The Woman at the Well

John 4:1-45

In the story commonly known as "The Woman at the Well," Jesus showed the woman respect while reasoning with her that His water was more satisfying than all her relationships.

Reaching Abortion-Minded Women

The story of the woman at the well is a great opportunity for non-churched women to believe Jesus loves them.

Jesus met the woman where she was. He surprised her, a non-Jew and a woman, with respect. We can meet women and men where they are and surprise non-Christians with respect.

The woman at the well knew that being with six men was not socially acceptable.

The woman wanted satisfaction from her relationships. She was looking for satisfaction in human relationships (well water) rather than satisfaction in her relationship with God (living water).

Then she met Jesus, who offered her satisfying “water”—living water, which only He can give.

I—and many other women and men—sought agape love (living water) and settled for eros love.

I didn't know what I didn't know. I didn't know just how satisfying God's agape love really is.

We do not know whether she was divorced or widowed from the first 5 men, but we do know that even if she were divorced, the husband would have initiated the divorce, not her.

The ability of women to initiate divorce is relatively recent [1639 in Massachusetts Bay Colony and much later in The South], but practically women's rights in divorce came in the 20th century.

Regardless of the circumstances of the first 5 marriages, we do know that she was unmarried but with a 6th man at the time of her conversation with Jesus.

As Jesus offered to the Samaritan woman, He offers us the satisfaction of living water:

  • It doesn’t matter that we are not Jews.
    Jesus came for the whole world. (John 3:16)

  • It doesn’t matter that we have followed the religious rituals of our ancestors.
    Jesus came to give us rest. (Matthew 11:28)

  • It doesn’t matter that we have been shamed or feel ashamed for not following God’s laws.
    Jesus did not come into the world to condemn the world. (John 3:17)

The Samaritan woman was so enamored with Jesus' living water, with His kindness, and with the knowledge that He is the Christ that she ran back to town and told everyone about Him.

She was an evangelist. Many non-Jews came to faith in Jesus because of her.

The content on this page is from the chapter "Consider the Woman at the Well" in Worship to End Abortion, copyrighted 2020 and 2026.