The Meeting at Jacob's Well

T. A. McMahon:

We are going through the gospel of John—slowly—

Dave Hunt:

Making progress.

T. A. McMahon:

Making progress and Dave, I know we kid about this but it’s like a meal.

Dave Hunt:

Tom, let’s say we are going very rapidly because there is so much more in all these verses that we haven’t even touched the surface of yet, but anyway, we can’t take forever.

T. A. McMahon:

Well, here we are, we are starting a new chapter.

Dave Hunt:

Right, okay.

T. A. McMahon:

This is John, chapter 4.  We will start with verse 1, but the reason we are going through the book of John, I keep saying this because I think it’s important: we want to know about the gospel.  We want to hear it from Jesus’ own words what must we do to be saved and He is explaining it to us.  

Dave Hunt:

By the way Tom, John, this is the disciple John writing this, he wasn’t there with a tape recorder or taking it down in shorthand; we have detailed conversations here so how do we know he’s got it right?  How do we know John:3:16For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
See All... is exactly what Jesus said or some of the other things.  Well, there is the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.  If we relied totally on John’s memory it wouldn’t go. But you see some people try to come up with some rational explanation—well, they’ve got this, they took notes or they got together is how they remembered it and they pooled their understanding and then somebody added and so forth and so on.  No, this is inspired of the Holy Spirit.  If it isn’t, we’ve got no hope.

T. A. McMahon:

That’s what Peter tells us.

Dave Hunt:

Right.

T. A. McMahon:

Prophecy never came by the will of man.  So, that’s our encouragement.  And, again it all falls back on the Bible.  Is it, indeed, God’s Word?  How do we know it’s God’s Word and we could do weeks and months on that alone with incredibly encouraging support for what we are saying.

Dave Hunt:

Absolutely.

T. A. McMahon:

John:4:1When therefore the LORD knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John,
See All..., “When therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John, Though Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples, he left Judea, and departed again into Galilee.  And he must needs go through Samaria.  Then cometh he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.  Now Jacob’s well was there.  Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well:  and it was about the sixth hour.  There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water:  Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink.  For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.  Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.”

Dave Hunt:

Now Tom, you usually don’t read so many verses.  How are we going to handle all of this?

T. A. McMahon:

I thought we would get to this point and we would go back.

Dave Hunt:

Okay.

T. A. McMahon:

Have you some thoughts about what we have read?

Dave Hunt:

Well, the first part that the Pharisees were saying that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John.  We talked about that briefly in the last chapter.  Maybe, that’s why you want to move right along.

T. A. McMahon:

Yeah, and we dealt with baptism, but you’ve got a good point, let’s hear it.

Dave Hunt:

It says that Jesus himself baptized not, so I just wanted to reiterate that.  He is the Savior of the world, He never baptized anybody.  That’s interesting.  Baptism apparently doesn’t save; you would think if baptism saved He would put His stamp of approval upon it.

T. A. McMahon:

Right, if it was a means of sacramental grace, which was critical for one’s eternal destiny, certainly He would have, but does not.

Dave Hunt:

I don’t want to read too much between the lines but it’s interesting that it’s when He heard the Pharisees were saying this that He packed up and left.  Apparently— His disciples were baptizing—but apparently, they must have stopped baptizing because there was some misunderstanding arising out of this.  I don’t know but He left Judea, departed again into Galilee and “He must needs go through Samaria.”  Now, of course, there are two reasons, I guess, that was on the route and also because there was someone He was going to meet there, going back to where we began this program, God’s mission, God’s purpose, and the scriptures are so amazing and there is so much.  Part of it is who is this woman?  Why is she so important?  Jesus had time for her.

T. A. McMahon:

Yes, she’s a Samaritan.  Even she recognized what the Jews thought about the Samaritans.

Dave Hunt:

But there was a divine appointment, as we like to say, there and so He goes right to this well and He lets the disciples go on into town to buy something.  And Jesus, verse 6, “being wearied”—this was near a parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.  You go to Israel today and there’s history.  This is not some mythology; this is not Arabian Nights fairy tales like you get some of it in the Qur’an, or the Bhagavad Gita, or whatever.  This is history, these are real people, real events that really happened.  So they even know where this parcel of ground was that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.  Now Jacob’s well was there.  “Jesus being wearied with His journey,” again we don’t understand that.  I mean, here is God, He can walk on water and yet He is man.  He didn’t cease to be God, He will never cease to be man, He’s the one and only truly God man, the unique only begotten Son of God in that sense, but He is weary.  The boat—He’s fast asleep when the storm comes up because He’s tired.  He has a pillow even.  I guess we could all think about that somewhat.  We want everything to be miraculous in our lives.  Well Jesus did many, many miracles but there was also a simplicity, there was also a down-to-earth reality of human events and affairs.  He went to a wedding, turned the water into wine because He had to, but he wasn’t going around doing magic tricks.

T. A. McMahon:

Yeah, he didn’t still the waters of the storm every time.

Dave Hunt:

Right.

T. A. McMahon:

He was a man who subjected himself to the natural environment, just as it is with you and with me and everyone else.

Dave Hunt:

So, here’s God in human flesh—He’s weary and He’s sitting on the well and the woman from Samaria comes.

T. A. McMahon:

Dave, let me stop you there.  The Samaritan—what’s the problem here?  The Jews had problems with the Samaritans?  Why is that?  She recognized it, she thought Jesus would have been aware of it and of course He was, but what was the problem?

Dave Hunt:

Well, they had no dealings with the Samaritans.  They were a mixed race. There are a number of reasons.  Why don’t you—Tom, I talk too much.

T. A. McMahon:

Well, I guess the common analogy would be they were spiritual half-breeds, I guess, even physically to a point.  They were the Northern kingdom, the ten tribes.  They were taken captive and then, as it was during that time, when the Assyrians captured people they took those who lived in the place they captured away and then they sent some of their own people to interbreed with them, intermix with them and that’s how we get the Samaritans.  They were Jews who interbred with those from Assyria.

Dave Hunt:

And, they also were a bit mixed up in their theology and they did have some Judaism that they adhered to, I mean, from the Old Testament, but they were not kosher as far as the Jews were concerned and there were no dealings with them.  And yet, Jesus is willing to have conversation and spend some time and to impart to this woman salvation.