"the Woman At The Well" Series

“Going Public with Our Faith”

John 4:1-26

Last week we welcomed we welcomed in the New Year by talking about what it means to go public with our faith. In the Scripture today we find that Jesus having gone very public with Hi ministry, was now traveling. He had to go through Samaria. While traveling he comes to the town of Sychar; there was a small piece of property located there, owned by Jacob and on that property there was a well. Jesus has been walking quite a distance; he is tired, he is hot and he is thirsty so he sits down by the well. The Bible says it was about the sixth hour (the Jewish day started at 6 AM) meaning that it was about noon. This was the hottest part of the day.

It is at this well that He encounters a woman from Samaria and he asked her, will you give me a drink? The Bible tells us the woman was “surprised.” She says to Jesus, you are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman how can you ask me for a drink? There was a barrier. Jesus was a rabbi so he was forbidden to speak to a woman in public. If a rabbi was in public with his wife or daughter or sister he was not allowed to speak to any of them. Much less a complete stranger. But He does. He crosses this barrier and goes public.

Now it’s a bit odd for this woman to walk to this place --- over a half mile to walk there and there was water right in her own town. She went to the outskirts of town most likely because she was an outcast who didn’t want to be seen in public. Jesus will speak to her later in the story and point out she has been married 5 times and the man she is living with now, is not her husband. Jesus doesn’t point this out to condemn her, He is actually letting her know He is fully aware of her situation (and as a result of her lifestyle) He is even more interested in speaking to her. You see, Jesus came to break down barriers. And sin is a barrier.

In addition, The Jews and Samaritans had been fighting for over 4 centuries. This was like the Hatfields and the McCoys. Some, no doubt, had even forgotten what they were actually fighting about. There were cultural differences. There were racial differences… a lot of hatred between the two groups. The Jews felt like they were superior---kind of a cut above the Samaritans so you can imagine how surprised this woman was when Jesus actually spoke to her. But, Jesus was all about breaking down barriers. Jesus worked day and night for 3.5 years doing this very thing ---- breaking down barriers to present the gospel.

• When the Pharisees complained against Jesus for eating with tax collectors and with sinners he simply said I didn’t come to help those who are well, I came to help the sick. Jesus was breaking down a religious barrier.

• Zacchaeus was a tax collector. Luke tells us Zacchaeus was considered to be a sinner in the eyes of the public. Jesus saw him and invited himself to go to his house. This was unheard of. Jesus was breaking down a social barrier.

• Lepers were not allowed to have contact with anyone other than immediate family. They were outcasts. Yet Jesus not only approached a man with leprosy, He approached ten of them or rather they approached him and Jesus accepted them and healed them and by doing so, He broke down a physical barrier.

• Women had very little standing in that day yet Jesus did more to lift up the status of women than any other individual in history. Women couldn’t speak in public with men. They couldn’t walk in front of their husbands. Girls weren’t allowed to go to school. Women had no place in worship. No voice in worship. In the Jewish synagogue today they still cannot sit with the man. Jesus was breaking down a cultural barrier. Jesus changed everything.

So this helps us understand why this woman asked this question. Jesus quickly replies in verse and gets right to the basics and offers this woman living water. This was confusing to the woman because it would be like me talking about steak and potatoes but then I expect you to understand that I’m actually talking about spiritual food which it kinda is but she couldn’t make the transition.

Jesus came to make salvation accessible to all. He came to remove any barriers. Here He was breaking down the barrier of sin between man and God. The water the woman had come to draw from the well could only be obtained through hard labor. There was no button to push on the fountain. You had to draw it out. On a hot day. At the peak temperature. So if there was a way to get this water easier, then why not? So Jesus points out to her that the water he is speaking of is not something you and I were intended to struggle for. It was not meant to be difficult to get to. It was not supposed to hard to get to.