Jesus the Soul-Winner
| Now he had to go through Samaria. So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob's well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour. When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, "Will you give me a drink?" (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, "You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?" (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans. ) Jesus answered her, "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." (John4:4-10) |
Let's highlight the key elements of the chapter:
1. He had to go through Samaria. We are not given the reason for this compulsion. We know that because of the tensions between Jews and Samaritans, Jews would often walk around Samaria rather than going through it. So what compelled Him to go through Samaria? Was it the Spirit's prompting for this 'Divine Appointment'? Or maybe just His reconciling nature - going through Samaria to undermine the whole "Jews do not associate with Samaritans thing...? Whichever it was, I think we get a glimpse of His heart. (For the record, I believe it was a Spirit-prompted Divine Appointment because Jesus talks to His disciples about doing "the will of the Father" at the end of the chapter.)
2. It was midday and Jesus was tired. I think we can recognise that He was a carpenter - used to physical labour. This is not an unfit Jesus wilting in the noonday sun. I think He is tired from the stress of public ministry and the self-giving He was doing. We get a hint of this when, later in the chapter, the disciples bring food, but Jesus says "My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work." In spite of this deep ministry tiredness, He is there for her.
3. The woman comes to the well at midday. Nobody does that. Midday is siesta time. She's there because no-one else should have been there. But Jesus is and He starts a conversation with her. It's a fascinating discussion. At best she's dismissive, but she could also be flirting with Him. Time doesn't permit me to unpack all of this here, but Jesus engages with her, hears her, and sees her. With invitational sensitivity, He conects with her and offers her hope. He is gentle with her brokenness yet honest. He is compassionate, yet He calls the best out of her. He takes her as she is, but He doesn't leave her that way.
In this chapter we see on a one-to-one basis what Jesus came to do for the world.
When I read the whole chapter I'm left with this mental image:
Jesus is sitting with His disciples who have brought lunch, but He's looking at the water-jar of shame lying abandoned at the well and a crowd of townspeople around the woman who is glowing with excitement and love and she's saying: "He told me everything I ever did and offered me Living Water!"
The look on Jesus face says it all: This, this, is why I came.
