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. 7 There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink. 8 (For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.) 9 Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, 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. 15 The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw. 16 Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither. 17 The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband: 18 For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly. 19 The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; 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. 24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. 25 The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things. 26 Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he. 27 And upon this came his disciples, and marvelled that he talked with the woman: yet no man said, What seekest thou? or, Why talkest thou with her? 28 The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men, 29 Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ? 30 Then they went out of the city, and came unto him. 31 In the mean while his disciples prayed him, saying, Master, eat. 32 But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of. 33 Therefore said the disciples one to another, Hath any man brought him ought to eat? 34 Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work. 35 Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest. 36 And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together. 37 And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth. 38 I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours. 39 And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him for the saying of the woman, which testified, He told me all that ever I did. John 4:6-39 (KJV)
Wretched sinner that this Samaritan woman was, having had five husbands and was living with a man, the Lord Jesus Christ saw fit to include her in the Scriptures so that we would be able to glean. Just what is there in this wonderful account that would be a blessing to us? Can you imagine yourself in the same position? I know I have. I may not have been married five times but sin is sin (James 2:10). I have been in a place where I have longed for the words of life to speak to me. Every born-again woman can place herself at the well if she desires to learn.
I can only imagine how this Samaritan woman felt as she approached the well to fetch water. When we are deep in sin and in search of truth, we are not “right” in our shoes. Life is not the way it should be and we are in search of “something” that will bring happiness. She arrived at the well and her life would never be the same. She was at the right place, at the right time! Just like all of us, her encounter with the Lord Jesus would forever change her.
The Samaritan woman’s first obstacle was religion, in my opinion. Here was a Jew speaking to her, a Samaritan. She knew her place as a Samaritan and was surprised that this Jewish man was talking to her. Not only was this not heard of, but here He was telling her He wanted her to get Him something to drink. It must have spoken to her heart to see a Jew (who was not afraid of public opinion) speaking to her. That left an impression, I’m sure.
The Lord Jesus had living water to give to her (the Gospel). This patient Saviour explained to the Samaritan woman about the precious gift of God. She must have been weary of her life style because she was very ready to receive Christ’s words. Her heart was prepared to hear what He had to say. Like all of use, her second hurdle was repentance from her sins. When Jesus pointed out her sin in verses 16-18, she was fully aware she was in need of a Saviour and she was not offended by what He said (Psalm 119:165).
Our Samaritan lady was truly saved that day. It was evident in the fruit that she produced thereafter (verse 39). Many from her village were saved because of her testimony alone! People knew she had been married to five different men and was living with another. There must have been a change in her life for these people to see the change (2 Corinthians 5:17).
Who have you told about your salvation? Who have you told about what the Lord Jesus Christ has done for you? There’s someone out there who needs to hear :-)
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