John 4:9-10 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.”
If Jacob’s ladder from the dream he had at Bethel is a picture of Jesus making the way for us into the presence of the Father, then Jacob’s well in John’s Gospel may picture for us the depths to which Jesus lowered Himself on our behalf. It is strange that this woman came to the well alone … it was more typical in that day for women to go out to the well for water in groups. When it says it was the sixth hour, it probably is using Jewish time, meaning it was 12:00 noon, in the heat of the day. Typically, water would be collected earlier in the day or later in the day in order to do that work when the temperatures are cooler. Perhaps she went out alone at this unusual hour to hide what she is doing. We will see that this woman had been married many times and was currently with someone who was not her husband. Shame may have brought her to the well at this strange time of day.
This well has a lot of history around it. Jacob originally settled outside of Shechem on his way back home from Laban’s and this was his well. Some things happened while they were there and his sons attacked and sacked the city of Shechem, taking prisoners as well as gold and goods. And when God told Jacob to leave and go to Bethel, Jacob had to tell his household to get rid of their false gods, and he buried them under a Terebinth tree in this same area where Jesus and this Samaritan woman met. This was a place of buried things … idols of sin hidden beneath the ground and in like manner, this woman sought to hide her sins, and maybe she had done so successfully for a while, but Jesus knew her and knew all she had done and what she was doing, and He loved her enough to reveal her sinfulness so that she could realize her need for a Savior. Grace makes no sense to someone who hasn’t been told about sin, law and judgment.
Romans 3:20 Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
Some, when witnessing, try to convince others to receive Jesus as if they were selling a time share … The accommodations are great … A mansion with a great view of the pearly gates! You can’t beat the amenities … Free Coffee and donuts on Sunday, make business connections and in the Children’s Ministry there is a roller coaster for the kids … AND you can brag to all your friends that your church is the Biggest in Town! It’s flexible and convenient … You can be a Christian when it suits you and a heathen when you want to be one of the guys … Jesus doesn’t mind! Oh, and there are Tax Advantages … Give only when you want to and then you can write it all off at the end of the year!
Often, when Jesus is received by someone who was told accepting Jesus would improve their lives, there is no understanding of why they needed Jesus in the first place. And, on top of that, Jesus makes it clear that those who choose to follow Him should not expect a smooth ride … He said that we would experience trials, tribulations and persecution! So, as soon as the first trial or temptation hits, it’s backslide time … If they ever actually knew Jesus at all! This woman at the well needed to understand her sinfulness in the light of the law before she could receive Him as her Savior. For the good news of the Gospel to make sense, there has to be an understanding of sin, death, God’s wrath, judgment and hell. Paul summed it up nicely in chapters 6, 7 and 8 of the book of Romans. Grace makes no sense without judgment.
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
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