The Woman at the Well - The Gospels

In this Bible Story, Jesus reveals himself to be the messiah towards a woman at the well. This woman is the adulteress from Samaria and when she discovered Jesus was the Messiah, she ran to go and tell everyone. This story is inspired by John 4:1-42. Go to BibleinaYear.com and learn the Bible in a Year.

Today's Bible verse is John 4:14 from the King James Version.

Episode 179: Around noontime, as Jesus was traveling through Samaria, He went to rest near a well. While there, He met a woman coming up to draw water. As they exchanged conversation, she came to realize that the man she was speaking to was the Messiah she had been looking for! She ran at once to tell all her neighbors to come see the man who told her about living water. And when they did, they believed.

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Executive Producers: Steve Gatena & Max Bard

Producer: Ben Gammon

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Music by: Andrew Morgan Smith

Bible Story narration by: Todd Haberkorn

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Let us pray. But whosoever drinketh of the water that
I shall give him shall never thirst. But the water
that I shall give him shall be in a well
of water springing up into eternal life. John four fourteen. Jesus,
I thank you that you continually show me the life

(00:22):
that I am supposed to live. I thank you that
as I read your word, you are continuously showing me
that you love all people, no matter where they came from,
what they look like, or what reputation they have. I
pray that you give me the same heart that is

(00:43):
inside of you. Use me as a vessel to deliver
the good news of a cool drink of water to
a dry and thirsty soul. I will not shy away
from an opportunity to introduce some one to your eternal
and perfect love. Bring me to the wells in life

(01:04):
so that I can be surrounded by your sons and
daughters who need your hope. Show me and I'll go
in Jesus name. Amen. Thank you for praying with me today.
Continue listening for an incredible Bible story brought to you

(01:26):
by Bible in a year dot com.

Speaker 2 (01:37):
The Woman at the Well. In our last story, we
witnessed the righteous anger of Jesus during the Passover. Corrupt
money changes and religious leaders were exploiting people's desire to worship.
Jesus would have no barriers between God and people, so
he fashioned a whip and drove them out. Now we

(01:58):
see Jesus speak to a woman with a checkered past.
She was shunned by her people, but accepted by Jesus.
Her conversation with him would change the course of her
entire life. Inspired by the Gospels, Hello.

Speaker 3 (02:14):
This is pastor Jack Graham with another episode of the
Bible in a Year podcast. In our last episode, we
heard how Jesus cleared the Temple, an act of zeal
for God's house and a sign once again that he
is the Messiah. He is the Lord of the Temple.
Many did not understand him or accept him, and even
rejected him. The religious leaders began to feel the threat

(02:37):
that Jesus posed to their status quo religious system. We
also heard of one pharisee, a very religious man, a
very bright and noble man by the name of Nicodemus,
who wanted to know more about Jesus, and he sought
him out, and Jesus said, you must be born again.
Today we'll hear the story of a very different kind

(02:58):
of person, a person who was religious and thereby close
to God, but a woman who, though religious in some way,
was very far from God, a person who didn't seek
God out, but Jesus sought her out. She was in
many ways the polar opposite of Nicodemus, and yet as
Jesus spoke to her directly with love and compassion, her

(03:21):
entire life is changed and she experiences the new birth,
the forgiveness that is ours in Jesus Christ. So let's
listen now to this powerful story.

Speaker 2 (03:33):
The sun was high above the skies of Samaria. Its
rays scorched the earth below, beating down restlessly. It was
around the valley of Samaria, where Jesus was traveling on
his way to Galilee. The Jews hated the Samaritans and
held deep prejudices against them. Usually, any Jewish traveler walked
around Samaria, not Jesus. He decided to travel through it.

(03:57):
The afternoon sun was merciless, and jesus disciples departed to
get food. Jesus walked towards a single well resting on
the bottom of a hill. A Samaritan woman was drawing
water there in the heat of day. It was a
peculiar sight, since most women gathered water for the day
early in the morning to escape the sun. Jesus sat

(04:18):
on a rock beside the well. The woman saw him there,
but paid no attention to him. Jesus looked up at
the sun, then back at the woman. You mind drawing
me some water, Jesus asked. The woman looked up at him.
Her face was cold and impassive. Now why would a
Jew want a woman from Samaria to draw him water,
she said, as she lowered the bucket down into the well.

(04:40):
Jesus smiled, not allowing her harsh tone to bother him.
If you knew who was asking you for water, you
would ask me for living water, Jesus replied. The woman
looked Jesus up and down. You have nothing to draw
water with. Where would you get flowing and living water from.
Any Ways, this is a well. Jesus stood up and

(05:02):
walked closer to the well. He looked down into the
water below and said, whoever drinks this water will be
thirsty again. They will surely have to keep coming back.
But whoever drinks of the water I give will never
thirst again. The woman did her best to hide her shock.
She had been coming to the well for years and
hated every single trip. She was shunned by the other women,

(05:25):
so she had to draw in the middle of the
day when the sun was high and hot. I need
this living water, she said impatiently. I never want to
come back here again. Jesus paused for a moment. Very well,
go and call your husband, he said casually. The woman
looked away. I don't have a husband. She replied, Ah, yes,

(05:45):
Jesus said, you are right, you have no husband. Jesus
looked her in the eyes. You have had five husbands,
and the man you are living with now is not
your husband. The woman held back tears with a fake
smile as she tried to check the subject. Sir, I
perceive you are a prophet. You know this well is
sacred ground. Our forefathers worshiped here on the mountain, although

(06:09):
the Jews say that the temple is the place we
should worship now. The woman was speaking quickly. Her eyes
were watering. There was pain behind her religious small talk.
Jesus could feel her anguished heart. He had struck a
chord by mentioning her five divorces. He approached the other
side of the well and sat next to her. He
gave a reassuring smile and looked into the distance. Believe me,

(06:33):
the time is coming when people won't worship on a
mountain or in a temple. The true worshippers will worship
in spirit and in truth. The woman nodded, Yes, I
suppose they will. When the Messiah comes, he will tell
us how and where we should truly worship. Jesus nodded.
He smiled from cheek to cheek as he looked the

(06:54):
woman in the eye. Yes he will, I am he.
As Jesus was saying this, his disciples were returning with
their lunch. They saw Jesus from a distance and judged
him for speaking to a Samaritan woman. Although none of
them said anything or asked why he was speaking to her,
they saw the woman leap up from where she was

(07:15):
sitting and run away back to the city. The woman
ran fast, and with great joy. She knocked on every
door in the city. Quick to the well. Come quick.
People poked their heads out of their doors and windows.
You must come see this man. He told me everything
about me. I think he may be the Christ. So
the Samaritans left their homes to come see Jesus. They

(07:36):
sat at his feet and listened to him teach for
two days. Many believed as they heard him speak.

Speaker 3 (07:45):
We opened today's reading with Jesus traveling on a hot
and long road into a place most Jews avoided at
all costs. Samaria was despised by Jewish people. They viewed
the Samaritans as half breeds and impure. But Jesus did
not see these distinctions. These were people created in God's image,

(08:05):
people that God loved, people in need of redemption, like
every person on earth. And so rather than avoid or
walk around this city of Samaria, taking a longer road
to get away from the undesirables, Jesus went through Samaria.
Under the heat of the sun. He became thirsty, showing
his humanity. He was needing a drink of water. So

(08:27):
he went to a Samaritan well at midday, and there
was one woman there drawing water. She was clearly not
a part of the mainstream of society. She was there alone.
His very presence would have been surprising and unusual for
this woman. He was clearly a Jew, and he was
a man, and good Jewish men did not talk to

(08:48):
Samaritan women, certainly not publicly. But then notice what Jesus
did next. He asked her to draw water for him
to drink. Now, why would he ask her this, Well,
he's asking her to draw water so that he could
draw her out. She asked Jesus this question, wondering why
he would break so many unwritten rules. He could tell

(09:10):
that this woman had often been told and shown that
her place on the societal ladder was very low, but
Jesus persevered in conversing with this woman. He was unfazed
by her distracting question and answered that if she knew
who he was, she would ask him for living water,
living water. Well, once again, she didn't understand. What did

(09:33):
he mean. He couldn't even draw physical water for himself.
He had no bucket or rope of any way to
get water from the wells. So what is this living water?
Jesus went on to explain that the water that she
would draw would quench physical thirst for just a while,
but that he would offer a living water that would
last forever, that would satisfy once and for all. What

(09:57):
is this water? Water that quenches thirst?

Speaker 1 (09:59):
For he?

Speaker 3 (10:01):
She needed that, she wanted that, She asked Jesus to
give her some, especially if it meant she never needed
to come alone to this well again. Jesus then told
her to call her husband, knowing full well there was
no husband. The Samaritan woman replied, with obvious shame in
her voice, that she had no husband. He then told
her he knew her heart and he knew her life,

(10:23):
that not only was she not married, but that she
had been married five times before and was now living
with a man that was not her husband. The goal
of Jesus was not to shame this woman. This is
not cruel, but this is convictional. He is bringing her
face to face with her sin and her need for
a savior. She needs to know that her life can

(10:43):
be changed, that what she's looking for in life is
not found in a man, or a relationship or anything
else that this world offers, but only the eternal living
word of God Jesus. She then called Jesus a prophet
and began a conversation about the differences between the Jews
and Samaritans believe in practices of worship. In one way,

(11:06):
she's trying to throw Jesus off as he's zeroing in
on their great need for salvation. Jesus listened to her
and then spoke to her, saying there was a time
coming for true worship, and it wasn't about a place
people would worship God in spirit and in truth. His
words triggered a recognition in her mind. And in John
four twenty five and twenty six we read these words

(11:29):
from the woman who said to him, I know that
the Messiah is coming, he who is called the Christ.
When he comes, he will tell us all things. Jesus
said to her, I who speak to you, am he.
Now don't miss this. Jesus is clearly claiming to be
the Messiah, and he shares this truth with a woman,

(11:50):
a woman at the well, a sinner, shamed by her sin,
a Samaritan who was a cast off. And yet he
reveals himself and she believes. She responds in faith. And
not only that, but she ran back to the city
and told everyone in town who she had met. This
outcast woman led others to a saving faith. She said,

(12:12):
come and meet a man that will change your life.
And once again we see how God extends his mercy
and grace to all who will come to him. We
need to spend our days like this woman, because we
have trusted in Christ, telling the world who Jesus is
the good news of his salvation. Thank you, Lord for

(12:32):
the wonderful story of Jesus. Thank you that you love
us in spite of our sins, that you went to
a cross and died and then rose again so that
we could be forgiven and drink of the living water forever.
End evor Amen. Thank you for listening to Today's Bible
in a year. I'm Pastor Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas.

(12:54):
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(13:15):
that you may know Christ and grow in him. God
bless you.