Scripture Reading(s)
John 4:1-30, 39-45
1 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.
4 And he had to pass through Samaria.
5 So he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph.
6 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.
7 A woman from Samaria came 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 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.)
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.”
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?
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.”
13 Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again,
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.”
15 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.”
16 Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.”
17 The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’;
18 for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.”
19 The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet.
20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.”
21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father.
22 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews.
23 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.
24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”
25 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.”
26 Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he.”
27 Just then his disciples came back. They marveled that he was talking with a woman, but no one said, “What do you seek?” or, “Why are you talking with her?”
28 So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people,
29 “Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?”
30 They went out of the town and were coming to him.
39 Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me all that I ever did.”
40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days.
41 And many more believed because of his word.
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.”
43 After the two days he departed for Galilee.
44 (For Jesus himself had testified that a prophet has no honor in his own hometown.)
45 So when he came to Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him, having seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the feast. For they too had gone to the feast.
Reflections
Sin has a way of making us think that we are so out of reach of God’s Grace and someone like us, who has done so much wrong, can never be saved. Or perhaps we look at other people and cast a judgmental glance and think that very same thought about others. God’s Grace and forgiveness extends past any sin we have ever committed. Sin no longer has a hold on us because when Jesus Christ came to this world to die, He died for our sins so that we would not have to. To all who believe on Him, we have the free gift of Grace pouring out into our lives each day.
This passage depicts that God’s Grace des not lack love, forgiveness, understanding and patience. Jesus here takes the time to talk to this woman and explain to her what Grace is and why her sinful life has hindered her from being able to taste true and living water. He opens up her eyes to the fact that there is so much more to life then the physical pleasures of this world. He invites her to share in something that is more deeper and long-lasting.
Up until now, her world had been dominated by sexual sin and promiscuity. She knew nothing of what true, long lasting love meant and had been trying to find her fulfillment in temporary satisfaction. Christ here introduces her to a love that is filled with Grace and forgiveness. Despite the society’s norm of someone who is Jewish being highly discouraged to interact with a Samaritan woman, who was living in deep sin, Christ presses on past her background and sinful life.
This woman’s testimony was used to bring many others to Christ. God uses any one who has a heart to listen to do His work and Salvation is available to all who have a desire to hear it. He looks past your sin and struggles and reaches down and calls you to come to Him as you are. Open up your heart to God’s Grace and forgiveness today and allow for Him to transform you just like He did with this woman. No one is outside the reach of God’s Grace.
One thing that the gospels writers picked up on (especially Mark) is that the disciples were constantly bewildered by Christ’s actions and often they did not get the bigger picture. This passage is one of those times where the disciples were perplexed at Jesus because He was talking to a Samaritan women in the middle of the day. They wanted nothing to do with her. But Jesus had a different opinion. He saw pity on her and He saw that she was a woman who would be responsive to the gospel. The rest of the dialogue between them prove that out.
Sadly, we are often just as obtuse as the disciples were. We can overlook ministry to the neediest of people because we are too concerned with growing churches and building ministry programs aimed at metrics and not needs. We consider certain parts of society unworthy of enjoining our churches. In fact, I have personally known people of color who have been asked to leave a church they were attending because they were affecting the white regulars! This type of Christianity is not the one Jesus modeled. Jesus modeled the opposite.
Do no be a bewildered disciple. Be a Jesus follower. Model your life after the one who gave His life for you.