Lesson#5

TheSamaritanWoman(4:1–54)

1TheSamaritanWoman

Lesson#4beganJohn’s“BCycle”(2:13–5:47)withthestoryofNicodemus,

aprominentJewishleaderandamemberoftheSanhedrin.Onthis2nd

PassoverJesusenteredJerusalemwithawhipandheclearedtheTemple,

tossingtablesanddrivingoutthemoneychangers.InJohnthe“cleansingof

theTemple”episodeestablishedJesus’knowledgeandauthority,insharp

contrasttotheignoranceofthecrowdsandtothelesserknowledgeand

authorityofNicodemus,“aruleroftheJews”(3:1).

Weweretoldthat“whilehewasinJerusalemforthefeastofPassover,manybegantobelieveinhisnamewhentheysawthesignshewasdoing.ButJesuswouldnottrusthimselftothembecauseheknewthemall”(2:23-24).Wethenmoveddirectlyto,“[but]therewasaPhariseenamedNicodemus,aruleroftheJews...”(3:1).

TheSamaritanWoman 2

NicodemusstoodinsharpcontrasttothecrowdswhobelievedinJesus

becauseofthe“signs”heperformed.Nicodemusneededmorethan“signs”;

heneededunderstanding;hence,hecametoJesusatnightforaprivate,

inWmateconversaWon.

Nicodemuswasnoignorantbuffoon,afraidofthecrowdsorofthe

authoriWes;hewasahighlyeducated,deeplyinsighYulman,andhis

conversaWonwithJesussparkledwithinsightandverbalplay.Italsoprobed

deeplyintotheveryheartofJesus’idenWtyandpurpose.

TheSamaritanWoman 3

InLesson#5weleavethestoryofNicodemus,arespectedleaderofthe

Jews,andwemovedirectlytothestoryoftheSamaritanwoman,an

outcast(asbothaSamaritanandamarginalizedwoman)whohasbeen

marriedfiveWmes,andthemansheislivingwithnowisnotherhusband.

Sheisthetownwhore,thepolaroppositeofNicodemus:whereas,

Nicodemuswasknowledgeablebutmodest,theSamaritanwomanis

ignorantbutbrash;whereas,NicodemusresidesinJerusalem,thecenter

ofpietyandpower,theSamaritanwomanlivesinSychar,ananonymous,

smallvillagein“unclean”territory.

UnlikeJesus’subtleandinsighYulexchangewithNicodemus,Jesus’

jousWngwiththeSamaritanwomanisstartling,astheytradeinsults.

BoththeencounterwithNicodemusandtheencounterwiththe

Samaritanwomanleadtotruth,buttheyarrivebyverydifferentpaths.

TheSamaritanWoman 4

5TheSamaritanWoman

“Now when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John (although Jesus himself was not baptizing, just his disciples), he left Judea and returned to Galilee. He had to pass through Samaria. So he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of land that Jacob had given his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there. Jesus, tired from his journey, sat down there at the well. It was about [six o’clock in the morning].”

(4: 1-6)

OurstoryopenswithareferencetoJesus

bapWzing,asthepreviousstoryofchapter

3read:

“AFerthisJesusandhisdiscipleswentintotheregionofJudea,wherehespentsomeHmewiththembapHzing.”

(3:22)

Johntellsushereinchapter4,however,

that“JesushimselfwasnotbapHzing,justhisdisciples”(4:2).Soasnottomislead

peopleortocompetewithJohn,Jesusand

hisdisciplesleaveJudeaandheadnorthto

Galilee.

ButhemostcertainlydidNOThaveto“passthroughSamaria”(4:4)!

6TheSamaritanWoman

GALILEE

Jericho!

Jerusalem!

! FordingpointatBeitShe’an

! FordingpointatJericho

7TheSamaritanWoman

PILGRIMAGEROUTE

FROMGALILEETO

JERUSALEM

"AENON

JUDEA

SAMARIA

SYCHAR

Mt.Gerizim

Mt.Ebal

Shechem

8TheSamaritanWoman

Yikes!HejustHADtogothrough

Samaria!

9TheSamaritanWoman

Notme.

Thatlinecrackleswithsarcasm!

IcanjustseeJohn’sfaceashe

recallstheincidentfrom60

yearsago.ThelastthingJesus’

discipleswantedtodowas

“passthroughSamaria!”It’swayoff

course!

10TheSamaritanWoman

Sycharisasmallvillageoutsideof

Shechem,neartoday’sWestBank

townofNablus.Josephusnotesthat

SycharsitsbetweenMt.EbalandMt.

Gerizim(AnHquiHes4.8.44)andtheMadabamosaicmap(thatwesawin

Lesson#4)locatesitinthesame

place.

TheGreekOrthodoxchurchofSt.

PhoWnisitsoverthetradiWonal

“Jacob’sWell,”a135-footdeepshal,

dugthroughalluvialsoiland

limestonetotheground-waterbelow.

Itisaverydeepwell!

11TheSamaritanWoman

12TheSamaritanWoman

“Jacob’sWell,”insidetheGreekOrthodoxChurchofSt.PhoWni,Nabulus,PalesWne.

PhotographybyFr.RobWaller

13TheSamaritanWoman

DavidRoberts,Jacob’sWell(lithograph),c.1838-1840.LibraryofCongress,WashingtonD.C.

RecallinScripturethatthevillagewellisnot

onlyameeWngplaceforthewomenofthe

townwhentheycometodrawwaterinthe

evening,itisalsoScripture’s“singles’bar.”

WhenAbrahamsendshisservantEliezerto

Harantofindawifeforhisson,Isaac,Eliezer

goesdirectlytothewellatHaran,andthere

hemeetsRebekah,whowillbecomeIsaac’s

wife(Genesis24:11-27).Isaac’sson,Jacob,

alsomeetshisfuturewife,Rachel,atthevery

samewell(Genesis29:1-11).

InScripture,wellsareassociatedwith

romanceandmarriage,andnotcoincidently,

Jesus—whomJohntheBapWstjustcalledthe

“bridegroom”inthepreviousstory(3:29)—

willalsomeetawomanatawell.

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15TheSamaritanWoman

“A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her ‘Give me a drink.’ His disciples had gone into the town to buy food. The Samaritan woman said to him, ‘How can you, a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?’ (For Jews use nothing in common with Samaritans.) Jesus answered and said to her, ‘If you knew the gift of God and who is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.’ [The woman] said to him, ‘Sir, you do not even have a bucket and the well is deep; where then can you get this living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us this well and drank from it himself with his children and flocks? Jesus answered and said to her, ‘Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again . . .

16TheSamaritanWoman

“but whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst; the water I shall give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.’ The woman said to him, ‘Sir, give me this water, so that I may not be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.”

(4: 7-15)

AngelicaKauffman.ChristandtheSamaritanWomanattheWell(oiloncanvas),1796.NewPinakothek,Munich.

17TheSamaritanWoman

Notme.

Itis6:00inthemorning.

Sincehisdisciplesareoff

gepngbreakfast,Jesusis

aloneatthewell,wherehe

meetsthiswoman.What’sshe

doingthereat

6:00AM?

18TheSamaritanWoman

GoodquesWon!Accordingtoour“Roman

Wmekeeping,”itisearlyinthemorning,and

womencometothewelltodrawwaterinthe

evening(Genesis24:11).Apparently,thiswomanisnotwelcomewhentheother

womenofthevillagearepresent.Aswe’ll

learn,sheisthevillagewhore.

IntheculturallyconservaWveMiddleEastof

Jesus’day(andtoday),anunrelatedmanand

awoman(especiallythiswoman)wouldnot

meetalone.Indeed,whenJesus’disciples

returnthey“wereamazedthathewastalkingwithawoman”(4:27)—andaSamaritan

womanatthat!JewsviewedSamaritan

womenas“unclean”;theywouldneverspeak

toone,letalonereceiveadrinkfromsucha

woman’shand.

19TheSamaritanWoman

.

Thatisscandalous!

20TheSamaritanWoman

Notme.

Yes,andthere’s

somethingoddaboutthe

toneoftheconversaWon,

too:theyseemtobe

sparring,notconversing.Ithinkyou’re

right!

21TheSamaritanWoman

Listencloselytowhattheysay,andto

thedynamicoftheexchange.

Jesussaystoher: Dovß moi peiÆn. “Givemetodrink.”

Shereplies: “Howcanyou,aJew,ask me,aSamaritanwoman, foradrink?”

Wecouldreadthisintwoways:one,as

Jesusaskingthewomanpolitelyfora

drink,andshereplyinghumbly,asan

outcastspeakingtoasuperior;or,as

Jesusaskinghercurtlyforadrink,and

shereplyinghaughWly,withatoneof

contempt.

22TheSamaritanWoman

Notme.

Recallthehistory

betweentheJews

andtheSamaritans.

Theyloathedeach

other! Humm!That

givesusaclue.

23TheSamaritanWoman

AlerKingSolomon’sdeathin930B.C.civilwar

brokeoutbetweenthe10northerntribesand

the2southerntribes.Theunitedmonarchy

establishedbyDavidsplitintothenorthern

kingdomofIsrael,withitscapitalatSamaria,

andthesouthernkingdomofJudah,withits

capitalatJerusalem.Civilwarragedonfor

over80years,cripplingbothkingdoms.

In722B.C.theAssyrianEmpiresweptoutof

thenorthandobliteratedthenorthern

kingdomofIsrael,takingthesurvivorscapWve

toAssyria.Then,in586B.C.theBabylonian

Empireasackedanddestroyedthesouthern

kingdomofJudahanditscapital,Jerusalem,

takingcapWveitssurvivors.

Finally,in539B.C.CyrustheGreat,kingof

Persia,defeatedBabylon(andwhathadbeen

Assyria),andallowedALLthecapWvestogo

home.

24TheSamaritanWoman

Whenpeopleresesled,however,those

whohadbeeninAssyriafornearly200

yearsbroughtbackwiththeman

adulteratedformofJudaism,corruptedby

Assyrianbeliefs,customsandtradiWons.

TheBabyloniancapWves,however,had

onlybeengoneforalisleovera

generaWon,andtheyreturnedmore

ferventthanevertoreestablishtemple

worshipinJerusalem.

TheanimositybetweenSamaritansand

Jewsbeginshere,anditmarinatesforthe

next500years.That’swhatmakesJesus’

parableofthe“goodSamaritan”so

engaging:thereisnosuchthingasa

“goodSamaritan”:they’reALLbad!And

SamaritansfeltthesamewayaboutJews.

25TheSamaritanWoman

Notme.

So,whenwereadthisstoryof

JesusandtheSamaritan

woman,weshouldbekeenly

awareoftheconversaWon’s

toneandsharpedges.Listentothe

exchangeread

thisway!

26TheSamaritanWoman

27TheSamaritanWoman

“A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her ‘Give me a drink.’ His disciples had gone into the town to buy food. The Samaritan woman said to him, ‘How can you, a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?’ (For Jews use nothing in common with Samaritans.) Jesus answered and said to her, ‘If you knew the gift of God and who is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.’ [The woman] said to him, ‘Sir, you do not even have a bucket and the well is deep; where then can you get this living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us this well and drank from it himself with his children and flocks? Jesus answered and said to her, ‘Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again; . . .

28TheSamaritanWoman

“but whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst; the water I shall give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.’ The woman said to him, ‘Sir, give me this water, so that I may not be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.”

(4: 7-15)

Notme.

Now,Ithinkwe’re

ontosomething!

29TheSamaritanWoman

30TheSamaritanWoman

“Jesus said to her, ‘Go call your husband and come back.’ The woman answered and said to him, ‘I do not have a husband.’ Jesus answered her, ‘You are right in saying, ‘I do not have a husband.’ For you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true.’ The woman said to him, ‘Sir, I can see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshipped on this mountain; but you people say that the place to worship is in Jerusalem.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Believe me, woman, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You people worship what you do not understand; we worship what we understand, because salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when true worshippers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth; . . .

31TheSamaritanWoman

“. . . and indeed the Father seeks such people to worship him. God is Spirit, and those who worship him must worship in Spirit and truth.’ The woman said to him, ‘I know that the Messiah is coming, the one called the Anointed; when he comes, he will tell us everything.’ Jesus said to her, ‘I am he, the one who is speaking with you.’”

(4: 16-26)

NoWcehowbothJesusandthe

womanasackandparry,withJesus

scoringthewinningpointinhisfinal

statement:“Iamhe,theonewhoisspeakingwithyou”(4:26).

32TheSamaritanWoman

Tothispoint,Jesushashadthreeexchangesin

John’sgospel:1)Nathanael;2)Nicodemus;and3)

theSamaritanwomanatthewell.

WithNathanael,wesawgapsinthestorythatwe

hadtofill,ifweweretounderstandthestory:

WhatwasNathanaeldoing—andthinking—that

promptedJesustosay,“HereisatrueIsraelite.Thereisnoduplicityinhim”(1:47).

WithNicodemus,wehadtoovercomehis

indirecWonanduncoverNicodemus’underlying

quesWon,therealreasonhecametoJesusatnight

foraprivateconversaWon.

AndwiththeSamaritanwomanatthewell,wehad

tounderstandtheanimositybetweenSamaritans

andJewsinordertohearthetoneofthe

conversaWonandtodiscernJesus’approachtothis

verymarginalizedwoman.

33TheSamaritanWoman

Ineachofthesethreestorieswe

witnessJohn’sremarkable

creaWvityandrhetoricaldexterity

inhowheportraysJesusengaging

threeverydifferentpeople:1)a

potenWaldisciple;2)arespected

andhighlyeducatedmemberof

theSanhedrin;and3)a

marginalizedsocialoutcast.

34TheSamaritanWoman

Now,withthefinalpoint

scoredagainsttheSamaritan

womanandthematchwon,

Jesus’disciplesreturnwith

breakfast,andtheyare

shockedtofindhimtalking

withawoman—alone.

35TheSamaritanWoman

36TheSamaritanWoman

“At that moment [Jesus’] disciples returned and were amazed that he was talking with a woman, but still no one said [to the woman], ‘What are you looking for?’ or [to Jesus] ‘Why are you talking with her?’ . . . [Once the woman left] the disciples urged him, ‘Rabbi, eat.’ But he said to them, ‘I have food to eat of which you do not know.’ So the disciples said to one another, ‘Could someone have brought him something to eat?’ Jesus said to them, ‘My food is to do the will of the one who sent me and to finish his work. Do you not say, ‘In four months the harvest will be here’? I tell you, look up and see the fields ripe for the harvest. The reaper is already receiving his payment and gathering crops for eternal life, so that the sower and reaper can rejoice together . . .

37TheSamaritanWoman

“. . . for here the saying is verified that ‘One sows and another reaps.’ I sent you to reap what you have not worked for; others have done the work, and you are sharing the fruits of their work.

(4: 27, 31-38)

WhenJesus’disciplesreturnwithbreakfast

theyfeelliketheyhaveintrudedintoaprivate

—andsomewhatembarrassing—situaWon;

hence,theyhesitatetoaskthewomanwhy

sheisthereortoaskJesuswhyheistalkingto

her!

Wecanonlyimaginetheirshock,astheylook

furWvelyatoneanother,nooneknowing

whattosayorwhattodo;andwecanonly

imaginetheexpressiononthewoman’sface,

assheiscaughtinaratherawkwardsituaWon.

Asthewomanabruptlyleaves,oneofJesus’

disciples,notknowingwhatelsetodo,holds

outthefoodthey’vebroughtandsays“Rabbi,

eat!”

38TheSamaritanWoman

39TheSamaritanWoman

Firsteat;

thenwetalk!

It’sa“teachingmoment.”

AsNathanaeldidn’tunderstand

Jesus(“CananythinggoodcomefromNazareth,”1:46);asNicodemusdidn’tunderstandhow

hecouldenterthekingdomofGod;

astheSamaritanwomandidn’t

understandthatsalvaWonisfrom

theJews,inthepersonofChrist;so

doJesus’disciplesnotunderstand

whytheyareinSamaria,ofall

places(Jesusjusthadtogotothere!).

Now,heenlightensthem.

40TheSamaritanWoman

41TheSamaritanWoman

“Jesus said to them, ‘My food is to do the will of the one who sent me and to finish his work. Do you not say, ‘In four months the harvest will be here’? I tell you, look up and see the fields ripe for the harvest. The reaper is already receiving his payment and gathering crops for eternal life, so that the sower and reaper can rejoice together. For here the saying is verified that ‘One sows and another reaps.’ I sent you to reap what you have not worked for; others have done the work, and you are sharing the fruits of their work.”

(4: 34-38)

Thefieldsareindeed“ripeforthe

harvest,”andthefieldsarenot

limitedtothoseinJudeaand

Galilee;theyincludeSamaria,and

asweshalllearn,theveryendsof

theearth.

42TheSamaritanWoman

Duringtheveryawkwardmoment

ofthedisciples’arrival,the

Samaritanwomanquicklyleaves

JesusandgoesbacktoSychar,her

smallvillage.Thescenethattakes

placeinSycharparallelsthatof

Jesus’conversaWonwithhis

disciples:asJesustellshis

disciplesaboutthe“harvest,”the

Samaritanwomanistellingthe

villagersaboutJesus.

Johnseamlesslyweavesthetwo

together.

43TheSamaritanWoman

44TheSamaritanWoman

“The woman left her water jar and went into the town and said to the people, ‘Come see a man who told me everything I have done. Could he possible be the Messiah?’ They went out of the town and came to him . . .. Many of the Samaritans of that town began to believe in him because of the word of the woman who testified, ‘He told me everything I have done.’ When the Samaritans came to him, they invited him to stay with them; and he stayed there two days. Many more began to believe in him because of his word, and they said to the woman, ‘We no longer believe because of your word; for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the savior of the world.’”

(4: 28-30; 39-42)

Notme.

GiventheSamaritanwoman’s

reputaWonasthetownwhore,when

shereportedthatshemetaman

whotoldher“everythingIhave

done,”theenWremalepopulaWonof

thevillagethoughttheybesergo

havealook!

Ha,ha,ha!

45TheSamaritanWoman

.

That’snotfunny!

46TheSamaritanWoman

ManyoftheSamaritans“begantobelievein

him”(4:39)becauseofthewoman’s

tesWmony,justasmanyinthecrowds

“begantobelieveinhisname”(2:23)

becauseofthe“signs.”Asthatwasnot

enoughforNicodemus,whoneeded

understanding;sothewoman’stesWmony

wasnotenoughfortheSamaritans:they

neededtoencounterJesus,themselves.

Oncetheydo,theynolonger“beganto

believeinhim”;rather,onceJesusspends

twodayswiththemtheysay:“[W]ehaveheardforourselves,andweknow[ei›dw (eidó)]thatthisistrulythesavioroftheworld”(4:42).

47TheSamaritanWoman

48TheSamaritanWoman

“After the two days, he left there for Galilee. For Jesus himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his native place. When he came into Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him, since they had seen all he had done in Jerusalem at the feast; for they themselves had gone to the feast. Then he returned to Cana in Galilee, where he had made the water wine.”

(4: 43-46a)

WhenJesusleavesSamariaandheadsnorth

intoGalilee,presumablypassingthrough

NazarethonhiswaytoCana,henotesthat“aprophethasnohonorinhisnaHveplace”(4:44).

Thisisaproverbialsaying,theancient

equivalentofourmodern-day“familiarity

breedscontempt.”Bothareolenaccurate.

RecallthatthegreatprophetsoftheHebrew

Scriptures,ElijahandElisha,werenot

appreciatedbythosewhoknewthembest:

thewidowwhotookcareofElijah(1Kings17:

8-24)andtheSyrianleperhealedbyElisha(2

Kings5:1-27)werebothGenWles.

ThesamesayingoccursinallthreesynopWc

gospels,aswellasintheapocryphalGospelofThomas,4:31.

49TheSamaritanWoman

CanawasthesiteofJesus’1st“sign,”

changingwaterintowine;inthestory

thatfollows,Jesusperformshis2nd

“sign,”healingthesonofaroyalofficial.

Theword“sign”shmeiæon (sémeion)isasymbolicterminJohn’sgospelforJesus’

“miracles”and“wondrousdeeds.”

The1stsign,changingthewaterinto

wine,signifiesthetransformaWve

natureofGod’sintervenWonin

humanity;the2ndsign,healingtheroyal

official’sson,signifiesthelife-giving

wordofJesus.

50TheSamaritanWoman

Notme.

Canaisaverynicelink

betweenthefirst2of(you

guessedit)7“signs”in

John’sgospel.Funnyhowthat

works!

51TheSamaritanWoman

52TheSamaritanWoman

“Now there was a royal official whose son was ill in Capernaum. When he heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea, he went to him and asked him to come down and heal his son, who was near death. Jesus said to him, ‘Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will not believe.’ The royal official said to him, ‘Sir, come down before my child dies.’ Jesus said to him, ‘You may go; your son will live.’ The man believed what Jesus said to him and left. While he was on his way back, his slaves met him and told him that his boy would live. He asked them when he began to recover. They told him, ‘the fever left him yesterday about [the seventh hour]. The father realized that just at that time Jesus had said to him, ‘Your son will live,’ and he and his whole household came to believe. [Now] this was the second sign Jesus did when he came to Galilee from Judea. (4: 46b-54)

Joseph-MarieVien.TheCenturionKneelingattheFeetofJesus(oiloncanvas),1752.MuséedesBeaux-Arts,Marseilles.

53TheSamaritanWoman

1.   WhydidJesushavetogotoSamaria?

2.   WhywastheSamaritanwomanatthewellsoearlyin

themorning?

3.   WhereelseinScripturedoyoufindmenmeeWng

womenatawell?

4.   Howwouldyoucharacterizetheexchangebetween

JesusandtheSamaritanwoman?

5.   WhydidJohninsertthisstoryinthisplaceinhisgospel?

54TheSamaritanWoman

Copyright©2016byWilliamC.Creasy

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55TheSamaritanWoman