It is only John who records this story. He traces her growing appreciation of the Lord from ‘thou … a Jew’, v. 9, to ‘the Christ’, v. 29. The men of the city recognized Him as ‘the Saviour of the world’, v. 42.
The woman arrived to draw water and saw the Lord sitting on the well – weary, thirsty and hungry. This description illustrates His humanity. He asks the woman for a drink. John’s Gospel is full of references to water – in seas, lakes, rivers, brooks, and in water pots. It is only in John, the Gospel full of water, that the Lord says, ‘Give me to drink’, and, ‘I thirst’. Sizing up the Man at the well the woman concludes He is a Jew, possibly due to His accent, clothing or facial features. There is, of course, more than the eye can see. Much more!
How much of the discussion the woman understood is not clear. They spoke of ‘living’ water, Jews and Samaritans, Jacob, worship, and deceit. Her interest in, and desire for, the living water was stimulated and she said, ‘Give me this water’. The Lord, however, insists that she should also face up to her sin; ‘Call thy husband’. She prevaricates before finally admitting the truth. Salvation is an abandonment of the old life and a commitment to the new. In verses 11, 15 and 19 she calls Him ‘Sir’, and now in verse 19 determines that He is ‘a prophet’. For a Samaritan this was an amazing confession. Accepting only the first five books of the Old Testament, Samaritans believed that the last prophet to live was Moses! This was a big step.
The Lord also makes clear that He knows all about her past life and present circumstances, which, together with His claim to be Messiah, encourages her to conclude that He is indeed ‘the Christ’.
This woman of Samaria was willing to learn, and reveal to the Lord her growing appreciation of Himself. He is willing still to reveal Himself to sinner and to saint. May we appreciate Him more and more as the days go by, recognizing and emulating His love for the individual, honouring His claims as to His person, enjoying fellowship with Himself, in effective testimony to those around us.
