PEOPLE JESUS ENCOUNTERED
Part 1
“The Woman at the Well”
John 4:5-11,13-14 “So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph.6 Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon.7 When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” 8 (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.)
9 The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)
10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”
11 “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water?…13 Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
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This is the story of how one day a weary Jesus sat down by an ancient well in Samaria, while a local woman approached to draw water during the hottest part of the day.
What follows is no ordinary small talk about the weather,
but rather an encounter that shattered the glass ceiling of social taboos, healed deep wounds,
and sparked a city wide revival.
It may have happened centuries ago, but this woman’s story applies to countless people today in their search for love, meaning, and a deeper sense of purpose.
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Now, while other women in the town drew water during the cooler morning hours–this woman chose the scorching high noon to avoid the whispers and painful rejection from her community.
To them she was “That Woman.”
How Jesus navigates the conversation that follows is what we want to look at today.
He doesn’t Bible thump by launching into a sermon,
or immediately point out the woman’s sins.
Instead, He begins with a universal, ordinary need, THIRST–“Give Me a drink.”
In starting out with this simple request, Jesus masterfully breaks down walls by building a relatable connection–we’re both thirsty!
It reminds us of Paul the Apostle’s strategy with reaching the lost: “Whatever a person is like, I try to find common ground with him so that he will let me tell him about Christ and let Christ save him. 23 I do this to get the Gospel to them”–1 Cor. 9:22-23
From there, Jesus gently shifts the conversation from physical water to living water, from everyday thirst to a deep spiritual longing.
He proceeds to tell her about what He can offer:
“Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”–John 4:14
Intrigued, she says: “Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw.”–vs 15
–One of the most powerful lessons from the woman at the well is the distinction Jesus makes between temporary satisfaction and lasting fulfillment.
With the well water you’re only going to thirst again.
But with My living water you’re going to be eternally satisfied!
–It’s the temporary satisfactions that don’t last that our world chases each and every day.
Think about it: How many times have we ourselves also tried to fill our own inner emptiness with relationships,
achievements,
or material possessions, only to find ourselves thirsty again?
This woman came seeking ordinary water, but Jesus saw a deeper thirst in her soul!
You see, the appeal of the living water Jesus offers isn’t just about spiritual hydration…
…it’s about finding a source of deep fulfillment that “becomes in you a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:14).
Like an artesian well that continuously flows, this living water brings joy, peace, and purpose that doesn’t depend on circumstances!
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Now watch how the Lord continues to carry the conversation.
In response to her request to “give me this water,” Jesus begins by addressing her inner woundings:
“Go, call your husband…”–vs 16
Now, when Jesus says, “Go, call your husband,” He’s not playing gotcha, He’s providing opportunity for honesty, and she complies with an honest answer.
The woman replies, “I have no husband.”
Her honest response is the defining moment when shallow chat takes a needed turn to the deeper issues of her life.
It’s now become almost a counseling session!
–Skillful, effective counseling is about approaching difficult truths with grace and wisdom.
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The next step in the conversation is the most delicate of all.
Jesus carefully and gently addresses the woman’s relationship history:
“You have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband” (John 4:18).
In this powerful moment, we witness one of the most important lessons from the woman at the well–
–the healing that comes through confronting our past wounds and sins.
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Here’s the thing: Many, if not most of us carry inner soul-wounds from a variety of sources–
–some from our own sins, and some from what others or circumstances beyond our control have done to us.
Very few people travel through life without being deeply hurt, wounded, or shattered somewhere along the way.
We may not experience five failed marriages, but our own list of disappointments, rejections, painful memories and damaging sinful choices are just as real.
And like this woman, we structure our entire life around avoiding these hurts by putting up walls and living in the shadows of shame.
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But in this story, Jesus shows us a different approach to dealing with our painful past.
Notice what He doesn’t do in this moment.
-He doesn’t condemn,
-He doesn’t lecture,
-He doesn’t even tell her to make things right immediately!
Instead, He creates a safe space where her truth can be spoken and sins can be acknowledged.
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The woman’s response is a healthy one.
Rather than becoming defensive or running away, she recognizes Jesus’s prophetic gift: “Sir, I can see that you are a prophet” (John 4:19).
Notice that she doesn’t deny her wounds or sins, but accepts Jesus’s assessment.
Through this interaction, we learn that confronting our past woundings and sins isn’t about shame but is about honesty that leads to freedom!
It’s about bringing our wounds and sins into the light where they can be healed.
–Jesus meeting this woman in her brokenness with compassion, truth, and fresh hope, shows us that our past doesn’t have to shape our future.
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Next we see that, with the uncomfortable light of divine exposure shining down onto her life, she makes an attempt to turn the attention off of herself by bringing up worship:
“Our fathers worshiped on this mountain…”
Jesus quickly lets her know true worship is not about WHERE you worship (which is religion), but HOW!
“Woman,” Jesus declares, “the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth” (John 4:21-23).
In these words, we hear Jesus’s invitation to her to move beyond her shattered life into a new identity as a true worshiper.
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What happens next in this story is powerful!
The same woman who came to the well alone at noon to avoid contact with the townspeople, suddenly leaves her water jar behind and rushes back to the very community she’s been avoiding!
“Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?” (John 4:29).
–She doesn’t wait until she has all the theological answers.
–She doesn’t wait until her life is perfectly together.
Instead, she immediately shares her encounter with Jesus.
And her testimony is powerful enough that “many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony” (John 4:39).
She simply shared her experience: “He told me everything I ever did.”
Her past, which was once a source of shame, becomes part of her testimony.
–It’s a powerful example of how God doesn’t wait for us to become perfect before using us.
He uses our testimony of brokenness to demonstrate His transforming power!
The Scriptures tell us that “many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony” (John 4:39).
And then later the townspeople said:
“We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world” (John 4:42).
A social outcast became the catalyst for her entire community’s transformation!
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