The Samaritan Woman At The Well

When the Sabbath was over, Mary the mother of James, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb where Jesus had been buried. A large stone closed off the entrance and when they arrived the stone had been moved. An angel appeared to them and told them not to be alarmed for Jesus had risen. But, they were alarmed and when the angel told them to go tell the disciples and Peter that Jesus had risen they were afraid, ran away, and didn’t tell anyone.

In the Gospel of John, there is a big difference in the literary structure- compared to the synoptic Gospels. In the Synoptic Gospels you have short literary units of Jesus speaking, whereas John has extended conversations of Jesus. Furthermore, the specific statement “I am” is used by Jesus in three different ways. The first way, it shows up as a simple statement of identity here (4:26 and in 6:20; 18:5). Secondly, most often it is preceded by an affirmed nominative (6:35, 51; 8:12; 10:7, 9, 11, 14; 11:25; 14:6; 15:1,5). In this Gospel it has what is know as the seven miracles in John-The Bread of Life,The Light of the World, The Gate, The Good Shepherd, The Resurrection and the Life, The Way the Truth and the Life and The Vine; the miracles that John selected specifically show us and help us believe that Jesus is who he claimed to be, and if we have the ability to believe we shall have eternal life. In each of the miracles “I am” is stated for us to know it is truly Jesus talking. Moreover, in the Old Testament we will also see, this “I am” statement being used often, offering the best background for understanding its use in this Gospel. Paralleling the statement to Exodus 3:14, the passage in which God announces his name to Moses, the Greek Septuagint converts the Hebrew phrase as “I am the Existing One.” This depiction of the divine name in Greek is paralleled else where in the Old Testament. Another

We are often searching for answers to find out who Jesus was or what His teachings really meant. John includes eight different situations in which Jesus gives what are known as the “I Am” statements. Instead of continuing to simply wonder about who Jesus is, we can take an in depth look into the “I Am” statements that Jesus made while He was here on earth. Conclusions can be drawn by looking at the statements Jesus makes and looking into what they mean. He uses an emphatic “I Am” to bring out important teachings about his person. Most of these statements are known by Christians.

The fourth chapter of the gospel of John tells the story of the woman at the well. Jesus happened to be traveling through Samaria near a village called Sychar. Tired, he sat down by a well, and the Samaritan woman came up to it as he asked for a drink of the

Then the angels told them to not be afraid, that he knew the purpose of their coming was to seek the crucified Jesus and asked, “Why seek ye the living among the dead?” The angels reminded them that Jesus told them when He was in Galilee that He must be delivered to sinful men, be crucified, and would rise again on the third day. Then the two angels told the women to not be afraid, that he knew the purpose of why they were at the grave, that the Lord is no longer there, but they could come and see where He laid. The women went into the tomb, saw a man sitting on the right in a long white garment. These frightened ladies were told not to be afraid, to go speedily, tell His disciples that Jesus is risen from the dead and goes before them into Galilee, and would see Him there (Matthew 28:5-7; Luke

In this paper I will share the life of Mary Magdalene, the faithful disciple she was to Jesus all the way to the very end and how God wants us to model our lives in the same fashion.

It is ironic that she talks about Jesus because her actions are not reflecting her patriarchal words. Jesus was selfless and died for others, the woman however, is selfish and only cares about the preservation of her own life. She uses Jesus as a bargaining chip while confronting the Misfit. She “tries to disarm the Misfit’s murderous intention by reminding him of the love and goodness of Jesus” (Renner 124). She clearly is only using him so that she can persuade the Misfit to have mercy on her soul.

She grew further and further away from her faith, and the further she got, the more she began to question the issues that suddenly seemed to have plagued her mind. And finally, one solemn day, looking up at Trujillo and Jesus together, she had an epiphany. “I had heard, but I had not believed. Snug in my heart, fondling my pearl, I had ignored their cries of desolation. How could our loving, all powerful Father allow us to suffer so? I looked up, challenging

and He sat down to teach them. And the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman

In reading the story of the Woman at the well, my first words that came to mind is guarded and defensiveness. Based on her past experiences and how others have treated her she shielded herself. Defensiveness also revives hurt, anger, resentment and mistrust. As the Samaritan woman was guarded, she was living a life of imprisonment. In trying to avoid any interactions with those who might cause harm or judgement, she goes to the well in the middle of the day when it the most physically uncomfortable because the emotional and spiritual affliction of what others say and do is too much for her. We have all been there. I believe in today’s world we see those who are on the fringes retreat to isolation. Pope Francis has called for “No to an economy of exclusion”. “Human beings are themselves considered consumer goods to be used and then discarded. We have created a “throw away” culture which is now spreading. It is no longer simply about exploitation and oppression, but something new. Exclusion ultimately has to do with what it means to be a part of the society in which we live; those excluded are no longer society’s underside

But, being that they saw no one other than her, they thought she had lost her mind. What they did not see was that Jesus was leading one of his soldiers home and she was talking to him.

Jesus said to her, ‘Give me a drink’. The samaritan said, ‘Why is it that a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?’. Jesus answered, ‘If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, “give me a drink”, you would have asked for him to give you living water’. She said ‘you have no bucket and the well is deep. What is this living water?’ Jesus replied ‘The person who drinks of the water will be never thirsty’. The woman asked how to do so. Jesus replied ‘Go and call your husband, and return to me’. The woman answered ‘I do not have a husband’ Jesus said to her ‘You are right about not having a husband, for you have had 5 husbands and the one you have now is not your husband’. The woman replied with ‘Sir, I see you are a prophet’. Jesus begins talking about how people will begin to worship the Father in spirit. The disciples came. They were surprised that he was speaking with this woman. Neither of them asked ‘What do you want’ or ‘Why are you speaking to her’. The woman left her jar and headed back to the city. She said to the townspeople, ‘Come, see a man who has told me everything I have ever done! He can’t be the Messiah, can he?’. They people left the city and were on their way with Jesus. Meanwhile, the disciples were speaking with Jesus saying, ‘Rabbi, eat something’. But he replied, ‘I have food to eat that you do not know about’. Jesus begins to talk about a reaper and a sower. Many Samaritans from that

30 Now Jesus was not yet come into the town, but was in that place where Martha met him. 31 The Jews then which were with her in the house, and comforted her, when they saw Mary, that she rose up hastily and went out, followed her, saying, She goeth unto the grave to weep there. 32Then when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.”

Introduction Mary Magdalene is an inimitable protagonist and one of the most mysterious, important, controversial and beloved women in the whole entire Old and New Testament of the Bible. Her life story is unique as well as analogous to many other women in the Bible including, Eve, Naomi, Ruth of the Old Testament and the Mother of Jesus, who’s personas are whispered faintly and spoken sparingly about by the Gospels of New Testament. One reason for this disparity is because woman played a very subservient role in the social, political and historical aspects and events in Biblical times. The women of the New Testament have not advanced much above the customs set for previous generations of women in the Old Testaments male-dominated society.

The first of the seven miracles that John recounts is the turning of water into wine. John notes that this miracle marks the beginning of Jesus’ signs to His disciples and the world. Jesus and his mother are invited to a wedding during which the hosts run out of wine. When the servants come to Mary and tell