Jesus said to her, “Go call your husband and come back.” 17 The woman answered and said to him, “I do not have a husband.” Jesus answered her, “You are right in saying, ‘I do not have a husband.’ 18 For you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true.” 19 The woman said to him, “Sir, I can see that you are a prophet. 20 Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain; but you people say that the place to worship is in Jerusalem.” 21 Jesus said to her, “Believe me, woman, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You people worship what you do not understand; we worship what we understand, because salvation is from the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth; and indeed the Father seeks such people to worship him. 24 God is Spirit, and those who worship him must worship in Spirit and truth.” 25 The woman said to him, “I know that the Messiah is coming, the one called the Anointed; when he comes, he will tell us everything.” 26 Jesus said to her, “I am he, the one who is speaking with you.”
Jesus’ unusual interaction with the Samaritan woman turned personal when he asked her to bring her husband. Her response, while literally true, masked her current sinful relationship. Being married and divorced was not unlawful for the Samaritan woman, but she was now in an adulterous relationship (v. 18). From the Jewish perspective, she was an impure woman, she was a Samaritan, and she was divorced. She was repulsive from their perspective. Jesus’ insights into the woman’s life caused her to declare him a prophet.
The woman then made a dismissive statement about where her ancestors worshipped as opposed to where “you people (v. 20)” worshipped. The Samaritans erected a temple on Mount Gerizim to be a rival to Mount Zion in Jerusalem. Jesus told the woman that worship of the Father will soon not be restricted to ethnically defined holy places. Even the Samaritans will call God ‘Father.’ The Samaritans misinterpreted the Pentateuch and worship what they do not understand, but God’s plan of salvation was revealed to the Jews through the Law and Prophets.
Although the Jews were the ones through whom God revealed himself, they do not have priority. The time has come for true worshippers to worship the Father, who is Spirit, in an interior manner, in the Spirit and in truth, in the fullness of revelation in the light of Christ. Jesus, the revelation of God, is the Truth. The Samaritans were aware from the Pentateuch that the Messiah was to come, and Jesus revealed that he was the anointed one of God when he said “I am he (v. 26).” When Moses asked God his name God replied, “I am who I am (Ex. 3:14).”
Lord Jesus, you are near to all who call upon you in Spirit and truth. Give us your living water, so that we may never thirst, but hunger always for your daily bread. Listen to our prayers and grant us the grace to always love and praise your holy name. Amen!
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
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