Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.” John 4:16
Don’t you love the gentleness of Jesus here? If the woman is to receive anything from him, she has to get to the place of being open and honest. Jesus helps her by saying, “Go, call your husband.”
She says, “I have no husband.”
Jesus replies, “You are right… for you have had five husbands and the one you now have is not your husband” (4:17-18). It is clear from this that living together with someone who is not your husband or wife does not honor God.
The woman says, “I perceive that you are a prophet” (4:19). A prophet was a person who was given knowledge by God of something hidden that could not otherwise be known. At this point, the woman is thinking, Jesus knows everything about me. I need to be careful.
Jesus Christ knows everything about you. But, thank God, he is more than a prophet. He came not only to tell us our sin, but to save us from sin: “You shall call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins” (Mat. 1:21).
The woman says, “Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship” (4:20). She is saying, “OK, Jesus, my life isn’t what it should be. How can I put this right with God? Can I offer a sacrifice here, or are you telling me that I need to go to Jerusalem?” If that’s what she is saying, it is a very good response.
Jesus’ answer is wonderful. “You are asking about how you can seek after God. The good news is that God is seeking after you!”
Is your dishonesty keeping you from receiving anything from Jesus?
