The Woman, The Well and The Wedding

“You are right in saying ‘I do not have a  husband.’ For you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband.” //  John 4:17-18

Of all things, why would Jesus point to this woman’s messy love life as a means of telling her that He is the Messiah?

I used to not understand the hype behind the story of the Woman at the Well. It almost seemed cruel for Jesus to initiate this conversation, and confusing as to why the woman responded in the way she did. The passage itself is also packed with deep theological meaning and historical references which completely flew over my head.

But recently, a professor of mine dove into the beautiful nuptial imagery of this passage, all while unpacking the context surrounding the story. It shifted my heart toward the passage and reminded me, once again, of the deep intimacy that Jesus desires with each of us and with all His people.

First of all, what is the context? Who are the Samaritans? And why did such a feud exist between them and the Jewish people?

Let’s buckle up for a brief history review! If you can recall your Old Testament, you’ll remember that after King David died, Israel was divided into two kingdoms—Northern Israel and Southern Judah. When the Northern Kingdom was raided by Assyrians, some were left behind. These people who were left behind intermarried with pagan cultures and began worshiping false idols (we’ll dive into the spiritual significance of this later). Their southern cousins in Judah were later carried off to Babylon, which is known as the Babylonian exile. When the southern people returned to Judah, they were disgusted with the pagan worship their northern cousins participated in. Thus, a wall of bitterness was erected between the two people, who used to be one under the same covenant.

{formbuilder:OTk3ODc=}

Okay, now keep that history lesson in mind as we return to the New Testament.

The passage of the Woman at the Well itself starts in chapter four of John’s Gospel, with Jesus traveling through Samaria. It’s interesting to note that Scripture states that Jesus “had to pass through Samaria” (John 4:4). The majority of Jews simply circumvented Samaria in any and all travels. To go near Samaria was unthinkable. From this we can tell that spiritually, Jesus had a mission to accomplish in Samaria, and He chose to go there for the sake of the people. He went to bring all people into a covenantal relationship with God.

John, a master of Old Testament references, again alludes to historical events when he mentions that Jacob’s well was in this place (see John 4:6). Jacob met his bride, Rachel, at the well in Genesis 29. In Genesis 24, Isaac’s bride was also found at a well. And if that isn’t enough, Moses, in Exodus 2, meets his future bride at a well (Anyone remember the movie The Prince of Egypt??). So when reading about a man at a well, a knowledgeable Jewish reader would automatically think that a good old-fashioned romantic comedy is about to occur. Guy meets girl at a well.

Jesus then employs the classic pick-up line of Genesis, “Give me a drink” (John 4:7), and suddenly they get into this whole theological conversation. This is already looking different than most of the Jewish romantic comedies at wells which we’ve seen before. She asks Him, “Are you greater than our father Jacob?” (John 4:12) Well . . . yes. Yes, He is. But Jesus diverts the questions and instead says that anyone who drinks the water that He gives “will never thirst” and that water He gives them will become in the drinker a “spring of water” (John 4:14). Bam! If the present circumstances weren’t enough to suggest nuptial imagery, Jesus is revealing to us some more! This “spring of water” directly references Song of Songs 4:15, when the Bridegroom speaks of His Bride as a garden with a fountain that is a “well of living water.” The double meaning here shows how if you drink the living water you will have eternal life and become the Bride, as we see in Song of Songs!

Before this verse, all the marriage imagery is subtle, very below the surface. But now, Jesus explicitly references marriage. He tells the woman to call her husband, to which she answers that she has none. Here is where the divided Samaritan and Jewish history ties back in. Remember how the Samaritans intermarried and began worshiping pagan gods? To be more specific, they intermarried with five pagan nations, resulting in five pagan deities, which were called “Baal.” Now “Baal'' is often translated to imply pagan lords, but it also translates to “husband.” In other terms, the Samaritan people “married'' five pagan husbands. We are starting to see how this Samaritan woman at the well represents the entirety of her people.

Jesus goes on to tell the woman that the one she is with now is not her husband (see John 4:18). How does this tie back to the Samaritan people?

Well, eventually in history they came back to monotheism, and began worshiping God again. But, in the shame of having committed adultery with other pagan gods (and broken the covenant they had formed with the Lord), they built their own temple and worshiped separately. They chose not to enter back into the Davidic covenant, but remained outside. They were performing covenantal acts without being in the covenant itself. Or in other words, they were performing marriage acts without being in the marriage itself, also known as cohabiting or fornication.

Jesus came back so that the Samaritans could once again be rightly married to God in a covenant. He never leaves His lost sheep. Not only does He bring the woman at the well back, but through her witness, He brings the Samaritan people back into that intimacy which they lacked.

Jesus is a Bridegroom that desires to romance His Bride, the Church. He wants to woo us at the well, to give us the eternal waters of Baptism which will make us His Bride. And from that water of Baptism a “spring of water” of grace transforms us every day, drawing us ever closer to Him. In the moments where He is healing little things, He sees the bigger picture and restores the bigger divisions in our lives too.

How in your life can you see Jesus drawing you closer in intimacy? What are areas in your heart that feel lost, or divided, that you want to reunite with Jesus?

Author Bio: Maggie Agra is a senior theology major at Franciscan University of Steubenville. She enjoys learning all things theology, especially Theology of the Body. When not weightlifting or watercoloring, you can find her enjoying a cup of coffee with friends or trying something new and adventurous.