Lesson for April 13, 2025

The Book of John

Lesson 11

The Woman at the Well

Chapter 4:1-26

Verses 1-6

“So then, when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that He was making and baptizing more disciples than John (although Jesus Himself was not baptizing; rather, His disciples were), He left Judea and went away again to Galilee. And He had to pass through Samaria. So, He came to a city of Samaria called Sychar, near the parcel of land that Jacob gave to his son Joseph;and Jacob’s well was there. So, Jesus, tired from His journey, was just sitting by the well. It was about the sixth hour.”

From Judea, where Jesus had travelled after He left Jerusalem, He came to a town in Samaria, called Sychar. Out from the town was Jacob’s Well, the town’s water supply. Jesus and His disciples arrived at the well around noon (the sixth hour) to get water. Jesus then sent His disciples into town to buy food.

Verses 7-11

^“A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, ‘Give Me a drink.’ For His disciples had gone away to the city to buy food.So, the Samaritan woman said to Him, ‘How is it that You, though You are a Jew, are asking me for a drink, though I am a Samaritan woman?’ (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.) Jesus replied to her, ‘If you knew the gift of God, and Who it is Who is saying to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.’ She said to Him, ‘Sir, You have no bucket and the well is deep; where then do You get this living water?’”

The Samaritans were half Jew and half Gentile and were hated by the Jews. As a result, the woman was shocked when Jesus spoke to her. (Luke 9:51-53) Jesus knew exactly how to use the circumstance to open a conversation about the Gospel. Give Me a drink would begin a conversation that would lead to the real need this woman had – salvation. This woman would never have spoken to Jesus had He not first spoken to her. We have a great application, from this approach by Jesus. Like Jesus, we should always be ready to share the good news with others. This means using the situation to create the opportunity to share the Gospel.

Notice, Jesus was not sidetracked by the racial antagonisms between the Jews and the Samaritans. This was not the issue, and an argument would distract from the real issue! Jesus used various ways to present the truth by using whatever the situation provided, in order to the bring the conversation around to the Gospel.

Jesus replied to her, ‘If you knew the gift of God, and Who it is Who is saying to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.’” Like Nicodemus, this woman could think only in terms of the physical. Jesus, of course, was speaking to her about spiritual matters. He spoke to her need in a way that would eventually make her think in terms of the spiritual. Jesus, however, did not deal with her as He did with Nicodemus. There are many different ways of sharing the Gospel, and here is Jesus Christ showing us how to do it.

Jesus has given us the responsibility and privilege to present the Gospel message, which we should do without sounding self-righteous or unsure of ourselves. We should approach a person with a relaxed mental, attitude remembering that “the Gospel is the power of God for salvation.” (Romans 1:16)

 She said to Him, ‘Sir, You have no bucket and the well is deep; where then do You get this living water?’ What Jesus said to the woman intrigued her, so she immediately asked Jesus a question. She reasoned that since Jesus had no way to draw water from the well, He must be speaking of another source of water. What could this “living water” be was the question on her mind.

Verses 12-14

^“You are not greater than our father Jacob, are You, who gave us the well and drank of it himself, and his sons and his cattle?” Jesus answered and said to her, ‘Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again; but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never be thirsty; but the water that I will give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up to eternal life.’”

When she said, “Are you greater than our father Jacob?” she was questioning Jesus as to His ability to provide something greater than what Jacob had given them, which was a reliable source of water. The answer to her question of course was “yes.” Jesus’ answer, however, had nothing to do with the physical aspect of providing water. The water that Jesus gives quenches the spiritual thirst of a person and gives them eternal life. Drinking is an analogy for faith, a non-meritorious act of believing in Jesus as Savior, resulting in eternal life.

Notice that Jesus ignored her question, as He did with Nicodemus and instead went straight to the Gospel. He used the same technique when dealing with the rich young ruler. This is an excellent example for us when sharing the Gospel with others. Never get “pulled into” a discussion or argument about non-essential subjects that have nothing to do with the Gospel. Our responsibility is to present the Gospel clearly, not to get side-tracked by talking about theological subjects, like “what about those who have never heard about God.”

Verses 15-18

^“The woman said to Him, ‘Sir, give me this water so that I will not be thirsty, nor come all the way here to draw water.’ He said to her, ‘Go, call your husband and come here.’The woman answered and said to Him, ‘I have no husband.’ Jesus said to her, ‘You have correctly said, ‘I have no husband’; for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; this which you have said is true.”

Still confused, and thinking in terms of the physical, the woman thinks that living water is something that will keep her from being physically thirsty! Once again, Jesus ignored her request and asked her a question which would reveal her real need – salvation. The statement Jesus made was a wakeup call with regard to her spiritual condition. The woman was lost spiritually and living a lifestyle that ostracised her from others in her town.

Verses 19-20

“The woman said to Him, ‘Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and yet you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one must worship.’

Jesus did get her attention when He revealed the truth regarding her many husbands. Now she thinks He is a prophet. When Jesus gave her this “wake up call,” she hastily attempted to change the subject. First, she flattered him by calling Jesus a prophet. This is a common tactic when talking to someone about the Gospel. The issue she brought up was clearly an attempt to change the subject.

Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and yet you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one must worship. Upon finding that Jesus knew of her immoral life, the woman tried to change the subject from her immoral personal life to a religious issue between the Jews and the Samaritans. The issue of the proper place of worship between the Samaritans and Jews was a leading point of contention between them.

Verses 21-24

“Jesus said to her, ‘Believe Me, woman, that a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, because salvation is from the Jews. But a time is coming, and even now has arrived, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.’”

Jesus refused to engage the religious conflict between the Samaritans and Jews about the proper place to worship. Believe Me was meant to get the woman’s undivided attention regarding what He was about to say. Jesus was about to tell her that both Samaritan and Jewish places of worship would shortly no longer exist. Furthermore, the worship that had been taking place had for many years been based on religious tradition and not the accurate teaching of the Word of God.

Now that Jesus was on the scene, He would reveal the true meaning of God’s Word and His purpose for coming. Jesus would reveal the true form of worship for believers. Jesus would call out the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and their false teachings of the Scriptures. Jesus would reveal Himself as the Messiah and fulfill all 333 prophesies about Him from the Old Testament.

True worship of God was understanding the true meaning of the Mosaic Law (which the Samaritans followed), and the typology it introduced to the nation of Israel. Jesus was there to fulfill the Law by living a perfect life and going to the Cross to fulfill the plan of God for the salvation of the entire human race. 

Verses 25-26

^“The woman said to Him, ‘I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ); when that One comes, He will declare all things to us.’ Jesus said to her, “I am He, the One speaking to you.”

The Samaritans taught that the Messiah might come at any moment, and here He was standing in front of her. There were a lot of people in Sychar with positive volition and this was going to be their opportunity for salvation, including this woman. What happened next was astonishing!