Also, here’s a little information about Samaria. The Samaritans were considered Gentiles by the Jewish people though their roots went to Jacob (Israel). There was a great division in the land of Israel after King Solomon. They kinda divided into two kingdoms. One was kingdom of Judah (David's bloodline) and the kingdom of Israel. Each would have it's own king. During the times of the kings, most of the kings of Israel ruled from Samaria, while the kings of Judah ruled from Jerusalem. Many of the kings of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, too. There were many times when other gods were worshipped there, not to mention other atrocities. That is why Samaria became known as a bad place. The Samaritans are of this land. Sooooo, they are abandoned Israelites.

When Jesus was on His way from Judæa to Galilee, He had to pass through Samaria. He came to a city named Sychar, near the parcel of land that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there and at around noon, Jesus was tired from His journey and sat at the well.

Jesus’ disciples had gone into the city to buy food when a woman of Samaria came to the well to draw water and Jesus said to her, Give me to drink. The woman said to Him, Why is it that you, being Jewish, ask me, a woman of Samaria for a drink, when the Jewish have no dealings with the Samaritans.

Jesus answered her, If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that asks you for a drink, you’d have asked of Him, and He’d have given you living water. She said, Sir, you have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where will you get that living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, with his children and his cattle? Jesus replied, Whoever drinks this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I give him, will never thirst, but the water that I will give him will be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

The woman of Samaria said, Sir, give me this water, so I don’t thirst or have to come here to draw. Jesus said, Go, call your husband and come here. The woman answered, I have no husband. And Jesus said, You’ve told the truth to say, I have no husband. You’ve had five husbands, and the one you have now isn’t your husband, so you answered truthfully. The woman replied, Sir, I can tell that you’re a prophet. Our fathers worshipped on this mountain, and you say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.

Jesus said, Woman, believe me, the time comes when you will not worship the Father either on this mountain or in Jerusalem. You don’t know what you worship, but we know what we worship because salvation is of the Jews. But the time comes and is now, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in Spirit and in truth, because the Father seeks for such to worship Him. God is a Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and in truth.

How about a little intermission from the story and let’s talk about that last thing that Jesus said for a moment. God is a Spirit. How do you picture God in your own mind? Everyone pictures Him differently, but do you think of Him as having a human form (because He created us in His image) or do you think of Him as invisible? Do you think that Jesus is probably what He looks like? Just something to ponder on.

Now, back to our study ... The woman of Samaria said to Jesus, I know that the Messiah is coming who is called Christ. When He comes, He’ll tell us everything. Jesus said, I who speak to you am He.

At that time, the disciples came back from the city and they were surprised that Jesus was talking to the Samaritan woman, but nobody said a word. The woman left her water pot and went back into the city and said to the men in her city, Come and see this man that told me all the things that I ever did. Wouldn’t this be the Christ? They went out of the city and found Jesus. In the meantime, the disciples urged Him to eat, but He said to them, I have food to eat that you don’t know about. They didn’t understand so they asked each other, Has anyone given Him anything to eat?

Jesus said to them, My food is to do the will of Him who sent me and to finish His work. Don’t say, Aren’t there still four months before the harvest? I say to you, Open your eyes and look at the fields, they’re already ripe and ready to harvest. He that reaps receives wages and gathers fruit unto life eternal so both he who plants and he who reaps may rejoice together. In this case that saying is true, One plants and another reaps. I sent you to reap where you didn’t work, other men worked and you are entered into their labors.