By Barnabas Piper
God loves to use the most unexpected people: unlikely kings, unlikely prophets, unlikely disciples. The Samaritan woman in John 4 is an unlikely convert and evangelist. She had everything working against her—she was a woman in a patriarchal society, where even speaking publicly with a man was taboo. She was a Samaritan talking with a Jew, though their cultures despised one another. She had a checkered relational past, pushing her to the fringes of society. And Jesus still sought her.
Their conversation at Jacob’s well was an odd one. It bounced from topic to topic, sometimes leaving the reader quite confused—living water and multiple husbands and places of worship and so forth. But if we read carefully, we see Jesus masterfully, gently, and pointedly guiding her to an understanding of saving truth.
He asked for a drink of water to open the door to conversation then quickly offered her living water. She didn’t understand and was understandably taken aback, but Jesus pressed in: “Whoever drinks from the water that I will give him will never get thirsty again” (John 4:14). Again, she failed to understand.
Jesus pivoted again, this time in a seemingly bizarre manner, asking about her husband. Why? What was He getting at? But it’s not random at all; Jesus showed her who He is, the Lord who searches hearts and gives to each according to their deeds (Jeremiah 17:10). He declared His power and kingship and showed that His offer of living water is infinitely more than she could imagine. By offering living water, Jesus was declaring Himself the Alpha and Omega and offering her access to the river of life that flows from the throne of God (Revelation 21:6). He was offering her healing and wholeness in the presence of God (Revelation 22:1–5).
She tried to understand, asking where the proper place to worship was for Jews and Samaritans. Jesus turned that around, too, ending with a declaration of Himself as the Messiah. Finally she was left with no response but to tell her fellow townspeople, “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?” (John 4:29). And many believed because of her testimony and because of Jesus’s words.
Jesus made some of His clearest claims as Savior and Messiah and promised eternal life to a Samaritan woman, perhaps the least likely of recipients. He did so with kindness and gentleness, but He would not let her deflect or ignore or misunderstand. He wanted her to believe, and she did. And her response was to spread the good news, telling others to come and meet Jesus. The water of life is for all who believe, no matter how unlikely, and it is to be shared by all who believe and trust in Jesus.
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