As Jesus and His disciples were traveling from Judea back to Galilee, they passed through Samaria. They came to a town called Sychar. Near to that town was Jacob’s well. Jesus was tired so He sat down by it, but all the disciples went on into town to find food. (God moving them out of the way for what was to come next.)
A Samaritan woman came to draw water for her family. Scripture says it was about noon, the heat of the day. Everybody else drew water in the morning, but because of her life choices she was an outcast and came when no one else did. Put yourself in her shoes for a minute. Shunned by the other ladies in town. Her self-esteem must have been very low. I imagine her walking along with her head down carrying her water jars. When she gets to the well, she encounters a Jewish man setting there. Jews didn’t talk to Samaritans and in that culture and men surely didn’t talk to women they didn’t know.
As she approaches the well, Jesus starts a conversation with her that will take them from discussing physical water to spiritual water. I love how He does that. Verses 13-15 make the transition.
13 Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
15 The woman said to Him (I imagine in a mocking voice), “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.”
The woman is still focused on physical water but likes the idea of never being thirsty. Then Jesus does one of His abrupt topic changes. He tells her to go get her husband and come back. She says I have no husband. Then in verses 17-26 Jesus shows her who He is.
17 “I have no husband,” she replied. Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. 18 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.”
19 “Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet.”
25 The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When He comes, He will explain everything to us.”
26 Then Jesus declared, “I, the One speaking to you—I am He.”
Can you imagine the shock she felt. That would take my breath away. Talking to someone you don’t even know why He is talking to you and then have Him tell you He was the Messiah. Without the Holy Spirit intervention, I don’t believe a normal person would believe it. However, she ran to town to tell everyone she found the Messiah. She is the town outcast and yet they believed her and follow her to Jesus. That is simply amazing. God’s hand moving in the lives of ordinary people.
Just then the disciples returned and were totally confused. Here is another chance for John to remember what he was thinking when he was 20, probably shocked. Now at 80 he again must have a knowing smile on his face as he writes this story.
The testimony of an outcast inspires many from the town to come back with her to visit Jesus at the well. (God’s hand moving). Verses 39-42 tell us the story.
39 Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in Him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.” 40 So when the Samaritans came to Him, they urged Him to stay with them, and He stayed two days. 41 And because of His words many more became believers. 42 They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this Man really is the Savior of the world.”
Again, get into John and the disciples shoes. They have been taught the Messiah would come and save Isreal from Rome. Samaritans were not the chosen people. Here is Jesus helping a large number of Samaritans come to Him. What were they thinking? However, Scripture doesn’t record them asking Jesus anything.
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