Jacob's Well, an extraordinary setting for an extraordinary encounter (Mark Dunn)

  Jacob’s well was located in a field that Jacob purchased so that he could pitch his tent in the land of Canaan (Gen 33:18-19).  He built an altar on the site to the God of Israel.  This very field was the first inhabitable piece of real estate recorded in Scripture that any Israelite ever owned in the Promised Land… John 4:5 reminds us that this was the same parcel of ground Jacob deeded to his favorite son Joseph (Gen 48:21-22).  It later became the very place where Joseph’s bones were finally put to rest (Joshua 24:32). 

  The well that was on the property was not mentioned in the Old Testament, but its location was well established in Jesus’ day by centuries of Jewish tradition.  The well is very deep, accessible only by a very long rope through a hole dug through a slab of soft limestone.  The reservoir below is spring-fed, so its water is always fresh, pure, and cold.  It is the only well, and the finest water, in a vicinity where brackish springs abound.  The existence of such a well on Jacob’s property was deemed by the Israelites as a token of God’s grace and goodness to their patriarch.

  In Jesus’ era, though, that plot of ground lay in Samaritan territory.  For Jesus to be in Samaria at all was unusual, [because] the Samaritans were considered unclean by the Israelites.  The Jews’ contempt for the Samaritans was so intense by the first century that most Jews simply refused to travel through Samaria, despite the importance of the land to their heritage. Jesus deliberately broke with convention (4:4). He had a purpose to fulfill, and it required Him to travel through Samaria, stop at this historic well, talk to this troubled woman, and make an unprecedented disclosure of His true mission and identity. 

  Seen in that light, virtually everything about the setting of John 4 becomes remarkable.  It is unusual to find Jesus alone.  It is amazing to realize that God incarnate could grow physically weary (6) or become thirsty (7).  It is startling that Jesus would intentionally seek out and initiate a conversation with a wretched Samaritan woman like this one.  It was astonishing even to her that any Jewish man would speak to her (9).  It was equally astonishing for the disciples to find Him speaking to her (27).  It would have been considered outrageous for Him to drink from an unclean vessel that belonged to an unclean woman.  It seems odd for a woman like this to enter so quickly into an extended theological dialogue.  It is marvelous to see how rich Jesus’ teaching could be, even in a context like this.  (The heart and soul of everything Scripture teaches about authentic worship is condensed in just a few words Jesus spoke to this woman in verses 21-24).  It is astounding that her own sin was such a large issue in her own heart and mind (29), even though Jesus had only referred to it obliquely (18) and even though she initially seemed to try to dodge the point (19-20).  But what is staggeringly unexpected about this whole fantastic account is that Jesus chose this time and this place and this woman to be part of the setting where He would (for the first time ever) formally and explicitly unveil His true identity as the Messiah.  And that singular fact automatically gives this woman a prominent place in the extraordinary category.

--Mark Dunn, excerpted from The Samaritan Woman

To read the complete article, The Samaritan Woman:  Faith that Gives, click here.

Image source: Jesus and the Samaritan Woman at the Well, detail & complete panel, reverse glass painting, with gold leaf, paint, and etching on glass, ca. 1420, Southwest German (?), 
https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/464335Article source