The Woman at the Well

Jesus left Judea to return to Galilee, necessitating a journey through Samaria. He arrived at a city called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph (John 4:3-5). Being weary from the journey, Jesus sat by Jacob's well at approximately the sixth hour while his disciples went into the city to buy food. When a Samaritan woman arrived to draw water, Jesus asked her for a drink, prompting the woman to question why a Jew would speak to a Samaritan (John 4:6-9).

Jesus told the woman that if she knew who he was, she would have asked him for living water that prevents thirst and leads to eternal life. When the woman requested this water, Jesus instructed her to call her husband. She replied that she had no husband, to which Jesus stated she had been married to five men and was currently living with a man who was not her husband. Recognizing him as a prophet, the woman inquired about the correct location for worship (John 4:10-20). Jesus stated that a time was coming when true worshipers would worship the Father in spirit and truth regardless of the mountain or location. When the woman mentioned the coming Messiah, Jesus identified himself by saying, 'I who speak to you am he' (John 4:23-26).

Upon the return of the disciples, the woman left her water jar and went into the city to tell the people about the man who told her everything she ever did. The disciples urged Jesus to eat, but he told them his food was to do the will of him who sent him (John 4:27-34). Many Samaritans from the city believed in Jesus because of the woman’s testimony, and after he stayed there for two days, many more believed because of his own words (John 4:39-42).