Come Be My Follower - Jehovah's Witnesses Official Media Web Site

C H A P T E R 8
“For This I Was
Sent Forth”
THEY have been walking for hours. Jesus and his apostles
are trekking northward, heading from Judea toward
Galilee. The shortest route—a journey of about three
days—takes them through Samaria. As the sun nears its
zenith, they approach a small city named Sychar, where
they stop for refreshment.
2 While his apostles go to buy food, Jesus rests by a
well outside the city. A woman approaches to draw water.
Jesus could choose to ignore her. He is “tired out
from the journey.” (John 4:6) It would be understandable
if he just closed his eyes and let this Samaritan
woman come and go unnoticed. As we saw in Chapter 4
of this book, the woman would likely expect any Jew to
treat her with disdain. Yet, Jesus strikes up a conversation
with her.
3 He opens with an illustration, one taken from the
woman’s daily life—indeed, from this very moment.
She is here to draw water; Jesus speaks of life-giving water
that will quench her spiritual thirst. Several times,
she raises points that are potentially controversial. Jesus
For example, in asking why a Jew addresses a Samaritan, she
brings up the subject of the centuries-old feud between the two peoples.
(John 4:9) She also asserts that her people descended from
Jacob, a claim that the Jews of the day vehemently deny. (John 4:
12) They call Samaritans by the name Cuthaeans to emphasize their
descent from foreign peoples.
1-4. (a) How does Jesus skillfully teach a Samaritan woman, and
with what result? (b) How do his apostles react?