June 18, 2017 Samaritan Woman at the Well

TONY & MICHELLE PAWLAK

MEMORY VERSE

God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth. 

John 4:24

Have you ever known a bully? Bullies are strange in that they often choose not to like someone for some silly reasons. Some of these include height, weight, skin color, clothing style, or they might be from another country.  There are many such silly reasons and none of them make much sense.  Do you think Jesus would dislike or mistreat someone for such a silly reason?  Let's find out!

Jesus and His apostles were traveling north from Jerusalem

to Galilee and had to go through a region called Samaria and stopped at a town called Sychar.  Most Jews didn't like the Samaritans. You see, the Jews believed that they were special in God's eyes (which in many ways they are) and that made them better than anyone else (which it didn't).  The Samaritans

were only part or half Jewish because their parents had married people from other countries.  Since they were less than full Jews, the Jews thought the Samaritans weren't as good as they were.  Most of the time they would take the long way around so they didn't have to go through Samaria!  But NOT JESUS....

Jesus and his apostles went right into Sychar and stopped at the town well just outside of town.  Jesus stayed there but sent the apostles into town to get supplies.  While He

waited, a Samaritan woman came to the well to get water.  "Can you get me a drink of water?" Jesus asked the woman.  "You, a Jew, are asking ME for a drink of water?"  She said, surprised that this man was even speaking to her.  She knew that Jews didn't eat, drink, or even share dishes with Samaritans.

"If you knew who I am, you would have asked ME for living

water." Jesus told her.

"How would you get this living water?  The well is deep and you have no way to get the water out!"  She said.

"Anyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again but not with the water I give you."  Said Jesus.

This sounded great to the woman who didn't want to have to come out to this well every day just to get water.  When

she asked Jesus for the water, he told her to go and get her husband.

"I don't have a husband." She said to him.

"That's true." Jesus said. "You've had five husbands and you're not married to the man you have now."

Amazed that Jesus could know this, she realized He was a prophet.  She decided she had a question for him.  "You Jews say that we have to worship in Jerusalem but we

worship here on Mt. Gerizim like our ancestors did.  Which is right?"

"The Samaritans don't really understand what you worship. The day will come when everyone will worship in Spirit and Truth.  (This means that people will have a relationship with God [Spirit] and know and live by what the Bible says [Truth])."  Jesus said.

"One day the Messiah (or Christ) will come and explain it all to us."  She explained.

"I, the man who you're talking to, am He!"  Jesus exclaimed.

She was so shocked that she left her water pot and ran to tell everyone in town that the Messiah was waiting at the well!  They came out to see and Jesus talked to them.  Then they believed, not just because

the woman told them, but because they heard Him for themselves.  

Jesus did not give in to pressure from other Jews to dislike the Samaritans.  Instead, He showed them the same love He shows to everyone, the chance to know and accept Him.  If Jesus chose to love everyone, so should we.  We should not pretend that other people committing sin is okay, but we should love them anyways.