JesusX30 Challenge—Scene 6: THE INFILTRATION
1. Key Texts
•John 2–4
•Luke 4:14–15
•2 Kings 17:24–41 (background on Samaria)
•John 4:4–26 (Jesus and the Samaritan woman)
2. Outline / Notes
Date & Place
•Spring 27 AD.
•From Judea → through Samaria → to Galilee.
•Sychar (Jacob’s Well); Capernaum (northern base).
•Culturally charged territory—Jews avoided Samaria due to centuries of ethnic and religious tension.
Main Account
•After his Temple strike (John 2), Jesus goes underground—meeting Nicodemus at night (John 3) and reconnecting with John the Baptist in the wilderness.
•He warns John that the authorities are closing in. Soon after, Herod arrests John—a turning point in the movement.
•Jesus retreats north, back toward Galilee—but instead of avoiding Samaria , he goes through it.
•At Sychar, he stops at a well in the heat of the day. A woman approaches alone—isolated, shamed, and avoided by her own people.
•Jesus initiates conversation, breaking every cultural rule:
–Jews and Samaritans avoided each other.
–Men didn’t speak privately with women.
–Rabbis avoided people with “reputations.”
•Jesus sees her and asks for water, then offers her living water.
•When he reveals her story, he’s not shaming her—he’s showing her she’s fully known and still chosen.
•She leaves her jar—the symbol of her daily burden—and becomes the first public witness of Jesus’ messianic identity.
•Others avoided her, but Jesus entrusts her with his message.
Meanwhile
•In Judea, John the Baptist’s arrest fulfills his role as the “forerunner” and signals Jesus’ independent campaign is now fully underway.
•Jesus sets up headquarters in Capernaum, a small town on major trade routes—a perfect location to spread the movement.
•His route through Samaria wasn’t a detour but strategy.
–He’s infiltrating the cultural divide, beginning his revolution in the margins.
–Samaria becomes the bridge between Judea (south) and Galilee (north), giving Jesus safe mobility for a while.
•The first explicit revelation of Jesus as “Messiah” (John 4:26) is made to a Samaritan woman.
Main Point
•God isn’t avoiding us—He’s infiltrating the spaces we’ve been told He won’t go.
•Jesus refuses to stay within religious or social boundaries.
•The story of the woman at the well shows that grace begins where society draws its hardest lines.
•Jesus starts his movement in a place of rejection and through a person others considered disqualified.
Exegetical Insight
•Hydōr zōn (“living water”) means “flowing” or “fresh spring water.” In Jewish ritual purity law, only flowing water could cleanse. Jesus uses it to describe divine, renewing life that flows from himself.
•“I who speak to you am he” (egō eimi) echoes Exodus 3:14—God’s self-revelation as “I AM.” The first person to hear that from Jesus’ mouth is not a priest or disciple—but a Samaritan woman.
3. Devotional / Reflection Questions
•Have you ever felt like God was silent or distant? How does this story challenge that feeling?
•What boundaries—social, religious, or personal—has Jesus crossed in your life to reach you?
•What “well” are you being called to show up to today?
•How can Jesus’ treatment of the Samaritan woman reshape how you see people who’ve been labeled or left out?
•What might it look like to leave your own “jar” behind—to release shame or distraction and carry the good news instead?
4. Action Step / Challenge
•Think about one area of your life where you feel unseen or disqualified.
•Sit with this prayer: “Jesus, if you met the woman at the well, then you can meet me here too.”
•Journal one way you sense Jesus already waiting for you in that place.
Buy the books!
Jesus: The Strategic Life and Mission of the Messiah and His Movement (3 Volumes, Hekhal Publishing Co., 2025).
You can buy or borrow the trilogy at:
Hekhal Publishing Co. (look for free samples of each book as well)
Amazon (print or ebook)
Barnes & Noble (print or ebook)
Hoopla (borrow)
