He Must Pass Through Samaria
30 Days in John - Day 5
John chapter four centers on Jesus’ encounter with a Samaritan woman at Jacob’s Well. What begins as an ordinary meeting ends with her faith, and the faith of many in the nearby town of Sychar.
It wasn’t a miracle, at least not in the way we usually think of miracles, that prompted her faith. There wasn’t a healing from a disease or a resurrection from the dead. It was just a conversation, but a conversation in which Jesus showed He knew much more than what a normal human could have known.
Her belief immediately became a witness to her community: “Come see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?” (Verse 29).
This all began with the Pharisees getting wind of Jesus’ growing influence (verse 1) which led to Him leaving Judea for Galilee. Verse four tells us that Jesus “had to pass through Samaria.” This necessity wasn’t geographical or political. Most Jews avoided Samaria altogether, even if it meant taking the long way around, as several Bible scholars point out.
The reason Jesus went through Samaria becomes clear as the story unfolds. Jesus went through Samaria because, just like He knew all about that woman, He knew going there and going to the well would lead to this encounter and her faith.
Two things were simultaneously at work in bringing Jesus to Samaria.
First, there was pressure from the Pharisees, which led Him to leave Judea. This looks like circumstance – something outside His control, something forced upon Him.
Second, there was His purpose to save this woman and her city. This was intentional, purposeful, and guided by divine foreknowledge.
So, which is the correct way to view this?
We don’t have to choose between them. John intertwines both into the story. Both can be true at the same time without contradiction. Understanding this will go a long way to help us to be more at peace with how we view life.
Circumstance and chance seem to govern so much of life. From that Samaritan woman’s perspective, that is all that was at work that day. She just happened to show up at the same time as this man from Galilee. He just happened to be thirsty and she was able to give Him a drink. It all appeared to be coincidence.
But that one line: “He had to pass through Samaria…” reveals something greater and better is happening. Jesus’ journey to Sychar was not mere chance. It was divinely guided and planned so that she might come to know Him...and her town as well.
That invitation someone made for you to attend church.
That person who handed you a book about Jesus.
That brief word spoken to you in passing.
It seemed so random, so circumstantial…
But was it?
Or was it that Jesus had to pass by you that day?
