He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.” “I have no husband,” she replied. Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.” John 4:16-18

Όνειδος (oneidos). It’s a Greek word that means shame, dishonor, disgrace, reproach, or opprobrium. It’s the feeling that is associated with the skeletons that lurk in closets; things we never speak of and never bring up, but secretly crush us on the inside.

I knew this feeling all too well. The shame was so acute and unbearable that I went to draw water from the well at the scorching noon hour. I preferred the sting of loneliness and isolation to the stares of derision I received from the other women; clean and chaste women with track records so much better than mine. After all, they were good and upstanding wives to one husband, but I had had five, and the man I was with now wasn’t even bound to me. The pain of my past was heavier than the stone jar of water I carried day in and day out, until one day everything changed!

A man, patient and probing, approached me—me, a shamed and discarded Samaritan woman, and asked me for water! Have you ever heard of such a thing? I felt like His eyes probed right to my soul, and I squirmed under His gaze. Then He spoke up, beginning to talk to me about some sort of Living Water. I inquired about it, wondering if it would slake the thirst in my soul as much as it would my lips. Then the subject abruptly changed to my relationship status. I could feel my heart in my throat, my palms getting sweaty, and the heat of the sun becoming oppressive. I stammered my response to this stranger’s questions, when wonder of wonders He revealed that He knew my past and current situation. But how could He? He didn’t even know me…yet, looking in His eyes, I saw something I had never seen before—a lack of condemnation. For the first time I understood what the ancients had written, “The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.” Psalm 103:12

My heart burst within me. This man truly was the Living Water, and for the first time ever, my shame had been lifted simply because one day I chose to “Come to the Well.”

By Sheila Rennau

The Jews then responded to him, “What sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?” Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.” They replied, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?” But the temple he had spoken of was his body. After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken. John 2:18-22

Perhaps it’s just me, but I have always found this narrative fascinating. On the surface it looks as though Jesus has lost His temper, and yet if you plumb it further you find that the honor, reverence, and passion Jesus had are not only pure, but white hot in intensity. Jesus, fully God and fully human, was passionate about the Father and keeping the Temple—the place of God’s dwelling – absolutely pure from any sort of defilement. Jesus was in the right in this story.

But the religious leaders didn’t see it that way. They were incensed, perturbed, and more than a little bitter toward Jesus. The very ones who were charged to uphold the integrity of the Temple were the same ones who allowed corruption; all for a little coinage on the side. Jesus’ clearing of the Temple threatened not only their standing before the people, calling their practices into scrutiny, but he was also curtailing their side job for extra money. They had no concern whatsoever about the method they used, only what those methods got them. And so they question Jesus and ask for a sign of His authority. Like a dog with its tail between its legs, they lash out.

Jesus had no need to prove His authority. What the religious leaders were doing was wrong, and they knew it. Scripture even proved it, as Jesus quoted the prophet Isaiah when He said, “My house shall be a house of prayer.” (See Isaiah 56:7 and Matthew 21:13). But further still, Jesus declares His authority to all listening, by stating that the Temple could be torn down and rebuilt in 3 days, alluding to His death and resurrection. John states this truth so early in the book to communicate not only the supremacy of Christ, but to drive home the point that the Resurrection is central to this book. John is saying in no uncertain terms that Jesus is in fact God from beginning to end, and making the case for His supreme authority over all.

Without the Resurrection, we are all fools to be pitied. The Resurrection is what sets our faith apart and gives it substance and credibility. This week, take time to meditate over 1 Corinthians 15:12-18. Take some time to praise God for not only resurrecting Christ, but imagine what it will be like when we too are raised anew with Him.

By Sheila Rennau

On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.” John 2:1-3

Pinot noir, Merlot, Chardonnay, Riesling, Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc. All are specially crafted. All are favored by some. All are wine. Perhaps you are quite the connoisseur, able to tell various types and makes of wines apart. Or, perhaps you are like me, and couldn’t tell a good wine from a poor wine. This one thing I do know, where there is a special occasion or party, it is likely that you will also find wine among the guests.

Such was the case at the wedding at Cana. Jesus’ mother was in attendance at the event, and Jesus and His disciples were invited as well. I love that one of the first places we see Christ on the scene is at a party!

Before long, though, there is a HUGE problem; the hosts have run out of wine. In our modern context, this doesn’t seem like such a big deal. Our weddings are short compared to the feasts and celebrations in the Bible. However, in this time and culture, to run out of wine would have been a branding of lifelong shame upon the family. In the culture of this particular bride and groom, wine was strongly connected to life. It was considered a mark of joy (Ecc. 9:7).

Though Jesus remarks later in the text that this calamity was not really His problem and that His time had not yet come, Jesus yet has compassion on the situation and performs His first public miracle, changing water into wine.

How like Christ to reach into our shame and instead bring about life! It’s interesting to note that, years later, Jesus would hold His own cup of wine and use it as the symbol for His blood shed for us. Leviticus 17 reminds us that “life” is in the blood. Such a fitting metaphor for Christ to use to commemorate the ultimate life-giving act, for “Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sin.” – Hebrews 9:22

With either a journal, more creative means like paint or even marker, or just verbally, take some time to express your gratitude for the forgiveness of your sins. How do you feel knowing that Jesus didn’t leave us without wine “life” or with “shame”, but that He came to bring us “new” and “best”? Perhaps, as you worship, listen to the song “New Wine” and ask God to bring new life to you today.

By Sheila Rennau

He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him.  He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. John 1:10-11

But then the year ends, and that class leaves my care. They go down the hall to other teachers, then out the door to other schools, states, and careers. Every now and again, while I’m out grocery shopping or picking up a gift for a friend, I will bump into a student I had years ago. Often, I will recognize them and remember their name. But, I’m embarrassed to say, there are always a few I don’t recognize or remember. How on earth could I forget a child that I spent an entire year with?! I’ll pass by this student completely oblivious, until they call my name. Then after some nervous laughter and a somewhat awkward conversation, where my memory is jogged, I continue on my way.

It’s embarrassing when you don’t recognize someone you should clearly know, but what’s far worse is what’s happening here in John 1:10-11. God Himself came into the world—the very world He created, but no one recognized Him. Worse still, His own people, whom He rescued from bondage repeatedly, flat-out rejected Him. They took one look at Jesus, and walked the other way.

It would be easy to condemn at this point, were it not for the sticky fact that we do the exact same thing with Jesus. For many of us, our first brush with Jesus was that of rejection. We didn’t want Him or His brand of change. For others of us, maybe we accepted Him, but when He comes knocking on the doors of forbidden areas of our hearts, we aren’t so sure we want Him there, though His way is best.

Take a moment to think back on your journey. When Jesus was first introduced to you, what was your first impression and how’s it changed since? Converse with God about how you’ve seen Him throughout your story.

By Sheila Rennau