Woman at the Well—Epilogue

Allow me now to skip down a few verses to the last we hear about this woman. This is the part of the story I have had to wrestle with the most.

Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.” So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. And because of his words many more became believers.
They said to the woman, “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 Saviour of the world.”

First of all, let me say that on the surface of things, the people’s remarks are entirely fitting, and give glory to Christ. But again, from the perspective of the woman, I can only imagine that she found their words cutting. Having been lifted by Christ, she is again brought low in the eyes of men. Whether through insensitivity or the deliberate re-assertion of their status over her, she is essentially told that she is no longer needed.

I could speculate on the attitudes behind such remarks, but let me again focus on the woman, and the lesson that was intended for her. I believe that God allowed the remarks for the woman’s own good. And I believe that He preserved the conversation for ours.

She may have become proud. Or perhaps she was stepping beyond the role that Christ had given to her. Whatever the reality was, the perception was likely that she was acting beyond her station. And the people’s words, apart from giving glory to Christ, hold a note of correction.

In any case, the woman was in a precarious position spiritually. Having been an outcast, she must have been overwhelmed by the acceptance she was receiving. Having been disgraced, she was undoubtedly enjoying the honour that came from introducing her town to the Messiah. She was almost certainly in danger of exchanging the living water that Christ had given her for the temporal water of acceptance with her people.

And so, Christ bestows on her this final, difficult mercy. She is given an earthly disappointment to remind her to seek heavenly treasure. She will not find the restoration she needs among her people. She will need to draw that deep water from Christ alone.