1 When Jesus knew that the Pharisees heard He was making and baptizing more disciples than John 2 (though Jesus Himself was not baptizing, but His disciples were), 3 He left Judea and went again to Galilee. 4 He had to travel through Samaria, 5 so He came to a town of Samaria called Sychar near the property that Jacob had given his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, worn out from His journey, sat down at the well. It was about six in the evening.
7 A woman of Samaria came to draw water.
“Give Me a drink,” Jesus said to her, 8 for His disciples had gone into town to buy food.
9 “How is it that You, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” she asked Him. For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.
10 Jesus answered, “If you knew the gift of God, and who is saying to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would ask Him, and He would give you living water.”
11 “Sir,” said the woman, “You don’t even have a bucket, and the well is deep. So where do You get this ‘living water’? 12 You aren’t greater than our father Jacob, are You? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and livestock.”
13 Jesus said, “Everyone who drinks from this water will get thirsty again. 14 But whoever drinks from the water that I will give him will never get thirsty again—ever! In fact, the water I will give him will become a well of water springing up within him for eternal life.”
15 “Sir,” the woman said to Him, “give me this water so I won’t get thirsty and come here to draw water.”
16 “Go call your husband,” He told her, “and come back here.”
17 “I don’t have a husband,” she answered.
“You have correctly said, ‘I don’t have a husband,’” Jesus said. 18 “For you’ve had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.”
19 “Sir,” the woman replied, “I see that You are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, yet you Jews say that the place to worship is in Jerusalem.”
21 Jesus told her, “Believe Me, woman, an hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know. We worship what we do know, because salvation is from the Jews. 23 But an hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth. Yes, the Father wants 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” (who is called Christ). “When He comes, He will explain everything to us.”
26 “I am He,” Jesus told her, “the One speaking to you.”
27 Just then His disciples arrived, and they were amazed that He was talking with a woman. Yet no one said, “What do You want?” or “Why are You talking with her?”
28 Then the woman left her water jar, went into town, and told the men, 29 “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did! Could this be the Messiah?” 30 They left the town and made their way to Him.
31 In the meantime the disciples kept urging Him, “Rabbi, eat something.”
32 But He said, “I have food to eat that you don’t know about.”
33 The disciples said to one another, “Could someone have brought Him something to eat?”
34 “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to finish His work,” Jesus told them. 35 “Don’t you say, ‘There are still four more months, then comes the harvest’? Listen to what I’m telling you: Open your eyes and look at the fields, for they are ready for harvest. 36 The reaper is already receiving pay and gathering fruit for eternal life, so the sower and reaper can rejoice together. 37 For in this case the saying is true: ‘One sows and another reaps.’ 38 I sent you to reap what you didn’t labor for; others have labored, and you have benefited from their labor.”
39 Now many Samaritans from that town believed in Him because of what the woman said when she testified, “He told me everything I ever did.” 40 Therefore, when the Samaritans came to Him, they asked Him to stay with them, and He stayed there two days. 41 Many more believed because of what He said. 42 And they told the woman, “We no longer believe because of what you said, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this really is the Savior of the world.”
43 After two days He left there for Galilee. 44 Jesus Himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country. 45 When they entered Galilee, the Galileans welcomed Him because they had seen everything He did in Jerusalem during the festival. For they also had gone to the festival.
Read John 4:1-45 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!
If there was a spot in the gospels that helped point me to Jesus coming for all people, it might be this one. While most Jews would take the long way around to avoid traveling through Samaria, early on in Jesus’ ministry, He and His disciples decide to travel through this region.
While the disciples were off buying food, Jesus starts a conversation with a woman who came to get water. In this conversation, not only does Jesus talk to her about her past and answer her questions about worship, He also comes out and directly tells her that He is the Messiah.
On hearing this, the woman leaves and goes back to the town to tell the people who she met. “Then the woman left her water jar, went into town, and told the men, ‘Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did! Could this be the Messiah?’ They left the town and made their way to Him.” (v. 28-30)
It is interesting that the woman doesn’t say that Jesus was the Messiah, but instead she opens the question for those living in the town to answer for themselves. Having someone share an opinion with you is okay, but you can choose to write it off. Having someone ask you to help them with a question is a little more engaging and is more likely to get you to respond.
Before even meeting Jesus, verse 39 tells us that “many Samaritans from that town believed in Him because of what the woman said when she testified, ‘He told me everything I ever did.’” This is significant perhaps because this woman had a questionable reputation, and someone who knew it all would have to have been significant. “Therefore, when the Samaritans came to Him, they asked Him to stay with them, and He stayed there two days.” (v. 40)
The woman’s testimony opened the door for Jesus to stay in their village. Before even hearing Jesus personally, the invitation was open for Jesus. Perhaps, it was because the people wanted to hear all the dirt they could about this woman, but what they ended up hearing changed their hearts and minds. “Many more believed because of what He said.” (v. 41)
The big idea is what happens at the end of Jesus’ two day stay in this Samaritan village. When Jesus is getting ready to continue His journey, the people of the village approach the woman and say, “We no longer believe because of what you said, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this really is the Savior of the world.” (v. 42)
Personal testimony is one of the best ways to get people to pay attention to Jesus. This woman sharing about Jesus opened the door for Jesus. But someone else’s testimony does not make a good foundation to build your faith on. Faith comes from personal experience – and it is what these Samaritans had following Jesus’ two day visit.
This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!
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