Woman At The Well

Through the Holy Spirit’s prompting, the story of the Samaritan woman was the first to be written and it happens to be one of my favorites. Some of you may not have a Bible yet, so I have been led to complete the whole story here with a few comments. This woman will meet Jesus for the very first time as some of you may be meeting Him for the first time. (Though the King James Version (KJV) does not capitalize the pronouns, I will be doing that throughout as a sign of respect for Jesus and God).

The story begins in John Chapter 4:1-4 (KJV).  “When therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John, (though Jesus Himself baptized not, but His Disciples,) He left Judaea and departed again to Galilee. And He must needs (of necessity) go through Samaria.” If you are not aware of this already, the Samaritans and the Jews did not get along, to put it mildly. The Jews would make an effort to go around the whole area, even if it took them longer, thus avoiding conflicts.  Jesus, however, told His disciples He must go through Samaria.  

John Chapter 4: 5-10 states, “Then cometh He to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with His journey, sat on the well: and it was about the sixth hour (noon). There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give Me to drink. (For His Disciples were gone away to the city to buy meat.) Then saith the woman of Samaria unto Him, How is it that Thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which I am a woman of Samaria? For the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give Me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of Him, and He would have given thee living water.”  Jesus is our gift from God that was given to us to redeem us to Himself. You may have heard of John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.” Now think about this part of the story, He knew where she was going to be and waited for her just as He waits for you no matter where you are. If Jesus had gone to the city first, she may never have met Him because she may have never been with the other crowds in her situation. He meet us where we are on an individual basis. We just need to talk with Him.

The story continues in John Chapter 4:11-14, “The woman saith unto Him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water? Art Thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle? Jesus answered and said unto her , Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.”  Jesus wants to saves us. In Revelation 3:20, He says, “Behold I stand at the door, and knock: if any men hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in unto Him, and will sup with him, and He with Me.” He is our bread and water, life sustaining necessities, which is why He uses these examples to describe Himself.

In this next section of John 4, the conversation continues between the Jesus and the woman. “The woman saith unto Him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw. Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither. The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus saith unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband: For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that sadist thou truly. The woman saith unto Him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet” (John 4:15-19). Oh, He is so much more as she will find out! Notice He KNOWS her. He knows who she is and what she has done. The reason she is by herself and drawing water at noon is because of the situation Jesus described. But He does not turn away from her nor cease speaking with her. She then brings up one of the other situations of why the Samaritans were separated from the Jews.

Continuing with John 4:20 she says, “Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men aught to worship.” Jesus warns of following the traditions of men. He said, “Howbeit in vain do they worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.” We must be on guard ourselves so that we are not following tradition and doctrines that are not Bible based. In this situation it is true that the temple was a place to worship but the Jewish leaders were saying that it was the only place to worship where as she was saying form the very first the Samaritans had worshipped on the mountain. So Jesus answers her with astonishing information. “Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe Me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem worship the Father. Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in Spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship Him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and in truth.” (John 4:21-24). Jesus is letting her know that there will be no need to go to the Jerusalem temple services because He is her and our sacrifice. Ephesian 2:18 says, “For through Him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.”  He took our place on the cross to bring us back to the Father after Adam and Eve’s sin separated us from Him. Jesus is our Mediator, our High Priest, and our Savior and He tells her so, “The woman saith unto Him, I know that the Messias cometh which is called the Christ: when He is come, He will tell us all things. Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am He” (John 4:25, 26). Can you imagine her joy as she realizes that He is not just a prophet, He is someone they have been waiting for from the very beginning of creation. This JOY is waiting for you, all you need to do is accept Jesus and, “That whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:15).

Continuing on, “And upon this came His disciples, marveled that He talked with the woman: yet no man said, What seekest thou? Or Why talkest thou with her? The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men, Come, see a man, which told me all things that I ever did: Is not this the Christ? Then they went out of the city and came unto Him” (John 4: 27-30). Jesus knew just who he was to meet at the well and even though she was a woman, a Samaritan and in a sinful situation, He chose her to talk to first. He chooses us, too.  And just as he said to His Disciples, follow Me; He says the same to you. He says, “Henceforth I call you not servants: for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends: for all that I have head of My Father I have made known to you” (John 16:15).

The last portion of John 4: 39- 42 states, “ And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on Him for the saying of the woman, which testified, He told me all that ever I did. So when the Samaritans were come unto Him, they besought Him that He would tarry with them: and He abode there two days. And many more believed because of His own word; And said unto the woman, Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard Him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world.” Did you catch that? They said because they heard Him themselves they believed. There is only one way to know our Jesus. Spend time in the Bible. Reading the Word of God will show you The Father and Jesus Christ.  Jesus says, “Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak unto you I speak not of Myself: but the Father that dwelleth in Me, He doeth the works” (John14:10). When we choose to follow Jesus, we not only become one with Him, but with the Father, also.

Isn’t that amazing? We are covered with Jesus’ righteousness when we choose Him and the Father gives us His Spirit through Jesus thus becoming one with them. He prayed for us in John 17:21, “That they all may be one; as Thou Father , art in Me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in Us: that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me.” If you have not taken the time to read John 17, I highly recommend it. Jesus prays for us. He is about to be betrayed by one of His disciples and go through horrendous treatment culminating in His death on the cross and He prayed for us. When I really think about this, I almost cry. He is so focused on us and saving us from this world that according to 2 Peter 3:9, “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness: but is longsuffering to us-ward. Not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” Jesus is coming soon all you need do is look around at the world today. He is holding off right now because he is waiting to save as many as possible and that includes you.

John 7:38 – He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
John 7:37 – In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.

Isaiah 12:3 – Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.
Isaiah 44:3 – For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring:
Revelation 22:17 – And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.

So Come to the Well

“And Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe Me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem worship the Father. Ye worship you know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is for the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship Him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth” (John 4:21-24).

When we read the verses prior to this the woman said, “Our fathers worshipped in the mountain; but ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship” (John 4:20). But Jesus replied “true worshippers shall worship God the father in spirit and in truth.”

Some would say that you need to go to church and confess which is what the Jews were saying at the time. As matter of fact, we have churches saying that now. But Jesus was letting her know that was not what was required, Jesus is our High Priest and He is the only one to forgive us. We need to have a relationship with Him.  That doesn’t mean we don’t need to get together  for church (Hebrews 10:25 and Proverbs 27:17) but true worship is from the heart and mind . “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). The question is do we believe He can do what He says He can do.  Jesus says, “He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment: and I will not blot his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before My Father, and His angels. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches” (Revelation 3:5-6).

In John 15:7, Jesus states, “If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.” And the latter part of John 15:5 states”…for without Me ye can do nothing.”  So when we ask for forgiveness of our Lord, Jesus, He will cover us with His righteousness (Isaiah 61:10 and Revelation 19:8) and forgive us—our slate is wiped clean. For “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; and their sins and iniquities will I remember no more” (Jeremiah 31:33-34 and Hebrews 10:16-17). So the wonderful thing is that we do not have to dwell on past sins (the devil’s weapon) because when we truly repent with our whole heart, our record is clean. We just need to believe Jesus!