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In John 4:1-42, we read about the encounter of Jesus with a woman whom we know as the Samaritan woman. The Bible does not tell us her name, we only know that she was a woman from Samaria and that her conversation with Jesus transformed not only her life but the life of many other Samaritans.
She had her encounter with Jesus next to Jacob's well, where she had gone to draw water. In their conversation, Jesus and she talked about various topics. They talked about her life, about true worship of God, and about Christ, the awaited Messiah. The Samaritan woman was never the same after her encounter with Jesus, the Savior of the world.
At the beginning of the story in the book of John, we see Jesus on his way to Galilee. He stopped in a Samaritan village called Sychar because he was very tired from walking so much. When midday came, Jesus sat down to rest next to a well while his disciples went into the village to buy food.
The Samaritan woman arrived, and Jesus asked her for some water. She was very surprised because Jews did not associate at all with Samaritans. She asked Jesus how it was possible that he was asking her for water. Jesus' answer was surprising. He shifted from talking about physical water to talking about the living spiritual water that he could give her. Jesus was more interested in the spiritual condition of the woman than in satisfying his own physical thirst.
At that moment, the conversation took an interesting turn. Jesus offered her "a spring of water welling up to eternal life," and she said yes, that she desired to receive it. Jesus asked her about her husband, as an attempt to see how deep the woman's sincerity was. The woman answered him with the truth, that she did not have a husband.
Jesus spoke about her past, and she recognized him as a prophet. She took the conversation to a less personal level. She began to talk about the right place to worship God, since Jews and Samaritans had different opinions. Jesus explained to her that the worship that pleases God does not depend on the place, but on the condition of the heart of the people.
"God is Spirit; and it is necessary that those who worship him, worship him in spirit and in truth" (John 4:24), he told her. The woman spoke about the awaited Messiah, the Christ, and the certainty that he would explain all things. Jesus revealed to her at that moment that he was the Messiah (John 4:26).
The disciples returned and were surprised to see Jesus talking to a woman. She, leaving her water jar, went to the city and began to speak with the people of the town about Jesus. She told them about her encounter with him and the impactful conversation they had.
The men quickly went to where Jesus was and begged him to stay longer with them. He stayed there for two days. During those days, in addition to the woman, many believed in Jesus as the Savior of the world.
What we learn from this story
That is all the Bible tells us about the Samaritan woman. However, her story shows us how great God's love is for all humanity. Our nationality or our past do not stop God. He desires to reach all of us with His love, transform our lives, and give us the hope of eternal life.
Another thing we learn from this story is the importance of testimony. The woman immediately spoke about her encounter with Jesus, and her words opened the door for many others to receive Jesus as Savior. We can all speak to those around us about the experiences we have with the Lord. Our testimony can be key in the spiritual journey of those around us. Let’s talk about Jesus!
Jesus and the Samaritan Woman, Biblical Text
John 4:1-26 and 39-42
Now Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that he was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John— 2 although in fact it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples. 3 So he left Judea and went back once more to Galilee.
4 Now he had to go through Samaria. 5 So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon.
7 When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” 8 (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.)
9 The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans).
10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”
11 “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?”
13 Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.”
16 He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.”
17 “I have no husband,” she replied.
Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. 18 The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.”
19 “Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. 20 Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.”
21 “Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”
25 The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”
26 Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.”
- John 4:1-26
39 Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.” 40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. 41 And because of his words many more became believers.
42 They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.”
- John 4:39-42
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