He left Judea, and departed again into Galilee.

Then cometh he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour.

There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink. (For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.)

Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.

Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.

The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water? Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle?

Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.

Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither.

The woman answered and said, I have no husband.

Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband: For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly.

The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet. Our fathers worshiped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.

Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

The woman saith unto him, I know that Messiah cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things.

Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he.

And upon this came his disciples, and marveled that he talked with the woman: yet no man said, What seekest thou? or, Why talkest thou with her?

The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men, Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ? Then they went out of the city, and came unto him.

In the mean while his disciples prayed him, saying, Master, eat.

But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of.

Therefore said the disciples one to another, Hath any man brought him aught to eat?

Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work. Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest. And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together. And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth. I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labor: other men labored, and ye are entered into their labors.

And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him for the saying of the woman, which testified, He told me all that ever I did.

One of the things I see in Jesus’ life is that He rarely does what people expects Him to do. Without going where Judean Jews would not go, the woman would never have met the Messiah. Being at the well at the right time insured the most outcast person in town would be there, and who else does God use? How else could the others be saved? Doing the Father’s work in the absence of an audience resulted in the disciples learning about real sustenance; and the real purpose to which God calls all of us. This is a lesson in itself.

And he must needs go through Samaria. Most churchgoers know about the Samaritan woman, or “the woman at the well”. We need to understand that, by example, Jesus is teaching us to go places “where we’re not supposed to go” so we may encounter that one person who really needs to know, and that God has plans for using. We have absolutely no idea where that person is, nor how God may use them; nevertheless, we’re to seek them, wherever, regardless. Jesus was on His way to Cana of Galilee from Jerusalem. The self-righteous Jews of the Southern Kingdom would have no dealings with the Jews of Samaria. They had been contaminated with the blood of the Assyrians and Babylonians when these had ruled over Samaria in the past. To get to Galilee, the southern Jews would cross the Jordan, travel north, and then re-cross the Jordan into Galilee; a trip which would add 10 to 20 miles to a 70 mile trip. Today, that’s no big deal; but, then that distance required another ½ to 1 day’s travel. How many times do we “pass by on the other side” so we aren’t seen associating with the outcasts of society (and maybe, not-so-outcast)?

At the well, in the middle of the day (around noon), Jesus knew the type of persons who would be coming; the outcast of the outcast. Of course, He had no means of drawing water from the well, so His request was quite normal for a traveler. “Give me to drink.” He did not bring up the differences between the southern Jews and the Samaritans, she did. But, how many times do we, as Christians, make the distinction; thereby, putting a stumbling block before others? Just as Jesus, we have something others do not have, and need desperately. Can we take the everyday circumstances we find ourselves in during an encounter and reveal God through them? “If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.” There are many who do not know “the gift of God”. And, that gift is reflected in everything around us, involved in everything we do, and available wherever we go. Let’s share!! When we transform something natural into something spiritual, those that “don’t know” will question what we say, thus, opening themselves to receive “the gift”; and they will “perceive that (we) are a prophet”.

The next exchange with the lady (I’m sure Jesus was not judging her) showed her that she was in the presence of God. We do not need to be clairvoyant to know the spiritual status of a person. The majority are not spiritually minded, at all. When we explain the spiritual aspect of whatever may be the object of our conversation, people will know we are talking about “other things”, and very possibly raise questions regarding our viewpoint.

“Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”

Jesus didn’t invite this lady to “His church”, at Jerusalem: He pointed her directly to God. Many, many times we appear more interested in getting people into “our church” than getting them to God. Remember, the only reason Jesus came to earth was to reveal the Father to us. We must reveal “God in us” (Emmanuel) so they can see God, period. How can someone accept Jesus if they do not know there is a God; a God living within? “Ye believe in God; believe also in Me.” I’m not saying to eliminate Jesus from the recipe! But, the most important ingredient is belief in God! Don’t assume they know!! The world needs to know that they must worship God wherever they are. But, until we reveal the Father, the work of the Son is pretty much meaningless to an unknowing person. Jesus did not tell this lady to worship Him. Remember your status with God: “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.” Reveal the Father, and then, teach about the Son. Be someone’s Messiah (anointed one). With the previous quote, and knowing who you are in God, you’re not far from “I that speak unto thee am he,” because it is God speaking through you to a lost world.

And then, the “church crowd” will come along; not understand what you are doing; wonder if there’s not something wrong with you; retreat into their little group; and offer you “such as they have”, a plate of platitudes, creeds, doctrines and opinions (meat).

“I have meat to eat that ye know not of…...My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work. Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest. And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together. And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth. I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labor: other men labored, and ye are entered into their labors.”

Our “meat” should also be “to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.” You cannot “see the fields” if you’re hidden in your own little world. Never, in man’s history have there ever been more people living that need to know God; truly, “they are white already to harvest.” Do you want to receive God’s blessings now (Heaven is not a blessing; it’s a promise.)? “(H)e that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal.” Your blessings are the “meat” and the “wages”. The “fruit unto life eternal” is not YOUR eternal life, but the life eternal of those to whom you reveal God. “By their fruits, ye shall know them.” If we were known to God only by our fruits, I’m afraid many of us would pretty much be “the unknown soldier”; otherwise, how can it be true “that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together”? More when we get to the parable of the sower. “I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labor: other men labored, and ye are entered into their labors.” God’s Word is also a scythe to be used to reap the harvest. Can we share what God has done for us, our testimony, so others can believe?