What Would the Woman at the Well Say?

This is a fictional account of the woman at the well’s encounter with Christ, told as she may have told it, based on the biblical account in John 4.

Her story is in John chapter 4. She was a Samaritan woman with a past. Jesus met her at a well in the heat of the day, when others avoided her. That meeting changed her life. If she could speak today, maybe she'd say something like this:

I didn’t go to the well that day looking for hope. I went because I had to. It was noon, the hottest part of the day. No one else would be there, and that’s what I wanted. I was tired of the stares. Tired of the shame. I’d had five husbands. The man I lived with wasn’t mine. People didn’t let me forget it.

But Jesus didn’t treat me like they did.

He asked me for a drink. Just that. No judgment. No harsh words. “Give Me a drink.” (John 4:7)

I was shocked. Jews didn’t talk to Samaritans. Men didn’t talk to women like me. But He did.

Then He said, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who is saying to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.” (John 4:10)

I didn’t understand. I thought He meant regular water, the kind you draw with a bucket. But He was talking about something more.

“Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again,” He said, “but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never be thirsty. But the water that I will give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up to eternal life.” (John 4:13–14)

I didn’t know what to make of it. But I wanted that kind of water. I said, “Sir, give me this water.” (John 4:15)

Then He got personal. He told me to go get my husband. I tried to avoid the truth. But He already knew. “You have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; this which you have said is true.” (John 4:18)

He knew everything about me. But He didn’t walk away. He didn’t point a finger. He just kept talking to me.

He told me about worship—how it’s not about a place, but about spirit and truth. “The true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth.” (John 4:23)

Then I said something I’d always heard: “I know that Messiah is coming.”

And He said, “I am He.” (John 4:26)

That was it. I left my jar and ran back to town. Me—the one they avoided—running into the middle of town saying, “Come, see a man who told me all the things that I have done; this is not the Christ, is He?” (John 4:29)

And they came.

Not because I was anyone special. Not because I had the answers. They came because something in me had changed. I wasn’t hiding anymore.

“Now from that city many of the Samaritans believed in Him because of the word of the woman, who testified, ‘He told me all the things that I have done.’” (John 4:39)

If you think you’ve gone too far, done too much, or fallen too low, listen to me:

Jesus already knows. And He still came to meet you. Let Him.

Then go tell somebody. That’s what I did.

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“What I write is not for everyone, but what I write is meant for someone.” – Dean Butler

I am the author of two books: Embracing God's Wisdom: A Journey of Faith and Reflection and Embracing God’s Wisdom: Paul’s Commands for Victorious Living. Both are available on Amazon.

This work may be shared for ministry or personal use, but please credit the author when doing so. © Dean Butler – Dean’s Bible Blog. All rights reserved.

Please reach out at: hopeinchrist2024@yahoo.com

“I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, putting me into service.” (1 Timothy 1:12)