John 4: The Samaritan Woman at the Well

When Jesus approached the Samaritan woman at the well and started to talk to her she was very surprised, because for many centuries there had been great animosity between the Jews and the Samaritans. A main reason for this hatred was because each claimed that they were Israelites and that the other could not be. This hatred was so bad that Jews would go out of their way to not travel to places with Samaritans even if the route was many miles longer. Jesus did not follow what the other Jews did because he treats everyone equally. He does judges us all equally, without prejudice or guile. This tells me that Jesus won’t care if we are black or white, if we lived in America or Asia. All He will care about who we are and what we have done in our lives. When Jesus first talks to the Samaritan woman it’s obvious that she is taken back that a Jew is talking to her but throughout the verses you can see that her attitude changes as she realizes He is the Christ. This is apparent in verse 9 of John chapter 4 when she says “how is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria?” and then later goes on in the end of the verses the woman runs to tell her friends that she has found the Messiah. When Christ knew details about the woman’s life, her many husbands, she knew that he was someone special. Also when Christ continued to teach about the living waters the woman knew that this man could be the Christ. The spirit caused the woman to change her attitude; the Savior brings an amazing spirit with him that will testify to men that what he teaches is the truth. When she realized that this was the Messiah she ran to tell others that she had found Him. Because of what she told the other Samaritans people were curious and came to learn from the Messiah.

                 As I have come to see Christ’s influence in my life over the years I feel more grateful  for all that He does; the more I study about His life and try to grow closer I can see more clearly how He influences me. In learning about the Atonement, the suffering in Gethsemane and on the Cross I feel love for my savior because I know that He suffered all of that agonizing pain for my chance to return to live with my Heavenly Father. In knowing that Christ did this all for me I feel that I need to share it with as many people as possible because it is an amazing thing to know. When the Samaritans heard that Christ was in the city they went to Him to listen and learn. I believe that if we had the opportunity to listen to the words of the Savior we would feel the spirit and be converted to his words. Christ talks about the woman drinking the living water, which is the gospel of Jesus Christ. He says that if we drink of it we will never thirst again because it is everlasting. Many people are prone to not drink of the living water and to “cast out their cisterns” or harden their hearts from accepting the gospel of Christ.