The Woman At The Well

John 4:3-26, 39-42

In this Scriptural passage we have a very beautiful story of Jesus’ love for people, and is also another example of His one-on-one encounters with individuals.  In verse 4 we read that Jesus needed to go through Samaria.  In Jesus’ day, the Jews hated and despised Samaritans, thought them an impure people, and went out of their way to avoid any contact with them.  Jews traveling from Galilee to Jerusalem and back, took a much longer route to travel just so they could avoid going through Samaritan towns.  His disciples were probably a bit annoyed that Jesus decided to go into Samaritan territory.  He did this, though, because He had a divine appointment with this Samaritan woman.  He knew she would be there at the well, and He was determined to go there to seek and to save the lost.

This unnamed Samaritan woman had a past, having been married and divorced multiple times, and now currently living with a man with whom she was not married.  Most women at this time in the Middle East would collect their water from the well in early morning and early evening, when it was the coolest time of day.  Here they would gather and have a bit of social time together.  Not this woman, though.  She came alone during the noon hour, probably because she was ostracized because of her past and current lifestyle.  Jesus knew this also, which is why He came to the well at this appointed time, and sent His disciples off to get some lunch.  He wanted unhindered time to unburden this woman from the sin and guilt she had been carrying for years.

Jesus initiated the conversation with her.  He sought her out, a sheep wandering from the fold, a soul thirsting for Living Water, drawing her to Himself (vs. 7 - 15).  At first this woman didn’t understand what He was talking about, thinking only of the natural world and a natural thirst.  She didn’t want to have to continue coming here in the heat of the day, risking contact with other scornful and judging women.

Jesus then quickly turned the conversation to her personal life, to the real need she had of salvation (vs. 16 - 19).  How did He know that about her, she wondered, as she knew Jesus was a stranger in town?  She perceived that He was a prophet, a religious man.  Jesus knows all about the pain, heartache and grief we have hidden in our lives.  He knows everything about us, and He loves us still, just as He did with this lonely, sinful and hurting woman.  He wasn’t going to leave her there, to expose her, ridicule and condemn her as she had been so often in the past.  Jesus revealed Himself to be the Messiah (vs. 25 - 26), and invited her to partake of that Living Water He offered, and accept salvation.  He took the burden of her sin, and set her soul free.

She knew that this was not something that she could keep to herself, so she hurried back to town to tell the villagers that she had found the Messiah, and He had set her free from her sins and past.  Those folks who had labeled her as the “sinful woman” could see a change in her.  There was something about her that was now different.  Whatever it was, whoever had done this for her, they wanted to see this for themselves, and followed her back to Jesus (vs. 39 - 42)  Through this woman’s testimony and changed life, a whole town sought out the Lord Jesus.  A little revival broke out in the town, as Jesus stayed on in town for a few days, preaching and ministering to the people, and many came to accept Him as the Messiah and their Savior as well.

If we have burdens that we are carrying from our past, things we might be ashamed of, or are weighing us down with the pain and heartache, we need to come to Jesus and lay them down at His feet, as this woman did, letting Him take them from us.  And then, we need to go and tell others as well, leading them to the Savior, just as this Samaritan woman did.