In chapter 4, John records one of my absolutely hands-down favorite stories of the Bible. While many of the gospel stories are shared by the writers of the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark & Luke), only John tells this story. As the author who bears witness to Jesus' love, it is appropriate that he would be willing to include the story of the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well....
There are so many aspects to this story! It is exciting every time I read it!
Observant Jews did not go through Samaria. It was the shortest distance between the area of Judea and Galilee - but the Jews shunned the Samaritans, so they took a longer route - just to avoid the Samaritans. The Samaritans were totally denigrated by the Jewish pure, and it is no secret that the animosity existed. It comes up several times in the New Testament.
The Samaritans were shunned, but within Samaritan society this woman was shunned. That's why she came out to the well at noon, in the heat of the day. All of the other women would have come out early, creating a social opportunity in the process of gathering their daily water. But not this woman. She avoided both their conspicuous contemptuous disdain and the potential of their scalding glares by coming alone at a time of day when no one else was likely to be there. But on this day, someone was. Still, he was a man. And not just any man. He was a Jew. He would ignore her. She would do what she came to do and be gone as quickly as possible. Or so she thought!
Even apart from being a Jew speaking to a Samaritan, it was abnormal for a man to speak to a woman - certainly to an unfamiliar woman. But speak he did.
Not only did he speak to her (unimaginable as that was), he put himself in need of her by telling her to give him a drink of water. Unheard of! Once she responds, she is engaged, and he moves from the physical need of water to the spiritual need of living water, ultimately introducing himself as the Messiah.
She is so excited she drops her water jar and runs back into town. Some believe just because of her story. Others have to hear for themselves to believe - but Jesus stays with them for 2 days, immersing them in Living Water.
After 2 days in Samaria, Jesus and the disciples headed on to Cana in Galilee, where not long before Jesus had turned water into wine. An official from Capernaum, which was about a 20-mile walk away, heard Jesus was back in Galilee, and went to him and asked Jesus to come heal his sick son who was about to die. Jesus spoke life for the son, and the man believed him and headed back home. On the journey, his servants met him and told him his son was getting better - and when he asked the time he began to get better, it was precisely the same time Jesus had told him, "Your son will live." He became a believer, along with all of his household. But, the reality to me is his faith that preceded his son's healing. He believed Jesus could or he'd never have left his son's bedside; and when Jesus said the man's son was healed, the official believed him.
It has been just over a year since I came back from my second trip to Israel. We walked through Capernaum (Capharnum on their sign). I know the location of the city the official was from. I know what the countryside looks like. It makes reading the Bible so much more visual! It makes the steps Jesus took come alive.
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