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Humble Hero
The Dark Secrets of Her Past
Jesus now abruptly turned the conversation. Before this woman
could receive the gift He longed to give her, she must come to
recognize her sin and her Savior. Jesus said to her, “Go, call your
husband, and come here.” She answered, “I have no husband.” But
the Savior continued, “You have well said, ‘I have no husband,’ for
you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not
your husband; in that you spoke truly.”
The woman trembled. A mysterious hand was turning the pages
of her life history. Who was He, that He could read the secrets of her
life? Thoughts of eternity came to her, and of the future judgment,
when all that is now hidden will be revealed.
She tried to change the subject away from this unwelcome di-
rection. “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet.” Then, hoping to
silence conviction, she turned to points of religious controversy.
Patiently Jesus watched for the opportunity to bring the truth
home to her heart again. “Our fathers worshiped on this mountain,”
she said, “and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one
ought to worship.” Just in sight was Mount Gerizim, a subject of
dispute between Jews and Samaritans. For many generations, the
Samaritans had intermingled with idol worshipers, whose religion
gradually contaminated their own.
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When the temple at Jerusalem was rebuilt in the days of Ezra,
the Samaritans wanted to join the Jews in its construction. The Jews
refused, and bitter feelings sprang up between the two peoples. The
Samaritans built a rival temple on Mount Gerizim. But enemies
destroyed their temple, and they seemed to be under a curse. Yet
they would not acknowledge the temple at Jerusalem as the house
of God nor admit that the religion of the Jews was superior.
In answer to the woman, Jesus said, “Believe Me, the hour is
coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem,
worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we know
what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews.” Now Jesus sought to
break down the prejudice of this Samaritan against the Jews. God
had entrusted great truths of redemption to the Jews, and the Messiah
was to appear from among them.