John 4:16-26
16 Jesus said to her, Go, call your husband, and come here. 17 The woman answered him, I have no husband. Jesus said to her, You are right in saying, I have no husband; 18 for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true. 19 The woman said to him, Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship. 21 Jesus said to her, Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. 22 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 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. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth. 25 The woman said to him, I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things. 26 Jesus said to her, I who speak to you am he.
God desires honesty, and our honesty can be a key to our spiritual walk. In this story of Jesus meeting the Samaritan woman at the well, Jesus tested the woman with a simple request: "Go, call your husband and come here" (verse 16). Jesus knew the truth about her, that she didn't have a husband, so he must have said this as a test of her willingness to be honest and admit her failings. She could have made some excuse about her "husband" not being available. How often I have made up excuses to hide my own problems! But she decided to be honest and simply said: "I have no husband" (verse 17). Jesus acknowledges her honesty: "What you have said is true" (verse 18), and goes on to reveal his divinity to her: "I who speak to you am he" (verse 26). Note that she is the first person he has revealed himself to. In essence he responds to her honesty by being honest about his identity. If she had not been honest, he probably would not have revealed himself to her, and she would have been lost in her private, broken world. But instead she told the truth, and entered into a new world of belief and restoration.
God, help me to be honest about myself.
16 Jesus said to her, Go, call your husband, and come here. 17 The woman answered him, I have no husband. Jesus said to her, You are right in saying, I have no husband; 18 for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true. 19 The woman said to him, Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship. 21 Jesus said to her, Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. 22 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 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. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth. 25 The woman said to him, I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things. 26 Jesus said to her, I who speak to you am he.
God desires honesty, and our honesty can be a key to our spiritual walk. In this story of Jesus meeting the Samaritan woman at the well, Jesus tested the woman with a simple request: "Go, call your husband and come here" (verse 16). Jesus knew the truth about her, that she didn't have a husband, so he must have said this as a test of her willingness to be honest and admit her failings. She could have made some excuse about her "husband" not being available. How often I have made up excuses to hide my own problems! But she decided to be honest and simply said: "I have no husband" (verse 17). Jesus acknowledges her honesty: "What you have said is true" (verse 18), and goes on to reveal his divinity to her: "I who speak to you am he" (verse 26). Note that she is the first person he has revealed himself to. In essence he responds to her honesty by being honest about his identity. If she had not been honest, he probably would not have revealed himself to her, and she would have been lost in her private, broken world. But instead she told the truth, and entered into a new world of belief and restoration.
God, help me to be honest about myself.