He left Judea and departed again to Galilee. But He needed to go through Samaria. (John 4:1-4; Matthew 4:12; Mark 1:14; Luke 4:14) So He came to a city of Samaria which is called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. [Genesis 33:18-20] (John 4:5)
Samaria was the capital of Isreal. After King Solomon died around 931 B.C., Judah became the southern kingdom, whose capital was Jerusalem, and Isreal became the northern kingdom, whose capital became Samaria. The Jews from Jerusalem did not care for the "half-breed" Jews in Samaria, because they had mixed with other nations and cultures. Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, sat thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour. A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.” For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans. (John 4:6-9)
Lesson # 1: Jesus doesn't care, therefore neither should we care where a person is from or what nationality they are. We are all human beings, and therefore created by the same God. Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.” The woman said to Him, “Sir, You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where then do You get that living water? Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?” Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” (John 4:10-14)
Living water? Lesson # 2: Jesus is most concerned with our spiritual needs, along with our physical needs. We need physical water to sustain our physical bodies, but most importantly we need "living water" to sustain our spiritual bodies, our souls, which will spend eternity either in heaven or hell (Matthew 10:28). The woman said to Him, “Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw.” Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.” The woman answered and said, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You have well said, ‘I have no husband,’ for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly.” The woman said to Him, “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. (John 4:15-19) We will discover as we continue our study of the gospel books that Christ always told whomever he helped to correct their "sin" problem as a condition of receiving their physical healing, usually saying "go and sin no more." Jesus knows which sin each of us is battling. (Psalm 51) No one had to tell Him about the woman. He told her about her sin, “You shall not commit adultery." (see Ten Commandments & Christ)
God deals with each of our individual sins and helps us to overcome them, but God promised that one day He would deal with both Samaria and Jerusalem, and the whole world's sin problem, and He'll fix that also. (Micah 1) Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship.” Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). “When He comes, He will tell us all things.” Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am He.” (John 4:20-26)
We can't see God, but the evidence that He exists is in creation (Romans 1:19-20). We know that Christ existed, eventhough we can't physically see Him now, because He was seen for many days by those who came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are His witnesses to the people. (Acts 13:31) And finally ...we are His witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him.” (Acts 5:32) Therefore just as God is Spirit, we also must worship Him in spirit and truth.” For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12) God knows our sin condition is a heart condition! Pray and ask God to Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. (Psalm 51:10)
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