16 Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither. 17 The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband: 18 For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly. (John 4:16-18 KJV)
The Samaritan Woman’s sin
Jesus was still in a conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well of Jacob near the town of Sychar. At this point, Christ shifts the conversation to her husband (John 4:16-18). This was not to avoid the previous topic but to awaken her conscience. His earlier words made little impact because she wasn’t convicted of sin. Now he brings her to see her need for grace. This is the proper way to deal with souls: convict them of sin, then bring them to Christ.
Observe,
How discreetly and decently Christ begins this conversation (John 4:16): “Go, call your husband, and come back.”
The instruction had a reasonable appearance: “Call your husband, that he may help you understand these things you’re ignorant of.” Wives who want to learn should ask their husbands (1 Corinthians 14:35), who should live with them as men of understanding (1 Peter 3:7). Christ says, “Call your husband, that he may learn with you, and you may be heirs together of the grace of life. Call him, so he may witness what passes between us.” Christ teaches us to act honorably in the sight of all and to pursue what is commendable.
As the command had a good appearance, so it had a wise purpose: Christ used it as a way to bring her sin to mind. There is need for skill and care in giving reproofs, like the woman of Tekoa did (2 Samuel 14:20).
Notice how the woman tries to dodge the conviction and yet unintentionally admits her fault. She says, “I have no husband.” She meant only that she didn’t want the topic of her husband brought up again. She didn’t want him there, for fear the truth would come out and shame her. So she says, “Let’s talk about something else. I have no husband.” She wanted to be seen as either unmarried or widowed, though in reality, she was neither. The sinful heart is clever in avoiding conviction and tries to cover sin.
Christ then directly confronts her conscience. He likely said more than what is recorded here, for she later claimed, “He told me everything I ever did” (John 4:29). But what is recorded concerns her relationships. He reveals her past: “You’ve had five husbands.” He was not referring to the tragedy of having lost many husbands, but to her sin. She may have left her husbands and married others unlawfully or provoked divorce through disloyal conduct. Some may see such immoral behavior as a passing scandal, but Christ keeps record of all.
He also rebukes her current lifestyle: “The man you now have is not your husband.” Either they were never married, or she was living in adultery, perhaps with her former husbands still alive. Yet Christ tells her this gently; he doesn’t call her immoral but simply says, “He whom you now have is not your husband,” letting her conscience fill in the rest. Reproofs are usually most effective when they are least provoking.
He even turns her evasive response into a confession: “You’ve said well, ‘I have no husband.’ In this, you’ve spoken the truth.” Though she meant it as a denial, he kindly interprets it as an admission. Those who seek to win souls should make the best of people, hoping to reach their better nature; being harsh only stirs up their worst.