Proclaim His Name to the Nations: The Woman at the Well
Two Workshops & Bible Background
- Art workshop: make cups (choice of clay, origami, or decorate plastic inserts in cups) as reminder of "if you are thirsty, come and drink" verse
- Drama/ Puppet workshop: a “news broadcast from Sychar”, excerpted from the “Gerizim Gazette”, especially for the “nightly Sychar Summary”, with live interviews added. You may want to use the puppet theater and either have puppets read the news and be the characters, or have “talking heads”, people appearing to talk in a small screen (script included)
Scripture References:
John 4: 1 - 42, with other individual references cited in “A Biblical Explanation” and in specific workshops.
Memory Verses:
John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
John 7:37, “…Jesus said, ‘If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink.’”
Theme: God’s Kingdom is for all the peoples of the earth and for any individual; God uses His people to proclaim His name and salvation through Jesus Christ.
Lesson Objectives:
- To teach that God loves individuals of all backgrounds, nationalities, cultures and belief systems; this is shown in Jesus’ conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well.
- To teach that God loves each individual child at all times and in whatever circumstances that child is living.
- To teach that Jesus came “to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10).
- To teach that sin separates us from God, but that Jesus brings us to God by taking the penalty for our sin.
- To teach that when a person receives salvation through faith in Jesus Christ, Jesus’ Spirit, the Holy Spirit, lives in the person and is the “living water” that Jesus promises
Concepts:
- God loves all people of all cultures and backgrounds at all times.
- God loves each child at all times, in all circumstances.
- Our sins separate us from God, creating a “lost” condition, but Jesus came to reconcile us to God.
- Faith in Jesus, who died to take the penalty for each person’s sin, reconciles us to God.
- The Holy Spirit, who is also called “the Spirit of Jesus”, dwells in us when we have, by faith in Jesus, been saved from the penalty of sin.
Biblical Explanation and Background:
The beginning of John chapter 4 seems to give a partial answer to the question, “Why did Jesus and his disciples go through Samaria?” Obviously, Jesus wanted to get to Galilee, and maybe the faster route appealed to him, but there may be other reasons. The question is important because most Jewish people of Jesus’ time would have taken the longer route through the Jordan river valley, passing through the regions of Perea and Decapolis to go north to Galilee. They would have done this because they hated and looked down upon the Samaritans. Their attitude had to do with both the history and the religious beliefs of the Samaritans.
II Kings 17:24 – 34 explains the history of the Samaritans. They were people from foreign nations brought into Israel after the conquering Assyrians deported the northern kingdom of Israel, around 700 B.C. These foreigners brought their own religions with them, but “the LORD sent lions among them.” The king of Assyria was told, “The people you settled in the towns of Samaria do not know what the god of that country requires. He has sent lions among them…”. The Assyrian king sent one of the Jewish captives, a priest, back to Samaria “to teach the people what the god of the land requires.” “Nevertheless, each national group made its own gods…and set them up in the shrines the people of Samaria had made.” II Kings 17 goes on to say, “They worshipped the LORD, but they also served their own gods…”. Later in their history, the Samaritans decided that Mt. Gerizim, located just southwest of the town of Sychar where Jesus met the woman at the well, was their sacred mountain for worshipping God. They changed the record of the Old Testament, and only accepted the first five books, Genesis through Deuteronomy. They changed the story of Abraham to include Mt. Gerizim. Most offensive of all, they were breaking the first commandment, “You shall have no other gods before me.” (Deuteronomy 5:7)
Jesus chose to go through Samaria, and the route took them past the historic place called “Jacob’s Well”. (This well still exists today, and is reputed to be 75 to 100 feet deep and to still give good water.) They arrived at midday, no doubt hot, tired and thirsty. While Jesus rested, the disciples went into the nearby town to buy food.
John 4:7 records another deliberate choice Jesus made. He spoke to a Samaritan woman who had come to the well to get water, and he asked her to give him a drink. To us this seems inconsequential, but in Jesus’ time, it was unheard of for a Jewish man, let alone a Rabbi, to speak to a Samaritan woman. This woman seems to have come alone to the well at a time when other women were home resting in the cool shade. Jesus knew she had great emotional and spiritual needs; he loves all people at all times, and he was not considering his own reputation. He was reaching out to her by asking her for a drink.
The woman immediately questioned Jesus about his asking her for a drink; she knew the social prohibitions; she knew the Jews hated the Samaritans, and she no doubt knew Jesus was a stranger, not from the local town. Jesus replied with a revelation about himself, (verse 10) “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” (The term “living water” can mean “fresh, flowing water” as opposed to stagnant water.) We know from our memory verse, John 7:37, that Jesus meant that if she believed that he was the “anointed one” or the Messiah that God had promised to take away the sins of the world, that she would have “living water”. “Living water” refers to Jesus’ spirit, the Holy Spirit, who lives in the believer. John 7:38 quotes Jesus saying, “Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.” John 7:39 explains that this refers to the Holy Spirit in the believer.
The woman was intrigued by Jesus’ words; she asked him two more questions. First, she wanted to know where and how Jesus would get “living water”, and second, she was awed by Jesus’ authority; she asked him to tell her who he is. Notice that Jesus had deliberately invited her into this conversation, and she was willing to learn more about Jesus. She was not proud; she was not rejecting him because of her own religious beliefs or prejudices. She had the attitude of a child, willing to know Jesus. Remember, Jesus said when he blessed the little children, “I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the Kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” (Luke 18:17)
Jesus answered the woman with the promise, “…whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst…the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (John 4:14) The woman asked Jesus for the living water “that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.” (John 4:15) She wasn’t sure what Jesus was offering her, but she wanted it. Children also sometimes are not sure what Jesus is offering, but they know they “love Jesus”. Still, Jesus sees to the core of human nature, and he saw sin in the core of the woman. Isaiah 59:2 says that our sin has separated us from God, but John 3:16 gives us God’s solution for sin, eternal life through his Son.
Faith in Jesus, the Son of God, is the “spring of water welling up to eternal life”. To expose the woman to her own need, Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband and come back.” (John 4:16) She admitted honestly (again, like a child) to Jesus that she had no husband, and Jesus told her that he knew she’d had five husbands and was now living with a man to whom she was not married. Inwardly, this shocked the woman, for we know that later she told the people in the town to “Come and see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?” (John 4:29) Outwardly, in verse 20, she betrayed her spiritual hunger to Jesus by saying, “Sir, I perceive you are a prophet..” and asking about where God should be worshipped. Jesus again answered her eager question; he explained that “God is spirit, and his worshippers must worship in spirit and in truth.” (John 4:24)
The woman’s reply to Jesus indicated that he had reached her heart. She said, “I know that Messiah (called Christ) is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.” (John 4:25) And then Jesus openly told her, since she was ready to receive him, “I who speak to you am he.” (John 4:26) What love Jesus showed for her in revealing himself to her as the Son of God! She joyfully believed him, and she ran off to tell the town’s people that she’d found the Messiah. Children also can joyfully believe Jesus when they learn that their sins separate them from God, and that Jesus, God’s Son, has paid the penalty for sin.
Jesus’ disciples were puzzled when they returned and found him talking with a Samaritan woman. They urged him to eat, and his answer, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about” reminds us of his mission: “The Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost.”(Luke 19:10) The joy Jesus felt in the woman’s faith filled him; it was enough.
The end of the story shows the results of “harvest”; “Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony.” (John 4:39) Jesus had to stay two more days, and the people said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.” (John 4: 42) Likewise, even children, when they believe on Jesus, can share who he is with other people, and other people will come to believe in Jesus.
Art Workshop
Summary of Lesson Activities:
Three choice suggestions: Clay cups, Origami Cups, or design your own mug (paper inserts).
Teacher preparation:
- Read the Scripture passages prayerfully, asking God to show you what He has to say to you and to those He’s given you to teach.
- Then study the Biblical Explanation and Background, and prepare to teach the concepts.
- Finally, prepare needed materials, and prepare a sample project if necessary. Sometimes it’s better not to prepare a sample, if the project is easy, so you don’t inhibit the children’s creativity.
Supplies List:
- Clay that dries without needing firing, OR
- Thin white paper squares, at least 8” X 8”, for origami, OR
- Plain white paper cups
- Crayons or markers for paper projects, OR
- Clay tools for a clay project, OR
- Cup-making kits that include a clear plastic cup with a paper insert that can be decorated by the child (search for DIY Mugs, Cups, or Travel Mugs.
Presentation
Opening - Welcome and Lesson:
Welcome the children and their guide(s) to the workshop, introduce yourself, and open in prayer. Please try to start on time, and focus your attention on the children. Guides take care of attendance. The children will be wearing nametags, so you can call them by name. Include the guide(s) in class discussion and prayer, and give them opportunities to interact with the children. They will also help with the journal time at the end of the lesson.
POST the two Bible memory verses (John 3:16 and John 7:37); the children will have their own copies. Repeat these two verses with the class before beginning to teach the lesson, and ask the children to be ready to tell how each of the verses goes with the lesson.
Dig - Main Content and Reflection:
Teach about the woman at the well, focusing on the five concepts that represent our goals for this lesson. Use necessary Scripture references, including reading or having children read John 4:1 – 32. Ask the children who’ve already been to previous workshops what they’ve already learned about the woman at the well. Finally, ask the children how the two memory verses work with the teaching.
If you think the children can pay attention and interact with the story while they are doing the art project, they can do the art work while you are teaching. If not, teach first, then do art.
Art activity directions:
Clay Cups: If you have chosen to use the self-drying clay, pass out a lump of clay about the size of the child’s fist to each child. Children should be working on protective pads so table will remain relatively clean. The clay first needs to be softened by beating and squeezing and rolling. Then instruct the children to make the clay into a ball. Have them flatten one side of the ball on the table; this will be the bottom of the cup. Then the child makes the inside opening of the cup by inserting one thumb into the top of the ball, gradually enlarging the opening and smoothing the sides. The sides should be of uniform thickness, about 1/4th inch thick. Finally, be sure the child’s name or initials are on the bottom of the cup. Children can use a tool to make words or designs on the sides of the cup, such as a cross to remind them of John 3:16 or a fountain or a river to remind them of John 7:37.
Origami Cups: If you have chosen to make origami cups, follow the printed instructions for folding the paper. Children may decorate the paper with designs, Bible verses or symbols either before or after the folding. Stickers that hold the folds on either side of the cup might also be useful. Children could make more than one cup, and could discuss sharing the “living water” of the Jesus Christ. Fifth and sixth graders can become adept at origami; they usually enjoy the activity.
Plain White Paper Cups:
If you have chosen to use the plain white paper cups, all that is necessary is to cover them with designs and/or Bible verses and /or symbols or stickers. This would be the simplest activity, suitable for the youngest children, first and second graders.
DIY Plastic Cups: If you choose to make the keepsake plastic cups (providing they can be obtained at a reasonable price), simply have the children decorate the paper insert, and follow the directions for putting the cups together.
Discussion:
The following questions may be useful. Choose one question to include in the children’s journaling time today.
- Why were the disciples surprised to find Jesus talking with the woman at the well? (ANS: At that time, Jewish people had nothing to do with Samaritan people, and it also would be considered “unclean” for a Jewish Rabbi (teacher, like Jesus) to take a cup of water from a woman, let alone a Samaritan.)
- Why did Jesus choose to go through Samaria? (ANS: For two possible reasons. First, he wanted to get to Galilee by the shortest route, and he didn’t hate the Samaritans. Second, he always did as Father God commanded him to do, so it’s possible that Jesus had felt lead of the Holy Spirit to go through Samaria, perhaps just because of this woman and the spiritually needy people there.)
- What did Jesus mean when he said he could give the woman “living water”? (ANS: He could give her eternal life spiritually. He knew he would die on the cross for her sins. If she believed he was the Messiah, the One sent by God to die for her sins, she would have eternal life.)
Closing:
End with a circle of prayer.
Drama/Puppet Workshop
Summary of Lesson Activities:
A “news broadcast from Sychar”, excerpted from the “Gerizim Gazette”, especially for the “nightly Sychar Summary”, with live interviews added. You may want to use the puppet theater and either have puppets read the news and be the characters, or have “talking heads”, people appearing to talk in a small screen (script included).
Leader Preparation:
- Read the Scripture passages prayerfully, asking God to show you what He has to say to you and to those He’s given you to teach.
- Then study the Biblical Explanation and Background, and prepare to teach the concepts.
Presentation
Opening - Welcome and Lesson Introduction:
Welcome the children and their guide(s) to the workshop, introduce yourself, and open in prayer. Please try to start on time, and focus your attention on the children. Guides take care of attendance. The children will be wearing nametags, so you can call them by name. Include the guide(s) in class discussion and prayer, and give them opportunities to interact with the children. They will also help with the journal time at the end of the lesson.
Post the two Bible memory verses (John 3:16 and John 7:37); the children will have their own copies. Repeat these two verses with the class before beginning to teach the lesson, and ask the children to be ready to tell how each of the verses goes with the lesson.
Dig - Main Content and Reflection:
Teach about the woman at the well, focusing on the five concepts that represent our goals for this lesson. Use necessary Scripture references, including reading or having children read from John 4: 1 – 32. If the children have been to previous workshops before this one, ask them what they already learned about the woman at the well story. Finally, ask the children how the two memory verses work with the teaching.
The “drama” for this lesson will be a “news broadcast from Sychar”, excerpted from the “Gerizim Gazette”, especially for the “nightly Sychar Summary”, with live interviews added. You may want to use the puppet theater and either have puppets read the news and be the characters, or have “talking heads”, people appearing to talk in a small screen, as it might look if they were sitting on stools behind the puppet opening and talking. A “microphone” for the speakers could be a prop you’d need; costumes would be optional, but entertaining if people, not puppets, did the talking.
You will probably want to make your own copies of the script for the speakers to use. The script only includes five characters. If it is short enough, you could go through it twice, so that more children have chances to play the characters. Otherwise, pick names from a basket for the parts, or find some other equitable way of distributing them. For the first and second grade children who cannot read the parts, a simplified version is included. Alternatively, we could ask our junior/senior high teens to record the play on audio tape, and play it back with the younger children either lip-syncing or using puppet players.
The Sychar Summary:
(Our two newscasters are named “Shimshai” and “Zophar”. The name “Zophar” means “chatterer”. “Shimshai” is recorded as a secretary to a Persian commanding officer, from Ezra 4:8. Our woman-at-the-well is called “Marah”, which means “bitter” because she had lived a hard life up to the time when she met Jesus.)
SHIMSHAI: The top of our news summary tonight comes from Jacob’s Well, where it’s reported the Jewish Messiah has been seen talking with a woman named Marah.
ZOPHAR: Marah has agreed to come for an interview tonight. It seems her news has created quite a stir in the town of Sychar.
SHIMSHAI: Marah, how did it happen that you would meet this man whom you claim is the Messiah at Jacob’s Well?
MARAH: I went alone to the well to get water; you know the water there is very good. I went at midday because the other women don’t let me in line when they go. They push me and cause my water to spill when I finally get it, so I decided it would be better to just go alone from now on. Anyway, there was this man there, all hot and tired from travel. He said his name was “Jesus”, and he and his disciples, his friends, were on their way to Galilee.
ZOPHAR: I have to interrupt you here, Marah, because it’s very unusual for a Jewish man like this Jesus you mentioned to travel through Samaria at all, let alone to talk to a woman! Why do you think he did this? Did he want something from you?
MARAH: He was hot and tired, like I said; he asked me for a drink of water. He had no bucket or cup, so I offered to help him.
ZOPHAR: So, is that ALL he wanted from you? Did he ask you where you live or anything?
MARAH: Not where I live, but he offered, he said that if I knew who he was, I could have asked him for “living water”. I was puzzled by this. I thought he knew about some new stream nearby or something, and he had no bucket or cup, so I didn’t see how he could offer me “living water”.
SHIMSHAI: Did he accept the water you gave him and drink it? Did he show you where to get this “living water”?
MARAH: He did drink the water. Then he told me that everyone who drinks ordinary water gets thirsty again, but that he could offer “water welling up to eternal life” that would forever satisfy thirst.
ZOPHAR: I suppose you saw through that, didn’t you?
MARAH: No, I asked him where I could get this “living water”. After all, I go to Jacob’s Well day after day after day, the same weary journey, and often I run out of water long before I go back again.
SHIMSHAI: So, what did he offer you? A bargain buy on a desert lot?
MARAH: He told me to go get my husband, first. When I told him I had no husband, he told me, to my astonishment, that I’d had five husbands and that the man I now live with is not my husband.
ZOPHAR: Had you ever met him before yesterday? How did he know this? Has he been staying in Sychar, listening to the water carriers?
MARAH: No, this was his first time through, I think. Anyway, he spoke with authority. I knew he must be a prophet, so I asked him a question about something that had been bothering me for a long time. I asked him why the Jews claim we must worship God in Jerusalem, when our fathers have always taught us to worship on Mt. Gerizim.
SHIMSHAI: What did he say about that? Did he give you the usual Jewish argument, claiming to be superior to us Samaritans?
MARAH: He did say, “Salvation is of the Jews,” but he also said a time is coming when we will worship God neither on Mt. Gerizim nor in Jerusalem. He said, “True worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth…God is spirit, and his worshippers must worship in spirit and in truth.”
ZOPHAR: “Worship in spirit and in truth”…I wonder what that means…?
MARAH: Then I told him that I knew that Messiah is coming, and that when he comes, he will explain everything to us. He replied, “I who speak to you am he.”
SHIMSHAI: So, he admitted, he said that he’s actually the Jewish Messiah. Did you really think he could be? What did you do?
MARAH: His disciples came back from Sychar Market with lunch while he was still talking to me. They didn’t say anything to him or to me as we talked. I just got so excited when I realized that I was actually talking to the Messiah, the Son of God who would take away our sins, that I left my water pot and ran back into Sychar to tell anyone I met about Jesus!
SHIMSHAI: So that’s why we’ve heard of crowds of people going out to Jacob’s Well to hear this Jesus! A couple of them just came in the door here as we were talking. Let’s find out what they have to say.
PERSON 1: We’ve just come from Jacob’s Well. We’ve found the Messiah!
PERSON 2: Marah came into town yesterday afternoon and said, “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?” We followed her back to Jacob’s Well to meet Jesus
ZOPHAR: So, what do you think? Is he the Christ?
PERSON 2: Yes! He really is! Come, see for yourselves!
SHIMSHAI: That’s the news, folks. Thanks for watching the Sychar Summary, in partnership with the Gerizim Gazette. We give you the latest daily news.
The Sychar Summary (simplified version)
SHIMSHAI: Hello, my name is Shimshai.
ZOPHAR: Hello, my name is Zophar.
TOGETHER: And we have some news for you tonight.
SHIMSHAI: We have a woman named Marah who says she met Jesus, the Jewish Messiah, at Jacob’s Well. Marah, how did you happen to meet this man, Jesus?
MARAH: He was hot and tired, and he asked me for a cup of water.
ZOPHAR: He spoke to you! Since when do Jewish men talk to Samaritan women?
MARAH: He offered me living water, and I asked him how he could get this living water for me. He had no cup or water pot.
SHIMSHAI: Is that all? Did he really want a drink water from Jacob’s Well?
MARAH: Oh yes, he did drink the water. Then he told me to go get my husband.
ZOPHAR: What did you say then?
MARAH: I told him I have no husband, which is true.
SHIMSHAI: So did you tell him how many husbands you had been married to?
MARAH: He told ME that I’d had five husbands, and that the man I am now married to is not my husband. I was so surprised! How did he know?
ZOPHAR: How did he know?
MARAH: He spoke like a prophet, so I asked him a question about worshipping God. He said the true worshippers of God will worship him in spirit and in truth because God is spirit.
SHIMSHAI: What did he mean by that?
MARAH: I told him I knew Messiah, the Christ, is coming and that he will explain everything to us.
ZOPHAR: What did he say about that?
MARAH: He surprised me again, because he said that he’s the Christ, the Messiah, the one sent by God to take away our sins.
SHIMSHAI: Did you believe him?
MARAH: Yes! When his disciples came back, I ran into town to tell everybody!
SHIMSHAI: Two people have just come in with more news from Jacob’s Well. Could one of you tell us, what is this about Jesus, the Messiah, visiting the Well yesterday?
PERSON 1: Marah came into town saying, “Come, meet a man who told me everything I ever did!”
PERSON 2: She said he was the Messiah, the Christ. We went out to Jacob’s Well to see for ourselves.
ZOPHAR: So, what do you think? Is he the Messiah?
PERSON 1 & 2, together: YES!
SHIMSHAI: That’s the news, folks. Thanks for watching the Sychar Summary.
Discussion:
Ask the following questions following the broadcast to help the children think about the lesson. If there’s time, choose one question as a journal entry for the day. Younger children may want to draw a picture of Jesus talking to the woman at the well, and may copy a Bible verse too.
- How did Jesus show the woman at the well that God loved her, and that he loves all people at all times? (ANS: He was willing to talk to her, even though most Jewish men would never have talked to a Samaritan woman. He was also willing to listen to her questions and to answer them.)
- Did the woman at the well need God’s forgiveness for sin, even though Jesus did not actually say to her, “You have sinned.”? (ANS: Yes, the Bible says we have all sinned, and we all need God’s forgiveness. The woman knew that having had five husbands and then living with a man to whom she was not married was wrong. She sensed God’s willingness to forgive her when Jesus was so kind to her, even though he knew about her life.)
- How did the woman at the well express faith in Jesus as the Son of God? (ANS: After her actually told her that he was the Messiah, she believed him. Being the Messiah meant that he was the Son of God who came to take the punishment for her sins. Her action of running into town to tell the people to come and meet Jesus showed that she believed him.)
Closing:
End with a circle of prayer.
