The Woman at the Well - Meeting the Messiah
John continued his work near Salim
where he found plenty of water and the location was convenient for people to
find him. John had not yet been put in prison. An argument arose between a Jew
and John’s disciples about the rite of purification[3].
They brought the discussion to John and said, “The One you baptized in the
Jordan is now baptizing as well and more people are going to him.” John said,
“God is the One who grants things to us, we cannot make things happen on our
own. You heard me say that I am not the Messiah, I am only someone sent to
prepare the way for Him. That One is the Bridegroom, I am just a groomsman, and
I rejoice that He is happy with His bride. I am quite happy fulfilling my role
which now seems to be finished. His role is just beginning and mine will now
diminish. He comes from heaven and greater than all, I am just from the earth
and speak to you of earthly things, He is far more excellent than I. I am sad
that people do not receive what He has to talk about because He is talking
truth. Anyone who accepts His teachings, believes that God is true. He speaks
God’s Words to the world in the power of God’s Spirit. Our God and Father has
given all things into His hands. Believe in the Son and you will have eternal
life. Turn away from the Son and you will not know life at all. You will choose
judgment upon yourself.”
T24 - John 3:27; A man can receive nothing
unless it has been given him from the God of heaven.
T25 - John 3:35; The Father loves the Son and
has given all things into His hand.
T26 - John 3:36; He who believes in the Son
has eternal life.
24 – Traveling to Galilee through Samaria[4]
John 4:1-2
The Pharisees were aware that Jesus
and John were both baptizing and making disciples. Jesus did not baptize but
His disciples were baptizing the people who came to them. The news that John
had been arrested came to Jesus and He, following the lead of the Spirit,
withdrew into the land of Galilee. On the way He traveled through the region of
Samaria. Near the city of Sychar Jesus found the land that Jacob had given to
his son Joseph many years before. Jesus sat down and rested near Jacob’s well
as He felt wearied from the trip and the midday heat. When a woman from the
town came to draw water, Jesus asked for a drink. All the disciples were in
town purchasing some needed supplies. The woman said, “I am surprised that you,
being a Jew would ask a Samaritan for water.” Jesus responded, “If you were
aware of God’s gift and who is asking for the water, you might choose to ask
Him to give you living water.” Pointing out that he had nothing to draw water
from this deep well she asked, “Where do you get this living water? Do you
claim to be someone greater than Jacob, our father, who dug the well, drank
from it, and so did his sons and cattle?” Jesus said, “The water in this well
will only quench your thirst for a short time, and you will desire more, the
water that I have to share will quench a person’s thirst completely, because I
will give that person a source of water within them that will last into eternal
life.”
In those days,
Jews did not have any dealings with Samaritans. This is the part of Israel that
was given to the descendants of Ephraim and Manasseh, two of the grandsons of
Jacob. In the years after the Babylonians conquered the Northern Kingdom of
Israel, they brought people of many races into the area and over time they
intermarried with the Jews who did not go into exile to Babylon. Because of
this, many Jews outside the region considered Samaritans as less than pure Jews
and therefore they had no dealings with them.
The
living water Jesus tells the woman about is a reference to the Holy Spirit who
will refresh the followers of Jesus. Those who drink of this well, i.e. receive
the Holy Spirit by faith, and walk in His presence, will never spiritually
thirst again, and will live in eternal life.
T27 - John 4:14; Whoever drinks of Jesus'
water will never thirst.
The woman asked Him for that water
saying, “I would like to not have to come to this well to quench my thirst.”
Jesus said, “Would you first go get your husband and bring him back with you?”
She answered, “I do not have a husband.” Jesus said, “You answered truthfully.
You had five husbands so far and the man you are now with is not your husband.”
She responded, “You appear to be a prophet. Traditionally, our ancestors
worshipped in this mountain, but you Jews says we need to come to Jerusalem to
worship our God.” Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, the time is coming when it
will not be here or in Jerusalem where people will worship the Father. The
difference is whether you know who you are worshipping, however, salvation is
coming through the Jews. There will be a time, actually the time has arrived
already, when worship of the Father will be by the Spirit and truth, not in a
particular location. This is the Father’s desire to have all people worship Him
in the Spirit. God is spirit, and true worship takes place in the Spirit.”
Continuing the discussion, the woman declared, “I believe the Messiah is coming
and when He does, He will make us aware of all things.” Jesus said, “I Am He.”
The disciples came back from town
and were surprised to see Jesus speaking with this woman. But they did not
question Him about it. The woman was so startled by the conversation; she went
back to town without her water pot. In the city she told the men, “I believe I
have just spoken to the Messiah down at the well. He told me everything I have
ever done.” So, they followed her back to the well to see Him.
As
the dialogue continues, the woman desires to have what Jesus is offering. When
He asks her to go back to town and get her husband, she discovers He knows more
about her than she would like. Her conclusion is that this man is a prophet.
Because
the Samaritans were outcasts from Jerusalem, they did not travel to the Temple
to worship but instead worshipped within their own region on Mt. Gerizim.
Believing themselves to be the Keepers of the Law, they relied solely upon the
Pentateuch, the first five books of Moses, and a version of the book of Joshua
that expanded the stories of Joshua and added additional histories of the
Samaritan people.
The
woman asks Jesus about the differences related to places of worship and He
talks to her about God’s desire to be worshipped by everyone, whether they are
in the right physical location or not. Worship has to do with being in the
presence of God who does not occupy an earthly location. In this way, worship
becomes for us an internal experience, a change of heart, an attitude
adjustment, and a sense of humility before the God of heaven. Once the worship
happens within our hearts, the natural response is an outward expression of
that worship.
Hungering
to know more she asks about the Messiah and when He might be coming and Jesus
said to her, “I Am He.” The name of God which is often translated at Yahweh is
a Hebrew verb meaning I am who I am, or I was who I was, or even I will be who
I will be. If anyone used the phrase “I AM” when talking about themselves, they
were seen as making themselves out to be equal with God and in the Jewish
tradition deserved to be stoned to death for blaspheme.
Based
upon her response, she believed that to be true and went into town to tell the
men that she had just talked with the Messiah. They wanted to see for
themselves so they left the town to come to the well.
T28 - John 4:23; God desires people to worship
Him in spirit and truth.
R16 - John 4:26; Jesus reveals Himself to the
Samaritan Woman as the Messiah, the Christ she is looking for.
R17 - John 4:29; The Samaritan Woman tells the
men of the town that she has found the Messiah, the Christ.
After the woman had left the well, the
disciples were encouraging Jesus to eat some food. He responded, “I have access
to food that you do not know about.” They wondered if someone had brought Him
something while they were gone. Knowing what they were thinking, Jesus said,
“When I do the will of God, I receive nourishment that is similar to eating
food. By the way, you know when it is time to harvest the fields, don’t you?
Well, look at the men who are coming to us from town and see that the spiritual
fields are ready to be harvested. When we reap this harvest that God is
bringing, we lay up fruit for eternal life so that anyone who sows spiritual
things as well as those who reap spiritual things, can both rejoice. Most of
the time, one sows, and another reaps. This time, you get to reap the harvest
that another person labored to produce.”
When
Jesus was being tempted by the devil, He reminded the devil that “Bread is not the only thing that nourishes a man, but man is
strengthened by the Words that come from the mouth of God."[5]
He then turns His focus away from the temporal things of eating and
hunger to the spiritual harvest of helping people find joy and hope in the
Messiah.
T29 - John 4:32; Jesus says there is a food
that is different than physical food,
- Spiritual food nourishes our soul and
body.
- Spiritual food comes when we do the will
of the Father.
- And when we accomplish His work.
T 30 - John 4:37; Each person has a different
gift and ministry.
- Each person benefits from the gifts and
ministry that others have.
- We are called to work together and find
blessing when we help each other.
- We are in this to bring honor to Jesus
not to ourselves or our gifts.
T31 - John 4:35; The world is ripe for the
harvest and is waiting for us to come and share the good news with them.
- We should be going into the world looking
for the people who are hungry for the Word of God. Even though we find
opposition in some people, there are many others who are waiting for us to
share with them.
The harvest in that city was great
as many of the Samaritans believed in Jesus because of what the woman had said.
The men coming to Jesus asked Him to stay in their city for a while and He
decided to stay for two days. Many others began to believe when they heard
Jesus speaking. Some of these said to the woman, "I first believed because
of what you said about this Man, but now that I have heard Him speak, I believe
for sure that He is the Savior of the world."
Faith
being an accumulative thing, the men in Samaria believed based upon the word of
the woman who told them what Jesus had told her. But the more they listened to
Jesus over the next two days, the more they believe based on what they heard
and saw for themselves.
R18 - John 4:42; The men of Samaria proclaim
that Jesus was indeed the Savior of the world, i.e. the Messiah.
- They started believing based on what the
woman said.
- Then they believed for themselves when
they saw the things He did and heard the words He spoke.
[1]
Ministry is an English word from the Greek that means service, when the people
of the church refer to ministry, they mean doing some service for God and for
other people.
[2] (John 3:23-36)
[3]
Rite of Purification was a washing with water of the body, especially the hands
and the feet before a meal or entering into the temple. In the case of John the
Baptist, he was cleansing people with water before they welcomed the Messiah
into the world. And he added the need to confess sins before the water
cleansing took place.
[4] (John 4:1-42)
5] (Luke 4:4)
Edd Breeden
Comments
Post a Comment