Woman at the Well - Part 2

When we were here last, Jesus was sitting at Jacob's well in Samaria, with a Samaritan woman full of regret and laden with chains of failed relationships and shame. She made the daily trek to the well in the heat of the day to avoid the stares and wagging tongues of the town's women that shun her.

Jesus spoke freely to her, which confused her. She questioned why a Jewish man was speaking to her, asking her to give him water when it was obvious he had nothing with which to draw the water from the deep well.

Jesus spoke to her of 'living water' that quenches thirst eternally, rather than satisfying the physical thirst that returns. She asked that he share this living water with her. He told her to get her husband and come back. She replied she didn't have a husband. Here, note the things Jesus did not say: He states her past and present marital status but makes no mention of her sin. He gives no call to repent. He presents no structured plan for salvation. He offers no prayer. In the quiet of the well, away from the noise of the city, He shows her a reflection of herself in the measured cup of living water.

Now, since she thought him to be a prophet, she brought up how the Jews and Samaritans believed in different, though specific, places to worship. Jesus said, "Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, shall you worship the Father. You worship that which you do not know (pagan gods); we worship that which we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."

This divine appointment in the desert led to a profound discussion on Scripture regarding worship – God is spirit and worship is not the body coming to a church, a place, but the soul coming to the spirit of God.  She stated she knew the Messiah is coming and knew He would explain it all to them. Jesus replied, "I who speak to you am He." Can you imagine the thoughts reeling through her head? What an experience this had been! The Jew man speaking to her, sharing about 'living water of eternal life', telling her of her past without the condemnation with which she was so accustomed, and now he has said he was the Messiah she had heard about all her life. Can you picture the look on her face as the revelation sinks in? How her heart must have trembled in awe as she receives all she has heard!

Her response, she ran to tell any and everyone what she has seen and heard. She ran to share this with all the people that used and/or shunned her over the years. How remarkable is that? She was, in fact, a Samaritan disciple as she ran to tell all of the eternal life Jesus shared at the well. A woman of the world used by Christ to sow seeds in a city full of people most Jews would not give the time of day. The gift received, was a gift that keeps on giving when shared. The encounter with Messiah freed her from the chains of sin and remorse and opened her eyes to the knowledge of God's spirit; true believers come into His presence for worship.

Yet another great desert experience! Interesting how God uses those times of desert living to reach out to His people. Makes facing our own desert experiences something to watch for and see what God is trying to teach us, one divine appointment at a time, doesn't it?