If You Only Knew . . .
TBC Book 2, Chapter 18
John 4:1-42
On the way to Galilee, Jesus traveled through Samaria, and he did something that surprised everyone. By noon he was so hot and tired that he rested near a well and sent away his disciples for food. A Samaritan woman came to draw water in her jar, and Jesus said, “May I have a drink?” The woman was shocked.
“You are a Jew,” she said, “and you’re asking me for a drink?” Jews never spoke to Samaritans. They resented these Gentile-Jews, who had built their own temple in Samaria.
Jesus continued: “If you knew the gift of God and who I was, you would be asking me for a drink, and you would have living water.”
“Sir, you have nothing to draw out water, and the well is deep. So tell me, where will you get this ‘living water’? Are you greater than our father Jacob who gave us this well?”
Jesus answered, “Whoever drinks the water I give will never thirst, for it will become a spring of eternal life.”
“Then give me some,” she said sarcastically, “so I won’t have to keep coming here.”
“Go get your husband,” Jesus said, “then come back.”
“I have no husband,” she replied.
“You are quite right,” Jesus said. “In fact, you have had five husbands, and the man you have now is not your husband. So what you have said is true.” The woman looked shocked.
“I can see you are a prophet.” Startled and embarrassed, she changed the subject. “Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews insist we must worship in Jerusalem.”
Jesus replied, “Believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans don’t even know what you worship. But we Jews know, for God’s salvation is through the Jews. A time is coming, and it is here already, when true worshipers will worship in spirit and truth. These are the worshipers the Father seeks.”
The woman paused. When she finally spoke, it was as though she were thinking out loud. “I know that the Messiah is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”
Then Jesus said to her, “I am he. I am the Messiah.”
Just then the disciples returned, carrying their food. They were surprised to see Jesus talking to a Samaritan woman. But no one said anything. They just stared at the two of them.
With a look of amazement, the woman dropped her jar and ran back to her town. “Come see a man who told me everything I ever did!” she shouted. “Could this man be the Messiah?”
At first the people just stared at her. A man who told her everything she ever did? That would be something. And what kind of a man could get such a response from her? They had to find out. Immediately, they began to leave town and follow her back to the well.
Meanwhile, after the woman had left the well, the disciples opened their packages and began spreading out the food. “Come, Rabbi,” they said. “Have something to eat.”
Jesus shook his head and said, “I have food that you know nothing about.”
One of the disciples whispered, “Did someone already bring him food?” Jesus heard them and said, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish the work he gave me.”
Many Samaritans from the town of Sychar came to see and hear Jesus for themselves. It was the woman’s statement that drew them: “He told me everything I ever did!”
They too were captivated by what he said. They begged him to stay there and tell them more. So he stayed with them for two days.
Then they told the woman, “Now we believe not just because of what he told you, but because of what we heard for ourselves. This man really is the Savior of the world.”
TBC 197
John 4:1-42
On the way to Galilee, Jesus traveled through Samaria, and he did something that surprised everyone. By noon he was so hot and tired that he rested near a well and sent away his disciples for food. A Samaritan woman came to draw water in her jar, and Jesus said, “May I have a drink?” The woman was shocked.
“You are a Jew,” she said, “and you’re asking me for a drink?” Jews never spoke to Samaritans. They resented these Gentile-Jews, who had built their own temple in Samaria.
Jesus continued: “If you knew the gift of God and who I was, you would be asking me for a drink, and you would have living water.”
“Sir, you have nothing to draw out water, and the well is deep. So tell me, where will you get this ‘living water’? Are you greater than our father Jacob who gave us this well?”
Jesus answered, “Whoever drinks the water I give will never thirst, for it will become a spring of eternal life.”
“Then give me some,” she said sarcastically, “so I won’t have to keep coming here.”
“Go get your husband,” Jesus said, “then come back.”
“I have no husband,” she replied.
“You are quite right,” Jesus said. “In fact, you have had five husbands, and the man you have now is not your husband. So what you have said is true.” The woman looked shocked.
“I can see you are a prophet.” Startled and embarrassed, she changed the subject. “Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews insist we must worship in Jerusalem.”
Jesus replied, “Believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans don’t even know what you worship. But we Jews know, for God’s salvation is through the Jews. A time is coming, and it is here already, when true worshipers will worship in spirit and truth. These are the worshipers the Father seeks.”
The woman paused. When she finally spoke, it was as though she were thinking out loud. “I know that the Messiah is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”
Then Jesus said to her, “I am he. I am the Messiah.”
Just then the disciples returned, carrying their food. They were surprised to see Jesus talking to a Samaritan woman. But no one said anything. They just stared at the two of them.
With a look of amazement, the woman dropped her jar and ran back to her town. “Come see a man who told me everything I ever did!” she shouted. “Could this man be the Messiah?”
At first the people just stared at her. A man who told her everything she ever did? That would be something. And what kind of a man could get such a response from her? They had to find out. Immediately, they began to leave town and follow her back to the well.
Meanwhile, after the woman had left the well, the disciples opened their packages and began spreading out the food. “Come, Rabbi,” they said. “Have something to eat.”
Jesus shook his head and said, “I have food that you know nothing about.”
One of the disciples whispered, “Did someone already bring him food?” Jesus heard them and said, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish the work he gave me.”
Many Samaritans from the town of Sychar came to see and hear Jesus for themselves. It was the woman’s statement that drew them: “He told me everything I ever did!”
They too were captivated by what he said. They begged him to stay there and tell them more. So he stayed with them for two days.
Then they told the woman, “Now we believe not just because of what he told you, but because of what we heard for ourselves. This man really is the Savior of the world.”
TBC 197
"Take up the shield of faith, . . . the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."
—Ephesians 6:16-17