Prophet

The previous post ended with a powerful video monologue that brings tears to my eyes every time I watch it. Every time I watch it I realise afresh that if I had experienced life as this woman had done, and in a society with such strict standards, the last person I would want to meet would have been a prophet. Prophets see hidden things and they are strict on sin.

Yet, John records her response to being reminded of her series of failed relationships as almost matter-of-fact: "I see you are a prophet, sir". But as the conversation progresses it becomes clear that deep inside her something profound is happening.

• You knew all this about me and yet you risked your reputation to speak with me.

• You knew all this about me and you treated me with the utmost kindness and respect.

• You knew all this about me and you haven’t jumped to the usual conclusions.

• You are a prophet who sees the whole truth – but as you tell me about my life, the shame that has accompanied me for so long no longer stings.

At no point does Jesus condone, but neither does he feel the need to condemn. In this meeting with Jesus this woman is brought face to face with truth, yet in a way that leaves her no longer feeling the need to hide. In this one encounter she has moved from what she sees with her eyes to a far deeper understanding of who Jesus is:

You are an unusual man (4:7)

You are a Jew (4:9)

You are a Prophet (4:19)

This is the point in the account at which the disciples return from their shopping trip. Instantly we see that they are confused but not one of them asks why Jesus is talking to the woman. She is clearly of no significance to them. The woman, however, is profoundly moved and her badge of shame no longer prevents her from engaging with everyday people. The text says:

The woman left her water jar and ran back into town. She said to the people, "Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done! Could he be the Messiah?" Everyone in town went out to see Jesus.

And a few verses later we read:

A lot of Samaritans in that town put their faith in Jesus because the woman had said, "This man told me everything I have ever done." They came and asked him to stay in their town, and he stayed on for two days. Many more Samaritans put their faith in Jesus because of what they heard him say. They told the woman, "We no longer have faith in Jesus just because of what you told us. We have heard him ourselves, and we are certain that he is the Saviour of the world!"

You are the Messiah! (4:29)

Surely the woman arrives at the conclusion that Jesus is the Messiah not because he could see facts about her that others couldn't but because of the manner in which he told the truth to her. John has already told us that Jesus was “full of grace and truth”¹ and now we see how what it looks like when God combines those two features in human form.

Until I allowed myself to encounter this passage through the woman's eyes I always saw truth as about abstract ideas and doctrines. The idea of truth being embodied in a person whose primary motive was grace thrilled me. It reminded me of a story recounted by George D. Aldrich which appeared in The Washington Post on 16^th June 1901:

I heard Dr Conan Doyle tell a good story during a trip I made to London last winter. He said that at a dinner party he had attended the guests began discussing the daily discoveries made to the detriment of people occupying high stations in life and enjoying the confidence of the business world. Dr. Doyle said that it had always been his opinion that there was a skeleton in the closet of every man who had reached the age of forty. This led to a lot of discussion, some of the guests resenting the idea that there was no one who had not in his past something that were better concealed. As a result of the controversy, Dr. Doyle said, it was suggested that his views as to family skeletons be put to the test. The diners selected a man of their acquaintance whom all knew only as an upright Christian gentleman, whose word was accepted as quickly as his bond and who stood with the highest in every respect. We wrote a telegram saying ‘All is discovered; flee at once' to this pillar of society, said Dr. Doyle, and sent it. He disappeared the next day and has never been heard from since.

*

This woman had been hiding from polite society simply because the truth about herself had been too much for her to bear. When her truth was viewed through eyes tinted by grace and applied by Jesus, the woman was released from her mental prison. At this point I found myself asking deeper questions of Jesus and, as I began reading this encounter again and again, the thing that struck me most forcibly was the fact that Jesus refused to stand in judgement and seems not to have been at all concerned about how this made him look to others.

There must have been villagers observing them: “why is that man talking to ‘that’ woman?” And the disciples: “what is our rabbi doing now?!” Yet Jesus wasn’t prepared to let fears about his own reputation stop him from affirming and restoring the dignity of a woman who had been destroyed by the bad reputation she may have contributed to by her own choices. Jesus, the prophet, knew the truth and yet, as the writer of the monologue reveals so beautifully, her experience of being fully known was one of knowing herself completely loved.

We will examine Jesus' attitude to making judgements in the next post.

1. John 1:14.