Jesus interacting with a Samaritan Woman (John chapter 4)
Apostle John is relating to us the ministry of our LORD Jesus Christ in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the Gentiles. Jesus’ ministry commences with the clearing of the temple in chapter 2.
The bulk of chapters 3 and 4 features two major encounters, one with a representative of the Jewish religious establishment (Nicodemus; 3:1-21) and one with the Samaritan religion (a Samaritan woman; 4:5-26).
The Imprisonment of John the Baptist
Jesus travels from Judea to Galilee, passing though Samaria.
John 4:1-4 “Therefore, when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John (though Jesus Himself did not baptize, but His disciples), He left Judea and departed again to Galilee. But He needed to go through Samaria.”
Apostle John tells us that Jesus has departed from Galilee and three reasons are given for that:
1. John tells us that Jesus was making more disciples than John the Baptist and His disciples were baptising more disciples than John and the Pharisees were beginning to take note of Him.
2. When the Lord knew… He left Judea: Jesus knew that because of His rising prominence and popularity, there would soon be a confrontation with the religious establishment (among whom were the Pharisees). Yet, Jesus knew that the time was not yet right for a confrontation in Jerusalem, so He returned to Galilee.
3. The third reason for Jesus’ departure was that it was part of the divine plan of God. Luke plainly stated this when he said Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, after being tempted in the desert by the devil: “And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee and a report about him went out through all the surrounding country,” (Luke 4:14). The Spirit led Jesus through Samaria to Galilee where He will meet up with the Samaritan woman; Jesus had a divine appointment with this woman. We will discuss this in the next paragraph.
He needed to go through Samaria: Although the road through Samaria was the shortest route from Jerusalem to Galilee, pious Jews often avoided it. They did so because there was a deep distrust and dislike between many of the Jewish people and the Samaritans over the years.
A bit of history of this feud between the Samaritans and the Jews:
(i) When the Assyrians conquered the northern kingdom of Israel (722 BC), they exiled almost all the Jewish population, removing them from the land. All they left behind were the lowest classes of society. 136 years later, the Babylonians conquered the southern kingdom of Judah and followed a similar policy. These ones left behind intermarried with other non-Jewish peoples who slowly came into the region, and the Samaritans emerged as an ethnic and religious group.
(ii) Because the Samaritans had a historical connection to the people of Israel, their faith was a combination of commands and rituals from the Law of Moses, put together with various superstitions. Most of the Jews in Jesus’ time despised the Samaritans, disliking them even more than Gentiles — because they were, religiously speaking, “half-breeds” who had an eclectic, mongrel faith. The Samaritans built their own temple to Yahweh on Mount Gerizim, but the Jews burned it around 128 B.C. This obviously made relations between the Jews and the Samaritans even worse.
Apostle John says that Jesus had to go through Samaria (4:4). The need wasn’t because of travel arrangements or practical necessities, as we mentioned above, but because there were people there who needed to hear Him.
The Acceptance of the Messiah in Samaria
John 4:5-42
Introduction
As Jesus passed through Samaria, He came to Sychar, a town south of Shechem, located between the two mountains of Ebal and Gerizim. He sent his disciples into town to purchase food. In the meantime, He was sitting by the well of Sychar when a Samaritan woman came to draw water.
Before looking at the details of the text, we make two observations that pertain to the theme of John’s Gospel in this portion of Scripture:
1. Jesus reveals the Father to humanity.
2. Believe in Jesus as the Son of God to be saved.
The 1st observation is picked up as Jesus progresses in His conversation with the Samaritan woman; He reveals God the Father to her.
The 2nd observation develops because we see the woman’s faith grew as she speaks to Jesus, his address to Jesus changes from “Sir”, “prophet”, “Messiah”.
John writes that this woman came for water at an unusual hour, and she came alone. Typically, women came for water earlier in the day and they came in groups. Perhaps there was a sudden need, or perhaps she was a social outcast, shunned by other women in the community. This woman is a fascinating character. “She is of mature age and did not have a reputable past. She is frivolous, ready to talk with strangers, with a tongue quick to turn grave things into jests; and yet, hidden beneath masses of unclean vanities, John shows us a woman with a conscience and a yearning for something better than what she has.
Jesus takes time to converse with this woman and slowly, Jesus reveals Himself to her.
The record of John goes as follows:
John 4:7 A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.”
John 4:8 (For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.)
John 4:9 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.)
By tradition, a rabbi would not speak with a woman in public, not even with his own wife. It was also very unusual for a Jewish person of that time to ask a favour or accept a drink from a Samaritan’s cup. A Jew will not accept anything from a Samaritan freely, and least of all from a woman. Therefore, Jesus’ request genuinely surprised the woman. The disciples were also surprised that Jesus spoke to her as we will read later (John 4:27).
We know that Jesus did not diminish His glory one bit by asking the help and cooperation of the Samaritan woman. As it worked toward the accomplishment of the divine purpose, the Father and the Son were most glorified in this display of love and goodness to the woman.
We also see many of the seeming paradoxes of Jesus’ work:
a. He who gives rest is weary.
b. He who is Israel’s Messiah speaks to a Samaritan woman.
c. He who has living water asks for a drink from a well.
Immediately, we see that this woman was impressed by Jesus’ kindness: “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?”
John felt this was so well understood in his day that he needed no further explanation. The deadly hatred that subsisted between these two nations is known to all. The Jews cursed them and believed them to be accursed.
For many reasons, this woman would have been despised by most of the religious leaders in the days of Jesus. She was a woman, a Samaritan, and a woman of questionable reputation. Yet, in the interview with Nicodemus John showed us, Jesus has something to say to the religious establishment. In the meeting with the Samaritan woman at the well John showed us, Jesus has something to say to those despised by the religious establishment.
Messiah reveals God the Father to the Samaritan woman.
Jesus does that in 5 specific steps:
1. Jesus reveals to the woman a new kind of life.
Jesus interests the Samaritan woman in living water.
John 4:10 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.”
John 4:11 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?
John 4:12 Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.”
John 4:13 Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again,
John 4:14 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.”
a. If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, “Give Me a drink”: Jesus drew the woman into conversation, making her curious about several things.
1. He made her curious about the things of God (If you knew the gift of God).
2. He made her curious about who Jesus is (who it is who says to you).
3. He made her curious about what He could give her (He would have given you living water).
b. He would have given you living water: In ancient times they called spring water living water because it seemed alive as it bubbled up from the ground. At first glance, it might seem that Jesus told this woman about a nearby active spring. But Jesus made a play on words with the phrase “living water,” because He meant the spiritual water that quenches spiritual thirst and gives life.
“In the Old Testament living water is sometimes associated with Jehovah. He is called ‘the fountain of living waters’ (Jeremiah 2:13, 17:13).”
Jesus describes the effect of the living water He offers.
John 4:13 Jesus said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again,
John 4:14 but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”
a. Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again: Jesus knew that this woman — and everyone in the village — had to come to this well daily to satisfy their natural thirst. Jesus used thirst as a picture of the spiritual need and longing that everyone has.
b. Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst: Jesus made an amazing offer. What he offered — to this woman and to anyone who would drink — was something to give lasting satisfaction. The key is to drink of the water that Jesus shall give.
(i) It is common for people to try and satisfy their God-created inner thirst through many things, or through anything except for what Jesus gives. People are thirsty — they want, they long, they search, they reach out; but only what Jesus gives satisfies to the deepest levels of man’s soul and spirit.
(ii) Drinking and thirst are common pictures of God’s supply and man’s spiritual need. Drinking is an action, but an action of receiving — like faith, it is doing something, but it is not a merit-earning work in itself.
(iii) Someone might object: “I drank of what Jesus offers, and I feel thirsty and empty again.” The answer is simple: drink again! It isn’t a one-time sip of Jesus that satisfies forever, but continual connection with Him.
c. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life: The effect of this water does much more than simply satisfy the thirst of the one who drinks it. It also creates something good, something life-giving in the heart of the one who drinks it. It becomes a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.
d. “Sir, give me this water” was the response of the Samaritan woman, it was a logical response, not a spiritual one yet. She wanted to avoid the work of coming to the well every day. It was as if she responded, “Jesus, if you want to make my life easier and more convenient, then I’m all for it. Give it to me!”
2. Jesus reveals to her something about herself, He speaks to her of her sinful life.
John 4:15 The woman said to Him, “Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw.”
John 4:16 Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.”
John 4:17 The woman answered and said, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You have well said, ‘I have no husband,’
John 4:18 for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly.”
John 4:19 The woman said to Him, “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet.”
a. Go, call your husband, and come here: This was not a strange request. In this extended, public conversation with the woman, Jesus was straining the boundaries of cultural propriety. The conversation would be more culturally appropriate if the woman’s husband were present.
b. I have no husband…you have had five husbands: The woman claimed to have no husband — which was technically true, but Jesus knew — supernaturally — that there was much more to the story of the woman’s marriage history.
c. And the one whom you now have is not your husband: Jesus brought up this embarrassing issue because her sinful life had to be confronted. This woman had to decide what she loved more: her sin or the Messiah.
d. Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet: This was an obvious observation from the woman. She was no doubt surprised; perhaps stunned that Jesus had supernatural knowledge of her life.
3. Jesus reveals to the Samaritan woman what constitutes true worship.
John 4:20 “Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship.”
John 4:21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father.
John 4:22 You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews.
In answering her question, Jesus stated that the Samaritan theology on Mount Gerizim was wrong, while the Jewish theology about Jerusalem was correct. Samaritans worshipped what they did not know, but Jews worshipped what they did know. Under Mosaic Law, wherever the Tabernacle or Temple stood was the proper place of worship. When they first came into the land, the place of worship was at Shiloh. Later, it became the city of Jerusalem which remained the centre of worship right up to the time of Jesus’ coming. So, on this issue, the Jews were correct, and the Samaritans were wrong. Jerusalem was the proper place for worship.
4. Jesus reveals to the Samaritan woman the Father.
John 4:23 But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.
John 4:24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
a. Jesus went back to the woman’s real issue: her need for a saviour, her need to have eternal life, her need to have the living waters, and her need to recognise true worship. Since God is spirit, He must be worshipped in spirit and in truth (Jn. 4:24).
b. The time was coming when, as a result of the Messiah’s work of redemption, there would be no central place of worship. The proper place of worship was going to be in spirit and in truth. Thus, Jesus prophesied of this present age, the dispensation of grace, when one can worship God corporately anywhere in the world. That was not true under the Mosaic dispensation. It will also not be true in the Kingdom dispensation, because there will again be a centralized area to worship, a millennial Temple. The city of Jerusalem will become the centre of worldwide worship, and Gentiles will make pilgrimages to Jerusalem to worship in that city (Zech. 14:16-21).
c. Many prophets emphasized that Jerusalem will be the centre of worship in the Kingdom, but for the present age, between Moses and the Kingdom, there is no localised place of prayer or worship.
d. “God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth” (Jn. 4:24). Jesus brought the Samaritan woman right back to the issue of what constitutes proper worship.
e. The greater work of Jesus would bring a greater, more spiritual worship. How amazing that one of the greatest announcements ever made by our Lord; was made to one sinful Samaritan woman.
f. To worship in spirit means you are concerned with spiritual realities, not so much with places or outward sacrifices, cleansings, and trappings.
g. To worship in truth means you worship according to the whole counsel of God’s word, especially in light of the New Testament revelation. It also means that you come to God in truth, not in pretence or a mere display of spirituality.
5. Jesus reveals to the Samaritan woman His Messiahship
John 4:25 The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). “When He comes, He will tell us all things.”
John 4:26 Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am He.”
a. In His response, Jesus revealed the true content of faith: “I who speak to you am He” (Jn. 4:26), clearly identifies Himself as the Messiah.
b. This confirmed her suspicions that this person whom she perceived to be a prophet was indeed the Messiah.
The Response of the woman
She is an Evangelist
She tells her neighbours
John 4:28 The woman then left her waterpot, went her way into the city, and said to the men,
John 4:29 “Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?”
John 4:30 Then they went out of the city and came to Him.
The disciples came, and they marvelled that He talked with a woman: The disciples were surprised that Jesus stretched the limits of cultural propriety with the extended conversation with the Samaritan woman. Yet — probably sensing that it was right and appropriate — they did not question Jesus about this. For the woman her life has changed and she became the evangelist in her town and proclaimed that the Messiah has arrived.
1. The woman then left her waterpot, went her way into the city: Perhaps sensing the silent awkwardness of the disciples, the woman left her conversation with Jesus and went back into the city of Sychar. She left so impressed by her time with Jesus (and so certain she would return to him) that she left her waterpot at the well.
2. “Come, see a Man who told me all the things that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?” (Jn 4:29). Jesus so impressed this woman that she was compelled to tell those in her city that they should come to the well and meet Jesus. Jesus impressed and attracted her, even though He confronted her with her sin (all the things that I ever did).
3. The Samaritan woman was so impressed by the love of Jesus, that she now sought out her fellow villagers, even when they had treated hd. er as an outcast before. “If she had avoided the company of her fellow-citizens before, she was a changed woman now; she must seek them out and share her news with them.” She is not afraid or embarrassed but wants all her fellow citizens to meet the Messiah.
4. Jesus displayed so much love and such a sense of security that she felt safe with Him even when her sin was exposed. It’s important for the followers of Jesus to give people today a safe place to confess their sin, repent, and put their trust in Jesus.
5. The whole interaction with Jesus did not leave her with the impression, “He hates me” or “He judges me” or “He doesn’t want me around.” It left her with the impression that quite possibly, Jesus was who He claimed to be; the Messiah, the Christ (I who speak to you am He, John 4:26).
6. “Told me all things that I ever did”: The Jews believed that one essential characteristic of the Messiah would be, that he should be able to tell the secrets of all hearts. This they believed was predicted, Isaiah 11:2, 3. It isn’t unreasonable to think that some among the Samaritans believed similar things that the Jews did about the Messiah.
7. Then they went out of the city and came to Him: The woman’s invitation was effective. The people came when she told them who Jesus was and how He had impacted her life with their brief conversation.
The Food of Jesus is to do the work of His Father
Save humanity
Jesus Educates His disciples on the nature of His Work
John 4:31 Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.”
John 4:32 But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” John 4:33 So the disciples said to one another, “Has anyone brought him something to eat?”
John 4:34 Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.
Jesus again speaks of the physical world to teach about different realities in the unseen world, just as He did with the Samaritan woman. The accomplishment of Jesus mission is much more important than physical food.
Deut. 8:3 And he (God) humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.
The “work” that Jesus does, constitutes His teachings and the miracles that attest to Jesus’ identity as Messiah and Son of God, and those lead unbelievers to faith. They are the manifestations of the activity of God the Father, for Jesus said, “The Father who dwells in me does his works” (John 14:10).
Jesus is teaching His disciples to imitate the things that He does in His life and ministry.
John 4:35 Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest. John 4:36 Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together.
This statement is reminiscent of Amos (9:13), where the “treader of grapes”, depicting the abundance and prosperity of the new age. Hence Jesus claims that He is ushering in the Messianic Age in which sowing and reaping coincide.
John 4:37 For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’
John 4:38 I sent you to reap that for which you did not labour. Others have laboured, and you have entered into their labour.”
In the physical realm, there is a period between sowing and harvesting. But in the spiritual realm, Jesus’s coming has already ushered in the end-time harvest in which sowing and reaping paradoxically coincide, so that the “crop” of believers is now being gathered into God’s Kingdom.
The principle of evangelism is that sow and others reap. Both should rejoice together that the fruit of eternal life has been produced. Applying it to the disciples, Jesus stated in verse 38: “I sent you to reap that for which you did not labour”. The apostles were already in the process of reaping because in the beginning of this chapter (verses 1-4), John tells us that the disciples were gaining more disciples than the Baptizer, and the disciples were baptizing these new followers. Thus, they were reaping what others, such as the Baptizer, had sown before them.
After Jesus had taught His disciples the principle of sowing and reaping, they saw it in action with the approaching Samaritans who are going to believe in Jesus:
John 4:39 Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony, “He told me all that I ever did.”
John 4:40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days.
John 4:41 And many more believed because of his word.
John 4:42 They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.”
The Samaritan woman fit both categories: She did some sowing, and she did some reaping, and sometimes she did both. Many Samaritans believed because she had shared the gospel with them, and thus, she became the sower and the reaper. Others went out to see for themselves the One she was talking about: “So, when the Samaritans came unto Him, they besought Him to abide with them, and He abode there two days” (Jn. 4:40).
Many of them came to faith (Jn. 4:41-42). With them, she was the sower, and Jesus did the actual reaping.
“Rejoice” is a unique joy that comes from seeing others come to faith.
Prayer:
I come before you LORD with a heart that is after you and a mind that is focussed on you. I thank you LORD for saving me from myself. I surrender completely LORD. I thank you LORD for the fellowship and relationship that you have allowed me to share with you since I became your adopted daughter. I thank you for every moment, prayer, word, opportunity that gives revelation and understanding of you. Forgive me for the times I had taken you for granted, for moments where I had allowed my focus and discipline to slip. I choose you LORD and all benefits and denounce all ties and fellowship with the world. I have no place in the world and I denounce everything that it offers. You have given me a choice LORD and I choose to be in covenant with you. I have crossed the line of no return and I will not look back. Each day I want to grow closer to you and further from this world and be more like you. My reality in Christ is more real and you are right here with me. I have confidence in you LORD concerning every situation that I face, every decision I make and every temptation that come my way. Give me an ear LORD that will hear your instructions, eyes that will not be deceived and a heart that will remain faithful.
My life is built on the foundation that you are the Christ, the son of the living God; you died on the cross for my sins and your blood was shed for me. I exercise total faith and confidence that death was powerless to hold you in the grave and you rose again and stay resurrected every day. I receive your resurrection power and declare there is no dead thing in my life. I speak life in everything pertaining to me. I pray LORD that you will breathe life in all my relationships, my home, my studies, and my purpose in life. You restore every organ, tissues or bone that have damaged in my body. I pray LORD that the dead branches be pruned for me, whether they are people, unhealthy relationships, environments, ungodly influences, or anything that is not good for me. I distance myself right now and release them from my life in Jesus name.
I will not be ashamed to follow the example of Christ in the face of persecutions. I am prepared to live like Jesus. I release my faith right now in the name of Jesus in whatever situation I am in regardless of what the odds are against me. I will be steadfast and going on. The words of this prayers will uplift my spirit man.
I commission the angels to go before me and prepare my path. I stand in the gap for my family and friends. As I hear the words of this prayer, my body is regenerating itself. My body is preparing itself for another productive day. My body is developing according to your plan and health is being released in all my organs, tissues, bones, bodily systems, veins, arteries, and muscles. My brain is functioning with the information consistent with the Word of God and filtering out everything that is not of you. My heart is being protected of every ungodly influence and my innocence is being guarded. I have a sound mind that is saturated in your word. In the name of Jesus and the power of his blood I rebuke any evil spirit that is attached with me in any way, shape, or form. They have no place in my life. They cannot enter my eyes, my ears, my mind, and my heart.
Amen
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