Witness at Jacob’s Well

Scripture Basis: John 4:1-42, NIV

One day Jesus was traveling through Samaria on His way to Galilee. Tired from the journey, He stopped at a well called Jacob’s Well around noon, when the sun was high and hot. While He rested there, a woman came to draw water. Jesus asked her, “Will you give Me a drink?”

The woman was surprised. In those days Jews and Samaritans didn’t get along, and men didn’t usually speak to women they didn’t know. She said, “You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan. How can you ask me for a drink?” Jesus answered, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”

The woman was confused. “Sir, you have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us this well?”

Jesus explained, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

“Sir,” the woman said, “give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.” 

Jesus then told her something remarkable. He said, “Go, call your husband and come back.” 

The woman replied, “I have no husband.” 

Jesus said, “You are right when you say you have no husband. The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have said is quite true.”

The woman was amazed. “Sir, I can see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshipped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.”

Jesus replied, “A time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. True worshippers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.”

The woman said, “I know that Messiah (called Christ) is coming. When He comes, He will explain everything to us.” 

Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am He.”

The woman was so excited that she left her water jar and ran back to her town. She told everyone, “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?” Her excitement was contagious, and many people from the town came to see Jesus. They listened to Him and believed in Him because of the woman’s testimony. They even invited Jesus to stay with them, and He stayed
for two days, teaching and sharing the good news.

Because of Jesus’ words and the woman’s story, many more people believed. They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this Man really is the Savior of the world.”

Sharing what Jesus has done in your life can help others believe in Him. Even if you think your story is small, it can make a big difference. You can say things like “Jesus helped me when I was scared” or “Jesus answered my prayers.” Just like the Samaritan woman’s story, your story can help others see how amazing Jesus is and lead them to believe in Him.

Something to Think About
How would you have responded to Jesus at the well if you had been the Samaritan woman?