A Most Profound Conversation Part 2

John 4:15-19, CEB

The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will never be thirsty and will never need to come here to draw water!”

Jesus said to her, “Go, get your husband, and come back here.”

The woman replied, “I don’t have a husband.”

“You are right to say, ‘I don’t have a husband,’” Jesus answered.  “You’ve had five husbands, and the man you are with now isn’t your husband. You’ve spoken the truth.”

The woman said, “Sir, I see that you are a prophet.”            

                So last time, we saw that this woman who Jesus engaged in a conversation is now receptive to Jesus’s offer of “living water,” even though she misunderstands what it is.  Jesus, at this point, takes the conversation in an unexpected direction by asking the woman to go get her husband.  She replies that she does not have a husband.  Jesus, at this point, reveals that not only is he aware of her present status, he knows her unfortunate history.  It is important to note here that there is no judgement in his revealing this knowledge.  The point here is that, though no stranger to Samaria could have such knowledge and yet Jesus does.  The woman’s response shows that she received Jesus’s intention perfectly:

                “Sir, I see that you are a prophet.”

We will look at the rest of her response next time, but now, let’s focus on Jesus’s response to the woman acknowledging her truth.  Too many scholars have interpreted Jesus’s “you’ve spoken the truth” as being somewhat snarky.  They infer that Jesus’s intent was to point out the fact that the woman left out the rest of her sad history.  If that were Jesus’s intent, Jesus could have stopped with “the man you are with now isn’t husband.”  He didn’t need to repeat the rightness of her telling the truth.  Jesus is praising her courage in being honest when the temptation would be not to be.  She knows there is something significant happening here and doesn’t want to derail it by telling a lie.  She was willing to be vulnerable and Jesus affirms this as good. 

                Putting myself in the woman’s place as much as I can, I’m not sure I would have done the same.  I do not like people poking at the edges of things I don’t want to be made public – things of which I’m not proud.  While the woman in this story decides to be vulnerable, so many tend to do the opposite – hide.  But when it comes to God, hiding is not an option.  All is already known.  Vulnerability before God is really the only sensible option.  In Luke 12:2-3, we hear this principle from Jesus’s mouth:

“Nothing is hidden that won’t be revealed, and nothing is secret that won’t be brought out into the open.  Therefore, whatever you have said in the darkness will be heard in the light, and whatever you have whispered in the rooms deep inside the house will be announced from the rooftops.”

Question:  Do you ever try to “hide” from God? 

Prayer:  Lord Jesus, we praise you for your grace.  Help us see the safety we have to be vulnerable before you.  Amen.

Prayer Focus:  Pray for those around the world who live in fear because of their faith.

Song:  Dear God – Cory Asbury