The Samaritan woman at the well (1)

John 4 -- Jesus wanted to go from Judea to Galilee, but He needed to pass through Samaria. (v4)

Samaria was a race that the Jews hated, because they see them as blood traitors, betraying their own race through cross-marriage with non-Jews. Hence, they always go around the skirts of Samaria without actually passing into Samaria. This is a longer journey, but they would rather do that to avoid these people.

But v4 says, Jesus needed to go through Samaria.

Many preachers always said that Jesus went through Samaria for a purpose, the purpose of meeting that woman at the well. I quite agree. Through that meeting, Jesus showed us many things...

He didn't just want to tell her that He was the Messiah and for her to believe in Him. He didn't just want to have a drink. He went there for a purpose that was more than that.

Meanwhile, Jesus' disciples must be really wondering why He wanted to pass through Samaria without going around it like everyone else does. It was noonday; they were tired and hungry, so they went to the city and buy food. (v8) But since they were Jews, wouldn't they face some difficulty from people who sell food to them? Imagine the disciples entering a restaurant and the waiters refused to serve them or was slow in their service... And when their food came, it was extremely bad taste, stale food... And when the bill came the price was hiked and they had to pay more than all the other Samaritans...

Coming back to where Jesus was, He was sitting by the well (v6). If He went there on purpose, perhaps He was waiting for the woman to come and draw water at noonday. So the woman came, and He asked for a drink(v7). She wondered why he asked a drink from her, seeing the racial difference, and that "Jews have no dealings with Samaritans" (v9). But then He started preaching to her about having living water (v10). In v14, it says, "but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst, But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life."

Now, we know that John the Baptist baptised with water, and Jesus is the one who baptised with the Holy Spirit (Matt 3:11). So then, Jesus was saying, if you would believe in me and receive the Holy Spirit (living water), you would become a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life -- you will become a channel for the Holy Spirit's living water to flow, because you have received salvation and everlasting life, and this is for eternity.

Again, Bill Johnson says, Evangelism in its purest form is Worship. Therefore, Jesus was saying, if you would believe me and worship me, the Holy Spirit will fill your life with living water that will empower you to be a fountain and let that water flow to others, the spring of everlasting life.

Hence, if we really worship the Lord Jesus -- and I mean really really really worship Him -- it would compel and propel us to evangelise. This is what happened to the Samaritan woman.