Getting started
Where is the place
that you would least want to go for a vacation? Why?
Exploring God’s word
1 Once again, appoint members of the group to
read the passage as a dialog. Locate Judea, Galilee, Samaria and Sychar on a
map. Because of the hostility between Jews and Samaritans, it was customary to
take a detour around Samaria when traveling between Judea and Galilee. Why do
you think Jesus “had” to go through Samaria (verse 4)? What evidence of Jesus’
humanness does John give us in verse 6?
2 Why is the Samaritan woman surprised by
Jesus’ request? How does Jesus reply to her? How does the woman understand his
words about “living water”? Even after Jesus clarifies what he is talking about
in verses 13 and 14, what continues to be her frame of reference?
3 What new dynamic does Jesus introduce
into the conversation in verse 16? Why do you think he chose to do this? How
does the woman seek to redirect the conversation in verse 19? How does Jesus
respond to her objection? What claim does Jesus make for himself in verse 26?
4 Looking at verse 27, what lay behind the
disciples’ surprise? Why do you suppose they didn’t express this to Jesus? Why
didn’t Jesus bother to eat the food the disciples had bought? What was it that
sustained him?
5 How did the woman react to her
conversation with Jesus? How did the people in the village respond to her
testimony? What made her witness so effective? In the end, what was it that
brought the villagers to faith?
For further thought and action
How can we use the “accidental”
encounters that God places in our life to share the living water?
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