The Well

“Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Please give me a drink.” He was alone at the time because his disciples had gone into the village to buy some food.”-John 4:7-8

As Jesus and his disciples were traveling through Samaria, Jesus became tired and sat down beside a well near the village of Sychar. It was around noontime when a woman came out to draw water. Some people say that Jesus had a divine appointment (a God ordained moment) with this woman, but could it be that he simply took advantage of the opportunity afforded to him by her showing up?

It is my personal opinion that every encounter we have with an unbeliever is divinely appointed because we have been commissioned by Jesus Christ to go and make disciples of all nations. The well was the local watering hole. At some point, somebody was going to come along to draw some water. I would like to think that Jesus would have had a life-altering discussion with whoever showed up at the well that day. I don’t believe he would have ignored everyone else, because he was waiting on that particular woman to show up!

When the woman came to the well, Jesus immediately struck up a conversation with her and spoke at length with her about her need for living water, her sinful condition, and true worship. 

“Just then his disciples came back. They were shocked to find him talking to a women, but none of them had the nerve to ask, “What do you want with her? “ or “Why are you talking to her?” The woman left her water jar beside the well and ran back to the village, telling everyone, “Come and see a man who told me everything I ever did! Could he possibly be the Messiah?”-John 4:27-29

Did you ever stop to think about this? His disciples had went into the village to buy food; the same village this woman went back to and started spreading the good news about Jesus. Twelve men who walked with Jesus encountered a multitude of people who were lost and there was no indication they shared the good news about Jesus with any of them. All they came back to Jesus with was lunch. This woman came to the well, had an encounter with Jesus, went back to town and told everybody! Soon the people came streaming out to see Jesus. As the people came toward them in the blazing afternoon sun, Jesus said:

“You know the saying, ‘Four months between planting and harvest.’ But I say, wake up and look around. The fields are already ripe for harvest. The harvesters are paid good wages, and the fruit they harvest is people brought to eternal life. What joy awaits both the planter and the harvester alike!-John 4:35-36

When Jesus told them to “look up, the fields were white unto harvest”, they would have been staring at the same people they had overlooked in the village. I believe Jesus statement was not simply a challenge to win souls, but also an indictment. How many people do we miss sharing the gospel with because we are too busy buying lunch? The reality is that there are people surrounding us everyday that need Jesus. There is no shortage of souls that need saved:

“He said to his disciples, “The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray that the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields.”-Matthew 9:37-38

There is, however, a need for more people to share the gospel with others. We need to stop waiting on divine appointments and start living the great commission!