Every Woman's Bible Journaling Edition, Filament Enabled - Book - Page 24
JOHN 4
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near the field that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there; and Jesus, tired from the long
walk, sat wearily beside the well about noontime.
7 Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and
Jesus said to her, “Please give me a drink.” 8 He was
alone at the time because his disciples had gone into
the village to buy some food.
9 The woman was surprised, for Jews refuse to
have anything to do with Samaritans.* She said to
Jesus, “You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman.
Why are you asking me for a drink?”
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.”
11 “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? 12And besides, do you think
you’re greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave
us this well? How can you offer better water than he
and his sons and his animals enjoyed?”
13 Jesus replied, “Anyone who drinks this water
will soon become thirsty again. 14 But those who
drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It
becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.”
15 “Please, sir,” the woman said, “give me this water!
Then I’ll never be thirsty again, and I won’t have to
come here to get water.”
16 “Go and get your husband,” Jesus told her.
17 “I don’t have a husband,” the woman replied.
Jesus said, “You’re right! You don’t have a husband—18 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!”
19 “Sir,” the woman said, “you must be a prophet.
20 So tell me, why is it that you Jews insist that Jerusalem is the only place of worship, while we Samaritans claim it is here at Mount Gerizim,* where our
ancestors worshiped?”
21 Jesus replied, “Believe me, dear woman, the time
is coming when it will no longer matter whether
you worship the Father on this mountain or in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans know very little about
the one you worship, while we Jews know all about
him, for salvation comes through the Jews. 23 But the
time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true
worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in
truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way. 24 For God is Spirit, so those who
worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.”
25 The woman said, “I know the Messiah is
coming—the one who is called Christ. When he
comes, he will explain everything to us.”
26 Then Jesus told her, “I Am the Messiah!”*
27 Just then his disciples came back. They were
shocked to find him talking to a woman, but none of
them had the nerve to ask, “What do you want with
her?” or “Why are you talking to her?” 28 The woman
left her water jar beside the well and ran back to the
village, telling everyone, 29 “Come and see a man who
told me everything I ever did! Could he possibly be
the Messiah?” 30 So the people came streaming from
the village to see him.
31 Meanwhile, the disciples were urging Jesus,
“Rabbi, eat something.”
32 But Jesus replied, “I have a kind of food you
know nothing about.”
33 “Did someone bring him food while we were
gone?” the disciples asked each other.
34 Then Jesus explained: “My nourishment comes
from doing the will of God, who sent me, and from
finishing his work. 35 You know the saying, ‘Four
months between planting and harvest.’ But I say,
wake up and look around. The fields are already
ripe* for harvest. 36 The harvesters are paid good
wages, and the fruit they harvest is people brought
to eternal life. What joy awaits both the planter and
the harvester alike! 37 You know the saying, ‘One
4:9 Some manuscripts do not include this sentence. 4:20 Greek on this mountain. 4:26 Or “The ‘I Am’ is here”; or “I am the
Lord”; Greek reads “I am, the one speaking to you.” See Exod 3:14. 4:35 Greek white.
4:6-8 John sets the scene for the interaction between the
Samaritan woman and Jesus. While John rarely portrays Jesus
with weakness, here John makes a point of saying that it was
midday (“about noontime”) and that Jesus was “tired from
the long walk.” These details explain why Jesus would need
to address the woman, who happened to come to the well for
a divine appointment. Men were not usually responsible for
drawing water, so Jesus wouldn’t have had the tools necessary to get himself a drink. He needed the woman to help
him. John also alerts the reader that Jesus’ disciples had gone
into the village, leaving Jesus alone. This also would have
set up John’s original audience to be surprised when Jesus
addressed the woman.
4:9 When Jesus addressed her, “the woman was surprised”
because social taboos prohibited a Jewish teacher like Jesus
from speaking to a woman. However, Jesus did not let social
taboos constrain him from ministering to someone in need.
4:19 The woman inferred that Jesus was a prophet because he
knew things about her that a stranger could not have. As her
understanding of Jesus unfolded, the way she addressed him
became increasingly well informed. Initially, she recognized him
as “a Jew” and called him “sir,” later wondering if he might be
“the Messiah” (4:9, 11, 25). In the end, the people of her village
recognized him as “Savior of the world” (4:42).
4:28-42 The woman, despite being a non-Jew and an unlikely
recipient of a divine meeting, eventually caught the theological implication of Jesus’ initial talk about “living water” (4:10).
Having recognized Jesus’ messianic identity, she ran back to
share her tentative discovery with her fellow villagers and led
them to meet Jesus. Despite her humble position, she found her
salvation and mission. God can meet you and me where we are
and use us regardless of how much we know.
