If You Knew
John 4:10
Introduction:
I. An Occasion
Jesus having to go through Samaria.
Jesus went from Judea (southern Israel) to Galilee (the north). In between lay Samaria, an area many Jews skirted.
Hatred and distrust between Israelites and Samaritans went back over 500 years, to Israel’s return from exile in Babylon (cf. Ezra 4:1-5).
Jesus’ fellow Jews saw Samaritans the way many Israelis today see Palestinians, and vice versa. But Jesus saw Samaritans as people who needed his love as much as anyone else, and treated them that way. He went through Samaria on purpose and reached Jacob’s well at noon.
Pastor Roger Frederickson wrote, “He did not need to save the three days He could gain by passing through this ill-regarded province rather than crossing the river and going up the eastern desert route…. the Father had sent Him into the whole world—not just part of it.
II. An Opportunity
A well (Jacob’s)
The traditional site of Jacob’s well cannot be located by finding Sychar, as that city is no longer in existence. However, the site thought to be the biblical Shechem, called Tel Balata by archaeologists, is near a well. This is important because the Bible says Jacob bought land from Shechem and lived at that place for a long time (Genesis 33:19). He would have required a well, and it is perfectly reasonable that he dug one. Also, the well at Tel Balata is indeed of ancient origin. These biblical and geographical facts point to the site as a good match for what the Samaritan woman called “Jacob’s well.”
Today, the well is inside the Church of St. Photina (the name traditionally given to the Samaritan woman by the Orthodox Church—the name is Svetlana in Russian). The church was originally built in A.D. 380. Through the years, the church was destroyed a number of times by natural and military forces. The current building is administrated by the Greek Orthodox Church, which obtained the site in 1893. The church and the well can be visited today in the West Bank.
The significance of Jacob’s well is that it provided an opportunity for Jesus to present Himself as the life-giving Messiah to a Samaritan woman and, later, to her whole village.
- It is a deep well.
- III. A Crisis (The Woman)
- Shunned – v. 9
- Shamed – v. 9
- Separated – v. 9 (although she did have some friends somewhere)
Application: That’s exactly what sin does. Shun, shame and separate.
IV. A Gift
If you knew…
The gift of God…
You would ask…
He will give you living water!
Question: The woman had asked, “Are you greater than our father Jacob?” The answer is a resounding “yes.” Jacob may have provided his children with physical water in an arid land, but Jesus provides His children with “living water” in a spiritual wasteland. The life Jesus gives satisfies all our needs and springs up to eternal life (John 4:14).
V. An Answer
‘Who ever drinks from this well will thirst again…. but whoever drinks of water I have to give will never thirst again’.

Walking in the Light
1 John 1:5-10 Introduction: Week 2 of ‘Teaching from the Elder.’ [God is light] The source of wisdom, knowledge, holiness, and happiness; and in him is no darkness at all-no ignorance, no imperfection, no sinfulness, no misery. And from him wisdom, knowledge, holiness, and happiness are received by every believing soul. This is the grand…

A Danelion for My Mother
By Jean Nordhaus How I loved those spiky suns, rooted stubborn as childhood in the grass, tough as the farmer’s big-headed children—the mats of yellow hair, the bowl-cut fringe. How sturdy they were and how slowly they turned themselves into galaxies, domes of ghost stars barely visible by day, pale cerebrums clinging to life on tough…

Teachings from the Elder – Week 1
1 John 1:1-5; John 1:1, 14 Introduction: I have been waiting for the right time/opportunity to begin a new series that starts today. I want to walk us through what I’m calling ‘Teachings from the Elder’ from the Epistle of John. I will cover the book over the next 4 weeks. Background / Reason for…

Post Resurrection Options
John 11:25-26 Introduction: Now that Resurrection Sunday is behind us, what’s next? Question: What happened with the people and the disciples after the ‘dust had settled?’ “Doubting Thomas” refers to Thomas the Apostle, one of Jesus’ disciples who famously doubted the resurrected Jesus’s presence. He initially refused to believe the other apostles’ claims of seeing…

Resurrection Life
Easter Sunday 2025 John 11:25-26 Introduction: The Power of the Resurrection: The resurrection of Jesus is seen as a powerful affirmation of God’s victory over death and sin. What we need to understand is that there was a tremendous demonstration; a magnificent display of God’s power at the resurrection of Christ from the dead, which…

On His Way
Palm Sunday 2025 John 12:12-16 Jesus On His Way Introduction: This message provides a detailed account of significant events leading up to Palm Sunday 2025, emphasizing the miracles performed by Jesus, His teachings, and the importance of Bethany in His ministry. Miracles and Blessings: Jesus performed numerous miracles, including raising Lazarus from the dead and healing…

By His Stripes
Isaiah 53:4; James 5:13-15 In the context of Christian faith, the command to “lay hands on the sick” refers to the belief that believers, empowered by the Holy Spirit, can participate in healing through prayer and the laying on of hands, as seen in verses like Mark 16:18 and James 5:14-15. NLT Mark 16:17-18 ‘These…

New Every Morning
Lamentations 3:22-24 Introduction: (NLT) ‘Because of the Lord’s Covenant Faithfulness, we do not perish. His Mercies never end; they are new every morning, how great is your faithfulness oh God, “the Lord is my inheritance, I will put my hope in Him”’. NKJ – ‘that we are not consumed’ Deuteronomy 4:31 ‘For the LORD your…

Hold On Tight
Isaiah 35:3; Hebrews 12:12 NKJ Isaiah 35:3 ‘Strengthen the weak hands, And make firm the feeble knees’. NLT Isaiah 35:3 ‘With this news, strengthen those who have tired hands, and encourage those who have weak knees’. NKJ Hebrews 12:12 ‘Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees’, NLT Hebrews 12:12 ‘So take…