John 4:5, commentary and pictures

Jesus on His way from Judea toward Galilee came at noon to Sychar in Samaria, to Jacob's well at the opening of the valley of Shechem near the field Jacob bought and gave to Joseph where Joseph was later buried. Weary, hungry and thirsty from travel, with no rope or jar to draw water, He sat to rest while His disciples went to buy food and asked a Samaritan woman who came to draw for a drink, truly sharing human weakness and need. Though a Jew, He set aside Pharisaic custom, prejudice and intolerance to mingle freely with the despised Samaritans, accepting their hospitality and treating them with kindness, courtesy and dignity, showing His love and grace are not bounded by race or nation. He discerned a receptive heart in one stranger and outcast and gave her His richest instruction, offering her the water of life from the inexhaustible supply within Himself, so that her witness brought her whole city to hear Him. That living water must be within His followers and flow out to refresh others, so that whoever drinks becomes a missionary and the receiver becomes a giver.

Setting at Jacob's Well

He came to Sychar in Samaria, to Jacob's well near the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. The well stood at the opening of the beautiful valley of Shechem, where Jacob had bought a field and dug the well, the field in which Joseph's body was later buried. He was traveling from Judea toward Galilee, and reached the vale of Shechem at noon. He sat at the well to rest from His journey while His disciples went away to buy food. From long travel and work He was weary, hungry, and thirsty, and though water was close He had no rope or water jar and did not use a miracle to obtain it. A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and He asked her, a stranger, for a drink, and so began speaking with her.

Humanity and Love for Samaritans

At Jacob's well He was weary from long travel and work, hungry and thirsty at noon, with water close at hand yet no rope or jar to draw it, and He would not work a miracle to supply Himself but asked a Samaritan stranger for a drink. In that dependence He truly entered human weakness and need, accepting the human condition He had chosen to share. His journey to Sychar near the ground Jacob gave to Joseph was the journey of One come to save humanity and to bring light to those in moral darkness.

Though a Jew, He deliberately set aside the Pharisaic customs of His nation and faced down prejudice and intolerance to mingle freely with the despised Samaritans. His work among them showed He did not share Jewish intolerance. He accepted the hospitality of this despised people, sleeping under their roofs and eating with them at their tables food prepared and served by their hands. He taught in their streets and treated them with utmost kindness and courtesy, and His sympathy and social kindliness recognized the dignity of humanity.

He drew their hearts to Himself by the tie of human sympathy, while His divine grace brought them the salvation the Jews rejected. His words fell upon their thirsty souls with blessed, life-giving power, awakening new impulses and opening to these outcasts of society the possibility of a new life. His love and grace were not limited by race or nation, and His willingness to teach Samaritans showed salvation is offered to all, even those regarded as unworthy of it. That visit to Samaria showed His love remained unchanged despite their rejection of Him, and it prepared His disciples to carry the gospel there, so that the people later welcomed His messengers and many believed.

Teaching and Living Water

At the well He spoke with one Samaritan woman who had come to draw water, though she was a stranger and an outcast, and shared important truths with her. He gave her His richest instruction because He discerned her receptive heart, showing how personal contact and attention to each individual shaped His teaching. He taught and sought people wherever He found them, and a single hearer was worthy of His labor.

Her witness brought her fellow townspeople to Jesus, so that many Samaritans came to hear Him. The encounter led her to bring her countrymen to Him, and a whole city came to hear Him. There He offered the woman the water of life, fulfilling God's promise that the woman's Seed would bruise the serpent's head, a work He continues until every soul has been tested and tried.

The living water was within Him, and it must also be within His followers, flowing out to refresh those they influence. His supply of living water is inexhaustible, and He refreshes the spiritually faint. The woman's apparent withholding of water represents people withholding recognition, sympathy, and love from Christ, though He freely offers grace to all.

That incident shows how He worked and how believers are to sow and reap for Him. Whoever drinks becomes a missionary, and the receiver becomes a giver, receiving living water that springs up to refresh others. Her practical faith as a humble woman represents all who hear and believe in Him, in contrast to the learned Jews to whom He did not disclose His identity so plainly.