“So the woman left her water jar…”

Such a simple statement of fact, yet the implications are glorious and worthy of consideration. The woman at the well in John 4 was seen as a social outcast, and appeared to be living up to the reputation she had gained. She was a woman of low moral standard. Her life consisted of broken marriages and adultery. Weighted down by shame and guilt, she isolated herself from other women in Samaria and chose to bring her jar to the well when no other person would be there. 

What other option did she have? To come in the cool of the morning would bring awkward stares, condescending whispers, and harsh words of ridicule from other women in the village. From a human perspective, some of that is understandable. After all, how many of those women had been impacted by her salacious past? It could be that husbands, sons, and fathers of the other women had been tempted by her adulterous ways leading to heartbreak and hatred among many in Samaria. An air of condemnation and shame, no doubt, swirled with the dust of the land as this woman and her empty jar approached the well. The harsh heat of the middle east baked her skin and quickly dried any tears that may have been falling as she moved forward. It’s at this moment that Jesus says to her, “give me a drink.” 

It’s hard to capture how incredible that statement is today. For a Jewish man to request water from a Samaritan woman is scandalous, but Jesus doesn’t hesitate for a moment. He is carrying out the will of His Father and will not be deterred by social pressure or prejudice. Instead, the Holy Son of God leans in and begins dialoguing with an outcast. The righteous One of heaven has a conversation with a deeply unrighteous woman of earth. The great I Am sits in the sweltering heat of the middle east sun so that He can reveal Himself to a woman in need of the living water He controls. 

“Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” John 4:13–14

This is what Jesus desires to give the woman at the well. Jesus knows of her sin and shame. He is aware of every evil thought and deed she has taken part in and yet He does not retreat but instead pursues her. 

How does He pursue her? He pursues her by illuminating the darkness of her life.

“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.” John 4:17–18

Jesus rips the curtain of her heart away and allows the deep, penetrating power of His light to expose the truth. No more running. No more hiding. No more excuses. All her sin is laid out, yet Jesus still doesn’t leave. Not only that, He uses her theological red herring (John 4:19-20) to point her to the work that God is doing at that moment:

But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.  John 4:23

Did the woman’s heart stir at the words of Jesus? Did she find herself longing to be one of those who would worship God rightly? I think there is evidence for this in what she says next – “I know the Messiah is coming…he will tell us all things. (John 4:25)” This woman was holding onto hope that the promised Messiah would help her to understand the truth. It’s then, in an act of glorious grace that Jesus says to her, “I who speak to you am he. (John 4:26)” 

Not only does this statement reveal Christ’s status as the Messiah, but it also places divine weight on the words He spoke earlier about an offer of eternal life to all those who would come to Him. The Samaritan woman seems to grasp this reality as she drops her water jar, representing the temporal waters she originally sought after, to declare the eternal source of water that she had found. She is no longer concerned with the shame and guilt of her status but instead is overjoyed by the Messiah’s words of confrontation and promise! 

“Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?” John 4:29

Once shackled by the shame of her past – she is now free to be honest with her brokenness because if the Holy One of God has not rejected her then it matters not what the world thinks. She has tasted of the eternal springs of Christ and she thirsts not for the water that her jar could carry. 

“So the woman left her water jar…” John 4:28

This incredible story of one woman’s shame shattering on the rock of Christ is not an isolated event. This is what the saving work of Christ does for all those who come to Him. Sometimes the wounds are deep and the condemnation seems to cling to our flesh with a vengeance, but for those who are in Christ – that is only an illusion. There is no condemnation for those who partake in Christ’s living water (Rom 8:1). Brothers and sisters you can throw down your jar of shame for Christ has taken that shame upon Himself by way of the cross. Your story is no longer one of defeat but a testimony of victory in Christ. 

Leave your water jar at the well –  for it’s powerless to define you anymore. 

And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him. Col 2:13–15

This clips is taken from Pastor Nathan’s teaching Jesus Transforms the Outcast. 

Mike Crump

Pastor of Church Communications

In his role as Pastor of Church Communications, Mike works to promote and resource ongoing ministry/events connected with the body here at Heritage. He also creates & distributes gospel-centered content (both physical & digital) among our wider congregation.