"Come and See": A Web Commentary on the Gospel of John: Section 4 Jesus in Samaria: The Living Water

Section 4.2: Jesus and the Samaritan Woman Speak Alone (Jn 4.7-26)

⁷A Samaritan woman came to draw water. Jesus said to her, 'Give me something to drink.' (⁸For his disciples had gone away to the city to buy food.) ⁹Then the Samaritan woman said to him, 'How is it that you, a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan woman, for something to drink?' For Jews do not associate with Samaritans. ¹⁰Jesus answered and said to her, 'If you understood the gift of God and who is saying to you, "Give me something to drink", you would ask him and he would give you living water¹.'

¹¹She said to him, 'Sir, you don't have anything to draw water with and the cistern is deep; how then do you have living water? ¹²You are not better than our father Jacob, who gave us the cistern and drank from it himself, and his sons and his livestock, are you?' ¹³Jesus answered and said to her, 'Everyone who drinks this water will get thirsty again. ¹⁴Yet anyone who drinks from the water that I shall give them will not ever thirst, but the water that I shall give them will become a spring of water welling up in them for everlasting life.' ¹⁵The woman said to him, 'Sir, give me that water, so that I won't get thirsty or come here to draw water!'

¹⁶He said to her, 'Go, call your husband and come here.' ¹⁷The woman answered and said to him, 'I don't have a husband.' Jesus said to her, 'You are right to say "I don't have a husband.". ¹⁸For you have had five husbands and now the man you have isn't your husband. You have said this truly!' ¹⁹The woman said to him, 'Lord², I see that you are a prophet! ²⁰Our fathers worshipped on this mountain³ and you say⁴ that the place where worship should take place is in Jerusalem.' ²¹Jesus said to her, 'Believe me, ma'am: the hour is coming when you will worship⁵ the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You worship⁶ what you do not know: ²²we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. ²³But the hour is coming and is now here when true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for indeed the Father seeks such as his worshippers. ²⁴God is Spirit, and those that worship him must worship in spirit and truth.' ²⁵The woman said to him, 'I know that Messiah is coming, the one called 'Christ' -- whenever he comes, he will proclaim everything to us.' ²⁶Jesus said to her, 'I am he⁷, the one speaking to you!'

Return to the Outline

Return to the opening menu.