Take a minute to read the whole story of the Samaritan woman at the well in (John 4:1-42). What stands out to you?

God has always been about the business of captivating his people with a mercy like few have ever seen before. Whether Abraham or David, Mary or Peter, the diverse and real women and men whose stories are woven into the Bible’s narrative have this one thing in common: God has pursued them in love.

Enter the Samaritan woman at the well. Her encounter with Jesus changed everything she’d ever known. This woman’s story, whose name we don’t even know, reveals a moment in history well-documented by the Apostle John. In it, we see John’s intimate and eye-witness account of Christ’s ministry, his understanding of Jewish thinking, customs and geography, and his attention to Christ’s heart for someone like her.

God has always been about the business of captivating his people with a mercy like few have ever seen before.

This ‘chance’ meeting took place in the first year of Jesus’ ministry, when he left Judea and the region around Jerusalem to go back again to his native Galilee. A great animosity had grown between Samaritans and Jews, and most Jews considered Samaritans traitors, half-breeds, and heretics. In fact, Jews would avoid Samaria entirely so as not to be ‘exposed’ to those who lived there.

So why was Jesus going out of his way, in the middle of the day, to go through Samaria and visit with a woman there? Couldn’t he have gone another route or avoided a conversation altogether, let alone invite one of the longest dialogues recorded in history?

Yes, he could have.

But the Samaritan woman was exactly why Jesus came to earth in the first place: to fulfill the thirst of those who many considered damaged goods, unclean, and unworthy. She was immensely thirsty for life, passionate for true intimacy and meaning.

Even with so many husbands, no man could ever fill her parched and empty soul; they were never meant to! Only God would satisfy the longings of this woman as he does for every human today. This, then, is the longing behind every other longing or desire we have – the longing for Jesus! And as a result, the woman’s entire life—and community—changed.

Reflection

  1. The woman at the well is from Samaria. Why is this an important detail in the story?
  2. Who might be some modern day ‘Samaritans’ who Jesus would stop and talk with?
  3. The Samaritan woman responds to Jesus by immediately telling others about him. Her conversation with Jesus gave her a new purpose. What does that teach us about Jesus’ heart for those on the margins and how we’re to respond to others?

Prayer

Thank you, Jesus, that if we drink of you, you will give us a spring of water welling up to eternal life! Help us offer that cup of water to those who are thirsty. Amen.

This devotional is from our Jesus on the Margins series. You can access the entire series, along with other devotionals by the Baptist World Aid team, here.