Fr. Shay is away on a writer's retreat so we're taking another listen to one of our all-time most popular episodes. Everything we talk about is critical to understanding the Bible and that makes it particularly timely as we are getting ready to open up registration for an online course + group discussion on how to read the Bible. You can hop on the waitlist for that here (we'll give you first dibs at joining since we've sold out these types of courses in the past AND you'll get a special discount)
Today's episode we talk about:
John 4:5-42
"He came to a Samaritan city called Sychar, which was
near the land Jacob had given to his son Joseph.
Jacob's well was there. Jesus was tired from his
journey, so he sat down at the well. It was about noon.
A Samaritan woman came to the well to draw water.
Jesus said to her, 'Give me some water to drink.' His
disciples had gone into the city to buy him some food.
"The Samaritan woman asked, 'Why do you, a Jewish
man, ask for something to drink from me, a Samaritan
woman?' (Jews and Samaritans didn't associate with
each other.)
"Jesus responded, 'If you recognized God's gift and who
is saying to you, "Give me some water to drink," you
would be asking him and he would give you living
water.'
"The woman said to him, 'Sir, you don't have a bucket
and the well is deep. Where would you get this living
water? You aren't greater than our father Jacob, are
you? He gave this well to us, and he drank from it
himself, as did his sons and his livestock.'
"Jesus answered, 'Everyone who drinks this water will
be thirsty again, but whoever drinks from the water that I
will give will never be thirsty again. The water that I give
will become in those who drink it a spring of water that
bubbles up into eternal life.'
"The woman said to him, 'Sir, give me this water, so that
I will never be thirsty and will never need to come here
to draw water!' Jesus said to her, 'Go, get your
husband, and come back here.'
"The woman replied, 'I don't have a husband.'
"'You are right to say, "I don't have a husband,"' Jesus
answered. 'You've had five husbands, and the man you
are with now isn't your husband. You've spoken the
truth.'
"The woman said, 'Sir, I see that you are a prophet. Our
ancestors worshipped on this mountain, but you and
your people say that it is necessary to worship in
Jerusalem.'
"Jesus said to her, 'Believe me, woman, the time is
coming when you and your people will worship the
Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You
and your people worship what you don't know; we
worship what we know because salvation is from the
Jews. But the time is coming—and is here!—when true
worshippers will worship in spirit and truth. The Father
looks for those who worship him this way. God is spirit,
and it is necessary to worship God in spirit and truth.'
"The woman said, 'I know that the Messiah is coming,
the one who is called the Christ. When he comes, he
will teach everything to us.'
"Jesus said to her, 'I Am—the one who speaks with
you.' Just then, Jesus' disciples arrived and were
shocked that he was talking with a woman. But no one
asked, 'What do you want?' or 'Why are you talking with
her?' The woman put down her water jar and went into
the city. She said to the people, 'Come and see a man
who has told me everything I've done! Could this man
be the Christ?' They left the city and were on their way
to see Jesus.
"In the meantime the disciples spoke to Jesus, saying,
'Rabbi, eat.' Jesus said to them, 'I have food to eat that
you don't know about.'
"The disciples asked each other, 'Has someone brought
him food?'
"Jesus said to them, 'I am fed by doing the will of the
one who sent me and by completing his work. Don't you
have a saying, "Four more months and then it's time for
harvest"? Look, I tell you: open your eyes and notice
that the fields are already ripe for the harvest. Those
who harvest are receiving their pay and gathering fruit
for eternal life so that those who sow and those who
harvest can celebrate together. This is a true saying,
that one sows and another harvests. I have sent you to
harvest what you didn't work hard for; others worked
hard, and you will share in their hard work.'
"Many Samaritans in that city believed in Jesus because
of the woman's word when she testified, 'He told me
everything I've ever done.' So when the Samaritans
came to Jesus, they asked him to stay with them, and
he stayed there two days. Many more believed because
of his word, and they said to the woman, 'We no longer
believe because of what you said, for we have heard for
ourselves and know that this one is truly the savior of
the world.'"
