It Was Never About the Water
It Was Never About the Water
The Woman at the Well and the Restoration of Covenant
© 2025 Shawn M. Greener. All rights reserved.
She came to the well in the heat of the day.
Alone.
Carrying more than a jar.
Carrying the weight of shame.
But what if we have misunderstood her?
The woman at the well, described in John chapter 4, has been repeatedly mischaracterized by generations of Western interpreters. Often called immoral, promiscuous, or a harlot, her true condition has been overlooked in favor of a distorted moral lesson. What if, instead of seeing her sin, we began to see her suffering? What if Yeshua was not confronting her shame, but redeeming her pain?
Misunderstood by the Modern Church
Yeshua tells her, “You have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband.” In modern sermons, that becomes a judgment. In context, it is a revelation.
In the Ancient Near Eastern and Hebraic world, a woman could not initiate divorce. She could not dissolve a covenant. Only the man had the authority to issue a get; a certificate of divorce that released her legally and publicly.
Without a get, she was bound. If she had been passed from one household to another without this release, her social status would have been one of ambiguity, shame, and exclusion. Men could take her in, but not marry her. Communities could label her, but not restore her.
She was not immoral. She was unreleased.
The Heart of Yeshua’s Redemption
When Yeshua speaks to her, He is breaking every cultural and religious expectation of the day. A Jewish Rabbi. Alone. Speaking not just to a woman, but a Samaritan woman. And not just speaking, but engaging her as a seeker of truth.
She raises a theological question: where should we worship, on this mountain or in Jerusalem? And Yeshua answers with eternal clarity:
“A time is coming, and has now come, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth.”
The issue was never the mountain. It was the heart.
And what a moment it must have been for a woman who had been locked out of covenant to hear that worship could now happen within her.
The Well Was Never the Point
This story has survived because it is not simply about one woman’s experience. It is a prophetic illustration of what it means to be sought by God when the world has left you behind. She was not found in the synagogue. She was not part of the in-crowd. She had no status. No covering. No voice.
But she had a divine appointment.
At that well, the Covenant-Keeper restored a woman wounded by broken covenants. The Messiah who fulfills Torah gave dignity to one who had been erased by it. And the jar she came to fill? She left it behind.
Because it was never about the water.
A Poem of Her Redemption
In my podcast episode, I share a poem I wrote that distills this encounter into the language of wonder and grace. It is titled “It Was Never About the Water.” Here is an excerpt:
It was never about the water,
Not the well, not the clay.
It was truth she came to carry,
It was love that found a way.
The full poem is featured in the episode and woven into the message as both theological reflection and prophetic revelation.
This Story is for You
If you have been misjudged, misunderstood, or misnamed, this story is yours.
If you have been trapped in a place you did not choose, or bound by a covenant you did not break, this story is yours.
If you feel you have nothing left but a jar and some shame, this story is yours.
Yeshua still meets people at wells. He still sees beneath the labels.
He still speaks mercy. He still restores covenant.
Listen to the Episode
🎙️ Listen When we go LIVE! Monday, July 21, 7 PM EDT!
It Was Never About the Water: The Truth About the Woman at the Well
Streaming on Rumble, YouTube, and at www.TrueWordFaithforLife.com
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Shalom b’Shem Yeshua,
Dr. Shawn Michael Greener
Follower of The Way
It Was Never About the Water
By Dr. Shawn Michael Greener
© 2025 Shawn M. Greener. All rights reserved.
She came with shame in morning heat,
An empty jar, worn-out feet.
Five broken vows behind her name,
Another man, but still the same.
She sought the stream to soothe her thirst,
But in her soul, the drought was worse.
He sat there still, not drawing near
Yet knew her story, every tear.
It was never about the water,
Not the well, not the clay.
It was truth she came to carry,
It was love that found a way.
Living streams that can’t be bottled,
Grace that breaks the jar apart…
It was never about the water,
It was always ’bout the heart.
She questioned law, and mountain sides,
Spoke of Jacob, tribal pride.
But He spoke words that shook her soul
Of Spirit-worship, made her whole.
He peeled the layers off her shame,
And whispered softly, “I Am He.”
The one her people dared to dream,
Was speaking peace and prophecy.
It was never about the water,
Not the bucket or the stone.
It was heaven come to meet her,
Though she thought she was alone.
It was joy she couldn’t carry,
So she ran back through the town…
It was never about the water,
It was mercy pouring down.
Leave the jar. Let the burden fall.
Grace has come. The Shepherd calls.
Truth flows deeper than the spring,
From the lips of Heaven’s King.
To the outcast, to the least
He brings living water, not a feast.
Not for thirst of mouth or hand,
But for souls too dry to stand.
It was never about the water,
Or the shame she tried to hide.
It was covenant restored,
By the Well that never dries.
It was hope that spilled like rivers,
When forgiveness wrote her part…
It was never about the water,
It was always ’bout the heart.
Shawn M. Greener, MTh., D.I.S., DPTh.
Author / Host / Theologian
I am just a beggar who found Bread, helping other hungry beggars to find Him too. My life has certainly been complex and I and my halo has many dents. Heschel said; "Something Sacred hangs in the balance of every moment." I live like it. I teach like it.
As a person who survived a fatal 92 mph vs 51 mph head on crash, after dying and re-animating, and surviving several other brushes with death, my perspective is, let's say, unique. I haven't always been a theologian and I'm living REAL life, just like you... I have my hurts, habits and hangups too.
I've learned a few very important things along the way that I'm confident you'll find useful... butter for the Gluten free Bread so to speak.. Oh, you may chuckle or full on snort along the way, but you might also shed a few tears... Faith for LIFE... That's how it happens.
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