Public Discipleship
August 21, 2025
For centuries, Christians have generally had a dim view of the Samaritan Woman, the Woman at the Well. We ask why she’s drawing water at noon, in the heat of the day, instead of in the early morning or evening when it’s cooler? Is it because the others drawing water shewed her away, unwilling to be seen with such a disreputable character? And why has she had five (!) husbands? And who is the man she’s living with? Are they openly shacking up, for all the world to see?
Maybe, but maybe not.
Perhaps the woman has come for water at noon because a child had knocked over the water jar. Maybe an animal kicked it. Perhaps someone put it down too hard, and it broke. Or maybe whoever had drawn water in the morning hadn’t drawn enough and someone had to go back for more.
Multiple marriages were not uncommon. Many people would have been married many times. Young women were routinely married to men much older who left them widowed relatively young. In a world without anti-biotics and no understanding of germs, women were much more likely to die in childbirth. In fact, people in general were more likely to die young than we are today.
And who is this man she’s living with? Her grown son? Her brother or brother-in-law? Is she living with an older man who can’t care for himself and needs constant attention? We don’t know, and until we do know it’s important not to judge her.
What we do know is that, unlike Nicodemus, (link to August 14 devotion) this woman does not come skulking around under the cover of darkness. She meets Jesus openly, in the middle of the day in a public place, for all the world to see.
Nor does she shy away from his questions and observations. A lesser person might have stomped away in a huff when Jesus mentions her five husbands. This woman holds her ground and in fact engages in an extended conversation with Jesus.
Two weeks ago, (link to August 7 devotion) we learned that discipleship requires actually contacting and hanging out with Jesus. We have to be in his presence, doing what he does. Last week, Nicodemus tried to get to know Jesus, but his fear of his colleagues and his spiritual confusion kept him in the dark. This week, we finally meet someone who meets with Jesus in a public place and has extended conversation with him. When he peers into her past she doesn’t shy away but instead wants to learn more. Consequently, she becomes the first disciple to share the good news of Jesus. When they hear her excited story, the people in her village come to meet Jesus and are changed by the experience. “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world” (John 4:42).
May we all be like this woman,
Pastor Ken.
