Today we are going to focus on a particular character mentioned in John 4. She is an unnamed woman of Samaria whom Jesus singles out to reveal His identity. It is the same identity He asks others to hide but not her. She is recorded in the Bible to be the first woman evangelist. What qualified for such a position? We know the answer to that. Only Grace qualifies the faithful.
Now let us first talk about the setting and the location before understanding exactly what kind of interaction occurred between the woman and Jesus.
Now when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John (although Jesus himself did not baptize, but only his disciples), he left Judea and departed again for Galilee. And he had to pass through Samaria.
Joh 4:1-4
The fact that brought Jesus to Samaria were rumors. We know that Jesus was not the one making disciples but His students did. The actions of the disciples were often imputed upon the master and so a discontent rose among the Pharisees regarding Jesus' ministry. Unwilling to draw unwanted attention to Himself, Jesus chose to return to Galilee.
It was not necessary to go through Samaria to get to Galilee. There was a path that went over the coast and up to Galilee such that one could skip Samaria. It was a longer route and took almost twice the time to travel. Samaria was to the north of Judea. Another route was there across the Jordan River and up the region known as Peria which also avoided Samaria. Thus there was a path to the east and the west, both of which avoided Samaria. Jesus took neither of them.
Many Bible commentators say that it was common for travelers from Judea to Galilee to cross the Jordan and travel up the eastern side rather than head directly north through Samaria . Strict Jews avoided contact with the Samaritans wherever possible to avoid ritual uncleanness. But Josephus, however, provides ample assurance not only that the aversion between Jews and Samaritans was strong, but also that Jews passing from Judea to Galilee or back nevertheless preferred the shorter route through Samaria.
Ant. xx. 118; Bel. ii. 232; Vita 269
There was substantial reasons for a Jew to avoid Samaria during their travels, none of which mattered to Jesus. The Samaritans were half-Jew, half-Gentile. The classification of the people as Samaritans began after the Assyrian captivity of the northern kingdom of Israel in 721 B.C. Certain people from the nation of Israel stayed behind. These people intermarried with the Assyrians producing the Samaritans.
In the ancient world, relations between Jews and Samaritans were indeed strained. The first century Romano Jewish Historian, Josephus, reports a number of unpleasant events where Samaritans harass Jewish pilgrims traveling through Samaria between Galilee and Judea, Samaritans scatter human bones in the Jerusalem sanctuary, and Jews in turn burn down Samaritan villages.
The Samaritans, for their part, did not accept any scriptural texts beyond the Pentateuch. In fact, a major indication for a growing Samaritan self-awareness in antiquity was the insertion of "typically Samaritan" additions into their version of the Pentateuch, such as a Decalogue commandment to build an altar on Mount Gerizim, which Samaritans viewed as the sole "place of blessing" (see also Deut 11:29, Deut 27:12). They fiercely rejected Jerusalem—which is not mentioned by name in the Pentateuch—and all Jerusalem-related traditions and institutions.
Jacob's Well
So he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob's well was there; so Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well. It was about the sixth hour.
Joh 4:5-6
We can assume that Sychar is a town located near the land of Sechem where we find the well of Jacob. That was where Jesus came to rest. Note that the land is predominantly ancient Israel and as such too partake in the promise of the deliverance of the Messiah. Jesus was wearied from His journey-a glimpse at the humanity of Jesus- and He rested beside the well. Now a well in Jewish tradition has a lot of significance and since the narrator is John, the son of Zebedee we can assume that there is something symbolic hidden here.
