The Samaritan Woman at the Well

The Samaritan Woman at the Well

John 4: 1-42

I try to imagine myself in the shoes of the Samaritan woman at the well. The Samaritan woman was surprised that Jesus, a Jew, would talk to her because the Orthodox Jew of that time thought that Samaritans were more unclean than a Gentile of any other nationality. In fact, the direct route from Judea to Galilee was through Samaria, but many Jews would travel a much longer route to avoid going through Samaria. The Jews disliked the Samaritans because they were descendants of foreign lands and were of mixed races. They also disliked them because they boasted that Jacob was their father, which the Jews denied.

Christ loved all people, no matter what their race, or circumstance in life. He wanted them all to come unto him, so that is why he went through Samaria, because he would never neglect or ignore anyone. We will be judged individually according to what we have done.

By going through Samaria and talking to the woman at the well, Jesus was preparing his disciples to preach the gospel to all nations and to all people, regardless of their race, nationality, or religion. He was showing them that even though the custom was that Jews were to avoid Samaritans, He would not.

At first, the woman is a bit defensive and asks why he is asking her for a drink, because she is a Samaritan, and he is a Jew, and Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. Then he tells her that if she knew who he was, she would have asked him for living water. She then asks him if he thinks his water is greater than her father Jacob’s. You can tell that her heart is softening because she continues to talk to him and ask him questions.

Our physical body needs water to live, just like our spirit needs Christ. Christ is the “living water” for our spirit it will wither away without him, just as our physical bodies will die without water. People are prone to try to find substitutes to replace Christ in their lives.

I was raised in the church. My mom has always been an active member and my dad was active off and on until I was a teenager. When my parents divorced, my dad left the church. As a child, I depended on my parents’ testimonies and what they believed in, and it wasn’t until I was probably in high school that I really gained my own testimony. As I started taking seminary, and really studying the scriptures, I started to learn more about the Savior’s life and how the atonement applied to me. I began to have a personal relationship with Him and realize my individual worth. Throughout the years since then, my testimony has deepened because of adversity that I have encountered. When you are at the end of your rope and you don’t know how much longer you can hold on, that is when you muster every particle of faith you have, and you get through it. And that increases your testimony. I am grateful for the knowledge that I have that my Savior is there for me, and that he loves me, unconditionally. I am grateful to know that he not only died for the sinner, but for the sinned against. He knows every sorrow and worry I have ever felt and will ever feel. He is all knowing and all powerful. He is my brother, and my friend.