Step One: not understanding

In today’s story, Jesus will change a woman’s life.   She was not expecting this change.  She was not hoping for change.   Jesus gave her hope when she had none.    Jesus and his disciples had gone through Samaria.   Samaria was an area which was between Galilee and Jerusalem.   Jesus lived in the area of Galilee but he went to Jerusalem to preach.   The Jewish people and the Samaritans were enemies.   The Samaritans had a religion based on the same ideas as the Jews.   The Samaritans did not accept many things in the Jewish religion.  The Jews believed that the Samaritans were not true believers in God.    Jesus sits, on his own, by a well, in the middle of the day.    The woman comes to get water from the well.   It is an unusual time to get water.   Normally, people would get water early or later in the day.   This woman comes in the middle of the day.   Perhaps she is an outcast.   Perhaps other women will not go with her.  Jesus starts a conversation with her.  Jesus asks her for a drink.   The woman is surprised.    She cannot understand why a Jewish man would talk to her.  Jesus turns the conversation to spiritual things.   He compares ordinary water with spiritual water.   The woman is suspicious.    She is focused on her material needs.   She wants ordinary water.   She speaks to Jesus about her religion.   She is saying to Jesus ‘can you really help me with my daily life?’   And she is also saying ‘Our religions are different.’

This is the same with many people today.   They look at Christianity, and think ‘will this help me with my daily life?’    Perhaps they think ‘this is different from my religion.’   But Jesus speaks to her about her true need.   She needs a relationship with God.   She needs the Holy Spirit.  She needs eternal life.   She does not yet understand her spiritual need.  

Question:  How do people come to understand their true spiritual need?


Step two: understanding

Jesus breaks through the woman’s indifference.   He tells her a secret – about herself!   Jesus does not continue a religious conversation.   Jesus shows the woman that God understands everything about her.    He shows the woman that God is concerned about her life, but that she has sinned against God.    The woman’s attitude changes.   Before this, she was suspicious.    Now she asks a genuine question.   She wants to know about how to worship God.   She compares the two worship sites.  One is the holy mountain of her religion, and the other is the holy mountain of the temple in Jerusalem.   The woman is still thinking about religion.  

Jesus replies briefly to her question.   The religion of the Jewish temple contained more truth than the Samaritan religion.    However, God was now seeking a new kind of worshipper.   God is still seeking people to worship him.    Jesus sat down by a dusty well.    The Holy Spirit comes to seek us.   God is looking for us.   He wants to bring us into a relationship with him.   This relationship should be based on true worship.   True worship is in Spirit and in Truth.    This means that we understand the truth about Jesus.   It means that we receive the Holy Spirit and worship God in the power of the Holy Spirit.   Today many people do not yet understand this.  Religion is what we do.   True worship means faith in Jesus and receiving the Holy Spirit.   This affects our prayers, it affects our daily life, it affects our thinking. 

What is the difference between these two kinds of worship?   One is worship ‘in Spirit and in truth’.  The other is religious practice.    Think about our beliefs, our hearts, and our experience of God.


Step 3: telling the world

The disciples come back to Jesus.   The woman goes back to her village.   

Jesus tells the disciples that the fields are ready for harvest.   He means that people are ready to hear the word of God.  People are open to the word of God.   We do not tell people the Good News about Jesus.   He tells the disciples to open their eyes and look at the fields.   Perhaps the disciples thought that Samaria was not a good place to tell people about Jesus.   Sometimes we think like this.   We think ‘These people will not listen’.   Or perhaps we think ‘These are not good people.’ Jesus says we should look at the real situation: God is at work! People need to hear about Jesus.

Meanwhile, the woman herself is telling everyone.    She tells her village that she has met the Messiah.  Messiah means saviour and king.  The village is Samaritan.   They would have expected a Samaritan messiah.   The woman convinces them to change their expectations. She is honest and open with people.   She tells them about her personal experience with Jesus.   This is a powerful way of communicating about Jesus.   The other people in her village come to Jesus.   They are changed too.   Who do we tell about Jesus?