For years I preached the Samaritan woman in John 4 as the classic “sinful outcast.” It made for a strong sermon… but recently I realised I may have had her all wrong.

A Masters class, a stubborn lecturer, and a quiet rebuke from the text itself forced me to revisit the story without the assumptions I’d been carrying.

What if she wasn’t immoral at all?
What if she wasn’t an outcast?
What if she was one of the first true seekers of Jesus — and the first evangelist of her city?

Rethinking her story has changed the way I read John 4, the way I preach it, and the way I see people whose lives haven’t gone to plan.

This one surprised me. It might surprise you too.