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As Jesus passed through Samaria, He came to the city of Sychar and
rested at a well known as Jacob’s well.
The Samaritans lived in the central region of Israel which is above the region known as Judea.
The Samaritans had been deported by the Assyrian army in 721 B.C. to foreign lands where they eventually intermarried
with the Gentile nations. When they returned to the land, the Judeans rejected their offer to help rebuild
the temple in Jerusalem. In short, the Judeans were offended that they had married Gentiles. Years later the
Samaritans built their own temple at the base of Mount Gerizim which is near the city of Shechem. Mount Gerizim
is about 25 miles (40 Km) north of Jerusalem. When this occurred, a severe split took place between the Judeans
and Samaritans.
As often happens when strong differences exist between groups of people, the Judeans hated the Samaritans; and the Judeans started avoiding the region of Samaria. In fact, they would walk around Samaria by crossing the Jordan River and walking northward on the east side of the Jordan River in order to avoid contact with Samaritans. But not Jesus! We are told that Jesus “had to” pass through Samaria.
The Greek language tells us that Jesus had been tired for a long time. It appears that even
though He was very tired, He continued onward. He was pushing Himself. His goal was to reach Sychar and stop
at Jacob’s well at the sixth hour in order to meet a Samaritan woman. The sixth hour was noon according
to Jewish time.
Capturing Her Attention. Jesus had hurried that morning in order to meet the
woman that He now saw approaching.
There came a woman of Samaria to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.” For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. (NASB) John 4:7-8 With His disciples out of the way, Jesus was free to talk with this Samaritan woman. Just imagine - Jesus
was going to talk with a Samaritan woman! For a Judean this was amazing, but not for Jesus. The woman was surprised.
As we will see in a minute, she appears to be hurt. Maybe this was due to the arrogance of the Judeans toward
the Samaritans.
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.) (NASB) John 4:9 |
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| Life & Heart of Jesus | |||||
