John • The passed-over passages 5 • The Samaritan Woman

Steve Schott
Sep 25
14 min read

Updated: Oct 1

► Previously in John we looked at the 7 signs recorded, and referenced in John 20:30-31, where it says

30 Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.

► We also explored the 7 "I AM" statements that do not always correspond to the signs, but also add definition to the nature and purposes of Jesus.

► Links to all of these posts can be found at the end of this posting

► Now I'm going to turn my attention to what I call the "passed-over" passages, Those passages from chapter 1 to chapter 12 which I haven't previously dealt with.

► After that we'll deal with chapters 13 to 19, which I call "the end of it all". These chapters deal with a single 24-hour period, that starts with the last supper in the upper room, and takes us all the way to the cross and the tomb.

► And then we'll end with chapters 20 and 21 that I call "the new beginning".

► Today we are going to look at an event that occurred just after Jesus had his dialogue with Nicodemus in Jerusalem. Jesus is heading back north, and will eventually land in Cana, where He will heal the Nobleman's son. BUT, on the way, instead of taking the normal, but longer, route around Samaria, He plods straight through the land of the despicable Jewish-wannabes. And will confront perhaps the lowest person possible, even on the Samaritans rankings.

The Samaritan Woman meets Jesus at the well at Sychar → John 4:1-45

► Think of the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:30-37).

• 4 players

→ “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho…”

> Jerusalem (south) – 2,428’

> Jericho (north) – 846’…below sea level

☼ 3,274’ difference in elevation

☼ Jeddah (Kingdom) Tower in Saudi Arabia (3,281ft)

→ A priest

→ A Levite

> You can be a Levite, but not a priest, but not the other way around.

→ The Samaritan (“the GOOD Samaritan” in the title)

• Oxymoron (at least to the Jews) – Good Samaritan

→ The Jews opinion?... The only good Samaritan is a dead Samaritan

• The Samaritans are the half-Jewish, half-Assyrian descendants of those left behind in Israel at the time of the exile of Judah.

• In John 8:48, when the Jews wanted to offend Jesus, they called him a “Samaritan” and accused Him of being demon possessed.

John 4:1-6 – Coming to Samaria

¹ Therefore when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John ² (although Jesus Himself was not baptizing, but His disciples were), ³ He left Judea and went away again into Galilee. ⁴ And He had to pass through Samaria. ⁵ So He came to a city of Samaria called Sychar, near the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph; ⁶ and Jacob’s well was there. So Jesus, being wearied from His journey, was sitting thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour.

► Vs1-3 → Why did Jesus’s awareness of the Pharisees knowledge of the baptisms spur Him to want to leave?

→ “John the Baptist and Jesus had official scrutiny focused on them because of their distinctive message regarding repentance and the kingdom. Most likely, Jesus wanted to avoid any possible trouble with John’s disciples who were troubled with His growing popularity and, since the Pharisees were also focusing on His growing influence, Jesus decided to leave Judea and travel north in order to avoid any conflict.” (note1)

→ Not sure of the exact reason. It’s not stated; only that Jesus wanted to be out of the visibility of the Pharisees

► V4 →“And He had to pass through Samaria.”

→ Did He????

• Three different north-south routes

> Coastal

> Samaria

> Jordan river

☼ “The historic tensions between Jewish people and Samaritans usually (but not always) caused Jewish people to avoid traveling straight north through Samaria to Galilee. Instead they would circle around Samaria to the east, into Perea and the Decapolis east of the Jordan.” (note2)

► V6c → “It was about the sixth hour”

→ Noon (sixth hour after sunrise)

John 4:7-14 – “Give me a drink”

⁷ There came a woman of Samaria to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.” ⁸ For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. ⁹ Therefore the Samaritan woman said to Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask me for a drink since I am a Samaritan woman?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) ¹⁰ Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.” ¹¹ She said to Him, “Sir, You have nothing to draw with and the well is deep; where then do You get that living water? ¹² You are not greater than our father Jacob, are You, who gave us the well, and drank of it himself and his sons and his cattle?” ¹³ Jesus answered and said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; ¹⁴ but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.”

► V7a → “to draw water.”

→ “Normally, women would come to draw water in the morning or evening when it was cooler; the immoral woman comes at a time when no one else would be at the well. (note3)

→ Gen 24:11 – ¹¹ He made the camels kneel down outside the city by the well of water at evening time, the time when women go out to draw water.

► Vs7-8 → “…give Me a drink.”

→ Nothing profound. He had no one to help Him get water since the disciples had gone to get food. Probably only 5 disciples at this point.

• John (1:37), Andrew (1:40), Peter (1:41-42), Philip (1:43), Nathanael (1:45-51)

► V9 → “… a Samaritan woman…”

→ Two strikes against her…

1. She’s a woman, and in that culture it was not normal for a random man to start a conversation with a woman who was a stranger.

2. She’s a Samaritan, and the Jews hated them and the Samaritans hated the Jews.

► V10 → “…He would have given you living water.”

→ Jesus is turning the conversation from the physical and temporal to the spiritual and eternal.

► Vs11-12 → “How will you get this water? You’re not greater than Jacob?”

→ She’s still thinking physical and practical. She doesn’t understand what Jesus is talking about.

► Vs13-14 → “…a well of water springing up to eternal life.”

→ He very clearly tells her that He’s talking about something “better” than normal water. It gives eternal life.

John 4:15-26 – “Call your husband”

¹⁵ The woman said to Him, “Sir, give me this water, so I will not be thirsty nor come all the way here to draw.” ¹⁶ He said to her, “Go, call your husband and come here.” ¹⁷ The woman answered and said, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You have correctly said, ‘I have no husband’; ¹⁸ for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; this you have said truly.” ¹⁹ The woman said to Him, “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. ²⁰ Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.” ²¹ Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. ²² You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. ²³ But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. ²⁴ God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” ²⁵ The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ); when that One comes, He will declare all things to us.” ²⁶ Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am He.”

► V15 → “…give me this water…”

→ She asks for the water, but still is thinking temporal. So she won’t have to draw anymore.

→ She also is probably thinking that she won’t have to come out where her shame is on display either.

► V16 → “…Go, call your husband and come here.”

→ Jesus pulls one of His famous “bait and switch” routines.

• Just like He did with Nicodemus, when he questioned Jesus with the statement in John 3:2 when he said “Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.”

• Jesus response to Nick was another question to move from the temporal to the spiritual.

• “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3)

→ She asks for water; Jesus tells her to go get her husband.

► Vs17-18 → “…I have no husband...”

→ Technically she’s not lying. She’s not married, BUT…

→ Jesus totally knows her exact situation. Unless He is familiar with this woman, which is highly unlikely, this is an example of His divine omniscience.

• She’s already had 5 husbands, and is now living with a man to whom she is not married.

• Busted!!!

► V19 → “…I perceive that you are a prophet.”

→ She knows that there is something special about this man, just not how special He is.

► V20 → “Our fathers worshiped on this mountain,...”

→ It’s now her turn to move the topic of discussion in another direction.

• Was it too hot in the spotlight while Jesus was exposing her sinfulness?

► V21 → “…the hour is coming…”

→ It’s like Jesus is saying “OK, you want to go down that path? I can redirect back to what you need to hear.

→ This phrase is used 7 times in the gospel and always is alluding to the time after the cross and resurrection.

► V22 → “…for salvation is from the Jews.”

→ Not that the Jews provide salvation, but that the source of salvation will come from among the Jews.

► Vs23-24 → “…true worshipers...”

→ Jesus is now revealing that the nature and method of worship will be changing. It won't be based on what brand of religion you belong to, or on what mountain your temple is built on, but rather on the hearts and souls of those who worship. Worship will be an outward expression of what is happening on the inside.

► V25 → “…I know that Messiah is coming…”

→ She acknowledges that both Jews and Samaritans have been awaiting Messiah, and that He is the source and revelation of all truth; that He should be the one to lead the people to this new expression of belief, one that is universal and not based on racial, historical, or geo-political location.

► V26 → “…I … am He.”

→ One of the clearest declarations by Jesus of who He really is. Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ.

→ Notice that in the NASB, NKJV, and KJV, the word "He" is in italics, indicating that this word is NOT in the original manuscripts.

→ In the ESV and NIV it is not italicized.

• In essence He is saying “I Am” (the personal name of God).

John 4:27-30 – “This is not the Christ, is it?”

²⁷ At this point His disciples came, and they were amazed that He had been speaking with a woman, yet no one said, “What do You seek?” or, “Why do You speak with her?” ²⁸ So the woman left her waterpot, and went into the city and said to the men, ²⁹ “Come, see a man who told me all the things that I have done; this is not the Christ, is it?” ³⁰ They went out of the city, and were coming to Him.

► V27 → the disciples…

→ Amazement that Jesus had been speaking to a woman, let alone a Samaritan woman.

→ The unspoken questions, to me, seem to be directed one to the woman (what do you seek?) and one to Jesus (why do you speak to her?)

• In the first question, the word “You” is capitalized in NASB and NKJV. Not in KJV, ESV, and NIV.

• In the second question, it’s about the woman so it has to be directed at Him.

• I think this more fully demonstrates the disciples confusion, and their silence. They don’t know for sure what to ask of whom.

► V28 → the woman…

→ Notice that she left her waterpot. Which tells me that she meant to go back.

→ Notice also that Jesus told her to go get her husband. And she didn’t do that.

► Vs29-30 → the men…

→ I think that John must have recorded the abridged version of her comments to the men of the city. Whatever exactly she told them, it was convincing enough to prompt them to come see and hear Jesus for themselves.

John 4:31-38 – “Rabbi, eat”

³¹ Meanwhile the disciples were urging Him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.” ³² But He said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” ³³ So the disciples were saying to one another, “No one brought Him anything to eat, did he?” ³⁴ Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work. ³⁵ Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest. ³⁶ Already he who reaps is receiving wages and is gathering fruit for life eternal; so that he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. ³⁷ For in this case the saying is true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ ³⁸ I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored and you have entered into their labor.”

► Vs31-34 → the food…

→ V31 – the disciples were urging Him to eat now that the pesky woman was gone.

→ V32 – He responds with a comment about food that is not known to them.

→ V33 – they are confused – "who brought food?"

→ V34 – “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work."

• Matt 4:1-4 – ¹ Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. ² And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry. ³ And the tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” ⁴ But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD.’ ”

► Vs35-38 → the harvest…

→ Jesus again changes the course of the conversation. They went from food to eat to fruit that needs to be harvested.

→ He tells them to look up and see that it is harvest time.

John 4:39-42 – “This One is indeed the Savior of the world”

³⁹ From that city many of the Samaritans believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, “He told me all the things that I have done.” ⁴⁰ So when the Samaritans came to Jesus, they were asking Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days. ⁴¹ Many more believed because of His word; ⁴² and they were saying to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this One is indeed the Savior of the world.”

► V39 → … because of the word of the woman…

→ This is one of those times when a woman in the story is the hero that saves the day

• I think of Rahab, who saved the spies of Israel and thereby saved her family. Her reward, initially was that her family was saved, but long term her reward was to be included in the line of Christ.

→ Because of her simple testimony many of the city were willing to listen to Jesus and thus found salvation.

► V40 → … stayed there two days.

→ He stays here two days and “many more believed because of His word;…”

• In like fashion, He will wait two days to go to Lazarus, for the sole purpose that those who would witness Lazarus’s resurrection would believe.

► Vs41-42 → … believed because of His word;…

→ They acknowledged to the woman that it may have been her testimony that prompted them to go, but it was His actual words that prompted them to believe.

→ They clearly understood that Jesus had come to save them.

John 4:43-45 – “After the two days...”

⁴³ After the two days He went forth from there into Galilee. ⁴⁴ For Jesus Himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country. ⁴⁵ So when He came to Galilee, the Galileans received Him, having seen all the things that He did in Jerusalem at the feast; for they themselves also went to the feast.

► Vs43-45 → So after it is all said and done, it is interesting that "after the two days", that Jesus went on to Galilee, like nothing had happened in Samaria. I'm certain He was rejoicing in His heart because of their salvation, but at the same time was frustrated with the not-so-overwhelming response from the Jews.

So what?

► We should plan the events of our lives to provide opportunities to share the gospel.

→ Like Jesus did when He “had” to go to Samaria.

► We should look for ways to turn conversations about the temporal into conversations about the eternal.

→ Living water, go call your husband, food to eat

→ What events or situations in your life can you use to demonstrate the love of God to those around us?

► We should always follow up our testimony with the word.

→ It’s one thing to share with someone what the Lord has done in our life, but it should be based on Scripture.

• Hebrews 4:12 – “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”

• Romans 10:17 – “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.”

• 2 Timothy 3:16-17 – “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.”

• Romans 1:16-17 – “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.”