Have you ever had some place to go but avoided the quickest way to get there? Perhaps you did so because there was too much traffic, or the roads were in bad shape, or you didn't want to go through a bad neighborhood, or you wanted to avoid bad memories associated with a certain place, etc. People in the first century also did this. In between the northern (Galilee) and southern (Judah) regions of the land of Israel, lay a region called Samaria. The enmity between the Jews and Samaritans was so deep, that some Jews who traveled from Jerusalem to Capernaum or vice versa, would not set foot in Samaria. Rather, they would travel a longer route by going east and crossing the Jordan river, thereby avoiding the Samaritan people. The apostle John tells us that the Jews had no dealings with Samaritans (John 4:9).
In order to prevent a premature confrontation with the Pharisees, Jesus left the area of Judea, where he had been teaching, and his disciples had been baptizing, to go to Galilee (John 4:1-3). However, our Lord did not take the route that others did by crossing the Jordan river. In fact, he deliberately went into Samaria. The Bible says, He left Judea and departed again to Galilee. But He needed to go through Samaria (John 4:3,4 NKJV). One could argue that Scripture is stating the obvious geographically. But I believe it is saying more than that. Jesus needed to go through Samaria because he had an appointment to keep with a Samaritan women at Jacob's well. No, she did not know about it, but Jesus being deity, did. We must also remember that Jesus was here on his Father's mission. He would later tell his apostles in this same chapter, while he was still at Jacob's well in Samaria, My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work. Do you not say, ‘There are still four months and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest (John 4:34,35)! He's talking about saving souls (cf. Luke 19:10).
As Jesus comes to the city of Sychar in Samaria, he sits down at the well, being wearied from his journey (John 4:6). John also tells us it was about the sixth hour, or high noon, therefore being the hottest part of the day. It just so happens that a Samaritan woman visits the well shortly after Jesus arrives, and Jesus initiates a conversation with her. It begins with a discussion about the water in the well, but Jesus turns it into a much deeper discussion about eternal life. The woman wants to know why Jesus is taking the time to speak to her, him being a Jew and she a Samaritan. We know that he speaks with her because he wants her to know about the gift of God (v. 10). There is not one soul that is insignificant in the eyes of our Lord. Jesus wants everyone to know about the gift of God, and if we call ourselves his disciples, we should also (cf. Matthew 28:18-20; 1 Timothy 2:4; 2 Peter 3:9).
As a result of this conversation, the woman, and many of the Samaritans of that city believed in him (v. 39). Jesus had an intentional conversation about eternal life with a lost soul which resulted in the salvation of many. That is why the text said, “he needed to go" there. Where is your Samaria? Where is that place where that person is that you know needs to hear the gospel? Where do you need to go, but have avoided going? If we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and that God will bring to heaven only those who are in Christ (1 Thessalonians 4:14), then we need to be intentional people. We need to have a plan in mind to win others to Christ. Our Lord is our example. Do not avoid the person because of fear or enmity. Let us overcome our fears by being intentional, having prepared for such a conversation, and knowing that we are doing what our heavenly Father wants us to do. How could we live with ourselves if never took the initiative to set foot in our Samaria?
Brotherly, Jamie
