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Woman at
the Well
A Story
of a Loving God
How Jesus Shocked the Woman at
the Well With His Love and Acceptance
by Jack Zavada
The story of the woman at the
well is one of the most well known in the Bible; many Christians can easily
tell a summary of it.
On its surface, the story
chronicles ethnic prejudice and a woman shunned by her community. But take look
deeper, and you'll realize it reveals a great deal about Jesus' character.
Above all, the story, which
unfolds in John 4:1-40, suggests that Jesus is a loving and accepting God, and
we should follow his example.
The
story begins as Jesus and his disciples travel from Jerusalem in the south
to Galilee in the north. To make their journey shorter, they take the quickest
route, through Samaria.
Tired and thirsty, Jesus sat
by Jacob's well while his disciples went to the village of Sychar, roughly a
half-mile away, to buy food.
It was about noon, the
hottest part of the day, and a Samaritan woman came to the well at this
inconvenient time to draw water.
Jesus Meets the Woman at the Well
During
his encounter with the woman at the well, Jesus broke three Jewish customs.
Firstly, he spoke to her
despite the fact that she was a woman.
Second, she was a Sanaritan woman,
and the Jews traditionally despised Samaritans.
And, third, he asked her to
get him a drink of water, although using her cup or jar would have made him
ceremonially unclean.
Jesus' behavior shocked the woman at the well. But as if that
weren't enough, he told the woman he could give her "living water" so that she would never thirst again.
Jesus used the words “living water” to
refer to eternal life, the gift that would satisfy her soul's desire only
available through him.
At first, the Samaritan woman
did not fully understand Jesus' meaning.
Although
they had never met before, Jesus revealed that he knew she'd had five husbands
and was now living with a man who was not her husband. He had her full
attention!
Jesus Reveals Himself to the Woman
As Jesus and the woman discussed their views on worship, the
woman voiced her belief that the Messiah was coming. Jesus answered, "I who speak to you am he." (John
4:26, ESV)
As
the woman began to grasp the reality of her encounter with Jesus, the disciples
returned. They too were shocked to find him speaking to a woman.
Leaving
behind her water jar, the woman returned to town, inviting the people to "Come, see a man who told me all that I
ever did." (John 4:29, ESV)
Meanwhile,
Jesus told his disciples the harvest of souls was ready, sown by the prophets,
writers of the Old Testament and John the Baptist.
Excited
by what the woman told them, the Samaritans came from Sychar and begged Jesus
to stay with them.
Jesus stayed two days, teaching the Samaritan people about the
Kingdom of God. When he left, the people told the woman, "... we have heard for ourselves, and
we know that this is indeed the savior of the world." (John
4:42, ESV)
Points of Interest From the Woman at the Well Story
To
fully grasp the story of the woman at the well, it's important to understand
who the Samaritans were.
They were a mixed race
people, who had intermarried with the Assyrians centuries before.
They were hated by the Jews
because of this cultural mixing and because they had their own version of the
Bible and their own temple on Mount Gerizim.
The
Samaritan woman Jesus met faced prejudice from her own community.
She came to draw water at the
hottest part of the day, instead of the usual morning or evening times, because
she was shunned and rejected by the other women of the area for her immortality.
Jesus knew her history but
still accepted her and ministered to her.
By
reaching out to the Samaritans, Jesus showed that his mission was to all
people, not just the Jews.
In the book of Acts, after
Jesus' ascension into heaven, his apostles carried on his work
in Samaria and to the Gentile world.
Ironically, while the High
Priest and Sanhedrin rejected Jesus as the Messiah, the outcast Samaritans
recognized him and accepted him for who he truly was, the Lord and savior.
Question for Reflection
Our
human tendency is to judge others because of stereotypes, customs, or
prejudices.
Jesus treats people as
individuals, accepting them with love and compassion.
Do you dismiss certain people
as lost causes, or do you see them as valuable in their own right, worthy of
knowing about the gospel?
Jack Zavada
· Created
and manages and blogs at Inspiration-For-Singles.com
· Published
several books about Christian lifestyle topics
· Contributes
to numerous self-growth and Christian-based websites
· Former
newspaper reporter, technical editor, and public relations director
Experience
Jack
Zavada is a former writer for ThoughtCo who concentrates his contribution on
Christian topics and lifestyle. Jack began his 45-year career as a police and
government newspaper reporter and Associated Press wire editor. He later served
as a technical editor at the U.S. Army Construction Engineering Research
Laboratory (CERL). Other positions held include being a publications editor and
a communications director.
As
a writer, Jack focuses his work into three genres, Christian lifestyles,
self-help, and western fiction. Other than his work for ThoughtCo, Jack also
contributes to several Christian-focused websites including
Bible-Reflections.net, SelfGrowth.com, LivingWordBaptist.net,
JustMeCatholicFaith.com, and WZAKClevland.com. Jack created, manages and blogs
at his website Inspiration-For-Singles.com. The site also serves as a platform
for marketing his self-help eBooks. He also writes and publishes western
fiction under the pen name of Calder Boone.
Education
Jack
Zavada earned a Master Arts (M.A.) in English Composition and a Bachelor
Science (B.S.) in English literature, both from Illinois State University.
Awards
and Publications
· Hope for Hurting Singles: A
Christian Guide to Overcoming Life's Challenges(Pine Cone Press,
1st edition, 2017)
· Outsmarting Loneliness (Pine
Cone Press, 2012)
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and Dotdash
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