John 4:16

Call thy husband. Having now fully awakened desire for the “living water” (v. 15), Jesus abruptly changes the topic of conversation. His objective in vs. 16-20 is to awaken within the woman a conviction of desperate need for this water (see on v. 7). This He does by focusing attention on the secrets of her life. She is not yet ready to receive the “living water” for which she so casually asks (v. 15). First, there are stagnant waters of sin to be removed. The old life of sin must die before the new life of righteousness can begin; the two cannot exist side by side (cf. James 3:11, 12).

But the woman parries Jesus’ insight into her life, denying that she has a husband.

She prefers not to discuss private affairs with a stranger. Jesus acknowledges the accuracy of her statement (v. 17), but gives evidence that He knows far more about her than she has been willing to reveal (v. 18). Thus He convinces her that He is a prophet (see on v. 10) and that she is a great sinner. She cleverly parries the closer thrust by turning the conversation from herself back to Jesus (v. 19), and then to a general argument about religion (v. 20). Like every soul convicted of error or sin, she seeks to escape.

Attempts to divert conversation from unwelcome truth to moot or inconsequential religious topics are evidence of conviction that a change will be required in patterns of thought and life. Desperate efforts are put forth to evade the truth or to find reasons for ignoring or rejecting it. What is needed, however, is not a clarification of the points brought up for argument. Jesus wasted no time discussing either His status as a “prophet” or the matter of where to worship. Instead, He simply directed the woman’s attention (1) to the spirit of true worship, and (2) to Himself as the Christ. These are the very points needed to bring men to a decision today (see on v. 21).