The Middleburgh post. [volume] (Middleburgh, Snyder Co., Pa.) 1883-1916, 1900-02-15
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL
February 1s, 1OOO-Jcsus At
Jacobs Well.

Of ground that Jacob gave to his son Jo-
teph.
s. Now Jacobs well was there. Jesus
therefore. being wearied with His journey,
sat thus on the well; and 1t was about the
sixth hour.
l. There cometh woman of Samaria to
draw water; Jesus saith unto her: Give
me to drink.
s. (For His disciples were gone away unto
the city 10 buy mea)
g. Then saith the woman OF Samaria unto
Him: How is It that Thou, being a Jew.
askest drink OF me. which am II woman of
Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings
with the Samaritans
| TO- Jesus answered and said unto her: II
thou knewest the gif, OF God and who 1t is
that saith TO thee: Give me TO drink: thou
wouldest have asked Of Him, and lie would
have given thee living water.
| Ii 'rhe woman saith unto Him: Sir. thou
hast nothing TO draw with. and the well
| is deep; from whence then hast thou that
! living water?
| L. Art Thou greater than our father Ja-
cob, which gave us the wsll. and drank
thereof himself, and his children. and his
cattle?
l3 Jesus answered and said unto her:
| Whosoever drinketh of this water shall
| thirst again:
H. But whosoever drinketh OF the water
that shall give him shall never thirst;
but the water that ! shal! give him shall
| be In him a well OF water springinS up into
| everlasting life.
GOLDEN TEXT.-God is a Spirit; and
they that worship Him must worship Him
IN spirit and In trush,-John 4:4.
NOTES AND COMMENTS.
| This lesson takes us to ,Le close of
Jesus first year Of pubic mkastry, De-
ccmber, A. ID. 81. This marks the close
of that period known as the Jrdean
ministry. For convenience we will fol-
low in the study Of the text and context
the following outline:
1nsns 5nsrSdnetoTyS tySe s1sS IA
Jesus Reads the Woman's Heart..vs. l6-ls
true worship .;.'.'''.'.''"''''.'.''vs ~
Jesus the Messiah ...................vs s5-3
| Preaching to the Samaritans."."vs, 2S-SO
lntroductory.--All through the early
ministry of Jesus thus far John the
Baptist had been preaching and baptiz-
ing in Judea. Jesus preaching attract
ed large crowds. John observed this,
and said: "He must increase, but must
decrease" 1t was a noble self-renunci-
alton on the part of John that he could
see that it was his measure of success
that he could have helped attract the
people to Jesus, while his own follow
ing was falling Off. But it opened up a
situation of which the pharisees (ai-
ways bitter) were not slow in taking
| advantage. They tried to awaken jeal-
ousy and conflict between the disciples
of John and those of Jesus. Johns
| work, however, was not yet done, so
Jesus, with practical wisdom disciples
Of our later day would do well to study
and initiate departs from Judea and
turns toward Galilee.
Jesus and the Samaritan Woman.-
Travelir z through Samaria Jesus came
to Jacobs we'll just without the city Of
Sychar. Here He STOPPED to rest, send
ing His disciples on into the city to buy
food. While they were gone there came
woman to draw water from the well.
The request OF Jesus for a drink sur
prised the woman. A strict Jew would
not have asked any favor Of n Samari-
| ian. Much less would strict Jew have
made such a request the way for open
ing a conversation. Undoubtedly Jesus
was tired and thirsty, yet we may i'm
agine that He used just this opportun-
| ity in just this way for winning the
woman's heart. 'How is it," she said,
that thou, being jew, askest drink
of me, which am woman OF Samaria?"
The Water OF Life.-The question not
only showed the woman's surprise, but
indicated Willingness to talk with the
stranger. So Jesus followed up His ad-
vantage, and said: "If thou knewest
the gift Of God, and who it is that saith
to thee, Give me to drink; thou would
est have asked Of Him, and He would
have given thee living water" That ex-
preston, Gift of God" is very signlfi-
cant, meaning the Messiah or Christ and
His salvation. But the Samaritan wom-
an did not realize this hidden signif-
cance any more than she did the double
meaning Jesus put into those words
| "living water" She only thought of
the water that is necessary to sustain
! physical life.
| BIC cACldluCu, Nhou hoStHoth-
ing to draw with, and the well is deep"
Jesus had to open to her Mid His real
and hidden meaning. "The water that
I shall give him." He said in reply,
shall be in him we'll of water spring
ing up into everlasting life"
Jesus Reads the Woman's Heart
Jesus would not have completed His
mission to this woman had He stopped
with this truth. He must convince her
Of her sinfulness, show her the need of
q change Of heart. This He did by the
very gentle reminder Of her past life,
yes, and even of her present living in
sin.
True Worship.-Naturally now came
the idea Of worship; but where? In
the holy mount of the Samaritan, or at
Jerusalem? Jesus showed her that the
infinite God is not confined by place or
circumstance. God is q Spirit; and
they that worship Him must worship
Him in spirit and in truth"
Jesus the Messiah.-This Samaritan
q