No Condemnation for the Woman at the Well!

Then cometh he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour. There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink. (For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.) Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. John 4:5-10.

Jesus loved sinners and had no problem letting them know that He loved them. Take the Samaritan woman at the well, for example. In Jesus’s day, under the Mosaic Law, it would be wrong for a holy, righteous rabbi to have anything to do with a Samaritan. Why? Because Samaritans were outside the Mosaic Covenant and were considered “unclean.”

I had a brief experience with this while living in an Orthodox Jewish area in the UK. My husband and I purchased a double stroller (pushchair) from a Hassidic Jewish man, and he refused to look at me or talk to me – he would only deal with my husband. I thought this strange and was a little baffled by his behavior, since I was the one who would be pushing the stroller most of the time! It was only later that I discovered his position that I was an unclean Gentile woman who could defile him with my sin. My friends and I also experienced these strict Jewish men crossing the street to avoid contact with us. I have to admit at the time I thought it a little silly, but now after studying the Word, I understand what was going on. I’m sure these men meant me no harm and would never intentionally desire to hurt me, but that’s what strict adherence to the law does - its hardness bruises and wounds people and makes them feel unloved.

This Samaritan woman was no stranger to the hardness of the law. She knew Jewish men couldn’t have contact with her, and yet Jesus, a Jewish man, asked for a drink of water. This must have astonished her, especially with Him being a rabbi and willing to break the Law (gasp) by taking a drink of water from her hand. That’s why she responded with dismay, quoting the law back to Him. It was not proper or lawful for Jews to have anything to do with Samaritans.

But Jesus is above the law, since He operates in mercy, compassion, and grace. By simply asking for a cup of water, He did something no other Jewish man would do - He recognized her as a person worthy to serve Him. He desired something from her and did not consider her unworthy to fulfill His request. Isn’t that a wonderful act of love?

After she gave Him the drink, He asked about her husband and she answered truthfully that she had no husband. I love how Jesus praised her for being honest. But then He dug further and revealed a word of knowledge regarding her marital history. The full truth was she had had five husbands and the man she was currently living with was NOT her husband. Ouch! And yet a deeper astonishment at this man; He, being a Jew, KNEW she was a Samaritan and KNEW she was a terrible sinner, and STILL He asked for a drink from her hand! And then on top of that, He gave her something very important: spiritual revelation that He was the Messiah who came to pour out living water!

Jesus was like no other Jewish man of whom she had ever seen or heard. He was a man of mercy, love, and compassion and did not condemn her for her sins. She was so excited that she became the first evangelist and went throughout her entire village telling everyone about this unusual and wonderful man. She wanted more than anything for others to come and meet the one who told her everything about her life and examine for themselves whether He was the promised Messiah. 

Based on her joyful response, I can only assume Jesus discussed more intimate things about her past and ministered emotional healing, but the Holy Spirit has not recorded these details for us in the Word. But we get the picture – this woman felt loved, not condemned. She felt forgiven, not damned to Hell. She had come face to face with Love, Truth and Grace! She had come face to face with Jesus, with the Heavenly Father!