As the conversation continues between Jesus and an unnamed – but history-influencing – Samaritan woman in John 4:1-42, the woman begins to understand more about who Jesus is (see verses 19-20, in particular). It is clear that He is not just a passer-by who breaks cultural norms. She sees that He is more than that.
So, she asks a question, although it is phrased in the form of a statement, differentiating how Samaritan and Jewish people worship. From her standpoint, this is a potentially rare chance to have a polite conversation with a Jewish person, and an even rarer chance to talk with someone who knows about spiritual things. As we find out later, it seems that this woman was looking for answers. (Another explanation for her question, as suggested by the Lookout, is that she was just trying to change the subject. Both could be true, I suppose: she could have been trying to change the subject, while also seeing if Jesus could answer a question for her. There was no need to waste this opportunity, after all.)
I suspect that this question – about where to worship God – was a point of contention between the two people groups (the Jewish people from whom Jesus descended, and the Samaritans who comprised the woman’s culture). From the woman’s perspective, since this prophet was willing to talk with her, why not get some insight into it?
Think about a doctrinal issue that divides people today. It could be something like how (or when) to baptize people, how often to take communion, or whether salvation is permanent. If you got the chance to talk with a real Bible scholar – maybe a Ph.D. who teaches at a respected Bible college – wouldn’t that be a great opportunity to ask them about one of these points, especially if it was a topic about which you didn’t fully understand what the Bible taught?
Not every question has to be answered with one of the options that is initially given, though. We might say that the woman offered answers “A” and “B”, but Jesus’ answer was “C”.
“Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”
John 4:21-24 NIV
Again, like He did for Nicodemus (see John 3:1-21), Jesus is pointing out the spiritual component of His answers. With His ministry, worshiping God will no longer be tied to a location. With His and the Holy Spirit’s help, we can pray to and worship God directly, without needing an earthly priest or a specific altar. The barriers to God would shortly be broken down, and there would no longer be any need for regular sacrifices to atone for our sins, once Jesus took care of that for all time.
In verse 25, we learn a little more about the woman’s hopes – what she looked forward to.
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.”
John 4:25-26 NIV
She anticipated that the Messiah would “explain” [NIV] or “declare” [NASB] things. It seems like this was a woman who was searching for answers.
Do you know anyone who is looking for answers today? It might seem trite to say that all of the answers that they are looking for are in Jesus, but His ministry, teaching, and salvation answer a lot of the most important questions that all of us need to have answered:
- Why are we here?
- What is our purpose in life?
- Who is God?
- How can I find forgiveness for the bad things that I’ve done?
- What should I do next?
Given all of this conversation between Jesus and this Samaritan woman, I think that this last statement from Jesus (verse 26) is probably the pinnacle of this conversation. The woman is expecting a Messiah who will teach people and answer the hard questions, and here He is!
Let’s be willing to ask questions of other people, and then to listen to their answers. Maybe this means asking for help from a stranger, or just asking someone about their current or past situation to learn more about them. Let’s also be ready to answer questions for people who are searching for something: whether an understanding of their purpose in life, why things are the way that they are, who God is, or how things could be better.
There is always more to learn and share about Jesus!
From Sunday School lesson prepared for December 17, 2023
References:
- The Lookout, December 17, 2023, © 2023 Christian Standard Media.
- Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
- Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. Copyright by The Lockman Foundation.
- The College Press NIV Commentary – John, by Beauford H. Bryant and Mark S. Krause. © 1998 College Press Publishing Co.
Those Who Sin Differently 