Jesus Wants The Key to Our Painful Room

Jesus said to her, “Go, get your husband, and come back here.”  John 4:16 (CEB)


When Jesus said this to the woman at the well, he was abruptly changing the subject.  They had been talking about worship.  She had a passion or interest for worship of God. 

Their conversation also crossed social and cultural  boundaries.  Jews were not supposed to talk to Samaritans and men were not supposed to talk alone with a woman.

She was bold to talk to Jesus.  She went to the well at the noon hour when no one would be there, but Jesus was there.

Jesus and the Samaritan woman were having a discussion about worship and then Jesus abruptly changed the subject and said something, asked a question, that seems strange, "go get your husband, and come back here."

Jesus' question seems rude.  A normal response from her could have been, "excuse me?"  But Jesus is not rude.  Jesus also is not mean or shaming.  Perhaps the Holy Spirit suddenly gave him that question and a word of knowledge as a picture in his mind.

Jesus wants the key to our painful room.

Jesus was beginning to minister to the woman at the well when they talked about worship, by imparting truth to her.  But he decided to go deeper with the her when he asked her this question.  Jesus wanted to talk to her about her most intimate relationships and love her in that most broken place. 

Most preachers and teachers preach and teach that the woman at the well was an immoral woman who had been divorced five times and is now living with a man out of wedlock.  What if the truth is that she had five husbands die, one after the other, and the man that she lives with now is her last husband's brother and she can not be married to him for some legal reason, but he is taking care of her?


Regardless of why or how, this lady had experienced tremendous losses.  Jesus was happy to talk to her about worship and teach her a few things.  But Jesus was more interested in loving her in her deepest pain.

When you let Jesus into your secret, perhaps shameful, place; he takes away the things that hold you.  He offers to take them from you.  He asks for them from you and you can give them to him and be changed.  You will still be broken, but in a good way.  God uses broken people.

Broken people whom Jesus has touched in their deepest pain become witnesses of his love and the truth about God.  Rather than carrying the identity of loss or sin, that person carries the identity of loved one, forgiven one, one full of hope, and a worshiper from the most intimate place with into-me-see.  Transformation now, in this life.  Jesus paid the price.

Jesus wants the key to our painful room. 

Many people are in the church, but have never been healed or let Jesus touch and transform them.  Many people have crossed over into God's Kingdom, but not had Jesus come into the most painful places in their hearts.  This ought not be so.

I love this quote:

“In my deepest wound, I saw your glory and it dazzled me." -Augustine