Encounter with a Samaritan Woman

On another occasion, Jesus explained to a woman from Samaria how God could permanently satisfy her spiritual thirst.

One day Jesus went from Judea to Galilee. To make this trip, Jews normally crossed the Jordan, traveled north, then crossed the Jordan again to arrive in Galilee. In this way, they avoided Samaria. Their dislike for Samaritans went back several centuries. In 722 B.C., Assyria took Israel into captivity and brought polytheistic Babylonians to populate the land. Some of them converted to Judaism and anticipated “The Prophet” that Moses foretold. Still, they didn’t follow the entire Old Testament, so they rejected the idea that He would be from David’s line. They built their own temple on Mt. Gerazim, which was later destroyed, but some of them still worshiped on that mountain. These differences created hostility between Jews and Samaritans.

But Jesus loved all people. He didn’t let prejudices affect His actions. He was determined to go through Samaria on this day to reach Galilee. About noon, tired from the trip, He stopped in Sychar and sat by a well Jacob had dug many years ago. A woman from the town, one of the despised Samaritans, came to draw water. Jesus asked her for a drink.

The woman responded, “You, a Jew, are asking for a drink from me, a Samaritan?”

Jesus answered, “If you understood who it is asking for a drink and what He has to offer, You would have asked, and He would have given you living water.”

“How, sir? You have nothing with which to draw water from this deep well. Certainly, you are not greater than our father Jacob, who gave us this well! He drank from it and provided water for his family and livestock.”

“Everyone who drinks water from this well will be thirsty again, but those who drink from the water I offer will have their thirst quenched forever. The water I give will become a fountain of water springing up to eternal life.”

“Oh, give me some of that water! Then I will never be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.”

“Go get your husband.”

“I have no husband.”

Jesus responded, “Good answer. You’ve been married five times and are living with someone now.”

“Sir, you must be a prophet from Israel. Our ancestors worshiped here on this mountain, but your people say all must worship in Jerusalem.”

“Listen, woman, the time is coming when the Father will be worshiped neither here nor in Jerusalem. Your people worship in ignorance, but we worship the God we know will bring salvation through the Jews. Soon, even now, true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth. Those are the type of worshipers God seeks, for He is spirit, and those who would worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

The woman said, “I know Messiah, the One called Christ, will tell all about these things when He comes.”

Jesus simply stated, “I am He.”

The woman left her jar and ran to town, calling out, “Come, see a man who was able to tell me everything about myself. Could He be the Christ?”

People came to Jesus at the well. Many Samaritans from Sychar believed in Jesus because of the woman’s story. They asked Jesus to stay, so He did for two days, and many more believed. Then they told the woman, “We no longer believe because of what you said. We heard Jesus ourselves and know without a doubt that He is the Savior of the world.”