Lectionary Year A
March 3, 2002
John 4:5-42

Step V: Distillation


A. Summary of Salient Features

(BD)Why does Jesus go to the well is the area is full of running water streams? Is it to reminisce of ancestors or did he send the disciples away to approach the Samaritan without having to defend or explain his actions to the disciples? Why does John have Jesus offer eternal life to non-Jews so early in his gospel? John establishes very quilty eternal life is for all people.

(DS)Why did Jesus go through Samaria? (Well, what I believe is that Jesus loved the people isolated from a main society. He was seeking an opportunity to tell them good news. Samaria was there).
How did a Samaritan woman realize that a man was Messiah?

(GG)
In offering the salient features of this extended text, I will use broad statements. The highlight of this text is the self revelation of Jesus as the Messiah. This revelation is made personally to a Samaritan woman who is invited to partake of heavenly food. The lady, after accepting the gift from Jesus, with excitement and festivities, goes and tell others.
Also in this text we find:
A. Two focuses, material things; and Spiritual things.
B. The constitution for true worship.
C. Association with those outside the faith
D. The harvesting of souls.
E. Grace - Prevenient; Justifying/Assurance; Sanctifying/Perfecting

B. Smoother Translation

(BD)5) Therefore he comes into a city of Samaria called Sychar near the piece of land that Jacob gave to his son. 6) Now Jacob's well was there, and Jesus was weary from the journey so he was sitting at the well, it was about the sixth hour. 7) A Samaritan woman comes to draw water. Jesus says to her give me a drink. 8) For his disciples had gone away into the city in order that they might buy food. 9) Therefore the Samaritan woman says to him, "How are you being a Jew asking a drink of me a Samaritan women? For Jews do not associate with Samaritans." 10) Jesus answered and said to her, "If you knew the gift of God and who is the one 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, "Lord sir you have no bucket and the well is deep from where then do you have the living water? 12) Are you not greater than our father Jacob, who gave the well to us and he himself drank out of it and his sons and his cattle?" 13) Jesus answered and said to her, "Everyone who drinks from this water will be thirsty again. 14) But whoever drinks out of the water of which I give to them, will never thirst into the ages, but the water which I will give them will become in them a fountain of water springing up into eternal life." 15) The woman say to him, "Sir, give me this water in order that I might not thirst, nor come here to draw water." 16) Hey says to her, "Go call your husband and come here." 17) The woman answered and said to him, "I do not have a husband." Jesus says to her, " It is well you said I do not have a husband. 18) for you had five husbands and the one you have now is not your husband. This you have said truly. 19) The woman says to him, "Sir, I see that you are a prophet. 20) Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you say that in Jerusalem is the place where it is necessary to worship," 21) Jesus says to her, "Believe me, woman, because the hour comes when neither on this mountain nor among those Jerusalem you will worship the father. 22) You worship that which you do not know; we worship that which we know. Because salvation is from the Jews. 23) But an hour is coming and now is when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for indeed the Father is seeking such ones worshiping him. 24) God is spirit, and the ones worshiping him in spirit and truth it is necessary to worship." 25) The woman says to him, "I know that a messiah is coming, the one called the Christ, when that one comes, he will declare to us everything. 26) Jesus says to her, "I am the one speaking to you."

27) And at this time his disciples came and they were marveling that he was speaking with a woman. No one however said, "What are you seeking or why do you speak with her?" 28) Therefore, the woman left her water pot and went away into the city and says to the people, 29) come see a man who told me all the things I have ever done, surely this one is not the Christ? 30) They came out of the city and were coming to him.

31)In the meanwhile, the disciples were asking him saying, "Rabbi eat." 32) But he said to them, "I have food to eat which you do not know about. 33) Therefore the disciples were saying to one another, "Surely, no one brought him anything to eat?" 34) Jesus says to them, "My food is that I may do the will of the one having sent me and may complete his work. 35) Do not say that it is yet four months and the harvest comes? Look, I say to you, lift up your eyes and see the fields that they are white for harvest already. 36) The one reaping receives wages and gathers fruit into eternal life in order that the one sowing may rejoice together with the reaping. 37) For in this the word is true another is the one sowing and another one reaping. 38) I sent you to reap that which you have not labored upon, others have labored and you have entered into their labor. 39) And of that city many of the Samaritans believed in him because of the word of the woman testifying. 40) Then when the Samaritans came to him they were asking him to remain with them, and he remained there two days. 41) And many more believed because of his word. 42) And to the woman they were saying, "No longer because of your talk do we believe for we ourselves have heard and we know that this one is truly the savior of the world."

(DS)5 So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the place that Jacob had given his son Joseph. 6 Jacob's well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, was sitting by the well. Time was about the sixth. 7 When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, "Will you give me a drink?" 8 His disciples had gone into the town to buy food. 9 The Samaritan woman said to him, "You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?" For Jews do not associate with Samaritans. 10 Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water." 11 "Sir," the woman said, "you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you have this living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his flocks and herds?" 13 Jesus answered, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." 15 The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water so that I won't get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water." 16 He told her, "Go, call your husband and come back." 17 "I have no husband," she replied. Jesus said to her, "You are right when you say you have no husband. 18 The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true." 19 "Sir," the woman said, "I can see that you are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem." 21 Jesus declared, "Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth." 25 The woman said, "I know that Messiah" (called Christ) "is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us." 26 Then Jesus declared, "I who speak to you am he."

C. Hermeneutical Bridge

(BD)Mrs. Robinson from The Graduate
Back Street Boys As long as you love me

(DS)I believe that this story should be related to "Jesus who first comes to me." God calls His people who do not deserve salvation. In the story Jesus comes to a Samaritan woman, who is morally depraved, and talks to her first. God's blessing is in that point. He meets people who are not qualified to meet God. This story reminded me a friend of mine. I remember a friend whose parents are Buddhist. (There are many number of Buddhist people in Korea). He met God and believed in Jesus as his Savior. But his parents did not want him to be a Christian. His parents even got him out of family. He stayed in my house for then three days. One day, when we talked about his parents, he said that he was like Abraham. God said to Abraham, "You will be a blessing. You will be a great nation." (This is what we did before in class). He believed that God called him to be blessing from non-Christian family so God came to him. After many years, he contacted me. (I was in America at that time). I heard that his father started to go to the church. His father did not how to even pray, but he believed that his father would be better. According to verse 28 and 29, a Samaritan woman went back to a town and said to people about a man, Jesus, she met. Therefore, many of the Samaritans from that town believed in Jesus. (v 39). This picture of a Samaritan woman made me remember the story of my friend. God comes to humans, stretch His hand to them, and invites them His salvation. So this is a wonderful story, which shows us "God is an initiative of all."

(GG)
Keith The Fisherman Keith was my dad's best friend and he was a day fisherman. He would fish from 5 AM until about noon each week day. When Keith came in from fishing, he was thirsty. Each day he would stop by our house to get a drink of water on his way home. This was no ordinary drink, this was the drink of a man that was unquestionably thirsty. I remember filling Keith's glass multiple times with cold water which he would immediately pour down his throat before putting the glass back in position for a refill. Keith was thirsty and he knew he could get his thirst quenched at his friend's family house and he never failed to stop by and ask politely, can I please have some water. We always had a big bottle of water for Keith.

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