We need to pay close attention to 4:4. “And He had to pass through Samaria.” The key word in this verse is “had.” Undoubtedly, this Samaritan woman had been foreknown and predestinated by God the Father in eternity past (Rom. 8:29). Certainly she had been given by the Father to the Lord Jesus (6:39). Such a low, mean, and immoral Samaritan woman was given to the Lord by the Father. Therefore, the Lord was burdened and went to Samaria to do the will of the Father. Later, He told His disciples, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work” (4:34). The Lord went to Samaria to do the will of God, which was to find that immoral Samaritan woman. He was seeking her that she might become a worshipper of the Father. That one soul was worth the Lord’s going there purposely. According to history, no Jew would ever pass through Samaria. Samaria was the leading region of the northern kingdom of Israel and the place where its capital was (1 Kings 16:24, 29). Before 700 B.C., the Assyrians captured Samaria and brought people from Babylon and other heathen countries to the cities of Samaria (2 Kings 17:6, 24). From that time, the Samaritans became a people of mixed blood, heathen mixed with Jew. History tells us that they had the Pentateuch (the five books of Moses) and worshipped God according to that part of the Old Testament, but they were never recognized by the Jews as being a part of the Jewish people.
Although the Jews would never pass through Samaria, the Lord Jesus felt burdened to do so. He had to go there, not because it was necessary geographically, but because of the will of the Father. Because of the Father’s will, He had to go through that region. The Lord knew that at noontime an immoral woman would be at the well.
Let us read verses 5 and 6. “So He came to a city of Samaria called Sychar, near the land that Jacob gave to his son Joseph; and Jacob’s well was there. Jesus, therefore, being wearied from the journey, sat thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour.” Tell me, who was the first to come to Jacob’s well, the sinner or the Savior? How marvelous it is that the Savior came there first! When I read this chapter in the early years, I became very excited with many of the points. Later, in my gospel preaching, I gave a long message about the Samaritan woman, including all the details. At that time I saw that the Lord Jesus had to go to the well ahead of that fallen, immoral Samaritan woman. He went to the well and waited for her.
The Lord was sovereign and wise. Before the woman came, He found a good excuse to send all of His disciples away. If any of the disciples had been there, it would not have been so good. It would not have been as convenient for the Lord to talk to that immoral woman about her husbands. So the Lord, in His sovereignty and wisdom, sent His disciples away to the city to buy food. Perhaps the Lord was thinking, “Please leave Me alone. I’m waiting for that immoral woman. Because she is so immoral, she doesn’t want to see anyone or talk to anyone. But I am going to touch her conscience with the history of all her husbands. You disciples must leave.” Without the excuse of buying food, how could the Lord have sent the disciples away? While the disciples went away to purchase the food, the woman came. When I saw the picture as a young man, I worshipped the Lord. Suppose the Lord was in a house at midnight and this woman came to speak to Him during the night, and the disciples saw it. They probably would have said, “What are You doing here, Jesus? You are a man a little over thirty years of age and she is such a woman. What is going on here?” In His sovereignty and wisdom, the Lord waited for the woman to come under the bright sunshine and in the open air. Even under the open air, there was no one present to listen to the conversation. When the Lord and the Samaritan woman had finished their talk, the disciples returned and saw them, but they had nothing to say. That conversation did not transpire in a private room; it was in the open air. How wise was the Lord Jesus!
The point here is this: the Savior knows where the sinner is. He knows the sinner’s true situation. The Lord Jesus went to the well, sent all of His disciples away, and sat by the well, waiting until the woman came. If you look back into your salvation, you will realize that, to some extent at least, the same principle was operating. You did not go to heaven—the Lord came to you. He came down to the very place where you were. I was born in China, but the Lord Jesus went there. One day He was waiting for me at a certain place, and I was caught by Him. What about you? You did not go to meet the Savior, did you? The Savior came to you. Some have been saved as a result of an automobile accident. Nevertheless, they must realize that before the accident occurred, the Lord Jesus was already waiting to meet them. We all were saved in this way. This is marvelous.
While the Lord Jesus was waiting for the sinner to come, He was thirsty. Thus, in this second of the cases, we see a thirsty Savior and a thirsty sinner. You may think that you are thirsty, but your thirst is a sign that the Savior is thirsty. The Savior is thirsty for us, for, to Him, we are the thirst-quenching water. Do you realize that you are the thirst-quenching water to the Savior? It seems that the Savior is saying, “Nothing can satisfy Me except you. I have millions of angels in the heavens, but none of them can satisfy Me. I have come to the earth to seek the thirst-quenching water. You are the water.” You may be quite humble and say, “No, He is my living water. How can I be His thirst-quenching water?” Nevertheless, the Lord needs you, for without you He can never be satisfied.
At first, both the Savior and the sinner were thirsty, and the Savior was hungry. The sinner was thirsty and came to draw water in order to satisfy her thirst. The Savior was hungry and thirsty. He sent the disciples away to buy food that He might eat and He asked the sinner for a drink of water. Eventually, neither the Savior nor the sinner drank or ate anything, yet both were satisfied. This is wonderful! The sinner drank of the Savior, the Savior drank of the sinner, and both of them were satisfied. The disciples were surprised. When they returned with the food, they urged Him to eat, but He said, “I have food to eat of which you have no knowledge” (4:32). The sinner was satisfied with the Savior’s living water, and the Savior was satisfied with God’s will in satisfying the sinner. To do the will of God to satisfy the sinner is the Savior’s food. Oh, the Lord as the Savior was thirsty for you and me! One day He got us and was satisfied.
The sinner came to her religious inheritance to draw water for her satisfaction. While she was going to draw water, the Savior asked her to give Him water for His satisfaction. Whenever the Lord asks you for something, that is an indication that He needs it and that you need it also. When you are thirsty, the Lord also is thirsty. When the Lord asks you for something, you also are in need of that very thing. This is very meaningful. When you are homeless, He is homeless, and when He is homeless, you are homeless.