Are You Thirsty? (John Chapter 4)

Jesus served and ministered to people that most, including His disciplines would not to be bothered with.  Jesus extended himself to the social outcasts of His day.  When the Pharisees questioned why Jesus would eat with tax collectors and sinners, His response aligned with His divine purpose and calling, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Mark 2:17)   

In John 4:4, it says, “Now He had to go through Samaria.”  Why would He go through Samaria? Afterall, the Jews do not deal with or talk to the Samaritans. 

What is wrong with the Samaritans? Who are the Samaritans? Well, there is history…

The history of the rivalry between the Jews and Samaritan goes back to the Old Testament following the reign of King Solomon and his son, King Rehoboam.  Due to King Rehoboam’s unwise decisions, basically poor leadership, Jerusalem was divided into the Northern and Southern kingdom.  Both kingdoms had their own king.  Despite repeated warnings, both kingdoms did not serve God and they worshipped other gods.  The northern kingdom had a long line of wicked leaders.  In 721 B.C., the northern kingdom fell to the Assyrians.  Many people were taken captive.  However, there were some Jews who remained. The ones who remained intermarried with foreigners. They were half-Jewish, and half-Gentile; they became known as the Samaritans. (This is the abbreviated version of a long dramatic story.)

Next question, why didn’t the Jews like the Samaritans?  They created a religion for themselves that was different from the Jewish faith.  They placed a temple at Mt. Gerizim as their central place of worship.  They even went as far as creating a different version of the five books of the Bible written by Moses.   The Samaritans saw themselves as the true descendants of Israel.   The Samaritans considered the temple in Jerusalem and the priesthood illegitimate.  The Jews considered the Samaritans as half-breed pagan worshippers who were confused about their faith. 

It is significant to note that passing through Samaria was the shortest distance between Judea and Galilee.  The Jews would travel the long route to avoid Samaria.

Someone Special

It did not matter what society, or the culture of the day said about this woman.  She was special.  Jesus made a special trip to meet her at the well.  When the Samaritan woman came to the well, Jesus was present. “Will you give me a drink?” 

“You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?”

“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.”

If you are empty, thirsty, and craving something more there is a refresh that only the Holy Spirit can give.  Jesus said, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 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.” (John 14:13-14)

Observations from this encounter…

• Jesus loves the Samaritan women. His actions show us that it does not matter who you are; His love is unconditional.
• He confronts her promiscuous lifestyle (SIN).

“I have no husband,” she replied. Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. 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.”

• Jesus corrects her understanding of scriptures. Jesus would tell her, “You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. 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.”  (John 4:22-23)
• Jesus reveals Himself to her. Although the Samaritans had an incorrect understanding of scripture, like the Jews, they, too, were waiting on the Messiah.  “Then Jesus declared, ‘I, the one speaking to you—I am He.’”

It wasn’t just about the Samaritan woman; it was about the Samaritan people.

When I first read this story in the Bible, I always thought Jesus made a special trip to Samaria to reach one woman.  However, Jesus came to Samaria to see about a group of people who were considered as social outcasts by the religious community.  Jews would not even eat from the same utensils as a Samaritan.  This woman’s testimony or encounter with Jesus caused many Samaritans to believe.   Jesus remained in Samaria for two days teaching.   In the end, the people of Samaria would say, “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.” 

The living water is the Holy Spirit.

“Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”  (John 7:37)