The Woman at the Well
The LORD Jesus journeyed from Judea to Galilee by way of Samaria. "6 Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with His journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour [noon]. 7 There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink" (John 4:6-7). When the LORD Jesus spoke with the Samaritan woman, He desired more than to demonstrate the intellectual superiority of the Jewish position over the Samaritan, but to give the Samaritan woman New Life, i.e., "11 And this is the record, that God hath given to us Eternal Life, and this Life is in His Son. 12 He that hath the Son hath Life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not Life" (1John 5:11-12). "Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the Gift of God, and Who it is that saith to thee, Give Me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of Him, and He would have given thee Living Water" (4:10).
After hearing the woman question that He had nothing with which to draw the water nor did He seem to possess the greatness of spiritual character of Father Jacob to give that Living Water, the LORD Jesus began watering the woman with His Word, i.e., "For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour My Spirit upon thy seed, and My blessing upon thine offspring" (Isaiah 44:3). "13 Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: 14 But whosoever drinketh of the Water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the Water that I shall give him shall be in him a Well Of Water springing up into Everlasting Life" (John 4:13-14).
Intrigued with Jesus' response, the "woman saith unto Him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw" (John 4:15). At a previous time, Jesus explained to another seeker of the Truth (Nicodemus), "Except a man be born of water [the first birth-- the physical] and of the Spirit [the Second Birth-- the spiritual], he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God" (3:5). Since Jesus understood that the Samaritan woman could not receive the Living Water without admitting and turning away from her sins, He brought up the subject of the woman's adulterous lifestyle, i.e., "except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish" (Luke 13:3). "16 Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither. 17 The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband: 18 For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly" (John 4:16-18).
Turning the conversation away from her sin, the Samaritan woman complimented Jesus, i.e., "Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet" (John 4:19), and attempted to embroil Him in the Jewish-Samaritan debate, i.e., "Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship" (Jn 4:20). Jesus ended the attempted debate by assuring her that the location of worship was unimportant. "Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father" (Jn 4:21). But, He then added, "Ye [Samaritans] worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for Salvation is of the Jews" (Jn 4:22). "Salvation is of the Jews" is a fact that Jesus declared and did not debate. "And the servant of the LORD must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient" (2Timothy 2:24).
True worship was and is required by the Father. "23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the True Worshippers shall worship the Father in Spirit and in Truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship Him. 24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and in Truth" (John 4:23-24). Jesus declared the simplicity of a Spirit led seeking of the Father, and the Apostle John repeated the same concept in his first epistle. "20 But ye have an Unction [the Holy Spirit] from the Holy One, and ye know all things... 27 But the Anointing [the Holy Spirit] which ye have received of Him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same Anointing teacheth you of all things, and is Truth, and is no lie, and even as It hath taught you, ye shall abide in Him" (1John 2:20,27).
Jesus declared to us His unique nature, i.e., "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me" (John 14:6). The Samaritan woman said, "I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when He is come, He will tell us all things" (4:25), showing us that even the Samaritans were looking for the Messiah. To this, the LORD Jesus plainly answered, "I that speak unto thee am He" (4:26). More than once did the LORD Jesus confess to man His Messianic identity. "61 But He held His peace, and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked Him, and said unto him, Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed? 62 And Jesus said, I am: and ye shall see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of Heaven" (Mark 14:61-62). The question is not whether Jesus claimed to be the Messiah, but "What will you do with Jesus? Believe Him or reject Him?" "What think ye of Christ? whose son is He?" (Matthew 22:42).
For the record, the woman at the well turned in faith to Jesus as the Messiah. "28 The woman then left her water pot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men, 29Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?" (John 4:28-29). She openly confessed Jesus as the Messiah. "9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto Salvation" (Romans 10:9-10).
Back to Salvation is of the Jews