Many of us have read this passage before so bear with me as I found something new last week and wanted so much to share it with you. As for some background -- the Samaritans were a group of people that had separated from the Jews before the Babylonian captivity. They share the history of Moses but like Moses, did not enter the land of Canaan. The point I am making is that they were very familiar with what Yahweh, the story of the Burning Bush and the exile out of Egypt. The shared a common beginning.
I noticed in the story of the Samaritan woman that Jesus does something very unique here. He reveals who He is directly to this woman. This woman came alone to this well in the heat of the day to avoid others - most likely the other ladies' glances, gossip and ridicule. Jesus could have arrived at this well at any time for everything in His ministry had an appointed time.
Jesus, who already knows our hearts, asks the woman for some water. She is surprised and asks who He is. He answers her "If you knew who is the One saying to you, 'Give me to drink, you would have asked Him, and He would give you living water." She asks Jesus if He is greater than Jacob and his sons -- which are the foundation of 12 tribes of Israel -- and where His vessel is to draw this living water. He answers her in a way to expand her vision, "Everyone drinking of this water will thirst again; but whoever may drink of the water which I will give him will never ever thirst, but the water which I will give him will become a fountain of water in him, springing up into everlasting life."
Jesus is saying that if you keep thinking in terms of the world, you will never be satisified. But when you begin to trust and believe in me, you will not only be satisfied but it will grow to become an overflowing life that will testify to others.
She answers Jesus immediately, "Lord, give me this water that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw." You see she did two things. She recognized that He was Lord over her life and only He would save her. Secondly, she asked Him to heal her; she did not want to feel the rejection and humiliation any longer.
Jesus responded with what was causing those feelings by saying, "Go, call your husband and come here." She answered, "I have no husband." Jesus acknowledged that she answered honestly stating, "Well You say 'A husband not I have' for you have had five husbands and now who you are with is not your husband."
The woman asks him if He is a prophet for she is familiar that God would send a prophet to speak His words and would know this about her. Next, she confirms that her people have stayed here at the mountain and worshipped but that the Jews say the right place to worship God is in Jerusalem. She is asking for the truth to worship God for she knows she is having a personal encounter and wants to worship Him. She is asking where should she worship God.
He answers her, "Woman, believe Me, that comes an hour when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is of the Jews. But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth. For the Father also seeks such ones as these that worship Him. God is a spirit and those worshipping Him worship Him in spirit and truth." Do you see what Jesus did? He tells her that God is not bound by a place. He tells her that she is worshipping out of a ritual but that she does not have a relationship. He wants her worship out of a relationship. The salvation is of the Jews is confirming that the Messiah will be a Jew and that the fulfillment will be soon and once fulfilled, will be within each believer.
The woman responds, "I know that Messiah is coming, the One called Christ. When that One comes, He will announce to us all things."
Jesus answers her, "I AM, He is speaking to you."
He reveals to her that not only is He the fulfillment of the Messiah, the Christ fortold but the He is "I AM that I AM" who her people have stayed at the mountain and worshipped. He is the one fortold and fulfilled. To this woman Christ came directly and revealed in such a powerful way who He is. She mattered to Him and wanted Her to know. She responded by dropping her water pot, went out to the city and, having overcome all of her earlier feelings that made her draw her water in shame, she ran out to the city and told everyone what He did and that she found the foretold Christ. She shared the testimony of what Jesus had done for her with everyone she met and they left the city to see Him. "And many of the Samaritans out of that city believed in Him, because of the word of the woman testifying. 'He told me all things, whatever I did.' Then as the Samaritans came to Him, they aked Him to remain with them. And He remained there two days. And many more believed through His word And they said to the woman, 'We no longer believe because of your saying; for we have heard, and we know that this One is truly the Savior of the world, the Christ."
The other Samaritans believed first because of Her testimony but after developing a relationship with Him believed in Him for what they knew firsthand. Isn't this the way? Isn't this powerful?
John 4:7-30,39-42
