Basic HTML Version
Jesus and the Woman With Five Husbands
111
Jesus wanted to lift the thoughts of His hearer above controversy.
“The hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will
worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such
to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must
worship in spirit and truth.”
Not by seeking a holy mountain or a sacred temple are we
brought into communion with heaven. In order to serve God rightly,
we must be born of the divine Spirit. This will purify the heart
and renew the mind, making us willingly obedient to all His re-
quirements. This is true worship. It is the fruit of the Holy Spirit’s
working. Wherever someone reaches out after God, there we may
see the Spirit’s working, and God will reveal Himself to that person.
As the woman talked with Jesus, she was impressed with His
words. As Jesus had spread out her past life before her, she realized
her soul’s thirst, which the waters of the well of Sychar could never
satisfy. Nothing before had so greatly awakened her to a higher need.
Jesus read the secrets of her life, yet she felt that He was her Friend,
pitying and loving her. While the purity of His presence condemned
her sin, He had spoken no word to denounce her, but had told her
of His grace that could renew her life. The question arose in her
mind,
Could this be the long-looked-for Messiah?
She said to Him,
“‘I know that Messiah is coming’ (who is called Christ). ‘When He
comes, He will tell us all things.’” Jesus answered, “I who speak to
you am He.”
As the woman heard these words, faith sprang up in her heart.
She accepted the wonderful announcement from the lips of the divine
Teacher.
This woman was in a receptive state of mind. She was interested
in the Scriptures, and the Holy Spirit had been preparing her to
receive more light. Greater understanding on Old Testament prophe-
cies was already flashing into her mind. The water of life that Christ
gives to every thirsty soul had begun to spring up in her heart.
The plain statement that Christ made to this woman could not
have been made to the self-righteous Jews. But what He had withheld
from them, and what He later told the disciples to keep secret, He
revealed to her. Jesus saw that she would make use of her knowledge
[80]
in bringing others to share His grace.