A Study of John's Gospel

John 4:5-6: Jesus, Weary and Sitting by a Well

Jesus, Weary and Sitting by a Well

A study of John 4:5-6

"So he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob's well was there; so Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well. It was about the sixth hour."

‭‭John‬ ‭4‬:‭5‬-‭6‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Definitions of the original language in the context of this passage:

-Samaria: "Samareia", "Σαμάρεια"; proper locative noun - Samaria = 'guardianship', a territory in Palestine which had Samaria as its capital.

-A Town: "polis", "πόλις"; feminine noun - a city

-Sychar: "Sychar"; "Συχάρ"; proper locative noun - Sychar = 'drunken'; probably another name for the town of Shechem, a town in Samaria, near the well of Jacob.

-Jacob: "Iakōb"; "Ἰακώβ"; proper masculine noun - Jacob = 'heel catcher, supplanter'; the second of Isaac's sons.

-Joseph: "Iōsēph", "Ἰωσήφ"; proper masculine noun - Joseph = 'let him add'; the patriarch, the eleventh son of Jacob.

-Jesus: "Iēsous", "Ἰησοῦς"; proper masculine noun - Jesus = 'Jehovah is salvation'; the Son of God, the Savior of mankind, God incarnate.

-Wearied: "kopiaō", "κοπιάω"; verb - to grow weary, tired, exhausted.

-His Journey: "hodoiporia", "ὁδοιπορία"; feminine noun - a journey, journeying.

-Was Sitting: "kathezomai", "καθέζομαι"; verb - to sit down, seat oneself, sit.

-The Sixth: "ektos", "ἕκτος"; adjective - the sixth.

-Hour: "ōra", "ὥρα"; feminine noun - a twelfth part of the daytime, an hour (the twelve hours of the day are reckoned from the rising to the setting of the sun).

Observation/Summary (short explanation of what the passage says in your own words):

Jesus and His disciples were traveling from Judea to Galilee on a road that took them through the region of Samaria. As they approached the Samaritan town of Sychar at about 12:00 pm, Jesus stopped to rest at the well of Jacob because He was tired from His journey.

Implication (what does this mean to us):

In the preceding four verses we learned Jesus chose to go through Samaria to get to Galilee. This was a big deal because the Jews and Samaritans hated each other. Samaritans were the descendants of Jewish people who had intermarried with the non-Jewish people who lived in the area after the exiles of the Assyrian and Babylonian conquests. Because of their intermarrying, they not only mixed blood lines, but also religion. The Samaritans combined worship of Yahweh with the worship of other pagan deities, and for this reason there was deep, historic hatred between the Jews and the Samaritans. The fact that Jesus chose to go through Samaria, instead of taking the longer route around, speaks to His love for all people regardless of ethnicity.

On this journey Jesus came near to a town called Sychar that was close to a field which the Patriarch Jacob had dug a well in and given to His son Joseph. This is a place of great, ancient, historical significance. Sychar was the ancient city of Shechem and the capital of Samaria. We know from Genesis 12:6-8 this is the location Abram initially arrived at when he traveled from Babylonia to Canaan. When Abram got there, God appeared to him and renewed His promise to give the land to Abram's descendents, and in response to this Abram built an altar and "called upon the name of the Lord."

In Genesis 33:18-20 we read Jacob and his family arrived at Shechem (Sychar) safely after his time living with his uncle Laban, and an encounter with his brother Esau. When he got there he paid the Canaanite "sons of Hamor" 100 pieces of silver for the plot of land he had pitched his tents on, and then he built an altar to the Lord and called the place "El-Elohe-Israel" which means "God, the God of Israel". Sadly this is also where Jacob's daughter Dinah was raped, and in retaliation Jacob's sons slaughtered the men of the city.

From Genesis 48:22 we read of Jacob passing this plot of land down to his son Joseph as Jacob also recounts that he had to fight the Amorites for the land with bow and sword at one point. Later, in Joshua 24:32 we find out this is where Joseph was eventually buried, and it is also where Joshua lead Israel in renewing their covenant with God as he said the famous words, "Choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served...or the gods of the Amorites...But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD".

It is in this historical place that, "Jesus, wearied from his journey, was sitting beside the well" at "about the sixth hour," meaning 12:00 pm. John the gospel writer has gone to great lengths to communicate the Divinity of Jesus up to this point, but now we see a glimpse of the humanity of Jesus. Jesus sat down at this well because was "wearied" or tired from walking all day in the heat. In His fullness of humanity He was tired, thirsty, and needed to take a break. In Matthew 4:2 we also learn Jesus experienced hunger, and in Matthew 8:24 we learn for sure that Jesus slept. Jesus came to earth as fully God and fully human. He experienced everything we do and as we learn from Hebrews 2:17, "Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people." And from Hebrews 4:15, "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin."

John and the other Biblical writers tell us this to communicate that even as fully God, Jesus humbly subjected Himself to all the pains, trials and temptations we face in this world. He did not come to earth as a demi-god or superhero. He graciously and willingly left the perfect splendor of heaven. He came to earth humbly as a man, and submitted to the same limitations we are born into in order to become the all sufficient substitutionary sacrifice for the sin of the whole world. Because of all this He is able to "sympathize" with us in our struggles, meaning, He is able to come alongside and suffer with us as He also helps us. Because Jesus, the uncreated, all-creating One Himself has "suffered when tempted" (Heb. 2:18), He is able to help us when we are tempted or suffer in any way.

Who is this King of Glory? Who is this Lord of Light who would step down from His resplendent throne in heaven to take on flesh and dwell in the dirt with us? This is our King, Jesus the Christ. The Lord of all creation in whom all of time and space exist. This is the Divine all-creating Word who became flesh and dwelt among us to reveal to us His glory, grace, truth, and love. And after ascending back into heaven, He sent to us who follow Him the Holy Spirit; His very own Spirit, to dwell within us and sympathize with us in our sufferings. When we are weary and utterly exhausted in soul, mind, body, or all three in the heat of life, Jesus is able to sit down next to us, comfort us, and give us strength and grace to carry on. Because He was "wearied" for us, we can now find rest in Him.

Application (How does this change how I think, act and pray?):

This passage should cause us to remember Jesus has personal, experiential knowledge of what we experience in this world. Because of this He is all the more able to understand and help us. For this reason we should all the more confidently bring our requests to Him in prayer. The Spirit of Jesus dwells inside of us to help and comfort us in our weariness. He is not only reigning in heaven, He is also with us here and now in the heat and grime of our worldly toil. He has not abandoned us, but rather He has drawn near enough to suffer with us and carry us through this difficult life into life eternal in His glorious Kingdom.

Self Reflection:

What does the fact that Jesus was "wearied," or in other words, "exhausted" tell me about His ability to understand what I am struggling with right now?

What does the fact that Jesus willingly experienced this kind of struggle and much more because of His great love for me tell me about His character?

How can I grow in loving others in the same way Christ selflessly loves me?

#JesusChrist #weary #loving #selfless #God