The Woman at the Well- The Woman Part 2

 A woman from Samaria came to draw water.
 Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” 
John 4:7

The Woman- Part II

So who exactly is this woman? We learned last time that she is a Samaritan. She comes to the well at noon to draw water which is strange since most women at that time came in the evening to draw cooler water. We learn that Jesus spoke to her and asked her for a drink of water.

Let's she what else we can learn about her...



John 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."

The translation of this last part of the verse is: "Jews use nothing in common with Samaritans"

The woman sees that Jesus does not have his own vessel for drawing water. She assumes He wants to use hers...and that is what amazes her.

Samaritans were more lax in their understanding of ritual cleanness (Commentary, New Geneva Study Bible, 1995).

The disciples were taught to treat Samaritans differently:

Acts 10:28- And he said to them, “You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a Jew to associate with or to visit anyone of another nation, but God has shown me that I should not call any person common or unclean.

Matt 10:5,6-These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, “Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans,

Luke 9:51-54-When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.52 And he sent messengers ahead of him, who went and entered a village of the Samaritans, to make preparations for him. 53 But the people did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem. 54 And when his disciples James and John saw it, they said, “Lord, do you want us to tell fire to come down from heaven and consume them?”

There was obvious animosity between the Jews and Samaritans. Now we can see how truly amazing it was that Jesus, a Jewish man, would speak to this Samaritan woman.

But Jesus not only spoke to the woman, He asked to drink out of her vessel....an unclean vessel.

Rom 9:22-"What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction..."

It is up to God how He creates vessels and how He uses the vessels that He makes.

God uses us, earthen vessels, for His good will. We can trust in His good purpose.

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It was understood, during that historical time period, that Jewish men were prideful. Many Jews would rather cross the Jordan river twice than go through Samaria. She recognized Jesus as a Jewish man. His appearance wasn't anything special....no "glowing halo" around His head and no red hair with crystal blue eyes to set Him apart. He obviously looked like a 1st century Jewish man.

Yet, the woman at the well noticed something different about this Jewish man. Do non-Christians notice something different about us or are we the same as they?

Jesus gave us an example...a perfect example...of how to live in this world.

Jesus seeks out His own...like the Good Shepherd that He is. He seeks them out and brings the hurt or lost lambs to Himself.

Ez 34:11-“For thus says the Lord God: Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out.

Ez 34:15-I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord God.

He is the loving shepherd who returns His sheep to the fold. Like the shepherds of old, Jesus comes to the well to quench the thirst of His lost lamb. 

The Samaritan woman had no idea she was among her Shepherd....her Messiah. But she was about to discover this truth. She did not seek Him out. No, on the contrary, He sought her out from among the flock.

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We know that we have the Good Shepherd with us. And because we are Gentiles, we are adopted into the flock:

John 10:14-16-I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.

Is 40:11- He will tend his flock like a shepherd;

    he will gather the lambs in his arms;
he will carry them in his bosom,
    and gently lead those that are with young.

He will feed His flock and gather the lambs with His arms and carry them in His bosom, and gently lead those who are with young.

I love this picture of our Savior. He truly is the Good Shepherd who saved us from the "beasts of the field" that sought to devour us. He provides for us through the covenant:

• Provisions
• Protection
• Presence

We are His and He is ours.

The Samaritan woman, we will soon discover, was lost. She was out there searching from man to man for her "thirst" to be quenched. But soon she will have that Living Water for all eternity.

Praise God that we have that water...we are no longer lost.

Praise God that we have the Good Shepherd who gave Himself up to save us from His wrath.

John 10: 27-28

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 


Your turn: Are you lost? Are you still searching in the wilderness for what's missing in your life? How can your "thirst" be quenched by the Living Water?



Blessings,
Ruth