Rachel Workman: 4 He had to go through Samaria on the way. 5 Eventually he came to the Samaritan village of Sychar, near the field that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there; and Jesus, tired from the long walk, sat wearily beside the well about noontime. 7 Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Please give me a drink.” 8 He was alone at the time because his disciples had gone into the village to buy some food.
9 The woman was surprised, for Jews
refuse to have anything to do with Samaritans. She said to Jesus, “You are a
Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. Why are you asking me for a drink?” A
little history here. The Samaritans were a mixed race, part Jew and part
Gentile, that grew out of the Assyrian captivity of the ten northern tribes in
727 BC. They were rejected by the Jews. The Samaritans established their own
temple and religious services on Mount Gerizim. This only fanned the fires of
prejudice. So intense was their dislike of the Samaritans that some of the
Pharisees prayed that no Samaritan would be raised in the resurrection. So you
can understand why she was so surprised. Jesus loves and cares for those who
society deems unlovable.
10 Jesus replied, “If you only knew the
gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would
give you living water.” Jesus pointed out to her that she was ignorant of
three important facts: who He was, what He had to offer, and how she could
receive it. Here was eternal God speaking to her, offering her eternal life.
But the Samaritans were as blind as the Jews
11 “But sir, you don’t have a rope or a
bucket,” she said, “and this well is very deep. Where would you get this living
water? 12 And besides, do you think you’re greater than our ancestor
Jacob, who gave us this well? How can you offer better water than he and his
sons and his animals enjoyed?”
13 Jesus replied, “Anyone who drinks this
water will soon become thirsty again. 14 But those who drink the water I
give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within
them, giving them eternal life.” Oh how our God loves us, even in our
ignorance and sinful state. It still amazes me.
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John
Burnett: 4 And He had to pass through Samaria. 5 So
He *came to a city of Samaria called Sychar, near the parcel of ground that
Jacob gave to his son Joseph; 6 and Jacob’s well was there. So
Jesus, being wearied from His journey, was sitting thus by the well. It was
about [a]the sixth hour.
The Woman of Samaria
7 There *came a woman of Samaria to draw
water. Jesus *said to her, “Give Me a drink.” 8 For His
disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. 9 Therefore
the Samaritan woman *said to Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask me for
a drink since I am a Samaritan woman?” (For Jews have no dealings with
Samaritans.) 10 Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew
the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would
have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.” 11 She
*said to Him, “[b]Sir, You have nothing to
draw with and the well is deep; where then do You get that living water? 12 You
are not greater than our father Jacob, are You, who gave us the well, and drank
of it himself and his sons and his cattle?” 13 Jesus answered
and said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; 14 but
whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the
water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to
eternal life.” It is hard for us understand the significance of the
water because all we have to do is go to the sink and turn a nob or handle to
get water. As the drought continues, we may get a better idea of the
importance of water. In this setting, it was hard work to fetch water and
Jesus was promising living water springing up to eternal life. No more
thirsting. Jesus, a male Jew, talking to an Samarian women, gives us an
idea of what Jesus thinks about the rules of the world. Today’s rules of
the world say we should tolerate others sin, here Jesus was showing love toward
this women by sharing the gift of eternal life with her if she were to believe.
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Krista Cook: -
I love the story of the Woman at the Well! Oh that everyone could find
and taste of the living water. It is up to us to show those who are
thirsting where they can find this living water. Jesus "had to go
through Samaria" - where do you need to go today?
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Mike Grimm: 4 He had to go through
Samaria on the way. 5 Eventually he came to the Samaritan
village of Sychar, near the field that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s
well was there; and Jesus, tired from the long walk, sat wearily beside the
well about noontime. 7 Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw
water, and Jesus said to her, “Please give me a drink.” 8 He
was alone at the time because his disciples had gone into the village to buy
some food.
9 The woman was surprised, for Jews refuse to have
anything to do with Samaritans. She said to Jesus, “You are a Jew, and I am a
Samaritan woman. Why are you asking me for a drink?” There was great hatred between the Samaritans and the Jews.
Christ's road from Judea to Galilee lay through Samaria. We should not go into
places of temptation except when we really have to; and then must not dwell in
them, but hasten through them. However, we must always be ready to go where the
Lord wants us to go. So it is important to recognize when temptation is calling
us or when God is calling us.
10 Jesus replied, “If you only knew the gift God has
for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you
living water.”
11 “But sir, you don’t have a rope or a bucket,” she
said, “and this well is very deep. Where would you get this living water? 12 And
besides, do you think you’re greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us this
well? How can you offer better water than he and his sons and his animals
enjoyed?”
13 Jesus replied, “Anyone who drinks this water will
soon become thirsty again. 14 But those who drink the water I
give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within
them, giving them eternal life.”
By this living water is meant the
Spirit. Under this comparison the blessing of the Messiah had been promised in
the Old Testament. The graces of the Spirit, and his comforts, satisfy the
thirsting soul that knows its own nature and necessity. What Jesus spoke
figuratively, she took literally. Christ shows that the water of Jacob's well
yielded a very short satisfaction. Of whatever waters of comfort we drink, we
shall thirst again. But whoever partakes of the Spirit of grace, and the
comforts of the gospel, shall never want that which will abundantly satisfy his
soul.
So, have you asked Jesus
for the living water of eternal life? Do you have the evidence of being
satisfied with Jesus? You can continually drink from the world’s sources, but
you’ll thirst again (4:13). But one drink from Jesus and you’ll never thirst
again. So, why don’t you ask?
We can draw three main
lessons from John 4:4-14:
1. Jesus seeks sinners who
aren’t even seeking Him.
2. Jesus offers all
sinners the gift of living water.
3. To receive this gift of
living water, you must know who Jesus is and what He offers, and you must ask
for it.
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