v12Are you greater than our forefather Jacob, he who gave us this well, and he drank from it,
also his children and his flock?
When the Samaritans and Jews were getting along as neighboring villages, the Samaritans
would claim their heritage from Jacob. When they were not, they would discount that heritage.
In a subtle way, however, she questioned Jesus' authority in offering her water.
v15This woman said to him, My lord, give me from these waters that I shall not thirst again, and
so I am not coming to draw from here.
Still respectful, she wants the water, and even more so, wants it so she does not have to come
out into the public place to get it.
v17She said to him, I have no husband. Jesus said to her, You have said correctly, I have no
husband.
A simple statement. In today's times, it is nothing out of the ordinary. But for her, it meant
having no male to represent her socially. We begin to see why she came to the well at noon.
vv19-20The woman said to him, My lord, I perceive that you are a Prophet. Our forefathers
worshiped in this mountain, and you say that in Jerusalem is the place where it is necessary to
worship.
There is a hint of her culture~obviously her forefathers worshiped idols. She 'switches sides' to
claim her non-Jewish heritage in recounting the practice of worship in her people.
v25The woman said to him, I know that The Messiah is coming, and when he comes, he will
teach us all things.
She has heard the prophecy, so the idea of a Savior is not new to her. In his next words, he tells
her that he is indeed the Christ.
v27And while he was speaking, his disciples came and they were amazed that he was speaking
with the woman, but no man said, What are you seeking?, or, Why are you speaking with her?
Here is the culture all wrapped up in a few words. The disciples were shocked that he would be
talking with a Samaritan, especially a woman from Samaria.
vv28-30And the woman left her cruse and went to the city and said to the men: Come see a man
who told me everything that I have done. He is the Messiah! And the men departed from the
city and they came to him.
Things changed as soon as she was told that he was the Messiah. She had no shame in returning
to the city, to the men, telling them who she had just met. No doubt these were men who
availed themselves of her services at night and acted as though she didn't exist during the day.
She was so out-of-character compared to before that they had to go see what she was talking
about.
This woman was the first evangelist, playing the key role in spreading the gospel to a large
number of people that probably would not have listened to Jesus had he just walked into town
and started preaching. He used a woman that the people were least likely to listen to.
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