The Woman At The Well

THE WOMAN AT THE WELL By Irene McGough

DISCIPLES OF JESUS MINISTRY COPYRIGHT © 2009 http://www.discipleofjeussite.com

Exo 17:1 -7 read in your own time. The Lord has always been the provider of water for those who thirst.

Joh 4:5 So He came to a city of Samaria which is called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Joh 4:6 Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, sat thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour. Joh 4:7 A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, "Give Me a drink." Joh 4:8 For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. Joh 4:9 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. Joh 4:10 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." Joh 4:11 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? Joh 4:12 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?" Joh 4:13 Jesus answered and said to her, "Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, Joh 4:14 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." Joh 4:15 The woman said to Him, "Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw." Joh 4:16 Jesus said to her, "Go, call your husband, and come here." Joh 4:17 The woman answered and said, "I have no husband." Jesus said to her, "You have well said, "I have no husband,' Joh 4:18 for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly."

Joh 4:19 The woman said to Him, "Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. Joh 4:20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship." Joh 4:21 Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. Joh 4:22 You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. Joh 4:23 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. Joh 4:24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." Joh 4:25 The woman said to Him, "I know that Messiah is coming" (who is called Christ). "When He comes, He will tell us all things." Joh 4:26 Jesus said to her, "I who speak to you am He." Joh 4:27 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?" Joh 4:28 The woman then left her waterpot, went her way into the city, and said to the men, Joh 4:29 "Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?" Joh 4:30 Then they went out of the city and came to Him.

Joh 4:39 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." Joh 4:40 So when the Samaritans had come to Him, they urged Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days. Joh 4:41 And many more believed because of His own word. Joh 4:42 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."

Jews and Samaritans didn’t like each other. That’s putting it mildly. They did everything they could to avoid each other Jews considered Samaritans to be infidels. No doubt the Samaritans felt the same towards Jews. Though both claimed Abraham as their father in the faith, each believed the other to have corrupted the faith. Then, as now, no passion exceeds that of ones who believe they have the right theology. In a nutshell, that was the rub between Jews and Samaritans. So custom, tradition and the law decreed that the two be separate and distinct. Jewish men didn’t speak in public to women, even their own wives. For a rabbi this would have been an even greater restriction. Women were not publicly taught the Law. A woman's place in that society was nothing like our own. But Jesus never treated women in the expected ways of his culture. He talked with them. He taught them. He expected and trusted them to be able to proclaim the Good News. He told stories using women as his characters. He even gave an illustration of what God was like using the image of the woman searching for the Lost Coin. Jesus acted and spoke as if women and men were equal before God and his eyes. Jesus was passing through Samaria and he met a woman. The well known even to this day as “Jacob’s Well” is more than 100 feet deep. It is not a spring at the surface. To get water, one has to have a bucket and from the steps that circle the interior, let down the bucket to collect water from the deep pool. So Jesus wouldn’t have had a bucket and a rope. He would have to wait for someone who did. The woman Jesus spoke to knew her life was in a mess. She seems to have made some rather bad decisions about her love life - to get through five husbands takes some doing - whilst divorce was allowed for Jews and Samaritans, that number of divorces, would, then as now, give rise to some comments. She is also living with someone who she is not married to- again very unusual in that age. The fact her life is in a mess is shown by the fact that she goes to the well in the middle of the day by herself. Water is heavy to carry and the women of a village would probably go together, at the start or the end of the day. They would go together to catch up on the gossip and they would go in the cool of the morning or the evening to make the job easier. Also, if you look at Bible commentaries it would seem that the well was about a mile out of the nearest village. This woman's life is so messy that the other women don't want to be seen with her. She has to go out when everyone else will be resting in the heat of the day, and she has to go to a well further away. No doubt the local religious people and the local religious leaders would have shunned her. Yet Jesus doesn't. Jesus asks her for a drink and starts talking to her. Jewish men in that era didn't talk to women by themselves. Jews of that era did not talk to Samaritans who didn't worship God in the proper way and whose racial ancestry made them beyond the pale for good Jewish people. So we have Jesus talking to a woman whose lifestyle mean she was an outsider, whom the "so called good" people of her village wouldn't associate with and who the

religious people would have condemned. What does Jesus do? Does he pile on the condemnation? Does he tell her to get her life sorted? No, he starts conversing with her and takes a look at her deepest needs. Yearning Within Jesus manages to see past the mess of the woman's life and to see her inner yearning for spirituality and meaning. We all know people whose lives are a mess. We all know people whom we need to get along side and follow the example of Jesus with the woman at the well. What did Jesus do? Look at the passage, Jesus did three things with the woman once he got into the conversation with her. He called her, he taught her, and he sent her. Calling His initial conversation about wanting water gave him a chance to talk about a living water which comes from God which would give lasting satisfaction. Imagine the woman’s amazement that Jesus understands her yearning for things that last. He tells her about the mess of her life confirming to her the insight he has. We have also been called by Jesus into a living relationship with Jesus. We are all continually called by Jesus to continue following him. Sometimes we think our response to this call is a once and for all event. We were called to start the journey but, it seems to me, that Jesus continues to call us to follow him, especially when we get tired, or when we get too comfortable along the way. We can get distracted by things around us, by the good things in our lives, by the pain in our lives, by niggles with others, by problems, which we don't address. Teaching After Jesus had gained the woman's attention he started to teach her. He taught her about true worship which is not dependant upon a certain place, or upon sacrifices of animals. True worship is a matter of the heart, where we worship the God who is spirit, with our own spirits. Thorough teaching in the faith helps us to understand difference and diversity. Being taught our faith, through sermons, through other forms of teaching like the daily devotionals, help us know our Bibles better and able to cope with questions and queries thrown at us. It equips us for service and is one of the main tasks of the church. Sending Jesus then sent the woman to go about spreading the good news. This is not explicit in his encounter with her but she goes and spreads the message of Jesus among the people in her village. This was risky - going to speak to people who had shunned her took a lot of courage. We too are sent - the Great Commission to go and make disciples of all nations applies to us too. We do this in many ways, some of them more

risky than others. To go and spread the gospel in our/ your community can be about taking risks. Sometimes, to go to our community is as risky as that woman at the well going to her community. In verse 18 Jesus comments on the state of marriage. Jesus clearly says the man whom this woman was living with (and having sexual relations with) was not her husband. So, God does not recognize or allow "common law" marriage. A marriage ceremony and exchanging of vows is required by God to have a husband and wife relationship.

The woman tried to divert the attention Jesus had given her personal life by bringing up this theological question. Her lifestyle would suggest that worshipping God was not a high priority of hers, so the place and method of worship would certainly not be of that much importance to her. This woman like millions of people today was deceived by Satan into being more occupied with theological questions about God than about her personal relationship with God. Jesus brought her right back to her personal need by saying that the place and method of worship was not what God was after. God seeks to be worshipped in the hearts of men.

John’s Gospel introduces us to the Holy Spirit as the key to truly dynamic devotion to God. It anticipates the outpouring of the Holy Spirit who will become the very energy of the believer’s devotional life. The Holy Spirit will maximize prayer and worship. In this chapter Jesus talks of living water.

Verses 21–24 Worship God frequently, praise Him with your whole heart, praise Him in spoken words and in song, if you have a spiritual language use it to praise him as well as with your understanding. Jesus is the giver of those living waters. Isa 55:1 "Ho! Everyone who thirsts, Come to the waters; And you who have no money, Come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk Without money and without price. Isa 55:2 Why do you spend money for what is not bread, And your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, And let your soul delight itself in abundance. Isa 55:3 Incline your ear, and come to Me. Hear, and your soul shall live; And I will make an everlasting covenant with you-The sure mercies of David.

Jesus alluded to this passage in Isaiah on the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles saying, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." John 7: 37-38 What Jesus offers is free Some of us since we have been Christians have never learned how we can be free from things in life that have us in bondage. However, sometimes we classify and justify our sins to the point that we become unaware of the stronghold that they have on our lives. Good names for these sins are “hang ups.” These are the sins in your life that you ask God to forgive you for, yet you continually go right back to those sins. Sin separates us from God and distances our relationship with God at the same time. Sin separates us from God, we cannot walk in the spirit and walk in sin We should be so concerned about becoming strong disciples of Jesus Christ and growing up to be like him so we desire complete freedom from every sin that has us bound.” We simply cannot grow to the place where we need to be in Jesus Christ if we are in bondage to things that distance our relationship with Him.

What did Jesus mean by “living water?” In the Old Testament, many verses speak of thirsting after God as one who thirsts for water. Psalm 42:1, 2 (NASB) 1As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for You, O God. 2My soul thirsts for God, for the living God; when shall I come and appear before God? Isaiah 55:1 (NASB) 1"Ho! Every one who thirsts, come to the waters; And you who have no money come, buy and eat come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Jeremiah 2:13 (NASB) 13"For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, The fountain of living waters, to hew for themselves cisterns, broken cisterns that can hold no water. Zechariah 13:1 (NASB) 1"In that day a fountain will be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for impurity. God is called the Fountain of Life.

Psalm 36:7-9 (AMP) 7How precious is Your steadfast love, O God! The children of men take refuge and put their trust under the shadow of Your wings. 8They relish and feast on the abundance of Your house; and You cause them to drink of the stream of Your pleasures. 9For with You is the fountain of life; in Your light do we see light. By Jesus saying He would bring living water that could forever quench a person’s thirst for God, Jesus was in fact claiming to be the Messiah that He was. Only the Messiah could give a gift that satisfies the soul’s aspiration.

The Samaritan woman only had to drink of this pure living water, that Jesus was ready to give her, and her thirst would be quenched.

The first step of getting deliverance from any particular sin is simply replacing that sin with the things of God. 1. Whatever that habitual sin is that you have quit a million times and kept going back to must be laid to rest at the altar of Jesus and left there. 2. Most of the time, it is not about whether or not we can let go of those sins, but instead, it has to do with our own willingness to let go of these sins. 3. Ezekiel 20:7 (AMP) 7Then said I to them, Let every man cast away the abominable things on which he feasts his eyes, and defile not yourselves with the idols of Egypt; I am the Lord your God. 4. Isaiah 55:7 (AMP) 7Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return to the Lord, and He will have love, pity, and mercy for him, and to our God, for He will multiply to him His abundant pardon. How to drink living water . Isaiah 55:1-3 (AMP) 1WAIT and listen, everyone who is thirsty! Come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Yes, come, buy [priceless, spiritual] wine and milk without money and without price [simply for the self-

surrender that accepts the blessing]. 2Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your earnings for what does not satisfy? Hearken diligently to Me, and eat what is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness [the profuseness of spiritual joy]. 3Incline your ear [submit and consent to the divine will] and come to Me; hear, and your soul will revive; and I will make an everlasting covenant or league with you, even the sure mercy (kindness, goodwill, and compassion) promised to David.

Food costs money, lasts only a short time, and meets only physical needs. However, God offers us free nourishment that feeds our soul. All of us come who are thirsty. We come to the living water. Isaiah 55:2-3 (AMP) 2Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your earnings for what does not satisfy? Hearken diligently to Me, and eat what is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness [the profuseness of spiritual joy]. 3Incline your ear [submit and consent to the divine will] and come to Me; hear, and your soul will revive; and I will make an everlasting covenant or league with you, even the sure mercy (kindness, goodwill, and compassion) promised to David.

: Jeremiah 2:13 (NASB) 13"For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, The fountain of living waters, to hew for themselves cisterns, broken cisterns that can hold no water. The Holy Spirit is the living water of our souls. Isa 44:3 'For I will pour out water on the thirsty land And streams on the dry ground; I will pour out My Spirit on your offspring And My blessing on your descendants; He will pour out His Spirit to those who thirst after Him. Psa 42:1 As the deer pants for the water brooks, So my soul pants for You, O God. Psa 42:2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God; When shall I come and appear before God? Psa 42:3

My tears have been my food day and night, While they say to me all day long, "Where is your God?" Psa 42:4 These things I remember and I pour out my soul within me. For I used to go along with the throng and lead them in procession to the house of God, With the voice of joy and thanksgiving, a multitude keeping festival. He will give you back all the joy, pour out your soul to the Lord. Psa 42:5 Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him For the help of His presence. Psa 42:6 O my God, my soul is in despair within me; Therefore I remember You from the land of the Jordan And the peaks of Hermon, from Mount Mizar. Do you remember all the good things you have experienced in your past, thank the Lord. Give thanks. Psa 42:7 Deep calls to deep at the sound of Your waterfalls; All Your breakers and Your waves have rolled over me. Out of the hard times , out of the dryness He wants to restore you and take you to that deeper place. Psa 42:8 The LORD will command His lovingkindness in the daytime; And His song will be with me in the night, A prayer to the God of my life. Psa 42:9 I will say to God my rock, "Why have You forgotten me? Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?" Psa 42:10 As a shattering of my bones, my adversaries revile me, While they say to me all day long, "Where is your God?" Psa 42:11 Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him, The help of my countenance and my God. So cast away all despair, God wants to restore you fully, come all who are thirsty, all who are weak and come to the fountain , where there is such precious living waters that are overflowing for you. Rejoice in the Lord always. He has given His life for us and poured out His Spirit. Joh 14:16 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that

He may abide with you forever-Joh 14:17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. Joh 14:18 I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. He has given us His Spirit. Are you hungry and thirsty, here is food and water for your soul. Food is there for you from God's word and water from the fountains of living water, the Holy Spirit. LET THE LIVING WATERS FLOW THROUGH YOU AND ME. John 4:28-30 (NASB) 28So the woman left her water pot, and went into the city and said to the men, 29"Come, see a man who told me all the things that I have done; this is not the Christ, is it?" 30They went out of the city, and were coming to Him. After the Samaritan woman drank of the living water that Jesus gave her, she went back in to town. However, she left her water pot with Jesus Christ. Have you left the sewer water of your life with Jesus or do you keep trying to take it back? We can learn to leave the sewer water behind and drink from the living water that Jesus offers us that will always quench our thirst. I think that this story was told to others by the woman herself in later years and so this was included in the Gospel. This woman was a disciple of Christ. No doubt about it. One has to wonder what influence this woman had on later events in Samaria. See Acts 8:5-25. First she saw Jesus (through many assumptions about herself and the world), then she really sees Jesus - as Messiah (and for himself), then she goes and tells others about him (and invites response). This is "witnessing" to Jesus. Unless stated otherwise NKJV used DISCIPLES OF JESUS MINISTRY COPYRIGHT © 2009 http://www.discipleofjeussite.com