“An Unexpected Encounter”

June 7, 2026

Introduction.

According to Church tradition and the scholarly evidence that has been uncovered over the history of the Church, it is thought the Apostle John the Beloved is the author of this fourth Gospel. Regarding the content and purpose of John’s Gospel, it can be succinctly stated that John was led by the Holy Ghost to report no less than seven fantastic miracles by Jesus, and in publishing these seven verifiable miracles, they prove Jesus is indeed the Son of God.

The Context.

John chapter four features not only Jesus’ encounter with a woman at Jacob’s Well, but His explanation of the workers of the harvest. Chapter four concludes with information about the Samaritan’s response to the woman’s testimony about her conversation with Jesus, and then it ends with a report on Jesus’ healing of the Royal Official’s son.

Jesus is traveling on foot and is weary from His journey so when He arrives at Jacob’s Well, He sits down near it to rest.

The Text.

Vv. 1-4; “Now when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John 2 (although Jesus himself did not baptize, but only his disciples), 3 he left Judea and departed again for Galilee. 4And he had to pass through Samaria.”

Jesus determined to go to Galilee, but desired to go the more direct route to Galilee which made Him pass through Samaria. I think there is reason to believe Jesus did not want to go through Samaria simply because it was the shorter route, although it was a significant saving of time. However, I do believe the real reason, Jesus said, “I must go through Samaria” was because He had Kingdom business to take care of in Samaria, particularly in Sychar at Jacob’s Well.

Jesus is traveling on foot, and He is weary from His journey so when He arrives at Jacob’s Well, He does what any other human would do; He sits down near the well to rest. Shortly thereafter, a woman comes to that very same well to draw water. They had never met before and apparently, the woman had also never even heard of Jesus. But Jesus was not just meeting this unnamed woman, but He was at the same time employing Kingdom evangelistic strategy because Jesus was making a valuable connection with her entire community through her.

“I must go through Samaria.”

The woman Jesus would meet is not Jewish but is living in the isolated Gentile territory of Samaria. Interestingly, the Samaritans and the Jewish population of Israel do not cooperate politically or socially, nor do they fraternize with each other; but Jesus said, “I must go through Samaria.”

Religiously, the Samaritans do not recognize Jerusalem’s Temple as a legitimate center for worship, but Jesus said, “I must go through Samaria.”

In fact, for seven centuries there had been nothing but significant tension between the Samaritans and the Jews, but Jesus said, “I must go through Samaria.” Nothing would deter Jesus from going through Samaria! Why?

Because the Lord knew, although no one else did, including the woman that she needed the Lord’s help. “I must go through Samaria.”

She has never met me before but “I must go through Samaria.”

Out of the thousands upon thousands of people living in Judea, living in Gaza, Jaffa, Emmaus, Jericho or Jerusalem, Jesus said, “I must go through Samaria.”

Jesus did not take the route any other Jew would have taken, the one that goes around Samaria because they did not want to have anything to do with the Samaritans. They would take the traditional Jewish route, but the Savior took the ‘Jesus’ route! But, Jesus said, “I need to go through Samaria.”

The Holy Spirit is His GPS. “I need to go through Samaria.”

Well, I don’t know if you have thought about it before, but in the mind of our Lord He also determined ‘I need to go through Arlington, Texas.’ ‘I need to go through Fort Worth Texas.’

‘I need to go through Columbus, Ohio’ and ‘I must go through Cameroon and through Ghana and Malawi!

And may I say that Any advancement toward you is the Lord’s initiative and not your initiative or mine. At this point, the woman is completely unaware that Jesus had her on His mind, and more than that, He had determined to meet her at Jacob’s well.

Jesus was not satisfied going ‘by’ Samaria just to save 30% of His traveling time, but He was constrained by the Holy Ghost to go through Samaria. He said He needed to go through Samaria. If He did not go through Samaria, He would have missed his appointment with a prospective client who needed Jesus’ help. Just like if Jesus had not come through Arlington or Fort Worth or Ghana or wherever we come from, we would have missed our appointment with the Savior! Thank God Jesus’ schedule is flexible!

v. 5-6; “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.”

The text says Jesus is thirsty. But again, this state of thirst is a perfect description of this woman’s spiritual condition - she is thirsty, but thirst for natural water cannot be compared to her spiritual thirst, and she does not even know it! Speaking of the unconverted soul, holy scripture says "But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised (‘examined’)" 1 Corinthians 2.14.

v.7a; “A woman from Samaria came to draw water.”

Jesus was already at Jacob’s Well when shortly after He arrived a woman comes there to draw water. Here is an example of the foreknowledge and divine providence of our Lord who knows our every move and He has planned accordingly. Jesus knows where we are going to be and precisely at what time we will be there at any given time. The Lord Jesus was waiting for her. From all of eternity the Lord Jesus had His eyes set on this woman, waiting to draw her to Himself. How patiently the Lord has waited for all of eternity. Long, long before she was ever conceived in her mother’s womb and breathed the breath of life, much less walked to that well, the Lord Jesus had plans for her life!

However, Jesus was expecting her. He knew her schedule and was waiting for her when she finally arrived.

Question: Where were you when you came to Jesus?

It should not come as a surprise to realize that Jesus knows more than we know. In fact, one of the attributes of the God/man is that He knows all things or is omniscient we say. She was an appointment on the Lord’s calendar.

Vv. 7b-9; “Jesus said to her, Give me a drink. 8 (For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.) 9 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 asked the woman for a drink of water - "Give me a drink" v. 7. And surely the woman should have asked Jesus for water, but she does not even know there is a solution that can quench this deep thirst she has in her heart and it is not a thirst for a man or a thirst for the institution of marriage.

Vv. 10-11a; “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 text says Jesus was weary from His journey, which is true, of course. But spiritually speaking, this statement describes the woman’s condition! We know this because she confesses as much to Jesus. She is weary of life, and particularly married life, because marriage has not worked out well for her. She is a serial bride and a serial divorcee. We are not pointing fingers but just stating that she has not done well in that part of her life. Rather the numbers point to her as the biggest problem in these relationships or not, we do not know, and it is not germane to the text. However, the reality of her circumstance is like a set of tires, maybe even the best brand of tires, but the treads are worn and something needs to change before there is a blowout. The woman’s life, at least the romantic side of her life, has been exhaustive, pure, and simple. Her investment in her love relationships has yielded her a negative return. She has lost all her love investment. Not one of her five marital commitments were true commitments after all. If her love life were stocks, she would go bankrupt! But the closing bell on the exchange has not rung yet!

v. 11 The woman said to him, Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep.”

However, her need is deeper than she knows or imagines! You cannot ask for something you do not know that exists! The spiritual blinds have not been removed from her eyes yet. The truth is that she has nothing to draw water with! She is thinking of the wrong water. She cannot think the way Jesus is thinking until He opens her eyes. The woman is searching for the ‘right’ man, which is the insufficient water, and that is not even her deepest need, but she doesn’t know that. What she does not realize is that Jesus the Savior not only has the spiritual tools to draw water from the wells of salvation, but in His person He is the vessel and He is the well in whom God the Father has invested all the resources for salvation, and from whom the water of all life in the Spirit flows. It all comes from Jesus!

In saying to Jesus, "You have nothing to draw water with" she could not have been more wrong. The living Lord is more than qualified to meet her needs. The well Jesus is referring to is for certain deep, and it is equally refreshing and sufficient. In fact, the deeper the well goes down into the earth, the more refreshing this water is! ‘Woman, you have just met the one who is your true source of spiritual life, which is what water represents, and He, that is the Lord Jesus, can and will address your every need! This well is as deep as your troubles; it is deeper than your concerns and sorrow; and it is deeper than our needs and aspirations! And because of its depth, there is no need for concern that this well will dry up. Without realizing it, the woman confessed it herself; "the well is deep." What she will learn is that from a spiritual perspective, Jesus the Christ, whom she just met, is more than sufficient for her needs! He can fill in the gaps of her life, and He can help us overcome our mistakes, Jesus can heal our brokenness, soothe our doubts and calm our fears! Ask Him for that water! Thank God the well is deep! I am in debt to grief and have borrowed from sorrow. I owe interest to my disappointments, and the principle is due. Praise God for this well! Because my grief is not shallow and my sorrow buries me. My pain is unrelenting and my joy is unsustainable. Faith is hiding and hope has left town. What things I had invested in has brought me a negative return and what good I have saved has become worthless because of the inflation of my sin! But thank God for this well that is deep! My problems are complicated, my spirit is low as the grave, but I am thankful for this well! That satisfies because it quenches my soul’s thirst. It refreshes my dying spirit and gives me a new life!

Jesus is that well of water in my soul that springs up into eternal life! Only trust Him! And you will never thirst again.