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Therefore, when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John (though Jesus Himself did not baptize, but His disciples), He left Judea and departed again to Galilee. But He needed to go through Samaria.
So He came to a city of Samaria which is called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, sat thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour. A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, "Give Me a drink." For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, "How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?" For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans. Jesus answered and said to her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says 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 have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where then do you get that living water? Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?" Jesus answered and said to her, "Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life." The woman said to Him, "Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw."
Jesus said to her, "Go, call your husband, and come here." The woman answered and said, "I have no husband." Jesus said to her, "You have well said, 'I have no husband,' for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly." The woman said to Him, "Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship." Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such 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 Messiah is coming" (who is called Christ). "When He comes, He will tell us all things." Jesus said to her, "I who speak to you am He."
- John 4:1-26
Yesterday, we read that Jesus and His disciples came into the land of Judea, and there He remained with them and baptized. Now John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there. And they came and were baptized. For John had not yet been thrown into prison. Then there arose a dispute between some of John's disciples and the Jews about purification. And they came to John and said to him, "Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified -- behold, He is baptizing, and all are coming to Him!" John answered and said, "A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven. You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, 'I am not the Christ, ' but 'I have been sent before Him.' He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease. He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all. And what He has seen and heard, that He testifies; and no one receives His testimony. He who has received His testimony has certified that God is true. For He whom God sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure. The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand. He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him."
Therefore, when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John (though Jesus Himself did not baptize, but His disciples), He left Judea and departed again to Galilee. But He needed to go through Samaria. Jesus knows about the watchful eye of the authorities, and the scrutiny (and envy) that will come. His "hour" hasn't yet come, and He travels north to Galilee. But first He must go through Samaria, which is north of Jerusalem, between Judea and Galilee.
So He came to a city of Samaria which is called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, sat thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour. A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, "Give Me a drink." For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. My study bible points out to us that Jacob's well isn't mentioned in the Old Testament, but it does say that Jacob lived in the region (Genesis 33:19). It says, "Wells were significant because of their rarity and their value in desert life. Therefore, wells came to symbolize life itself (Psalms 36:9-10; 46:4; Isaiah 55:1)." Today, this particular well is maintained as a shrine, and pilgrims can drink of it. Jesus' humanity is evident here: the sixth hour is noon, and He's wearied from His journey. We can imagine the heat, the dryness of the land journey, the sun. In the tradition of the Eastern Church, this woman is St. Photini. (We shall see the significance of her name later on, in Monday's reading.)
Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, "How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?" For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans. Samaritans were a mixed race of people, and traditional enemies of the Jews. My study bible says, "Although they worshiped the God of Israel and were also awaiting the Messiah, they accepted only the first five books of the Old Testament (the Pentateuch) as their Scriptures. They had built their own temple on Mt. Gerizim, which the Jews destroyed in 128 B.C."
Jesus answered and said to her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says 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 have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where then do you get that living water? Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?" Jesus answered and said to her, "Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life." The woman said to Him, "Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw." In the ordinary sense, "living water" means fresh and flowing water, from a stream or spring rather than a pond or cistern; it's water that is the best to drink. But Jesus uses the term to refer to the grace of the Holy Spirit that leads to eternal life. My study bible says, "This gift not only remains in a person, but is so abundant it overflows to others." Once again, in a typical usage in John's Gospel, the woman misunderstands Him, taking His spiritual metaphor for its literal daily meaning -- and opens up an opportunity for explanation, and uplifting. She asks Him, "Are You greater than our father Jacob?" referring to the well and the water. My study bible names Jacob "a type" of Christ, for he received the vision of the divine ladder rising to heaven (Genesis 28:12), which is fulfilled in Christ. It tells us that "just as Jacob gave this well for earthly life, now Christ gives the well of the Holy Spirit for eternal life."
Jesus said to her, "Go, call your husband, and come here." The woman answered and said, "I have no husband." Jesus said to her, "You have well said, 'I have no husband,' for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly." The woman said to Him, "Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet." My study bible explains that since Jesus understood she was living with a man without being married, and as He knew of her previous husbands, she perceives Him to be a prophet. The Samaritans didn't accept any prophets after Moses; the only prophet they expected was the Messiah whom Moses foretold in Deuteronomy 18:15-18. My study bible says, "Christ's insight into people's hearts, reported many times in the Gospels, underscores His divine nature."
Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship." Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such 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 Messiah is coming" (who is called Christ). "When He comes, He will tell us all things." This historical argument between Jews and Samaritans was a cause of great enmity; "the Prophet" could be the one to settle such an argument about where worship appropriately takes place. But Jesus points out a new way -- underscoring the fact that He is not a prophet, but something more. He refuses to answer where on earth worship should take place and instead points out the "manner" in which people ought to worship, says my study bible. More importantly, He turns attention to God, the Father who is worshiped and thereby the real nature of worship: in spirit (that is, the Holy Spirit) and in truth (Christ Himself, according to His own revelation in 14:6). Jesus tells her "God is Spirit" -- which cannot be confined to a location (see also Jesus' words to Nicodemus earlier on, in which He compared the Spirit with the wind). My study bible says, "Those who receive the Holy Spirit and believe in Jesus Christ can worship God the Father with purity of heart." Jesus also claims here that salvation is of the Jews -- an affirmation to this Samaritan woman about the revelation from the Jewish tradition (all the prophets and Scripture beyond the Pentateuch). My study bible quotes St. Athanasius here: "The commonwealth of Israel was the school of knowledge of God for all the nations." Finally, Jesus testifies that the Messiah (prophesied among the Jews), has risen among the Jews. This salvation gift to the world comes from within Judaism. When Jesus speaks of "the hour" in John's Gospel, He most frequently is referring to His death and Resurrection -- and here, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, the inauguration of the worship of the new covenant.
Jesus said to her, "I who speak to you am He." The significance of His reply can't be overstated. Jesus says literally, "I AM who speak to you." In Greek, the words I AM (ego eimi) is a divine name of God as revealed to Moses. This is called epiphany or theophany, a revelation of God Himself (see Exodus 3:14). My study bible points out that the use of this Name by a "mere man" was considered blasphemy and was punishable by death (John 8:58, Mark 14:62). It says that as Jesus is divine, His use of the name reveals His unity with the Father and the Holy Spirit, revealing that He is God Incarnate.
Jesus reveals Himself to a woman of Samaria. Why? We can ask this question over and over again to get a clue to this ministry, this revelation in the world. If salvation is of the Jews, then why her? Why this stranger, a woman -- of all things! And a Samaritan! It's incomprehensible, unless we start to think that revelations of God aren't about our expectations, but rather about truth teaching us something and stretching us beyond our own understanding. It's a revelation in a revelation. God's life and work can't be limited by us, by our understanding, by our expectation. It can't be contained. He tells her that the hour is coming when God will be worshiped in spirit and in truth. But the fact that He's even speaking to her is another message about just that: she's a woman, she's a Samaritan, He shouldn't even be speaking to her -- her first question reflects that startling reality that a Jewish man should even address her at all. But all of that reveals something about God and the ways of the God who is Spirit: it's not about the place, the name, the region, the tribe, the nation. It's not about any of the barriers and boundaries we erect and understand as "earthly." This is about God, what God is, and how therefore God is worshiped, even "where" God is worshiped as spirit -- in the heart. What boundaries are there on the heart? This paradox is yet another great thing to contemplate. If the Kingdom of heaven, as Jesus will teach, is within us (and among us), then where is that Kingdom? Doesn't it mean that the heart, the true center of a person, is a place of the greatest expansion, the most unlimited possible territory? At least, this is the way that God is worshiped in spirit and in truth, in the place that is capable of the greatest expansion -- and yet also, the place where we block our understanding of God -- the heart. We don't understand God truly unless we understand how God is worshiped and what God's nature is, as my study bible points out about today's reading. And this is the emphasis of Jesus. The heart is the one and only place where it can be understood how the Messiah could reveal Himself to a woman and a Samaritan at that. That God is spirit, and can't be confined in a worldly sense, is the only way we can understand any of this. So many centuries later, can we "wrap our heads" around this? Can we understand its full significance? It's awesome to contemplate. Most of all, what we find is that our God will go anywhere and everywhere to find us, to find a heart willing to open and to understand. Revelation 3:20 expresses the words of God well, through Christ: "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me." The door is the door to the heart. And please note that this invitation is to "anyone" who hears His voice and opens the door. He will "come in to him and dine with him" -- and in this specific, magnificent, singular case, her -- and us with Him. How can there be anything greater or more truly "awesome" than that? This is what it is to worship God in spirit and truth.
