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This Samaritan woman goes to the well in the heat of the day most likely because she wanted to avoid running into others who would look on her as a tainted woman. She is surprised to encounter a man, and even more a Jewish man, who initiates a conversation with her. She was already vulnerable because of her past and when she meets this man, Jesus, she could immediately recognize his acceptance. So she is comfortable enough to offer him a drink of water. In turn, he offers her more, an invitation to get in touch with the thirst in her soul which she had tried to satisfy with multiple love affairs. Filled with his acceptance and realizing she had found someone who could fulfill her deepest longings, she runs to others to spread the good news.
John 4:5-30
So he came to a city of Samaria, called Sychar, near the field that Jacob gave to his son, Joseph. Jacob's well was there, and so Jesus, wearied as he was with his journey, sat down beside the well. It was about the sixth hour.
There came a woman of Samaria to draw water. Jesus said to her, "Give me a drink." For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. The Samaritan woman said to him, "How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?" For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans. Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying 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 do you get that living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, his sons, and his cattle?" Jesus said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give will never thirst; the water that I shall give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw water."
Jesus said to her, "Go, call your husband and come here." The woman answered him, "I have no husband." Jesus said to her, "You are right in saying, `I have no husband;’ for you have had five husbands, and he whom you now have is not your husband; this you said truly." The woman said to him, "Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain; and you say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship." Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for such the Father seeks 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 (he who is called Christ); when he comes, he will show us all things." Jesus said to her, "I who speak to you am he."
Just then his disciples came. They marveled that he was talking with a woman, but none said, "What do you wish?" or, "Why are you talking with her?" So the woman left her water jar, and went away into the city, and said to the people, "Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?" They went out of the city and were coming to him.
Reflection from the Preface of the Mass:
When he asked the woman of Samaria for water to drink, Christ had already prepared for her the gift of faith. In his thirst to receive her faith he awakened in her heart the fire of your love.
Suggestions for Reflection:
- Jesus breaks the boundaries of religion and culture and even goes so far as to ask a favor of the Samaritan woman. How can I break the boundaries of religious and cultural biases so as to accept and learn from others different from me?
- What are my deeper hungers and thirsts which only the Lord can satisfy?
- Do I believe that Jesus accepts me as I am with my past failures and sins?
- What is attractive about the way Jesus relates with the Samaritan woman?
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FAQs
The story of the Samaritan woman, also known as the woman at the well, draws our attention to the central themes of the Gospel. By approaching her, Jesus demonstrates His care for all, regardless of their social standing.
How many husbands did the woman at the well have? ›
Jesus said to her, "Go, call your husband and come here." The woman answered him, "I have no husband." Jesus said to her, "You are right in saying, `I have no husband;' for you have had five husbands, and he whom you now have is not your husband; this you said truly." The woman said to him, "Sir, I perceive that you ...
Why did the woman at the well leave her jar? ›
leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, 'Come, see a man who told me everything I've ever done'” (John 4:28-29). The Samaritan woman leaves her water jar because she discovers there is something greater to live for.
Was the woman at the well divorced five times? ›
In verses 17-18, Jesus affirms the woman's response that she has no husband, for she has had five previously, and her present man is not really her husband. The popular view that the Samaritan woman was morally deficient is based on her marital status as depicted in these verses.
What is the lesson for the woman at the well? ›
She had a thirst, and they had a hunger. Her need was to drink the water of life, and their need was to reap the harvest of souls. Jesus' lesson to His disciples was that the harvest is ripe, and those who labor in the fields reap an eternal reward. The Samaritan woman went straight from the well to the field.
Why didn't Jews and Samaritans get along? ›
The Jews on the other hand insisted that the Samaritans were not Jews. They regarded Samaritanism as a heresy derived from the corrupt worship of Yahweh mixed up with the worship of the foreign gods brought into Samaria by the foreign settlers during the Assyrian deportations.
What ethnicity was the woman at the well? ›
A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, "Give me a drink." (His disciples had gone to the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, "How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?" (Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.)
Did Jesus forgive the woman at the well? ›
Jesus told the Pharisee that the woman's sins were forgiven because she loved the Savior and had faith in Him. Jesus told the woman to go in peace.
Was the woman at the well a preacher? ›
She leaves her water jar, and, marginalized though she is, she preaches the world's first sermon about Jesus Christ the Messiah. In John's Gospel, the Samaritan woman at the well is the first Christian preacher. The conversation at the well was not simply for her, but for the well-being of the world.
What is the summary of the story of the woman at the well? ›
The Samaritan woman whom Jesus meets at Jacob's Well gleans much from her long conversation with Jesus. When she discovers his identity as the Messiah she leaves her water jar, much like the disciples left their nets, and becomes an effective evangelist to her community.
Jesus offers no comment about her status. And treats her with a magnetic dignity and respect. Even though he is outrageously transgressing various ancient taboos (a Jewish, single man, speaking to a multi-married, Samaritan woman in public)! He doesn't condemn her lifestyle but meets her deepest heart-needs.
What does the water represent in the woman at the well? ›
Jesus described Himself as Living Water. He was offering the woman at the well Himself as the answer to her isolation and shame. In scripture, water is a symbol for the Holy Spirit, or the knowledge of God.
Was the woman at the well promiscuous? ›
While the cultural context lends little support for the Samaritan woman being promiscuous, the text provides much stronger evidence against it. When Jesus talks to people identified as sinners in John, he calls them to repent. But John 4 lacks any mention of sin or repentance.
What did Jesus say to the woman with many husbands? ›
' Jesus said to her, 'You are right in saying 'I have no husband'; for you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true!' " (John 4:17-18).
Was the Samaritan woman at the well an adulterer? ›
Modern understandings of John 4 often depict the Samaritan woman as an adulteress. One commentary refers to her as “this immoral woman of Samaria.”1 The author notes that the woman had been married to and divorced from five husbands.
Why did Jesus ask the woman at the well for a drink? ›
Jesus bestows honor and dignity on this woman by asking her to serve him. But he immediately adds, “If you knew who it is that is saying to you 'Give me a drink' you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” I love the truth behind this.
What is the significance of Rebecca at the well? ›
It ostensibly draws attention to Isaac, but, in his absence, reveals the beauty and especially the virtues of his wife-to-be. After the well incident, Rebekah brings the servant home, enters into the marriage arrangement, and sets off to meet her future husband.
What does the woman symbolize in the Bible? ›
In biblical symbolism, the Woman often epitomizes life, fertility, and abundance. This is well embodied in the figure of Sarah, the wife of Abraham.
What is the main idea of the girl from the well? ›
Okiku is a restless spirit that has been wandering the earth. As her own life was stolen from her by a murderer, Okiku devotes her afterlife to finding and killing anyone that has taken the life of a child, as well as helping other ghosts find the eternal rest that she has continually been denied.
