Introduction: Every society has those who have a bad
reputation, people considered inferior for some reason.
Recall that Nathanael, a future disciple, asked regarding
Jesus, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” John 1:46.
We find in Titus 1:12 the statement that “Cretans are always
liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.” In this study John opens
our eyes to the fact that Jews considered the Samaritans to
be inferior. Why is this? The Jewish ancestors of the
Samaritans were not considered by the Babylonians worthy to
take as slaves, and those who remained intermarried with
non-Jews who then adopted a different religion! When someone
considers you inferior, your natural reaction is resentment.
This forms the background for our study today – the Jews and
Samaritans hated each other. Let’s dive into our study and
see what we can learn about how Jesus approaches those who
are hostile!
I. The Trip
A. Read John 4:1-3. Why would Jesus leave just when
His success is growing? (Apparently Jesus thought
it was too soon for the Jewish leaders to focus on
Him. He left for Galilee which was far from
Jerusalem.)
B. Read John 4:4. Is that true? Did Jesus have to
“pass through Samaria?” (As we will see, Jesus had
an important reason to go the short way, rather
than going around Samaria. But according to the
Believer’s Commentary, Jews “often” skirted around
Samaria to avoid dealing with Samaritans.)
II. The Well and the Woman
A. Read John 4:5-6. Can God get weary? (This is part
of the proof that Jesus is fully human and fully
God.)
1. Anyone know what time is the “sixth hour?” (It
was about noon.)
B. Read John 4:7-9 and John 4:27. What do you think;
is this woman being hostile or simply curious? (I
vote that she is mostly surprised. Jesus’
disciples “marveled” that Jesus was talking with a
woman, much less a Samaritan woman. One commentary
said that a strict rabbi would not speak to a
woman in public, not even to his wife or a female
member of his family.)
C. Read John 4:10-11. How would you react to what
Jesus said if you were this woman? (He sounds
crazy. This was a deep well, Jesus was not
equipped to get any water, yet this Jewish
stranger tells her that if she knew more she would
be asking Him for water.)
D. Read John 4:12. Why would this woman start talking
about Jacob, a Jew? What does he have to do with
getting water? (Jesus introduced God into the
discussion and that God’s “gift” could give her
“living water.” She is apparently thinking that
Jacob gave them the gift of this well for water.)
E. Read John 4:13-14. Is Jesus claiming to be greater
than Jacob? (He is claiming to give better water.)
F. Read John 4:15. Has this woman decided that Jesus
is not crazy? (I think she believes that Jesus has
some sort of superior water, but she does not yet
understand what Jesus is saying.)
G. Read John 4:16-19. Has the conversation between
Jesus and this woman turned a corner? Is she
thinking that Jesus is talking about more than
special water? (The fact that Jesus knew all of
this about her makes her think that He has a
special connection to God.)
1. Is she someone who needs a better connection
to God? (Her visit to this particular well is
unusual. It is unusual because it is at the
hottest time of the day, and, according to the
Life Application commentary, was not the
closest well to her home. She seems to be
avoiding meeting other women who know her, and
the reason seems obvious – her controversial
sexual past.)
2. Was Jesus asking about her husband to make her
feel bad? (In that society, Jesus should more
properly have been speaking to her husband
instead of to her.)
III. The Gospel
A. Read John 4:19-20. Why would this woman switch
from talking about superior water to where people
should worship? (It has now dawned on her that
Jesus is talking about spiritual matters, so she
asks about a fundamental spiritual dispute between
Jews and Samaritans – where should they worship?)
1. Wait a minute! Isn’t the spiritual issue this
woman’s immorality rather than where to
worship? (People like to avoid discussing
their spiritual problems.)
2. Why would Jesus raise the issue about her
sexual past? (This is no accident. Her sins
did not prevent Jesus from evangelizing her,
but Jesus thought it appropriate to confront
her with her sin. This is much different than
the approach of those who claim the church
should be quiet about certain sins because it
will discourage people from coming to church.)
B. Read John 4:21. How can Jesus say this? Clearly
Jerusalem is the correct place to worship. (Jesus
is now directly speaking about the gospel. Jesus
has come to fulfill the symbolism of the
sacrificial system in Jerusalem. He is going to
make irrelevant the temple system of sacrifice.)
C. Read John 4:22. How is salvation from the Jews?
(Jesus first came to the Jewish nation. His mother
is Jewish.)
D. Read John 4:23-24. What do you think Jesus means
when He told the woman she must worship “in spirit
and truth?” (I think it means we must have the
correct attitude informed by the truth of the
Bible. The Holy Spirit is the source of a correct
attitude. Those who reject the teachings of the
Bible for “modern” attitudes fail in the truth
department.)
IV. The Messiah
A. Read John 4:25. Has this woman come a long way in
her understanding? (She seems to have come from
thinking Jesus was crazy, to thinking that He had
some special water that would make her life
better, to thinking about the Messiah.)
1. Think about Jesus’ method of dealing with
someone who is hostile.
B. Read John 4:26. What has Jesus just told her? (He
is the Messiah. The Albert Barnes Commentary says
that this is the first time Jesus openly professed
to be the Messiah. Notice that He made this
declaration to a Samaritan woman.)
V. The Message
A. Read John 4:28-30. Why are we told that the woman
left her water jar at the well? (This shows she
believed it was her top priority to share the news
about Jesus.)
1. Jesus plainly told her that He was the
Messiah. Why would she say, “Can this be the
Christ?” Is she showing doubt? (When you ask a
question, as we do in these studies, it
involves the listener in resolving the issue.
It makes them think.)
2. How did her question work? (They decided to
come and see whether Jesus was the Messiah.)
B. Read John 4:31-33. Why would Jesus say something
to the disciples that He would reasonably know
they would not understand?(Jesus wants them to
think about what He is saying.)
C. Read John 4:34. Why would Jesus call His work
“food?” (He was energized by doing the will of
God. Have you ever been so involved in a task that
you forgot you were hungry?)
D. Read John 4:35-36. Why does Jesus keep speaking
about food when He is clearly talking about
people? (This analogy not only helps us to
understand the nature of evangelizing, it also
fits Jesus’ statement that sharing the gospel
gives Him energy like eating food.)
E. Read John 4:37-38. Are you encouraged by this
analogy to farming? (This is wonderful! We do not
have to take on our shoulders the actual
conversion. What we take on our shoulders is being
part of the process of converting others.)
F. Read John 4:39. Does this mean that Jesus’
knowledge of her background converted them? (That
was her testimony. Her testimony coupled with her
question about whether Jesus was the Messiah
created enough interest and belief that they
wanted to know more.)
G. Read John 4:40-42. Is this an illustration of
Jesus’ farm analogy? It takes the woman and Jesus
working together to begin the process of beginning
the conversion of the Samaritans?
1. Of all the people Jesus could have used to be
His partner in converting Samaritans, why did
He choose this woman?
H. Friend, this story gives us a roadmap for
converting those hostile to us, but not
necessarily hostile to God. Why not pray right now
that the Holy Spirit will help you to apply the
principles of this story to your witness?
VI. Next week: More Testimonies About Jesus.
Copr. 2024, Bruce N. Cameron, J.D. Scripture quotations are
from the ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard
Version ), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing
ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All
rights reserved. Suggested answers are found within
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but it is lost one week, you can find it by clicking on this
link: http://www.GoBible.org. Pray for the guidance of the
Holy Spirit as you study.
