1. What stood out to me from this chapter?
In this story, this woman encounters Jesus and shares about it with her village. The people come out and encounter Jesus for themselves, and many become believers. They make a statement that really stuck out to me as I read the chapter: "We know that this man really is the Savior of the world." That statement would be pretty incredible all by itself. However, the little bit of background I know about this story makes it even more incredible. Jews hated Samaritans and avoided them at all costs, literally. They would take a long route around the Samaritan land rather than take the quicker major road right through it. So the fact that Jesus is preaching to the Samaritans who believe in his name and receive salvation really emphasizes that it is for the whole world. It crosses racial/ethnic boundaries. Since Jesus is talking to a woman (also frowned upon in their culture) we know that God's salvation crosses barriers of sex as well. Besides that, this woman was likely not an upstanding citizen, since she had five husbands and was now living with someone she wasn't married to. So Jesus reminds us that his love crosses all kinds of barriers that people tend to put up.
2. How does this relate to any other Scripture I know?
When Jesus was talking about living water and how it would quench our thirst forever, I thought of a psalm that also compared a longing for God to hunger and thirst. Psalm 63:1 says, "You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water." Jesus used real life examples that were right around him like Jacob's well to "draw out" (pun fully intended) spiritual truths.
3. What does this mean for my life?
The woman at the well had every reason not to go share about Jesus with the village. She was probably an outcast. She would probably be ridiculed again. She would probably be rejected again. Nobody would likely believe her. But she did anyway, and whatever she shared with the villagers and however she shared it, they believed her enough to come see for themselves. I need to stop letting my fears and anxieties about what might happen keep me from inviting others into the presence of Jesus. Whether that means inviting them to church, to a Bible Study, to camp, or simply into a personal relationship with Jesus, I need to be unashamed.
4. What questions do I have about this passage?
I know I didn't really comment at all about the last story in the chapter, but my question still goes back to the Samaritans. What happened after they became believers? The Bible doesn't really say; it just moves on to the next story. I wonder if they started a new church. How did they worship? Did many of them start to follow Jesus literally around the countryside?
Those are my thoughts for this chapter. I'd love to hear yours. God's blessings to you and KEEP DIGGING IN!
In Christ,
Dan
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