Therefore, when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that
Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John (though Jesus
Himself did not baptize, but His disciples), He left Judea and
departed again to Galilee. But He needed to go through
Samaria.
So He came to a city of Samaria which is called
Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob gave to his son
Joseph. 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.
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."
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. 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."
And at this
point His disciples came, and they marveled that He talked with
a woman; yet no one said, "What do You seek?" or, "Why are You
talking with her?"
The woman then
left her waterpot, went her way into the city, and said to the
men, "Come, see a Man Who told me all things that I ever did.
Could this be the Christ?"
Then they went
out of the city and came to Him.
In the meantime
His disciples urged Him, saying, "Rabbi, eat."
But He said to
them, "I have food to eat of which you do not know."
Therefore the
disciples said to one another, "Has anyone brought Him anything
to eat?"
Jesus said to
them, "My food is to do the will of Him Who sent Me, and to
finish His work. Do you not say, "There are still four months
and then comes the harvest'? Behold, I say to you, lift up your
eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for
harvest! And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for
eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice
together. For in this the saying is true: 'One sows and another
reaps.' I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored;
others have labored, and you have entered into their labors."
And many of
the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word
of the woman who testified, "He told me all that I ever
did." So when the Samaritans had come to Him, they urged Him to
stay with them; and He stayed there two days. And many more
believed because of His own word.
Then they said
to the woman, "Now we believe, not because of what you said, for
we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the
Christ, the Savior of the world." (John 4:1-42)
As Jesus journeyed
from Judea to Galilee, He went straight through Samaria instead of
going round about the boundaries of Samaria. That was almost a
forbidden act during those days. For the Jews had no dealings with
the Samaritans. The Jews would never travel through Samaria. They
would take the longer routes to avoid meeting any Samaritans. The
obvious reason was that the Jews and the Samaritans were at odds
against each other. The Jews did not like the Samaritans, and the
Samaritans did not like the Jews. Why was this so? What was the
relationship between the Jews and the Samaritans? What was the
origin of the Samaritans?
The formation of
the Samaritan race was an important part of Jewish history. Under
the rule of the first three kings of Israel, Saul, David and
Solomon, the nation of Israel was united. But after the death of
Solomon, the nation was divided into the 2 kingdoms:
Under this
division, the northern tribes gained a major portion of the fertile
land and springs. The dividing boundary line of the two kingdoms ran
directly across the central highland, through the valleys of
Michmash to the east and Ajalon to the west. The land area occupied
by the Northern Kingdom was about three times that of the Southern
Kingdom. The Northern Kingdom of Israel lasted just over 200 years
whereas the Southern Kingdom of Judah lasted over 330 years. During
this period, nineteen kings reigned over the Northern Kingdom of
Israel. None of these kings were faithful to the LORD. Each of them
promoted idolatry. Eight of them died as a result of being
assassinated or having committed suicide.
Before the time of
the Israelite kings, Samaria was occupied by the tribes of Ephraim
and the western portion of the tribe of Manasseh. Many of the sites
in Samaria held important places in Israelite history. Mount Gerizim
and Mount Ebal were the location where the covenant-renewal ceremony
took place during the time of Joshua (Joshua 8:30-35). Shechem,
located near Mount Gerizim, was an ancient Canaanite town that
regained its earlier prosperity during the monarchy. It became the
capital of the Northern Kingdom of Israel briefly under Jeroboam I
(about 931-910 BC; 1 Kings 12:25). But it was replaced by Penuel,
and then Tirzah.
Omri begun to
construct the city of Samaria about 880 BC. It was completed by his
son, Ahab, about 874-853 BC. Samaria then became the new capital of
the Northern Kingdom of Israel. Successive kings added to the
construction, and rebuilt sections to make Samaria a well-fortified
capital. However, the city fell to the Assyrians in 722-721 BC. Most
of the leading citizens of the Northern Kingdom were then deported
to Syria, Assyria and Babylonia.
In replacement of
the deported Israelites, Sargon brought in foreign colonists into
the city of Samaria (2 Kings 17:24). These foreigners took
possession of the city, and began to intermarry among the Israelites
who remained in Samaria. Their numbers increased even more when
Osnapper (Ezra 4:10) sent more Assyrian colonists into the city of
Samaria. These people took on the name "Samaritans," and attempted
to settle in the land.
However, they did
not fear the LORD. Therefore, the LORD sent lions among them, and
killed some of them (2 Kings 17:25). In despair, they requested help
from Assyria to send one of the priests whom they had taken from
Samaria so that he would "teach them the rituals of the God of the
land" (2 Kings 17:27). Thereafter, the Samaritans worshipped the God
of Israel. But they also continued their idolatry, worshipping the
pagan gods which they had imported from the foreign lands (2 Kings
17:29).
The Samaritans
became a mixed race contaminated by foreign blood and false worship.
The Jewish historian Josephus indicated that the Samaritans were
also opportunists. When the Jews enjoyed great wealth and
prosperity, the Samaritans were quick to acknowledge their blood
relationships. But when the Jews suffered hard times, the Samaritans
were also quick to disown their kinships, declaring that they were
descendants of Assyrian immigrants.
When a group of
Jews, led by Zerubbabel, returned from the Babylonian Captivity, the
Samaritans offered to help Zerubbabel rebuild the Temple. When their
offer was rejected, they tried to prevent the Jews from finishing
their project (Ezra 4:1-10). On another account, when Nehemiah
attempted to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, he was opposed by some
Arabic and Samaritan groups (Nehemiah 2:10-6:14). The breach between
the Samaritans and the Jews widened even further when Ezra, in his
zeal for racial purity, pressured all Israelite men who married
during the Captivity to divorce their pagan wives (Ezra 10:18-44).
The final break
between the Jews and the Samaritans occurred when the Samaritans
built a rival temple on Mount Gerizim. They claimed that Shechem was
the true Beth-el, the house of God. They rejected Zion (Jerusalem)
as the site chosen and blessed by the LORD.
The Samaritans
traced their religious beginnings to the time of Eli, who
established the sanctuary for the worship of God in Shiloh. They
also believed their religion was distinctive because they based
their beliefs and practices on the Torah (the Law) - the first five
books of the Old Testament. They recognized no other Hebraic
Scriptures as being authoritative.
Somewhere in time,
the pagan elements of Mesopotamian religion were removed from the
Samaritan religious beliefs. It was probably about the time of
Nehemiah (about 450 BC) that the Samaritans claimed themselves to be
orthodox. The Samaritans also claimed that Ezra changed the Hebrew
text to favor Jerusalem over Mount Gerizim as the site for the
second temple. But the Samaritans themselves were guilty of changing
the wording of the Law to reflect favorably to side their
traditions. They went through the Mosaic Law, and deleted any
possible reference to Jerusalem and replaced it with Mount Gerizim.
During the Roman
period, the Samaritans appeared to prosper. Their religion was made
legal in the Empire, and was being practised in synagogues in Italy
and Africa. But later they too faced fierce persecutions under the
Roman Catholics. They finally revolted in the fifth and sixth
centuries. The Roman emperor, Justinian (A.D. 527-565), suppressed
the Samaritans. He almost brought them to extinction, a condition
from which they never recovered. Only two small groups of Samaritans
exist today:
The pride of the
modern Samaritan community at Nablus is a large scroll of the books
of the Law. It was inscribed in an angular script, the way that the
Hebrew words was written long before the time of Christ.
The Samaritans retained their beliefs in God as the unique Creator
and Sustainer of all things. They also worshipped Him in the three
feasts as prescribed in the books of the Law:
-
Passover
-
Pentecost, and
-
Tabernacles
But their faith was
influenced in later periods by other beliefs, unlike the
orthodox Jewish community. Today, a small group of Samaritans still
maintain a temple on Mount Gerizim. They still sacrifice one or
more lambs on their holy mountain during the Feast of Passover.
These two religious
groups, the Jews and Samaritans lived side by side, each one
accusing the other as being debased and corrupted. During the time
of Jesus, it was well understood that the Jews had no dealings with
the Samaritans (John 4:9). However, Jesus broke the prejudices
between the two by telling the parable about the good Samaritan
(Luke 10:30-37), and the gospel account of the thankful Samaritan
leper (Luke 17:12-19). Through these two passages, Jesus highlighted
the better side of the Samaritans showing that they too were
merciful towards others, and thankful towards God.
The story of
the Samaritan woman was the story that salvation had finally come to
them. Their Messiah and Savior came personally to visit them. Many
Samaritans in the city of Sychar acknowledged Him, and received Him
into their hearts.
Some people said
that the Samaritan woman was a sinful woman. They drew their
conclusions from the fact that she went to the well in the heat of
the day at noon while the other women went in the cooler hours of
the morning. This in itself seemed to indicate that she was a sinful
woman. Perhaps there were other reasons. Maybe she was the object of
considerable ridicule and scorn from the other women in town. Maybe
she preferred the peace and quietness so that she could be all alone
at the well during that time, having her quiet time with God.
The sun was
blazing brightly as the Son of God came to the well. The Samaritan
woman made her way to the well as usual. She noticed Jesus sitting
there as she approached Jacob's Well. As Jesus was a man, she
observed her manners and customs, maintaining a distance. She went
over to the opposite side of the well, and prepared to draw water.
Then unexpectedly Jesus spoke to her. "Give Me a drink." With these
few simple words, her life was changed forever.
She obviously
knew that Jesus was a Jew by the accent of His voice, and by the
clothes He wore. (She was in fact better than many Christians today
who did not know that Jesus was a Jew!) How could a Jew ask a
drink from a Samaritan? How could a man ask a drink from a woman?
And how could a Jewish man ask a drink from a Samaritan woman? This
was almost unbecoming and very impropriate. The Jews had no dealings
with the Samaritans. That's why the disciples of Jesus refused to
spread the gospel beyond Jerusalem and Judea. They refused to go to
Samaria, and then to the ends of the earth. They finally went after
the Holy Spirit separated them, and launched them out!
By asking her for a physical drink of water, Jesus
created a spiritual thirst in her. He told her about a living water
that would spring up into everlasting life.
That's the kind of water
she was longing for. When she drank that water, she would never
thirst again. Jesus revealed to her that she had a spiritual need -
the need for eternal life.
Then Jesus did the
most amazing thing. He asked her to go and call for her husband. By
doing this, Jesus healed her brokenness and shame. Salvation is not
just having eternal life when we die, it is having eternal life
while we are alive! He was showing her that she could have the new
abundant life that was found in Christ alone!
Typically, some
pastors and preachers would paint a picture of this woman as being
immoral, loose and promiscuous! She had had five husbands. And the
man she was living with was not her husband. This sixth man was
outside the marital bliss. Let's look beyond the surface before we
too jump into the conclusion as our minds are filled with the images
of many Hollywood movie stars who changed spouses at the slightest
whim, having no desire of a genuine commitment.
We have to
understand the culture and society in which this woman lived. In
Deuteronomy 24, the conditions for divorce under the Law were
outlined. It was clearly stated that the husband was the person in
the marriage who had the authority to initiate a divorce. Women were
allowed to initiate divorce only in some isolated cases, and these
were very rare. Women in those days had little rights. They could
not file for divorce, unlike what we are accustomed to today. It was
uniquely the husband's prerogative. Therefore, this woman had been
apparently divorced five times by her five husbands. The truth was
that her five husbands had rejected her, and sent her away. Why? And
if she was immoral and loose, who would want to marry her in the
first place? She must have something good and godly that attracted
five men to marry her.
Some had suggested
that she was an adulteress. Again, this was not possible as the
penalty for adultery under the Law was to be stoned to death. Like
the Jews, the Samaritans also observed the Law strictly! If this
woman had lived an immoral lifestyle, she would have been dead long
ago.
So why would her
five husbands consecutively choose to send her away? There was a
possibility that one or more of her five husbands had died. Jesus
did not say that she was divorced five times, but that she had five
previous husbands. Was she impossible to live with? An impossible
and nagging woman? A pain in the neck?
During the ancient times, the main reason for men
divorcing their wives was barrenness. To be fruitful and multiply was
the first command that God gave to mankind! The Jewish people placed
a great emphasis on having an heir, particularly a son who could
carry on the family name, heritage and business. The ability to bear
children was considered the evidence that God had blessed the
family. Hannah, the mother of Samuel, suffered ridicules from
Peninnah because she was barren (1 Samuel 1). Sarah too was scorned
and despised by her own maidservant, Hagar when Hagar conceived a
baby by Abraham while Sarah was still barren (Genesis 16:4-6).
Historical records
showed that in the first century, the major cause for divorce among
Jewish couples was this very issue: barrenness. The same would hold
true for Samaritans, who also valued and followed the Law of Moses.
Though a husband might love his wife, if after a reasonable time she
was unable to present him with an heir, the husband had the legal
rights to issue her a certificate of divorce, and put her away. Many
Jewish and Samaritan men did exercise their rights.
What about the
sixth man? This sixth man was not her husband. She had no husband
when she met Jesus. Jesus plainly said that the one whom she had was
not her husband, and that she had spoken truly. This sixth man might
be her father, brother or a close relative whom she was staying with
after five failed marriages. Jesus did not said that she was
committing adultery with this man. In fact she had a great
reputation that others listened to her when she told them about
Jesus - a Man Who told her all things that she ever did. Could He be
the Messiah?
This
Samaritan woman was a very religious woman. She was able to perceive
that Jesus was a prophet. She had spiritual insights! She
immediately brought to Jesus' attention that her forefathers
worshipped on this mountain, Mount Gerizim, whereas Jesus and the
Jews worshipped in Jerusalem. She wanted to know His answer. Mount
Gerizim or Mount Zion?
Jesus did not
answer her question. Instead, He gave her a revelation of what
constituted true worship. 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 more important issue is not the place but the Person Whom
we worship. We must worship Him in spirit and in truth!
If she was an
adulterer, Jesus would have said to her, "Go and sin no more" (John
8:11). If she was being possessed by demons, Jesus would have said,
"Be set free!" If she was diseased, Jesus would have said, "Be
healed." But, to this broken-hearted woman, Jesus said, "The Father
is seeking such to worship Him." Why?
I believe that
Jesus saw in her a true heart of worship. She was a godly woman with
a heart that followed after God! She was a woman after God's own
heart! She was genuinely seeking God. Jesus looked past the surface,
and ministered to her hurting soul. His unconditional love and
acceptance demolished the strongholds of rejection and shame. His
perfect love cast out all her fears. She found her Savior and Lord!
She was on the highway to wholeness and well-being as she worshipped
God in spirit and in truth. God inhabited her praises.
Jesus finally
revealed to her that He was the One she was looking for - Christ the
Messiah. She was seeking, and she was found! She must believe in Him
so that she could have the abundant life. And she believed in Jesus!
She could not contain her joy! She ran into the city, and publicly
declaring that she had met the Messiah. That day, many Samaritans
met their Creator and God! They urged Jesus to stay with them. And
He stayed there for two days. And many more believed because of His
own word.
Then they said to
the woman, "Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we
ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ,
the Savior of the world." God had not forgotten about the
Samaritans. He had them in mind from eternity. That's why Jesus
spoke this to His disciples just before He ascended to heaven:
But you
shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and
you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea
and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.
(Acts 1:8)
Jesus has also not forgotten us. He too
meets us on our way to the well of our salvation!
Spring up, O
well, within my soul
Spring up, O well, and make me whole
Spring up, O well, and give to me
New life abundantly
Please also read:
Jacob's Well
Source:
Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary
Written On:
9 March 2005