The Women at the Well and the Nobleman's Son

The Women at the Well and the Nobleman's Son
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Even though there are different Chapters in the Book of John that document the life of Jesus, Chapter 4 is one of the most outstanding Chapters. One of the reasons this chapter is outstanding is because it is the first chapter in this book where Jesus addresses a Gentile. This chapter proves that Jesus's mission was not only to the Jews but also to the Gentiles since His mission was universal. This chapter, therefore, acts as a blueprint of the experiences that Christians are likely to face when they are spreading the gospel to different people worldwide. Furthermore, this chapter also shows compassion which was one of the missions of Jesus to bring freedom to the sick. The journey of Jesus from Judea to Galilee to Judea through Samaria played a critical role in highlighting Jesus's mission to bring salvation to the world by bringing salvation to the Gentiles and showing compassion to those who were suffering.
John verse 1-3 highlight the reason that prompted Jesus to move from Judea to Galilee. It highlights that the main reason for this move was that most Pharisees received information that Jesus had made and baptized more disciples than John. This information was half true since Jesus was not baptizing. Most people argue about what motivated this move. Some people argue that the departure was because He feared persecution since He had previously openly confronted the Jewish leaders in the Temple. However, the other group argued that Jesus departed since He did not want to have more confrontation with the Jews since His appointed time to be crucified was not yet attained. It is critical to note that during this time, the Pharisees did not want confrontation since it could make them lose popularity. This instance was evident since they had already imprisoned John the Baptist. If Jesus would continue to continue to confront them, they could shift their attention to Him.
Verse 6 brings forth an outstanding aspect regarding Jesus. In most instances, most people would assume that since Jesus was the son of God, He would not grow weary. However, this verse confirms that Jesus became man to experience everything a man would experience. This instance is similar to the one in Mark 4:38, which shows that Jesus was sleeping in the boat later in the evening after a long day. Therefore, this verse proves that Jesus has a full aspect of God and a full aspect of man, and therefore Jesus understands what we usually go through since he also went through them.
On the other hand, Verses 7 and 8 show Jesus choosing the opportune time to conduct the mission. For instance, when Jesus spoke to the Samaritan woman, all the disciples were not there. Moreover, the woman was alone, which was rare among the Samaritan women who usually came to the well in groups and earlier in the day. Other women could therefore shun this woman or suddenly need water. This instance was outstanding since the disciples could have interrupted the conversation because the Law of Moses has prohibited them from interacting with foreigners. Similarly, the woman is highlighting this preconceived ethnic barrier. For instance, she is surprised and asks Jesus why he would ask for water from her, yet they are not supposed to interact.[David Guzik, “Enduring Word Bible Commentary John Chapter 4,” Enduring Word, February 2018, https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/john-4/.]
Understanding that the Samaritans were Israelite remnants who had been deported after the northern kingdom fell is critical. Most of this opposition was that the Samaritans opposed worshipping in Jerusalem. Moreover, after being exiled, the Samaritans also Warred against the Jews with the help of the Syrian Allies, which prompted the Jewish retaliate by burning the Samaritan temple located at Gerazim. Furthermore, despite the road through Samaria being the shortest route from Judea to Galilee, most of the pious Jews avoided it due to the deep dislike and distrust which was existing between them and the Samaritans. This hostility was too much such that after Jesus requested her to give Him water, the woman boldly asked Him how that could happen, yet the Jews are not even supposed to interact with the Samaritans. This instance shows how Jesus was ready to extend His love to even His enemies through salvation.
Moreover, Verses 8-14 show the language barrier. For instance, there was a misunderstanding between Jesus and the woman at the well. In this instance, Jesus asks the woman for water, and she thought it was water that she was drawing from the well. However, it later turned out that Jesus was not referring to the water that the woman she was drawing from the well. This is why Jesus told her that the water Jesus would give the person would never be thirsty again. This instance was later repeated in John 19:28, where Jesus said He was thirsty after knowing it was finished. Like the woman, these individuals thought it was physical thirst and offered him a bottle soaked in wine with a sprig of hyssop in his mouth. The main reason Jesus asked for water was to bring the aspect of living water, which is the Spirit of God which will bring satisfaction in every individual's life and eternal life.
In Verses 16-19, Jesus uses irony to capture the woman's attention. For instance, Jesus asks the woman to call her husband when she knows she does not have a husband. However, after the woman tells Jesus, she does not have a husband to avoid confrontation. This was the right chance for Jesus to tell her about her dark past, where she had five husbands, and her current one is not hers. After noticing that Jesus told her about her life vividly, this woman started viewing Jesus differently. This was the point that Jesus started to tell her about salvation which would not happen to the Jews only but also to the Gentiles. After returning, the disciples were surprised that Jesus would speak to a Samaritan woman. It was evident that even the disciples had not yet understood...