John 4 entails a part of Jesus’ life many of us have learned about before: The woman at the well. As Jesus traveled from Judea to Galilee, the passage tells us in verse 4, “He had to go through Samaria on the way”.
It’s easy to miss the importance of verse 4. Jesus did not have to travel through Samaria on his trip. Due to cultural norms at the time, Jews usually took the long route around Samaria to Galilee in order to avoid any interaction with Samaritans, whom they despised.
I imagine the disciples being nervous when they realized they would not be taking the usual route to Galilee. It reminded me of being on road trips with my family where my dad would say, “I’m going to take a short cut”, and none of us really knowing if we were going in the right direction or not. Luckily, Jesus did not need a GPS to know he was going in the right direction.
As he traveled, Jesus came across a well where he took a break around noon. He was soon joined by a Samaritan woman who came to draw some water for herself. I’m not sure the last time you all walked in the hot sun on a dirt road to draw water, but I bet it was not in the middle of the afternoon. The time of day in which Jesus runs into the Samaritan woman matters.
Why do you think this woman came to the well by herself at noon (likely the hottest part of the day). We find out more about this woman later in the chapter…
Jesus asks the woman for a drink of water. She is caught off guard because Jesus, as a Jew, would ordinarily not speak to her. She asks why he would want a drink from her, and then Jesus does His Jesus/metaphor/symbolic/wisdom teaching moment.
Check out verse 10:
“Jesus replied, “If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water.”
Here is where I can identify with this woman. Instead of saying, “YES! I would like this living water. It sounds great! Where can I find it?”, she starts to analyze the situation.
Verse 11 says, “But sir, you don’t have a rope or a bucket,” she said, and this well is very deep. Where would you get this living water?”
I feel like this was one of Jesus’ “smh/face palm” moments.
We can easily read this passage and think, “Why are you asking questions-just take the water and be blessed.” In reality, how many of us refuse to bask in His glory and sovereignty by skipping over an opportunity to trust God when we start a game of 20 questions to figure out the process for how He is going to handle something in our lives?
Maybe you had these same questions as you started to know Jesus and learn about His love for you. Whether it was years ago or yesterday, these questions have likely come to your mind as they have also come to mine…
How can I be ready to follow Jesus when I am still dealing with this sin in my life? What if I mess up? How can Jesus love me knowing all the things I have done? How can I teach others about Jesus if I don’t even know the full story myself? What if I start following Him and people stop being my friend? What is my family turns its back on me because of my faith?
These are all very real and difficult questions, but when we overwhelm our minds with them, we forget we have a God we can trust who has already gone before us to lead the way as we faithfully pursue Him. It is so easy to get caught up in trying to figure out how God is going to do it all instead of having peace in knowing He is an ALL-KNOWING, ALL-POWERFUL, GOOD, LOVING, JUST GOD. Also, he does not owe us an explanation, like ever.
Ephesians 3:20-21 says,
“Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.”
I laugh to myself as I read this truth and remember that no matter what plan I come up with for how my life is going to go, God has something so much better. It’s impossible to wrap our heads around it because, uhm, we aren’t Him!
Remember when I asked before why this woman was coming at noontime to draw water from the well? We find out when Jesus tells her to go and get her husband in verse 16. When she informs Jesus she does not have a husband, he replies (verse 17) “…You’re right! You don’t have a husband-for you have had five husbands, and you aren’t even married to the man you’re living with now. You certainly spoke the truth.”
Not only was this woman an outcast as a Samaritan, she was also ostracized in her own community because of how she was living her life. She purposely avoided being around fellow women in her town because she was ashamed and embarrassed to show her face. Have your choices ever caused you to withdraw from the people around you in your community of believers? I know mine have.
So what does this woman do after Jesus lays all of her skeletons out in front of her? She left the well and told everyone she could find about Jesus! I am especially encouraged by the end of chapter 4. Check it-Verse 39 says, “Many Samaritans from the village believed in Jesus because the woman had said, “He told me everything I ever did.”
Read this slowly: Your past does not determine your future. Sounds cheesy, but Jesus is in the business of redemption and renewal. He does not care how many mistakes you have made, how many times you have turned your back on him and chosen the wide road instead of the narrow. He wants you to know Him because he loves you. AND he has a place for you in his plan to redeem this world and accomplish His mission on earth. Don’t count yourself as useless based on your past.
As we learned earlier in John 1:12-13, “But to all who believed him and accepted Him, he gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn-not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.”
Some application questions for you today:
1. In what ways are you avoiding community to hide the things you are ashamed of?
2. How can I take steps to trust God more in my life instead of questioning every step along the way?
3. Who in my life needs to hear about this living water?
Today's Author: Kendra Murray
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