Jesus tired from the journey by Jacob’s Well, Sychar, Samaria
John 4:5-6 [1]
5 So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon.
I. Jesus at Sychar, Samaria (5)
The Assyrians invaded and captured Samaria (2 Kings 17:5-6, 2 Kings 18:9-12). As a result, their blood and culture were mixed with the Gentiles (2 Kings 17:24-41). The purity-oriented Jews might avoid passing through Samaria, which might bring them into contact with the Gentiles or Samaritans [2]. But Jesus chose to pass through it to save a Samaritan woman (John 4:7) and other Samaritans (John 4:39-42) as He saw their souls ripe for the harvest (John 4:35).
Jesus came to a town called Sychar (5a). Jacob had bought a plot of ground from the sons of Hamor in the city of Shechem (Genesis 33:18-19). Jacob had given the plot of ground at Shechem to Joseph’s descendants (5b, Joshua 24:32).
II. Jesus tired from the journey by Jacob’s Well (6)
Jacob’s well was there (6a). ‘Well’ is a place of encounter in the ancient world (Genesis 24:11, 15-17, Genesis 29:2-12) [2]. Jesus was tired from the journey (6b) and thirsty (John 4:7). He sat down by the well (6c).
This shows Jesus was not only divine as God but also mortal as a human. As a human, he experienced our weaknesses and can understand and help us (Hebrews 4:15-16).
“But as in the temptation stories (cf. Matthew 4:3–4; Luke 4:3–4), we, like the disciples in this present story, must learn from Jesus not to allow personal mortality and its needs to dominate our concerns (cf. John 4:31–38)” [2].
References
- The Holy Bible: New International Version. Anglicised. Revised and updated. ed. 2011: London: Hodder & Stoughton.
- Borchert, G.L., The New American Commentary: John 1-11. 1996: Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
