He must needs go through Samaria.. This for two reasons. One being that it was the most direct route to Galilee, the other reason being that there was some of His lost sheep there. As they come to the well at Sychar He, because he was weary, rested there, while the disciples left to buy food. Then came the woman of Samaria to draw water. He immediately asks her for a drink of water. She is surprised that a Jew would even speak to her, never mind ask for a drink of water. She remarks on this fact relating that the Jews had no dealings with the Samaritans. That word, dealings, means they held nothing in common, namely, that they would not drink out of the same vessel. He gently leads her on to speak about the water of life, the fact that the Jerusalem was the place appointed by God for His worship, but also, that locational worship was soon to be a thing of the past. Christians, take note! Far too many believers seem to think that worship will once again, in the so called Millennium, be centred in Jerusalem. He then brings her face to face with her sin. She realises that He is somebody out of the ordinary. As the disciples return she goes back to her village and brings back some of the men with her, who invite Jesus to stay in their village, which He did for two days. It ends up with them testifying, "And they said unto the woman, now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard Him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world." How marvellous! The Jews, who ought to have known better, largely rejected Him but the much despised Samaritans confessed Him for who He was, The Saviour of the world. |
