Table of Contents
- Verse reference
- Background and Context
- Lessons from the Samaritan woman
- Jesus is intentional in reaching out to people
- Jesus’ love broke cultural norms
- God loves everyone
- Only God satisfies
- What does worship in spirit and truth mean?
- God’s endless grace
- An unlikely witness
- Samaritan woman at the well: bible study questions
- Fun facts
- FAQ
Verse reference
Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman is recorded only in the gospel of John.
The Samaritan woman bible verse can be found in John 4:1-26 and this conversation is the longest recorded conversation Jesus had with someone in the book of John.
Background and Context
The opening of John 4 gives the background of how Jesus and his disciples arrive in Samaria. John 4:1 explains that Jesus and his disciples left Judea because the Pharisees learned about Jesus’ rising prominence in the community.
In studying the account of the Samaritan woman at the well, we need the historical context of the Jews’ enmity with the Samaritans.
Samaria is located between Judea and the Galilee but in that era, Jews usually take a longer route and avoid Samaria altogether because they dislike them. Bible commentators explain why this is:
Lessons from the Samaritan woman
- After the Assyrians conquered Samaria, they deported Israelites and settled the land with foreigners. These foreigners intermarried with the surviving Israelites and that’s how Samaritans come about
- The Jews who returned from the exile of the Southern kingdom in Babylon viewed the Samaritans as half breeds because they have some Jew blood in them and practice the Law of Moses, but they combined it with other superstitious practice
- Because of their tainted religious practice and race, the Samaritans are treated even worse than the gentiles
- Samaritans are not only disliked, but they’re also the Jews’ enemies. The Samaritans built a temple on Mount Gerizim, but the Jews burned it down and this made the relationship even worse
- In those days, pious Jews would avoid Samaria and take the longer route to reach Galilee, even if that means bigger travel distance
Jesus is intentional in reaching out to people
In John 4:4, it says: and he had to pass through Samaria (ESV). Since Jews at that time usually avoided Samaria, there must be a reason that Jesus chose to go through the city. Since John recorded that Jesus had this conversation with the Samaritan woman and stayed in the city to teach for two days, we know that He had a plan to save her and other Samaritans who accepted him.
John 4:8 states that Jesus sent all his disciples to buy food, allowing him to have an uninterrupted conversation with the woman. He then went to the well and sat there so he would be visible and unavoidable by the Samaritan woman.
Jesus’ love broke cultural norms
Jesus initiated a conversation with the Samaritan woman by asking for a drink (John 4:7). Jesus had no prejudice and broke down cultural and racial barriers. In that patriarchal culture, men didn’t speak to women in public settings. A rabbi wouldn’t even speak to his own wife or daughter in public. So Jesus made a culturally bold move by speaking to a Samaritan woman.
And he did not stop there – he asked for a favor. The animosity between the Jews and Samaritans went back for hundreds of years. Imagine going back 60-70 years ago when the community was segregated. Jesus reaching out to the Samaritan woman is similar to a white man going to a black-only fountain and asking to drink from a black woman’s cup.
God loves everyone
Many bible commentaries conclude that this Samaritan woman was immoral. One observation is that she went to the well, alone, at high noon (the sixth hour) – women usually draw water in groups and in the morning because water is used throughout the day and it’s cooler to go in the morning. The fact that she went alone might be because she’s a social outcast and no womaspousn wanted to be associated with her.
Further in the conversation in John 4:10, Jesus told the woman that if she knew who she was speaking to, she’d ask him for living water.
Only God satisfies
What did Jesus mean with living water?
In the bible, it refers to God or the Holy Spirit in both the Old Testament and the New Testament. In Jer 2:13 and Jer 17:13, God referred to himself as the spring of living water. Psalm 36:8-9 states that God gives people his river of delights and he offers the fountain of life.
We see the reference of living water again in John 7:37-38 referring to the Holy Spirit: Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” 39 Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given because Jesus was not yet glorified.
Pascal said: “There is a God-shaped vacuum in the heart of each man which cannot be satisfied by any created thing but only by God the Creator, made know through Jesus Christ.” Men may look to fill this with money, career, spouse, their looks, health, and any other things, but ultimately only God can satisfy our soul’s longing.
Jesus drew the Samaritan woman’s interest, but she took what Jesus said literally – in John 4:15, she asked Jesus for this water so that she wouldn’t have to come to draw water at the well again. What Jesus meant spiritually is taken literally by her. This is similar to Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus about being born again. In both conversations, Jesus was patient in explaining it.
Many of us seek fulfillment in the wrong places
When the Samaritan woman asked for the living water, Jesus responded by asking her to go get her husband. In his sermon, Tim Keller says that Jesus’ response alludes to the fact that this woman has been seeking satisfaction from men. She had been married 5 times and the man she’s living with is not her husband. She has been seeking fulfillment in men.
John Piper points out that by asking about her husband, Jesus confronts her with her sins. And this might be how God enters her life.
“Christ has different doors for entering into different people’s souls. Into some, he enters by the understanding; into many, by the affections. To some, he comes by the way of fear; to another, by that of hope; and to this woman he came by way of her conscience.” -Spurgeon
After Jesus told her about her history, the Samaritan woman asked him a theological question about where to worship.
What does worship in spirit and truth mean?
Spirit refers to a worship that is spiritual as opposed to physical (going to the church, kneeling, lifting hands) and in our hearts instead of a temple or on a mountain. Truth refers to a true, sincere and authentic stance.
Worshipping in spirit may also mean worshipping with the Holy Spirit. Those that belong to the kingdom of God have the Holy Spirit in them and can approach God with the Holy Spirit’s help.
1 John 3:18 gives us another clue: Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth. Truth refers to the stance of the heart – God seeks authentic worshippers.
God’s endless grace
Further down in John 4:29, the Samaritan woman told others “Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?” (ESV). Tim Keller said that Jesus’ knowledge of her history takes his grace to a new level. Jesus was already very open in asking her for water due to her racial and cultural background.
But to continue to converse with her even when he, a rabbi, knew her history? That grace was mind-blowing.
Her specific testimony also alludes to the fact that she didn’t feel condemned by Jesus. He knew her history but yet she felt safe. She must have felt his love so much that she told everyone in her city.
An unlikely witness
John recorded in John 4:29 that the Samaritan woman’s witness brought many to Christ. She brought many believers simply by saying “come see a man, who told me all that I ever did.” The other Samaritans told the woman that they believe because they’ve seen Jesus for themselves (V41-42).
This shows the simplicity of our witness as believers – we only need to tell others to meet Jesus and God will be the one changing their hearts. The Samaritan woman’s witness also reflects that earnest and genuine faith is enough to bring others to Christ. We don’t need to wait to be perfect and sinless to point others to God.
Samaritan woman at the well: bible study questions
Questions (based on the order of verses)
- Why do you think John wrote in John 4:4 Jesus needed to go through Samaria? What might be Jesus’ motive?
- Why did the Samaritan woman go to the well at noon? What is the significance of it?
- Women usually draw water in groups and in the morning when it’s cooler
- It may mean she was an outcast, that nobody wanted to be associated with her
- Jesus showed grace to a Samaritan woman with 5 husbands. He broke down racial and social barriers and didn’t have any prejudice. Which group of people do you have the biggest prejudice against?
- Maybe it’s just one person: who do you treat with prejudice and you stay away from?
- How can you overcome this prejudice?
- What characters of Jesus did you learn from this interaction?
- Intentional and relational
- No prejudice and he breaks cultural barriers
- No sugar coating – he did not shy away from controversial topics
- Yet He did it lovingly, this is apparent from the woman’s reaction despite the hard topic Jesus brought up about her sin => believers also need to provide a safe space for others to confide without judging
- In John 4:10-13, do you think Jesus is implying that everyone is spiritually thirsty?
- Pascal said: “There is a God-shaped vacuum in the heart of each man which cannot be satisfied by any created thing but only by God the Creator, made know through Jesus Christ.” Do you agree?
- Do you know anyone that embodies this after he/she met Jesus?
- What did Jesus mean by the living water?
- God or the Holy Spirit
- Fun fact: back in that time, spring water is called spring water because it bubbled up from the ground, giving an illusion that it’s alive
- Have you experienced God’s living water? How is it like?
- How can we make sure that we’re drinking from the living water instead of earthly fulfillments?
- John 4:14: but whoever drinks the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” What do you think water welling up to eternal life means?
- If we accept Christ, we will be more than satisfied and we’ll be life-giving => we’ll thrive and become a blessing to others
- Why did Jesus tell the Samaritan woman to go get her husband?
- Jesus might be pointing to how she has been quenching her spiritual thirst through men
- He confronts her sin so she could come into the light. John 3:20, “Everyone who does evil hates the light and does not come to the light lest his deeds should be exposed.”
- In David Guzik’s bible commentary, he notes that it was culturally appropriate to invite her husband to a longer conversation.
- Jesus might use it to reveal his knowledge of the Samaritan woman’s history
- If Jesus meets you today, what issue would He bring up?
- In his sermon, John Piper says that to accept Christ, you have to be confronted with your sins. Do you agree with this statement?
- What does worshipping in spirit and truth mean?
- Spirit: spiritually instead of physically, of the Holy Spirit
- Truth: true, genuine, authentic worship
- Why do you think she keeps telling everyone “this man told me everything I’ve done.” It’s repeated several times. What’s the significance and why do you think this is the most impressive fact this woman got from her interaction with Jesus?
- Tim Keller says that the fact that Jesus wanted to converse with her, despite knowing her history shows how gracious Jesus is towards her
- According to this bible commentary, the Jews believed that the Messiah can tell the secrets of all hearts. Probably the Samaritans believed similarly.
- Do you tell others about Jesus?
- If not, what keeps you from sharing the good news? What are your fears?
- How do you overcome this?
- If yes, how do you point your friends to Jesus? Have you been effective?
- If not, what keeps you from sharing the good news? What are your fears?
- How about your own experience? Who first told you about Jesus?
- What can we learn from the Samaritan woman at the well?
- She asked pointed questions and has her own convictions but her heart is open to listening to Jesus
- She’s brave in telling others about Jesus (despite her assumed status as an outcast)
- We only need to tell others to meet Jesus
- What part/verse of this passage is remarkable to you and why?
Fun facts
FAQ
Why was the Samaritan woman drawing water at noon?
Since women in that time usually draw water in the morning and in groups, the fact that she drew water at noon might mean she was a social outcast.
What’s a good bible commentary on the story of the Samaritan woman at the well?
David Guzik’s bible commentary on the passage is thorough and helpful.
What did Jesus offer the Samaritan woman at the well?
Living water, which refers to Jesus Christ as the one who satisfies spiritual thirst. Many seek to fill this with money, beauty, family, etc. but only God truly satisfies our soul’s longing.
What did Jesus tell the Samaritan woman at the well?
That Jesus is the Messiah. Jesus also told her that he can quench spiritual thirst (as living water). And that God seeks worshippers who worship with spirit and truth.
What happened to the Samaritan woman at the well?
She believed in God and told everyone about Jesus. Because of her, many believed.
How many husbands did the Samaritan woman have?
Five husbands. The one living with her was not her husband.
Why did the Samaritan woman have 5 husbands?
Some commentators allude to the fact that she was immoral. However, some believe that it’s more likely that she had been widowed or divorced.
What is living water in the bible?
The Old Testament and New Testament states that it refers to God or the Holy Spirit. God referred to himself as the spring of living water in Jer 2:13 and Jer 17:13. Psalm 36:8-9 states that God gives people his river of delights and he offers the fountain of life. In John 7:37-38, it refers to the Holy Spirit.
What does the story of the Samaritan woman mean?
It was a story of Jesus’ grace extended to an outsider and a sinner. The Samaritan woman was immoral/vulnerable and is a Samaritan (the Jews and the Samaritans were enemies). Yet Jesus revealed himself as the Messiah for the first time to her.
Sources:
https://www.faithward.org/the-samaritan-woman-disciple-and-evangelist/
https://bible.org/seriespage/lesson-3-samaritan-woman-john-4
http://www.jesuswalk.com/john/08_well.htm
https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/guzik_david/StudyGuide2017-Jhn/Jhn-4.cfm?a=1001001
https://yalebiblestudy.org/courses/women-in-the-bible/lessons/the-women-at-the-well-study-guide/
https://www.groupbiblestudy.com/jesus-and-the-samaritan-john
https://www.desiringgod.org/messages/you-will-never-be-thirsty-again
https://www.desiringgod.org/messages/god-seeks-people-to-worship-him-in-spirit-and-truth
