The Samaritan Woman

The woman at the well.  We do not know her name. She came to the well at noon while others waited for a cooler part of the day.  She was scarlet.  Her reputation was known and perhaps she was shunned by proper society. She had been married five times and was not married to the man she lived with now.
Though her ancestry was part Israelite, it was mixed with Assyrian blood.  God had told the Israelites not to intermarry with other peoples.  The Israelites were very good at disobeying what God had told them to do. (Hmmm.  I see my own unfaithful heart in my mirror.)
Jesus had told His disciples that He must go through Samaria on His way to Galilee.  It was a divine encounter.  There was a woman that needed healing.  As Jesus approached her, he asked for a drink.  She reminded him that Jews did not speak to Samaritans.  He told her that she should be asking Him for living water that she would never thirst again.  Confused, she asked Jesus where this water came from and mentioned Jacob, her ancestor and his well.  (Wait.  Jacob, an Israelite.  She was claiming boldly that Jacob was in her heritage.  So...she spoke about Old Testament Scripture and was learned about her lineage, but the lineage she came from abhorred her and looked upon her with disdain.  A product of sin and disobedience.  Aren't we all?)  Jesus, with compassion told the truth about who she was and what her lifestyle had been.  He offered her hope.
He told her that the Father is looking for those who will worship Him in spirit and truth.  She, in turn told Him that she was waiting for the Messiah.  He said, "I who speak to you am He." (Can you imagine?)
The disciples had returned to Him with food and did not even acknowledge her presence, but asked Jesus why He would speak to her.
(Have you every wondered that?  Would you be guilty of such a comment if He were here today?  He would be with the people that society rejects.  You know that.  He loved them.  Think about it.)
She ran to town and told everyone that she met a man who told her all about herself.  And they believed her!  She had some credibility with the townfolk because they came to see Him.  Then they saw for themselves and believed not because of her testimony, but because of Jesus.

You will only find the story of the Samaritan woman at the well in the book of John, chapter 4.  I am so very glad John included it in his gospel.  It is about me and my adulterous heart, my disobedience, my heritage - Adam. Oh, Jesus.  You love the unlovely.  Thank You that where I came from does not determine Your love for me.

John 4:23-24   "But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth."