Jacob's Well

Text: John 4:1-42


The sixth hour.


Jesus was getting way too much attention by the Pharisees - and because he came to do the Father's will... and not continually debate the religious "leaders" of the Jewish sect - he tended to avoid places where they would likely be. Therefore, Samaria was a pretty good choice, since good Jews despised Samaritans.  


Here's the reason in a nutshell: Approximately eight centuries before Jesus was born, the reigning superpower at the time, the Assyrians, invaded the Northern Kingdom of Israel (Jerusalem was in the Southern Kingdom of Judah). They took complete control and even deported many of the Israelites. New inhabitants were then brought in (with their own gods)... and Samaria was born. Naturally, the "pure" Jews hated those half-breeds, mostly because the Samaritan religion became a hybrid mix of the Hebrew God and various local gods imported from foreign lands. The Samaritan temple was at Mount Gerizim, as opposed to the Jewish temple in Jerusalem.


So, back to the sixth hour... what we would call noon.... getting close to the hottest part of the day. Therefore, unless they were intentionally trying to avoid people (like Jesus was), most people wouldn't choose to stand in the hot sun and carry heavy water at that time.


But Jesus wasn't the only one who chose the glare of the sun over the glare of human judgment. For Jesus, it wasn't yet time to reveal his glory... but for the woman he encountered, it was never time to greet others at the well. You see, she was a notorious sinner. And her sin was very public... a detail likely not unnoticed by the other women. At least six men of the village knew her in a "biblical" manner... and that, my friends, would not only threaten the other women... more importantly it would give them an awesome opportunity to wag their tongues about that "shameless hussy" who lived among them!


However... one short conversation with the Messiah, one encounter with the Living Water, one verbal dance with Jesus... just one glimpse of God's forgiving grace personified, and the woman who previously went out of her way to avoid the other villagers out of shame, left her water jar and went boldly into town. She became a fearless evangelist for the Christ, because all of a sudden, her past didn't matter.... it was her future that counted. Her life had suddenly and shockingly been redeemed. She came face to face with the One who loves her. No longer would she be defined by her sinful relationships to men... from now on, she would be re-defined by her relationship of love by and for Jesus. "Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony..."


How cool! I'll bet she never had to visit Jacob's well at the sixth hour again after taking a life-changing drink of Living Water. What about you? Have you ever tasted this refreshing H2O... or are you still waiting until noon? What's your testimony?