Jn. 4:5 So He came to a city of Samaria which is called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.
Jn. 4:6 Now Jacob’s well was there. Yeshua therefore, being wearied from His journey, sat thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour.
Sources: Genesis 33:18-20; Joshua 24:32
Jn. 4:7 A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Yeshua said to her,“Give Me a drink.”
Some have conjectured that since the Samaritan woman went to the well at noon while the other women went in the cooler hours of morning, this in itself indicated that she was a sinful woman. Rather, let us consider that in fact she was bearing the pain of rejection from men that she had loved, as well as the fear of being cursed even by God. She could well have been the object of considerable ridicule and scorn from the other women in town. Perhaps the day had come when she could bear it no longer and preferred the quit loneliness of the well at noon. In fact, the reason for her situation may have been something she had absolutely no control over. We will look at the reason for the possibility in the following verses.
She made her way to the well as was her custom. She noticed a man sitting there as she approached and true to the manners and customs, approached at the opposite side and prepared to draw water. Unexpectedly He spoke to her “Give Me a drink.” With these simple word the conversation that would change her life was initiated.
Jn. 4:8 For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.
Jn. 4:9 Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink of me, a Samaritan woman? For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.”
The situation between the Jews and the Samaritans was similar to that between the Pharisees and the Publicans. The background for this hatred is a little different, but the feelings were just as bad. These feelings went form one extreme to another. For instance, the Mishnah records: “The country of the Cuthites (a rabbinic term for the Samaritans) is clean, the gatherings of the waters are clean. Their dwellings are clean. Their roads are clean. A Jew may eat products of it. They may wash or drink with the water of it, lodge in their dwellings and their dust does not defile.” Perhaps this viewpoint might explain why the Lord felt comfortable in telling His parable of the Good Samaritan without raising too much objection.
Sources: Lk. 10:25-27; M:Abodah Zarah 44:4
An opposing viewpoint can also be found in the Mishnah: “Ezra, Zerubabul, and Joshua gathered together the whole congregation of the Temple of the Lord with 300 priests, 300 books of the Law, and 300 children, and excommunicated the Samaritans in the name of the Lord in a writing upon a table, tablets, and anathema; both the upper and lower house. Let no Israelite eat one morsel of anything that is a Samaritan’s. Let no Samaritan become a proselyte to Israel, not let them have a part in the resurrection of the dead.” Excommunicating them and having nothing to do with them is one thing, but trying to say that they have the right to deny them from having a part in the resurrection of the dead is something different. Only God can make that decision, not man.
Source: M:Terumah 17:4
Josephus records an event that was at least one of the causes of the conflict between the Jews and the Samaritans: “Now there arose a quarrel between the Samaritans and the Jews on the occasion following: it was the custom of the Galileans when they came to the holy city at the festivals, to take their journeys through the country of the Samaritans; and at this time there lay, in the road they took, a village that was called Ginea, which was situated in the limits of Samaria and the great plain, where certain persons from the village fought with the Galileans, and killed a great many of them.”
Source: Jos. Ant. 20.6.1 118
Jn. 4:10 Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”
Here begins for the woman a revelation of a new kind of life. Yeshua does this by creating in her a need, a need that she could not meet. For He asks her for a drink of water and creates a surprise. It is obvious to her that He is a Jew, whether by His accent or by His clothes that He wore (probably His speech). Since Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans, her surprise is that He, a Jew, would be talking to her, and a woman at that.
Jn. 4:11 The woman said to Him, “Sir, You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. How then do You get that living water?”
Jn. 4:12 “Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us this well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and livestock?”
Jn. 4:13 Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks from this water will thirst again.”
Jn. 4:14 “But whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give will become in him a fountain of water springing up into eternal life.”
In response to her surprise Yeshua tells her that He has a form of water that she at this point does not have access to. It is the kind of water that will spring up into living water (mayim kayim) so that she will never thirst again. In the process of revealing to her a new kind of life, He knows her need for eternal life.
Jn. 4:15 The woman said to Him, “Sir, give me this water that I may not thirst, not come here to draw.”
Jn. 4:16 Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.”
Jn. 4:17 The woman answered and said, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You have well said, ‘I have no husband.’”
Jn. 4:18 “For you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you have spoken truly.”
The next stage is the revelation of herself. Before she can begin to receive this new type of water she has requested, she must first see her sins before she can appreciate her salvation. To reveal something of herself the Lord asks her to go and call her husband. After revealing to her the need for eternal life, a new kind of life, He begins to reveal to her where she is as to point out her sin.
Typical commentaries and sermons about this passage of Scripture paint a picture of a woman with highly questionable character and morals. Having five husbands and now living with a sixth man outside the bonds of marriage readily conjures up in the American mind the image of a Hollywood starlet who changes spouses at the slightest whim and has no concept of a genuine commitment. These accepted interpretations fly in the face of sound Scriptural exegesis because they ignore the culture and society in which Yeshua and the woman lived. The Book of Deuteronomy outlines the conditions for divorce under the Mosaic Law and it is clear that the person in the marriage who has the authority to initiate the divorce is the husband. Women were allowed to initiate a divorce in some isolated instances, but these were rare. Women in that society had little right to file for divorce as we are accustomed to seeing today. It was uniquely the husband’s prerogative. Therefore, the first thing to note is that since this lady had apparently been divorced five time, what has really happened is that five husbands have rejected her and sent her away. One must ask, “Why?”
Source: Deut. 24:1-3
Was she an adulteress as some have suggested? Again, lets look at Scripture. The penalty under the Mosaic Law was death by stoning. If this woman lived an immoral lifestyle, she would have been dead a long time ago. Then why would five husbands consecutively have sent her away? We do assume that all five husbands divorced her, although we must consider the possibility that one or more of them died instead, leaving her a widow. Yeshua does not say she was divorced five times, but only that she had five previous husbands. Was she impossible to live with? A cantankerous, nagging woman? Or could it be that she was one of those who contributed to the first century statistics regarding divorce and the main reason for them? Jewish mentality placed a great emphasis on having an heir, a child, particularly a son who could carry on the family name, heritage and business. The ability to bear children was considered evidence of the blessing of God on one’s life. One only has to remember Hannah, the mother of Samuel, and the ridicule of Peninah because of Hannah’s barrenness. When Sarah’s maidservant, Hagar, bore Ishmael to Abraham, the Scriptures record that she scorned her mistress after she had the child. Historical records indicate that in the time of Yeshua, the major cause for divorce among Jewish couples was this very issue. The same would hold true for Samaritans, who also valued the Law of Moses. Though a husband might love his wife, if after a reasonable time she was unable to present him with an heir, the husband had the legal right to issue her a certificate of divorcement (get) and put her away. Many did.
Sources: Genesis 16:4-6; Lev. 20:10; Deut. 22:22; I Samuel 1:0;
What about the sixth man? Wasn’t she living with him? Of course she was. However, if you read the Gospels carefully you will quickly see that Yeshua was far more merciful towards those involved in sins of a sexual nature than He was towards some of the Pharisees who He called Hypocrites and sons of the devil. Yeshua never compromised on the issue of sin, but He came to set the woman free. He saw in her what most of us would not see. She was a woman so hurt and so wounded that she had given up hope. “What does it matter any more? I might as well get some enjoyment out of life.” Yeshua had the answer she was looking for.
Jn. 4:19 The woman said to Him, “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet.”
Jn. 4:20 “Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship.”
Jn. 4:21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father.”
Jn. 4:22 “You worship what you know, we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews.”
Jn. 4:23 “But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.”
She does what people often do when you deal with the issue of sin in their lives and start getting personal with them – they want to argue theology. Now Yeshua does not avoid answering the question. Instead, He gives her a revelation of what constitutes true worship. He answers that the Samaritan place of worship is dead wrong. The Samaritans worship that which they do not know, whereas the Jews worship that which they do know, because salvation is of the Jews. However, their time is coming, and that will be after His death and resurrection, where one special locality will no longer be chosen as a place of worship, but the worship of God will be in spirit and truth.
In just a few short decades both Jerusalem and Mount Gerizim would be destroyed by the Roman legions. Instead of people having a physical location to go for worship, they would have to learn what God wanted for them all along. Worship must come from the heart. There would not be a priesthood to lead men to God. Now each individual would in their own manner find their way to God. The destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in 70 C.E. was not intended to separate God from His people, but was intended to bring Him closer. But now it would take an individual effort on each person’s part.
Jn. 4:24 “God is a Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and truth.”
Another question that begs to be asked: “If she was such a sinner, then why didn’t Yeshua say to her as He had to the woman caught in adultery, ‘Go, and sin no more.’ When Yeshua dealt with sin, He said, ‘Go, and sin no more.”When He dealt with demons, He said, “Be gone,” or “Come out of him.” When He dealt with diseases, He said, “Be healed.” But to this woman He said, “The Father seeks those who will worship Him in spirit and truth.” Why? Could it be that in spite of all her problems, He saw someone with a heart that was genuinely seeking God? Yeshua looked past the fault and ministered to the cause. His unconditional acceptance demolishes the stronghold of rejection. His perfect love casts out all fears of insecurity. The highway to wholeness (salvation) is worship of God, for He inhabits our praises.
Sources: John 8:11; Acts 7:4-8
Jn. 4:25 The woman said to Him, “I know the Messiah is coming. When He comes, He will tell us all things.”
Jn. 4:26 Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am He.”
Yeshua finally shows her the One she must believe in order to have the kind of life He first offered her in the beginning, and that is to believe that He is the Messiah. Something interesting to note here is that this is the only place in all four Gospels where Yeshua tells someone in plain words that He is the Messiah, and He tells it to a Samaritan. Could it be because of the statement that the woman makes that “when Messiah comes, He will tell us all things.”
Jn. 4:27 And at this point His disciples came, and they marveled that He talked with a woman; yet no one said, “What do you seek?” or “Why are You talking with her?”
Jn. 4:28 The woman then left her water pot, went her way into the city, and said to the men,
Jn. 4:29 “Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?”
With the declaration of His Messiahship the woman runs into town. But, during the discussion, His disciples have returned, having gone into town to purchase food. They were rather disturbed that Yeshua was speaking to a Samaritan woman, but Yeshua uses this to teach them a lesson in the principles of evangelism. No doubt their prejudice is at a high point from their experience of trying to buy food in a Samaritan town. The principle that He shows them is that some sow, but others reap. They are now reaping what Yochanan haMatbil and his disciples had sown.
Jn. 4:30 Then they went out of the city and came to Him.
Jn. 4:31 In the meantime, His disciples urged Him, saying, “Rabbi, eat!”
Jn. 4:32 But He said to them, “I have food to eat which you do not know.”
Jn. 4:33 Therefore the disciples said to one another, “Has anyone brought Him anything to eat?”
Jn. 4:34 Yeshua said to them, “My food is to do with the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.”
Jn. 4:35 ‘Do not say, ‘There are still four months and then comes the harvest.’ Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest.”
Jn. 4:36 “And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together.”
Jn. 4:37 “For in this the saying is true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’”
Jn. 4:38 “I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored and you have entered into their labors.”
4:39 And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, “He told me all that I ever did.”
Jn. 4:40 So when the Samaritans had come to Him, they urged Him to stay with them; and He stayed two days.
God’s love can break down any barrier. The Samaritan hated the Jews, and vice versa. But here the Samaritan invite Yeshua and His disciples to stay with them, which was totally unheard of. Hate doesn’t stand a chance in the face of genuine love.
Jn. 4:41 And many more believed because of His own words.
Jn. 4:42 Then they said to the woman, “Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we have heard ourselves and know that this is indeed the Messiah, the Redeemer of the world.”
A very different kind of picture of this woman than what we are used to hearing, yet this explanation is far more in keeping with the culture, society, and the religious system of that day. This particular account is one of the most startling and dramatic examples of how distorted our understanding can become when we interpret Scriptures, not only out of context, but also out of chronological, geographical and social context.
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