John 4 tells the account of Jesus’ encounter with a Samaritan woman, who we know today as “the woman at the well.” This Samaritan had one thing in common with all of us, she was a sinner in need of a savior. Jesus meets the woman at the well around the sixth hour of the day, or noon as we call it. It was the hottest part of the day, a terrible time to go to the well and have to carry the heavy water back in to town. What was this woman thinking? Well, as I said before, this woman was a sinner and a notorious one at that. She had a shameful past and was probably publicly ridiculed for her mistakes. She comes to the well at this hour in anticipation that no one else will be there and she can avoid any public shaming or humiliation. She is ashamed of her past and wants to do what she can to cover it up. This is a natural human tendency dating all the way back to Eden. After Adam and Eve sinned they felt the shame of sin and their nakedness so they got fig leaves to cover themselves and hid. We do not like to face the shame and guilt that our past creates so we often try to hide it. Just like Adam and Eve, this woman’s past could not be hidden from God. On this day, the woman would meet Jesus and all of her dirty laundry would be out in the open.
When the woman approaches the well Jesus tells her to “give me a drink.” The Samaritan woman is baffled, not by the request but that the man even spoke to her. Jesus was a Jew, and the Jews and Samaritans had no dealings with each other. Jesus responds to her confusion in John 4:10 saying, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” The woman’s level of confusion rose even more and she replies saying, “Sir, you don’t even have a bucket to draw water, and the well is deep. Where do you get this living water?” Jesus says to her, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never be thirsty again. The water I give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” The woman, still not understanding what Jesus is saying, then asks Him to give her this water. Jesus tells the woman to go get her husband but she responds saying she has no husband. This is when Jesus hits her with his omniscience, his all knowing power. Jesus says to the woman, “You are right in saying ‘I have no husband’; for you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband.” The woman is in shock. How could this Jewish man know so much about her? She assumes he is a prophet. Jesus reveals himself as the Messiah and the woman is amazed. She immediately heads back in to town to tell others, leaving her jar at the well. She went back to the town of people she was trying to avoid to tell everyone that the Messiah had come. Verse 39 tells us that “Many Samaritans from that town believed in Him because of the woman’s testimony, ‘He told me all that I ever did.’”
This woman went through an amazing transformation that day. She went from being an ashamed, filthy sinner to an unashamed, cleansed believer. The very same people she avoided became her witness pool. So what changed? She experienced God’s grace. Jesus knew all of her past mistakes, yet he still offered her “living water.” Jesus knew this woman was a Samaritan, yet he still approached her and showed her mercy. Jesus knew this woman’s sinful past, yet he still showed her love. The woman had an encounter with God and she was changed. This is the defining attribute of the Transformative Gospel. It is impossible to have an encounter with God and not be changed. Jesus transformed this woman into a witness. After her brief exchange with the Son of God she could not wait to tell others about him. She was changed immediately. That is what the grace of God does. If you have not experienced this grace then I invite you to today.
The Transformative Truth is this: God fully knows you. He knows all of your past mistakes and he sees all of your blemishes, yet he loves you perfectly and infinitely. He knows your shameful past, yet he loves you. He knows your hidden sin, yet he loves you. He knows your future mistakes, yet he loves you. Come to God today and experience this transformational love. Once you have truly experienced the love of God there is no way for you to remain the same, you will be changed. God loves you the way you are, but he refuses to leave you that way. Spend time in prayer today thanking God for this incredible love and allow Him to transform you into the witness that you are called to be.
