Blog Study Part 1

This week we are starting a Bible Study just for our blog followers. We are going to choose a passage of scripture each week and begin Monday mornings with an overview and brief study based on that passage. I invite you to comment, ask questions and discuss the scripture through the comments on the blog. I can hardly wait to share with one another through this study. Be sure to invite your friends.

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Week 1:
John 4: 1-14

Jesus and the Samaritan Woman

   Jesus knew the Pharisees had heard that he was baptizing and making more disciples than John ² (though Jesus himself didn’t baptize them—his disciples did). ³ So he left Judea and returned to Galilee.

 ⁴ He had to go through Samaria on the way. ⁵ Eventually he came to the Samaritan village of Sychar, near the field that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. ⁶ Jacob’s well was there; and Jesus, tired from the long walk, sat wearily beside the well about noontime. ⁷ Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Please give me a drink.” ⁸ He was alone at the time because his disciples had gone into the village to buy some food.

 ⁹ The woman was surprised, for Jews refuse to have anything to do with Samaritans. She said to Jesus, “You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. Why are you asking me for a drink?”

 ¹⁰ Jesus replied, “If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water.”

 ¹¹ “But sir, you don’t have a rope or a bucket,” she said, “and this well is very deep. Where would you get this living water?¹² And besides, do you think you’re greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us this well? How can you offer better water than he and his sons and his animals enjoyed?”

 ¹³ Jesus replied, “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. ¹⁴ But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.”

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The prevailing message here is deeper than just meeting a woman at the well. Imagine if you will, what the heart condition of this woman is. She has been with multiple men, in a time and place where that behavior could result in being stoned to death. She knew immediately that Jesus was a Jew, and didn't expect that this man would have any kind thing to say to her. Even without her reputation, she was from a group of people with whom the Jews did not associate. 

So, when Jesus asks her to give him a drink, can you imagine what went through her head? What would go through your head if a strange man, you know only as someone who hates your people, is hanging out at your local water fountain and then asks YOU to give him a drink? Before you answer, realize Jesus had been traveling on foot for several miles, on dusty roads...just because he was Jesus didn't mean his clothes didn't get dirty. So, not only was the man she met a stranger and a Jew, he was also tired, possibly sweaty and dirty. Not only does he want a drink...but he wants a drink from HER cup/ladel whatever container she had. Now what's going through your head as you consider this stranger at the well?


This Samaritan woman probably lived nearby her entire life. She knew the history of the well from which she drew her water. It was Jacob's well. It served generations of her people. In fact, at her age, which we don't know exactly, she did not know a time when this well had not provided all the water they needed. Yet, here was Jesus...telling her that He could give her something that could quench her thirst better than this well. This stranger must have sounded crazy to her. Yet she knew in her heart that He was speaking the truth. 




Isn't that so much like we are. We get in the habit of depending on the same things we have always depended on to satisfy our needs. I can recount many times when I read something in the Bible...believed it was truth, and then said, "yeah, but..." 


At the moment we begin to argue, we open a door for doubt, when truly all we need to do is choose...


At this point in the story, the Samaritan woman has to make a choice. What would you choose in her place. How do you think the Holy Spirit works, even when we have limited knowledge?


Share your thoughts. We will go into the verses that follow next week, but I would love to see your thoughts, questions and ideas about these first 14 verses. There is no wrong question or suggestion, we are just going to study this out together.


Blessings and Joy in Jesus!