John 4:6-20 "... Jesus, tired from the long walk, sat wearily beside the well about noontime. Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, "Please give me a drink." He was alone at the time because his disciples had gone into the village to buy some food.
The woman was surprised, for Jews refuse to have anything to do with Samaritans. She said to Jesus, "You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. Why are you asking me for a drink?"
Jesus replied, "If you only knew the git God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water."
"But sir, you don't have a rope or a bucket," she said, "and this well is very deep. Where would you get this living water? And besides, do you think you're greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us this well? How can you offer better water than he and his sons and his animals enjoyed?"
Jesus replied, "Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life."
"Please, sir," the woman said, "give me this water! Then I'll never be thirsty again, and I won't have to come here to get water."
"Go and get your husband," Jesus told her.
"I don't have a husband," the woman replied.
Jesus said, "You're right! You do not have a husband - for you have had five husbands, and you aren't even married to the man you're living with now. You certainly spoke the truth!"
"Sir," the woman said, "you must be a prophet. So tell me, why is it that you Jews insist that Jerusalem is the only place of worship, while we Samaritans claim it is here at Mount Gerizim, where out ancestors worshiped?"
To truly appreciate the story we need to understand a few things about the people involved. The Samaritans were typically half Jewish and Assyrians, they Jews hated this mixed race of people. When Jesus was leaving Judea and returning to Galilee he took the shortest path, through Samaria, most Jews at the time would have completely avoided the area to not have to associate with the Samaritans. That is why the woman was shocked that Jesus would ask her for a drink. The story also mentions that is was noontime, not the time most women wouldd go to gather water. Typically women would gather water in the morning and evening, the fact this woman is coming to the well at noon may indicate her questionable status in the community and her desire to avoid the other women. If we were trying to influence an entire village, we would typically start with the people of status or power, people of influence; Jesus started at the bottom, the people who were open to receive his message.
Look at how the woman reacts when Jesus confronts her about her lifestyle. She glosses over her personal issue and immediately tosses out a philosophical question. Jesus was there for her, to give her the "living water" and she chose to ask a question about where to worship. How often do we do the same thing, God starts working on us concerning something we need to deal with and we immediately change the subject.
God wants us to dare to be real and allow Him to work in us - free us from our sins and quench our thirst. He may not choose the methods we would deem worthy to accomplish his works - but then again God weighs our hearts not our image. Just because we may be respected or admired by men does not mean our hearts are ready... God chose this woman to initiate his ministry in the village because she was ripe... Was she aware of what Jesus was trying to accomplish in her at first? No - she took his words very literal to the point of questioning how he could even reach the water. But soon this seemingly innocent diologue took a very real and personal turn - at first she raised her defenses and deflected the conversation towards a religious debate - but she later came to know Jesus as the Messiah.
Our forgiveness is based on the condition of our hearts - our ability to forgive others and be real with God as well as people is vital to our spiritual growth. We have all been in a spiritual desert at some point in our lives, unfortunately we sometimes choose to drift back there during certain seasons... God's plan is for us to have our own spring to be constantly refreshed and renewed by Him - we just have to drink.
