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

 

 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, no come here to draw."

 

- John 4:1-15 

 

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 has 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.  So He came to a city of Samaria which is called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.  Samaria is the region to the north of Jerusalem, which was between Judea and Galilee.  Jesus journeys here after His experiences at the first Passover given in St. John's Gospel.  But notably, He comes to this Gentile land after He knew that the Pharisees had heard Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John.

 

 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.  My study Bible comments that the Old Testament does not mention Jacob's well, although Jacob did live in this area (Genesis 33:19).  According to my study Bible, wells were significant because of their rarity and their value in desert life.  Because of this, wells came to symbolize life itself (Psalms 36:9-10, 46:4; Isaiah 55:1).  This specific well is maintained as a shrine to this day, and pilgrims can drink from it.  It's noted also that Jesus is wearied from His journey, which shows us His complete humanity.  The sixth hour is noon; He is in a hot and arid climate, and it is likely summer.  In Church tradition, this woman is identified as St. Photini.  More will be learned about her in tomorrow's reading and commentary.  Regarding the Samaritans, my study Bible explains that they were a mixed race and traditional enemies of the Jews.  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 BC.  

 

 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, no come here to draw."  My study Bible writes that living water in the ordinary sense means fresh, flowing water, from a stream or spring rather than from a pond or cistern.  It explains that Christ uses this term to mean the grace of the Holy Spirit that leads to eternal life (John 7:37-39).  This gift not only remains in a person, but is so abundant that it overflows to others.  As is frequently observed of St. John's Gospel, here this woman misunderstands Christ, and she asks, "Are You greater than our father Jacob?"  My study Bible comments that in the Scriptures, Jacob is a type of Christ, for he received the vision of the divine ladder (Genesis 28:12), which Christ fulfills.  Moreover, just as Jacob gave this well for earthly life, now Christ gives the well of the Holy Spirit for eternal life.  

 

Imagine being this woman, and encountering Christ!  It might be difficult to imagine a circumstance which would be seemingly more incongruous in terms of understanding and accepting Christ and what He brings to this woman and to the world.  Would we imagine that she could understand?  As we will see, it will be even hard for the disciples to understand why Jesus speaks with any woman in a situation potentially scandalous  -- even if she were a Jewish woman alone, the same would apply.  But this woman is a foreigner, a Samaritan, part of a group at active enmity with the Jews.  So what can she understand of Christ (we're tempted to ask)?  Why does He speak with her?  Let us note that it is indeed He who engages her first, not she who speaks to Him.  We know that in all things Christ acts in accordance with the Father's will, and does nothing to deviate from His public mission of salvation.  So why her?  This is something we need to ponder, for the answers tell us so much about the Lord.  First we observe that there is no barrier to His role as the Lord.  She need not be Jewish for Him to approach her, and even to begin to speak of the great mysteries He brings with Him in His mission for the salvation of the world.  As we have just read in chapter 3, Jesus Himself said to Nicodemus, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."  God loves the world, He said, not just one people or another; and God's Son has been given to the world out of that love, for all the world, and for the life of the world (John 6:51).  So we learn from this encounter that there are no barriers for Christ -- no barriers between human beings and our Lord; and moreover, that Christ's sacrifice, His giving of Himself to the world, also knows no boundaries that we, from a purely earthly perspective, might ascribe to Him.  So her supposed "preparation" for Him in terms of her education and understanding, her religious or cultural background, her gender, her status in the society, the customs practiced, and a host of other factors all mean nothing in terms of forming real barriers to Christ and to what He comes into the world to offer to all of us.  When we think we have an impossible task, something quite difficult to convey or express or to be understood, let us think about this circumstance.  For Christ to open up the powerful reality of the Holy Spirit, and even His own Incarnation, to this woman, someone of whom we might say she's the last person in the world we'd expect Him to speak to so directly.  St. John Chrysostom comments on another passage in St. John's Gospel, in chapter 7, when the temple officers failed to arrest Jesus, having been captivated by a single sermon.  He writes that when the mind is open, "there is no need for long speeches. Truth is like that."  In truth, we are made to be united to our Lord, the bride to Christ our Bridegroom, and so, as St. Chrysostom says, "Truth is like that."  He is the One who is the truth (John 14:6); when we encounter Him, we encounter truth.  This is another powerful mystery, how truth works within us, the recognition of Christ, the grace of faith.  Perhaps only our Lord, who began this conversation with the woman at the well, can truly understand it.  We will see further as we continue reading about Christ's encounter with the Samaritan woman in tomorrow's reading and commentary.