a man who was not her husband. So whatever happened in the previous marriages, we know this woman is also making moral compromises in her efforts to quench her own spiritual thirst. This woman has been trying to meet the deepest longings of her soul with human relationships, and she has been willing even to enter into sinful relationships in an attempt to find some sense of peace, rest, love and acceptance. She is doing it her way instead of God’s way, and in doing so, she is drinking spiritual salt water and this has only made her thirst greater. In this conversation she is being given the opportunity to either continue to cling to her sin, or let go and come to Jesus. The first step in this process is honestly acknowledging her sin and neediness.
This is what is required of all of us. We are all this woman from Samaria. We all have tried to quench our soul’s thirst for ultimate satisfaction with sinful means that only make us thirstier. For this woman it was romantic relationships. For us it might be the same, or maybe it is sex, a mind altering substance, money, or various types of accomplishments. Whatever it is, only Christ can satisfy. But to come to Him to be satisfied requires us to honestly acknowledge what we have been looking to for purpose and satisfaction instead of Him. We must honestly confess our sin that Jesus helps open our eyes to see.
This is what Jesus is helping this woman do. Now, she has an opportunity. Jesus has just spoken to her about the most painful and shameful part of her life. Will she get offended and walk away, or will she honestly confess and choose Jesus over her sin?
We should take a moment to appreciate how shocking this would have been for this lady. How could this man possibly know all of this? And why did He bring it up? Is He going to despise her like so many others? She came to the well in the heat of midday to avoid the ire of the other women of her city. What is His purpose in this?
She does not clench her jaw and walk away though. She is instead amazed at His supernatural knowledge of her life and says, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet.” This man is like one of the men of olden days long past who the Lord in heaven sent to His people to deliver truth and perform miraculous signs. She is not offended by Him, but rather, amazed, and she wants to know more. She is like those spoken of in John 3:19–21 who “come to the Light” instead of those who hate the Light and love the darkness because they do not want their wicked deeds exposed.
Jesus is a Prophet, but He is so much more than that. He is also a Man, but He is so much more than that. He is the Son of God, the all-creating, uncreated One who has come to earth as both fully God and fully man because of His unparalleled glory and endless love for us. Because she does not walk away offended, in the coming verses she will come to understand it is the Messiah who sits before her, tired, dirty, thirsty, and waiting by a well so that He could give to her Living Water. She is right. Jesus is a prophet, but He is unlike any other prophet seen before or since.
Application (How does this change how I think, act and pray?):
From this passage we learn it is not we who come to Jesus, but rather, He comes to us. He met this woman at the well in the heat of the day, in the middle of her earthly toil and sorrow. He spoke courteously to her, but also began to graciously and honestly confront her sin and pain. He comes to us in the same way, but it can be offensive and painful to have our sin and shame exposed. But if we will not bring our wounds to the great Physician then He cannot heal us. If we do not honestly acknowledge our sin that we have been trying to satisfy our soul’s deepest longings with, we cannot come to know the only One who can and will satisfy our souls for eternity.
This passage should cause us to think of Jesus as loving when, through His Word and by His Spirit, our sin is exposed. This passage should cause us to be still in His presence and honestly confess our sin to Him in prayer. As we do so, we should also pray for the Holy Spirit to cleanse us of our sin, lead us in paths of righteousness, and to make His Living Water flow through every part of our heart, soul and mind. We must not walk away offended when Jesus exposes our sin. He does so because He loves us and He wants to give us something far better. He wants to give us eternal life and relationship with Him wherein there is fullness of joy and pleasure forevermore (Psalm 16:11).
Self Reflection:
How do I respond when my sin is made apparent in one way or another? (With humility? Repentance? Anger? Offense?)
Do I understand Jesus exposes my sin to me through various ways and means because He loves me and wants to give me something better?
Is there any habitual sin or bitterness in my heart that I need to confess to Jesus right now, ask forgiveness for, and also ask for His grace and power to overcome it?
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