The Woman at the Well Spreads the Word
While
passing through
a
little known Samaritan town
called
Sychar -
Jesus
met a certain woman
On
His way from Judea to Galilee,
At
the place of Jacob’s Well.
It
was about noonday.
Samaria,
a
former capital city of Israel –
sat
on a rich and fertile hilltop
Built
during the reigns of King Omri,
and
his son, Ahab.
It
was a province
In
what had become
Central
Palestine.
Jacob
and all his sons had drank from the well.
But
Samaria had fallen to the Assyrians.
Intermarriage
of native Jews with foreigners
Led
to a mixed race Samaritan people
Who
adopted the pagan idolatries
Of
their captives.
They
were condemned by the prophets -
Utterly
despised by pure-blood Jews
Who
shun them as wicked,
And
avoided them like the plague -
Choosing
to detour
around
the city
when
needing to pass.
Jesus
had sat down to rest
When
the woman arrived
To
draw water.
Jesus
asked her for a drink,
But
she questioned His wish for water
from
the well
of
those considered unclean.
Jesus
said to her…
If
she had recognized the gift of God
Standing
before her asking for a drink
She
would have instead asked of Him,
and
He would have given her
living
water.
But
the woman did not grasp the meaning of His words.
She
was distracted by the notion
That
He would think he could draw water from a well
without
a pail,
And
provide living water!
How incredulous!
In
the same vein…
think
Himself more highly than their forefather Jacob.
Unbelievable!
He
went on to say…
“All who drink
of the water from this man-made well
Will remain
thirsty,
But the living
water given by and through Me
Shall become a
spring within –
Flowing
continually
Into all eternity.”
Though
still not following
His
leading,
But
eager to receive this
Sustaining
water…
And
be relieved of the tedious trek out to the well everyday,
The
woman seized upon
the
more excellent option.
Jesus
then elicited delicate details of her
personal
cohabitations…
Which
he had discerned by divine knowledge.
He
knew all about her.
Prompting
her to assess Him to be a prophet,
But
questioned the behavior of a Jew
Worshipping
outside the holy city of Jerusalem,
And
in the shadow of the Samaritan temple.
It
was out of character –
For
which one would be condemned.
So
Jesus told her…
“The time is nearing
At hand
When you will
worship the Father
Neither on this
mountain
Nor in Jerusalem.
You Samaritans worship what you do not comprehend;
We worship what we know,
for salvation comes from among the Jews
You Samaritans worship what you do not comprehend;
We worship what we know,
for salvation comes from among the Jews
Yet the time is
coming…
And has now come
When worship in
Spirit and in truth will be
The true nature
of worship;
When the place
of worship
Will not be of
bricks and mortar.
Because God is
Spirit
And seeks those
who will worship the Father
In the Spirit
And in truth.”
Though
the Samaritans embraced pagan idolatry,
They
still worshipped the God of Israel.
So
the woman was mindful
Of
the sacred writings -
that
the Messiah was to come.
She
understood enlightenment
would
come through Christ;
And
He would clarify all things.
Hence,
Jesus
made Himself perfectly clear
That
He was the One…
“I Am He.
I, Who now speaks
with thee,
Am He.”
At
that instance
The
spirit of the Lord
Opened
the heart and mind of the woman,
And
as the ol’ song goes…
“I once was blind,
But now I see…”
Was
true for her too.
She
knew what He had spoken was truth.
Verily, verily…
Thus saith the
Lord!...
She believed with all certainty
He
was the Christ,
And
ran straightway into town
To spread the
Word…
To
announce the good news
That
Christ the Messiah had come.
Soon
after many people of the town
set
out to meet Him.
They
had initially believed
because
of the woman’s ardent testimony,
But
after spending time listening to Jesus
for
themselves;
Many
believed what He Himself said;
They believed and trusted the authority given His
words;
They believed…in spirit and in truth,
Jesus
was surely the Savior of the world.
That
Christ…
Had
indeed come!
Hallelujah!!!
The
scriptures do not tell us what He said to them.
The
text doesn’t allow us to sit in on any conversations.
Doesn’t
share His message or ministry to them.
But
they do tell us that He
Spent
time with them…
About
two days.
He
spoke, they listened, they heard,
They
saw with their own eyes
Jesus
Christ walking with them.
The
Word of God made flesh
And
abiding among them…
Gentle,
kind, loving, compassionate, patient, gracious,
tolerant,
accepting, straightforward, considerate,
unhurried,
relaxed, non-judgmental,
Friendly,
bold, authoritative, indiscriminate, confident,
and
self-assured in God.
As
He was with the woman at the well.
(That’s
the picture I get)
And
they believed.
(Based on the
Gospel of John, Chapter 4)
“For God so
loved the world that He gave
His only
begotten Son,
So that whoever
believes in Him shall not perish (be lost)
But have eternal
life.”
“For God did not
send the Son into the world
In order to
condemn the world,
But that the
world would find salvation and redemption
Through Him.”
(John 3:16 and 17)
Note:
His disciples, upon seeing Jesus talking to this woman,
were astonished, but kept silent.
