John 4:5-30; 39-42 - February 24, 2008
The Gospel according to John, the 4th chapter:
5 So he came to a Samaritan city called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob's well was there, and Jesus, tired out by his journey, was sitting by the well. It was about noon. 7A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, "Give me a drink." 8 (His disciples had gone to the city to buy food.) 9 The Samaritan woman said to him, "How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?" (Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.) 10 Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, 'Give me a drink,' you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water." 11 The woman said to him, "Sir, you have no bucket, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? 12 Are you greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us the well, and with his sons and his flocks drank from it?" 13 Jesus said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14 but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life." 15 The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water." 16 Jesus said to her, "Go, call your husband, and come back." 17 The woman answered him, "I have no husband." Jesus said to her, "You are right in saying, 'I have no husband'; 18 for you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true!" 19 The woman said to him, "Sir, I see that you are a prophet. 20 Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem." 21 Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him. 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" (who is called Christ). "When he comes, he will proclaim all things to us." 26 Jesus said to her, "I am he, the one who is speaking to you."
27 Just then his disciples came. They were astonished that he was speaking with a woman, but no one said, "What do you want?" or, "Why are you speaking with her?" 28 Then the woman left her water jar and went back to the city. She said to the people, 29 "Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done! He cannot be the Messiah, can he?" 30 They left the city and were on their way to him.
39 Many Samaritans from that city believed in him because of the woman's testimony, "He told me everything I have ever done." 40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them; and he stayed there two days. 41 And many more believed because of his word. 42 They said to the woman, "It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the Savior of the world."
Xxx - narrator - Carol W.
Xxx - woman at the well - DanaLee S.
Xxx - Jesus - Harold B.
Xxx - townspeople - Maria S., Danielle S.
(Woman at the well - DanaLee)
He didn't have a bucket. That's the first strange thing I noticed about him. He was sitting by the well, sweat glistening on his forehead in the heat of the noonday sun, and he didn't have a bucket. I almost turned around and went home when I saw him - a strange man at our well - and a Jewish man to boot. But we needed the water. So, I tried to be quick. I got to the well and began to draw up the water. Of course I didn't look at the strange man, but I could feel him staring at me. It was an uncomfortable situation, to say the least. And then he made it worse. I thought I would fall into the well when he actually spoke to me. Did he have no social graces?! Everyone knows that men do not speak to women who are not part of their family. Everyone knows that Jews do not speak to Samaritans. Still, he spoke to me. "Give me a drink," he said. And there was a sense of authority in his voice, but also a kindness to his request that I had never heard from anyone before. Maybe I should have just ignored him. Just because he violated social customs didn't mean that I should, too. But I was curious. Who was this man who dared to speak to me, a woman? Who was this Jew who not only traveled through Samaria, but actually spoke to our people? It took me a while to get his name. But, eventually he told me and it was the strangest thing of all. But I'm getting ahead of myself. . .
First, he offered me living water. I'm still not really sure where he would get it or how he would get it without a bucket, but it sounded pretty wonderful. He said that whoever drank it would never be thirsty again. He said that this water would become a spring in the people who drank it and would lead to eternal life. All I could think of was how great it would be to never be thirsty again. And how great it would be to never have to walk out to this well again to draw water. I wanted to hear more about this living water, but he kind of changed the subject when he asked me to go get my husband and come back.
This was not really something I wanted to talk about with him. So, I told him I didn't have a husband. I didn't lie, but I didn't necessarily tell the whole truth either. And do you know the strange thing? He knew. He knew all about me. My past. What I've been through. And all I felt from him again was kindness. Not judgement. Not fear. But kindness. Compassion.
I knew then that he was a prophet - one like our great prophet, Moses. He knew the details of my past. And then he began to speak about the future. Not just my future, but the future of all of us in Samaria who worship the way our ancestors taught us. He talked about worship. He said the time is coming when it won't be so important where we worship. In Jerusalem like the Jews, on this mountain like the Samaritans - it won't matter. He said what will be important is how we worship. He said there will come a time when true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. What he was describing is the time we're all waiting for. The time when the Messiah is here. I told him this and then he said the strangest thing of all. He finally told me his name. And it is the same name that God spoke to Moses from the burning bush. He said his name is I AM.
Again, I thought I was going to fall into the well. Was he really telling me he is the Messiah? The one we've been waiting for? Before I could ask him more about it, his friends came back. They looked stunned that we were talking. I got so flustered, I got out of there as fast as I could. I even forgot my water jar! I'm on my way back to the city now. I feel like I should tell someone about this. This man told me things about myself he could never know. He told me he is the Messiah. But why would the Messiah reveal himself to me? A woman. A Samaritan. Maybe I shouldn't tell anyone. They'll just think I'm crazier than ever. I've been tricked, haven't I? He didn't even have a bucket. There's no way that strange man at the well can be the Messiah, can he? Can he?
(Jesus - Harold)
Yes, I can. And, yes, I AM.
She's wavering right now, but by the time she gets back to town she will tell everyone she meets about her encounter with me - the strange man sitting at the well without a bucket. She doubts the answer to her question - He cannot be the Messiah, can he? - but others will believe and they'll search me out and find me here. I'll stay with them a couple of days and many more will come to believe in me as their Savior. Not just because of her testimony, but because of their own experience listening to me and learning from me. Her doubt will decrease too and she will truly come to believe that I AM the Messiah. But, she will still wonder why I first came to her - a Samaritan woman. In time, she will see that God sent me to tear down the boundaries that humans create. She will see that God sent me to love all people - no matter the details of their past. She will see that God sent me to call everyone I meet into a relationship with me. And finally she will understand why I didn't need a bucket that day at the well. She will see that I AM the living water I spoke of. And that I AM a spring of water living in her, gushing up to eternal life.
The Gospel according to John, the 4th chapter:
5 So he came to a Samaritan city called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob's well was there, and Jesus, tired out by his journey, was sitting by the well. It was about noon. 7A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, "Give me a drink." 8 (His disciples had gone to the city to buy food.) 9 The Samaritan woman said to him, "How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?" (Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.) 10 Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, 'Give me a drink,' you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water." 11 The woman said to him, "Sir, you have no bucket, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? 12 Are you greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us the well, and with his sons and his flocks drank from it?" 13 Jesus said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14 but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life." 15 The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water." 16 Jesus said to her, "Go, call your husband, and come back." 17 The woman answered him, "I have no husband." Jesus said to her, "You are right in saying, 'I have no husband'; 18 for you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true!" 19 The woman said to him, "Sir, I see that you are a prophet. 20 Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem." 21 Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him. 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" (who is called Christ). "When he comes, he will proclaim all things to us." 26 Jesus said to her, "I am he, the one who is speaking to you."
27 Just then his disciples came. They were astonished that he was speaking with a woman, but no one said, "What do you want?" or, "Why are you speaking with her?" 28 Then the woman left her water jar and went back to the city. She said to the people, 29 "Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done! He cannot be the Messiah, can he?" 30 They left the city and were on their way to him.
39 Many Samaritans from that city believed in him because of the woman's testimony, "He told me everything I have ever done." 40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them; and he stayed there two days. 41 And many more believed because of his word. 42 They said to the woman, "It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the Savior of the world."
Xxx - narrator - Carol W.
Xxx - woman at the well - DanaLee S.
Xxx - Jesus - Harold B.
Xxx - townspeople - Maria S., Danielle S.
(Woman at the well - DanaLee)
He didn't have a bucket. That's the first strange thing I noticed about him. He was sitting by the well, sweat glistening on his forehead in the heat of the noonday sun, and he didn't have a bucket. I almost turned around and went home when I saw him - a strange man at our well - and a Jewish man to boot. But we needed the water. So, I tried to be quick. I got to the well and began to draw up the water. Of course I didn't look at the strange man, but I could feel him staring at me. It was an uncomfortable situation, to say the least. And then he made it worse. I thought I would fall into the well when he actually spoke to me. Did he have no social graces?! Everyone knows that men do not speak to women who are not part of their family. Everyone knows that Jews do not speak to Samaritans. Still, he spoke to me. "Give me a drink," he said. And there was a sense of authority in his voice, but also a kindness to his request that I had never heard from anyone before. Maybe I should have just ignored him. Just because he violated social customs didn't mean that I should, too. But I was curious. Who was this man who dared to speak to me, a woman? Who was this Jew who not only traveled through Samaria, but actually spoke to our people? It took me a while to get his name. But, eventually he told me and it was the strangest thing of all. But I'm getting ahead of myself. . .
First, he offered me living water. I'm still not really sure where he would get it or how he would get it without a bucket, but it sounded pretty wonderful. He said that whoever drank it would never be thirsty again. He said that this water would become a spring in the people who drank it and would lead to eternal life. All I could think of was how great it would be to never be thirsty again. And how great it would be to never have to walk out to this well again to draw water. I wanted to hear more about this living water, but he kind of changed the subject when he asked me to go get my husband and come back.
This was not really something I wanted to talk about with him. So, I told him I didn't have a husband. I didn't lie, but I didn't necessarily tell the whole truth either. And do you know the strange thing? He knew. He knew all about me. My past. What I've been through. And all I felt from him again was kindness. Not judgement. Not fear. But kindness. Compassion.
I knew then that he was a prophet - one like our great prophet, Moses. He knew the details of my past. And then he began to speak about the future. Not just my future, but the future of all of us in Samaria who worship the way our ancestors taught us. He talked about worship. He said the time is coming when it won't be so important where we worship. In Jerusalem like the Jews, on this mountain like the Samaritans - it won't matter. He said what will be important is how we worship. He said there will come a time when true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. What he was describing is the time we're all waiting for. The time when the Messiah is here. I told him this and then he said the strangest thing of all. He finally told me his name. And it is the same name that God spoke to Moses from the burning bush. He said his name is I AM.
Again, I thought I was going to fall into the well. Was he really telling me he is the Messiah? The one we've been waiting for? Before I could ask him more about it, his friends came back. They looked stunned that we were talking. I got so flustered, I got out of there as fast as I could. I even forgot my water jar! I'm on my way back to the city now. I feel like I should tell someone about this. This man told me things about myself he could never know. He told me he is the Messiah. But why would the Messiah reveal himself to me? A woman. A Samaritan. Maybe I shouldn't tell anyone. They'll just think I'm crazier than ever. I've been tricked, haven't I? He didn't even have a bucket. There's no way that strange man at the well can be the Messiah, can he? Can he?
(Jesus - Harold)
Yes, I can. And, yes, I AM.
She's wavering right now, but by the time she gets back to town she will tell everyone she meets about her encounter with me - the strange man sitting at the well without a bucket. She doubts the answer to her question - He cannot be the Messiah, can he? - but others will believe and they'll search me out and find me here. I'll stay with them a couple of days and many more will come to believe in me as their Savior. Not just because of her testimony, but because of their own experience listening to me and learning from me. Her doubt will decrease too and she will truly come to believe that I AM the Messiah. But, she will still wonder why I first came to her - a Samaritan woman. In time, she will see that God sent me to tear down the boundaries that humans create. She will see that God sent me to love all people - no matter the details of their past. She will see that God sent me to call everyone I meet into a relationship with me. And finally she will understand why I didn't need a bucket that day at the well. She will see that I AM the living water I spoke of. And that I AM a spring of water living in her, gushing up to eternal life.