At the Well Again

In John 4, is one of my favorite sections. As I learn more and more about this record, the more I marvel at what God has done for us. As Jesus talks to the woman at the well, the conversation is a foreshadowing of the relationship involved in true fellowship, in spirit and in truth. This relationship will transcend cultural barriers, religious barriers, race barriers, and gender barriers. Jesus makes a great statement at the end of this section:

John 24:20 Our fathers worshipped in this mountain (Mt Gerizim); and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. 21 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. 22 Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. 23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.

It is interesting to note the location of this well and the history of the area:

John 4: 3 He left Judaea, and departed again into Galilee. 4 And he must needs go through Samaria. 5 Then cometh he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. 6 Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus, therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour.

In this record there are 'Jacob' and 'Joseph' references about the spot that Jesus stopped. Wells were very significant in those cultures, they were essential for life. It was evident in the Old Testament and New Testament.

Many scholars put a huge emphasis on the administrations of the Bible.  Some scholars divide the book into seven or eight sections along God's time line. (See 'The Big Picture' section in the tabs above) References to the past administrations are often referred to in other sections. It isn't God who divided the Bible up into testaments, chapters and verses. Man did it. God is faithful and we learn from all sections of the Bible. We are reminded in John chapter four of the significant past events that occurred in this very place. The promised seed from Genesis walked in the same areas in the gospels. He was the living water!

The Samaritans were a culture of half-breed hebrews due to frequent intermarriage with people who were transported to and settled in Samaria which was north of Jerusalem. There is a large amount of historical evidence about the antagonism between the Samaritans of the north and Judeans of the southern area around Jerusalem. Yet in this recorded conversation, Jesus's attitude toward her was not one of contempt but a reaching out to her heart:

John 4:9 Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew(Judean), askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. 10 Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. 11 The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water? 12 Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle? 13 Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: 14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

Jesus Christ is the end of thirst. There is absolutely no substitute for him. If you have ever known spiritual thirst for God, there is no farther to look than to His son whether you are a Judean, Samaritan, Gentile, male or female. He is the living water and brings life into tired parched lives.