At high noon, when no one goes to draw water, a woman comes alone to Jacob’s well, carrying a jar and a story too heavy to tell in town. The sermon follows a conversation in which Jesus crosses one border after another: national, social, religious, cultural, and finally the hardest one, the border of human shame (John 4). Her longing for a new beginning turns out to run deeper than she herself could name. Listen, and consider which Samaria Jesus may be leading you toward today.
Discussion questions
For your small group or for personal reflection after the sermon.
- Why would Jesus' conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well have been so shocking to a Jew of that time? What boundaries does Jesus cross in John 4:1-42?
- What did Jesus mean by living water, and how does this promise connect with the image of the river flowing from Eden and the stream flowing from the temple?
- The Samaritan woman looked for a new beginning in one relationship after another. What do people today use to try to satisfy the deepest thirst that only God can satisfy?
- When the conversation becomes personal, the woman changes the subject to the dispute about where to worship. What makes it hard for you to receive living water and face the truth about your life and your shame?
- The woman ran to the people she used to avoid and said, "Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did." What does this transformation tell you about how Jesus deals with our past?
- Jesus speaks of fields ripe for harvest precisely in Samaria. Who is your "Samaria," and what one conversation could you start this week with someone you would rather avoid?
