Video: The Woman at the Well

Hear her out.



source: http://www.tangle.com/view_video?viewkey=46e6e8ca98b9123f2249

Commentary:

A familiar Gospel account finds Jesus traveling through the region of Samaria when He encounters a woman alone at the local well. After He asks for a drink of water, she is surprised as He reveals what He knows about her life: she has married five times and is not married to the man with whom she is now living.

Having heard this story for years, I just assumed she was a prostitute. As it turns out, I may have judged her without knowing all the facts.

One scholar suggests it is unlikely she is a prostitute, but more likely that she is barren—she cannot have children. This may explain why she has been married so many times. She gets married, cannot bear children and the husband divorces her.

Thus, she goes to the well alone because of the stigma this places on her. People would gossip about her and even tell her she is “not in favor with God.” Ouch!

Fortunately, Jesus does not see her as we do. He sees her as a woman scarred by her past, a woman who has lost hope. He approaches her with compassion rather than contempt.

Now that’s an example for all of us.

John 4:17

Commentary from http://www.thejourneysproject.com/image-detail.aspx?id=311