John 4:1-26 – The Woman at the Well

1Therefore when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John 2(although Jesus Himself was not baptizing, but His disciples were), 3He left Judea and went away again into Galilee. 4And He had to pass through Samaria. 5So He came to a city of Samaria called Sychar, near the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph; 6and Jacob’s well was there. So Jesus, being wearied from His journey, was sitting thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour.

      7There came a woman of Samaria to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.” 8For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. 9Therefore the Samaritan woman said to Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask me for a drink since I am a Samaritan woman?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) 10Jesus 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.” 11She said to Him, “Sir, You have nothing to draw with and the well is deep; where then do You get that living water12“You are not greater than our father Jacob, are You, who gave us the well, and drank of it himself and his sons and his cattle?” 13Jesus answered and said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; 14but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.”

      15The woman said to Him, “Sir, give me this water, so I will not be thirsty nor come all the way here to draw.” 16He said to her, “Go, call your husband and come here.” 17The woman answered and said, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You have correctly said, ‘I have no husband’; 18for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; this you have said truly.” 19The woman said to Him, “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. 20“Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.” 21Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. 22“You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23“But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. 24“God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” 25The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ); when that One comes, He will declare all things to us.” 26Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am He.

Interesting Words
He had to

dei – it is necessary, inevitable,  there is need of; less frequently: it is a duty, what is proper.
• General necessity – John 3:30; Luke 15:32; Acts 4:12; 5:29;
• Required by Jesus – Luke 19:5; John 3:7; Matt 16:21;

water

hudór – water for general use, e.g. drinking water, water in rivers.
• Common Use – Matt 3:16-17; John 3:23; Mark 9:41; Luke 8:25;
• Spiritual Meaning – Luke 3:16; Heb 10:22; Eph 5:26-27;

gift

dórea – a (free) gift, a gift (without repayment).
• Matt 2:11; Acts 11:17;
• Rom 3:24, 5:17; Eph 2:8-9;

am

eimi – I exist, I am, the basic Greek verb which expresses being, i.e. “to be
• We must believe that God exists; He wants us to come and reason with Him – Heb 11:6; Isa 1:18;
• Jesus is the Messiah, bringing light to the world, and having existed from eternity past – John 8:12, 8:24-25, 8:58;

Cross References

• Acts 16:7 – God prevented Paul from going to Mysia on his first missionary journey.
• God directed Philip to preach to the Ethiopian – Acts 8:26, 27, 39;
• Rev 21:6 – Jesus offers the free gift of salvation to all who thirst.   
• Jesus offers living water to mankind – John 7:38;

Discussion Questions
Print (ctrl-p) or copy the following to a word processor to enter your answers, then meet with some friends to discuss. You can also compare your answers to mine for a virtual discussion… John 4:1-26 – The Woman at the Well – Answers

  1. What do you think it means that Jesus “had to” pass through Sameria?

  2. How did Jesus direct the conversation with the woman?  How can we apply this to conversations we have with others?

  3. Why is water so significant to this conversation?

  4. What is the gift Jesus is talking about?

  5. Why does He immediately throw cold water on the fire with all this talk about husbands?

  6. What does v.23 tell you about God’s purposes behind the entire plan of salvation?

  7. How would you describe this woman’s hope in the Messiah, and how Jesus fulfills that hope?