- Read John 4: 1-14
So, we pop into this story at noon, near a Samaritan town called Sychar. Being located in the desert, most people would come very early to the well to draw water. But this woman comes in the heat of the day—perhaps to avoid contact with and being rejected by the other townspeople. We learn more of her story here and get to see Jesus’ amazing encounter with her.
(A Samaritan in the Bible was a person from Samaria a region north of Jerusalem. In Jesus’ day, the Jewish people of Galilee and Judea shunned the Samaritans, viewing them as a mixed race who practiced an impure, half-pagan religion.)
- From what you know of the Old Testament times, what was abnormal in Jesus approaching a woman?
- What about a Samaritan woman?
- What can we learn about who Jesus is from this encounter?
- How does Jesus demonstrate esteem to the woman in this encounter?