A Well, A Woman and a Prophet

This episode explores Jesus' breaking of cultural barriers and the deeper spiritual truths he reveals through his conversation with the Samaritan woman.

John 4:1–26 (ESV)

Now when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John (although Jesus himself did not baptize, but only his disciples), he left Judea and departed again for Galilee. And he had to pass through Samaria.

So he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there; so Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well. It was about the sixth hour.

A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” (For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.)

The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.)

Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.”

The woman said to him, “Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.”

Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.”

Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.”

The woman answered him, “I have no husband.”

Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.”

The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.”

Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews.

But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.

God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ).

When he comes, he will tell us all things.”

Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he.”

PART ONE: Jesus in Samaria

John continues the narrative he starts in Chapter three, with Nicodemus meeting Jesus in the night.

Nicodemus was a Pharisee ans teacher of the Jewish Law.

Although, it seems that Nicodemus is hedging his bets a bit by meeting Jesus in the dark of night, a man of his stature confronting this upstart Teacher from Galilee is not out of character or out of place.

But now, Jesus really steps out of Jewish social boundaries and has another conversation...

The “need” of Jesus to travel through Samaria to return to Galilee has nothing to do with a preferred route of travel.

Although a quicker route, because of ethnic bias, it was not the way a Religious Jew would make the trip.

This need for Jesus to journey through Samaria WAS all about having a conversation.

This time with someone that was the opposite of everything that Nicodemus represented.

Everything about the conversation at the well was wrong by Jewish standards of the day.

Jesus was a single male, religious and a Jew. To be seen in open conversation with an unknown woman was a serious breach of societal boundaries.

This woman, a Samaritan woman no less, comes to the well to draw water, not in the early morning hours when this was normally done, but during the heat of the day… Why?

She was an outcast amongst her own people, a woman of very poor reputation, one to be shunned and rejected by society.

So an activity that was a social event amongst the women of the community, where the sharing of family news was common...

Becomes a point of isolation for this woman of poor repute.

An interesting side note is that John does not just emphasis the Deity of Christ, but specifically mentions a very human trait- Jesus is tired from his journey.

The conversation that ensues is typical of Johns Gospel account.

Jews and Samaritans had a long-standing feud over religious practices

And given the Jews and Samaritans did not get along, the surprise isnt that Jesus would ask her for a drink of water, but rather that He would speak to her- AT ALL.

PART TWO: Living Water Conversation

Lets examine the conversation more closely: We have in play here, two settings where physical human and Spiritual realities collide.

Vvs 7-15, Jesus

“The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?”

She recognizes the culture barrier

Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.”

A Spiritual Gift offered

The woman said to him, “Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water?

She misses it completely

Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.”

A subtle and prideful challenge

Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

The Heavenly answer to her Spiritual problem

The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.”

Still not totally getting it

PART THREE: Confronting truth and Worship

Vvs 16-26:

Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.”

Jesus cuts to the heart of the matter

The woman answered him, “I have no husband.”

She responds with a half-truth

Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.”

Jesus confirms the half-truth, but fills in the blanks- Much to her shock.

Just as He did with Nathaniel, Jesus shows His divine all-knowing nature. Without condemning her, but stating a simple fact.

Her response it the Turn in the story:

The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet...”

Then she tries to deflect:

“...Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.”

Once again, previous prejudices get in the way, as she tries to defend her culture.

Jesus applies the Gospel message

Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father.

You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews.

But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.

God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”

The woman said to him,

“I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things.”

And now the Reveal:

Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he.”

PART FOUR: Comparing Encounters

So lets break down some of the differences and commonalities between Nicodemus in Ch 3 and this Samaritan woman.

As already mentioned, Nicodemus, as a leading religious figure, came to Jesus at night, with questions

Jesus, intentionally took a side trip, in the heat of the day, to have this conversation with a very non-religious, non-Jewish woman. She looked to Jesus for answers.

While Jesus confounded Nicodemus with thoughts of being “Born again”

Jesus took His time and ‘Schooled” the Teacher of the Jews

He also did not let the Samaritan woman off easy with her misguided theology.

She claimed to hold sacred the iconic place of Jacobs Well and the Samaritan temple on nearby Mt Gerizim.

Jesus confronts that thought by denouncing both the Samaritan stance and the Jewish position- There is coming a day when neither the Samaritan temple or the Jewish one in Jerusalem will matter.

The true worshiper of God will worship Him in Spirit and in Truth.

Worship isn't about location—like Jerusalem or Mount Gerizim—but about connecting to God genuinely and spiritually.

Like a good student who has studied her lessons, the woman declares that, “I know the Messiah is coming...”

She has a head knowledge of the Messiah but still cannot see Jesus for who He truly is.

Her final statement, “When he comes, He will tell us all things” really begs the question- Didn’t Jesus just do that in her life?

This is the point where all who want to believe must decide-

To combine a “Head knowledge” with the Heart.

Having solid theology, The Truth, but never tasting the Living Water or having the guidance of the Holy Spirit, is to miss the complete package of worshiping in Spirit AND in Truth.

Practical Applications:

1- Identify a cultural or social barrier in your life that might be preventing you from sharing God's love with others. Commit to praying about how to overcome this barrier.

2- Reflect on your own worship practices. Are you worshipping more out of habit or location, or truly in spirit and truth? Consider ways to deepen your worship experience.

3- Practice transitioning everyday conversations to spiritual matters this week, using Jesus' example as a guide.

4- Think of someone in your community who might be considered an outcast. Find a way to show them kindness and acceptance, following Jesus' example.

Closing:

Lord Jesus, thank you for breaking down barriers to reach us with your love.

Help us to worship you in spirit and truth, and give us the courage to share your living water with others, regardless of social or cultural differences.

Amen.