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The Woman at the Well · Bible in a Year with Jack Graham

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  Speaker 1: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give
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  Speaker 1: him shall never thirst. But the water that I shall
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  Speaker 1: give him shall be in a well of water, springing
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  Speaker 1: up into eternal life. John 4.14 Jesus, I thank you
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  Speaker 1: that you continually show me the life that I am
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  Speaker 1: supposed to live. I thank you that as I read
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  Speaker 1: your word, you are continuously showing me that You love
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  Speaker 1: all people, no matter where they came from, what they
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  Speaker 1: look like, or what reputation they have. I pray that
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  Speaker 1: you give me the same heart that is inside of you.
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  Speaker 1: Use me as a vessel to deliver the good news
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  Speaker 1: of a cool drink of water to a dry and
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  Speaker 1: thirsty soul. I will not shy away from an opportunity
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  Speaker 1: to introduce someone to your eternal and perfect love. Bring
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  Speaker 1: me to the wells in life so that I can
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  Speaker 1: be surrounded by your sons and daughters who need your hope.
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  Speaker 1: Show me, and I'll go. In Jesus' name, amen. Thank
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  Speaker 1: you for praying with me today. Continue listening for an
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  Speaker 1: incredible Bible story brought to you by BibleInAYear.com.
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  Speaker 2: The Woman at the Well In our last story, we
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  Speaker 2: witnessed the righteous anger of Jesus. During the Passover, corrupt
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  Speaker 2: money changers and religious leaders were exploiting people's desire to worship.
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  Speaker 2: Jesus would have no barriers between God and people, so
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  Speaker 2: he fashioned a whip and drove them out. Now we
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  Speaker 2: see Jesus speak to a woman with a checkered past.
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  Speaker 2: She was shunned by her people, but accepted by Jesus.
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  Speaker 2: Her conversation with him would change the course of her
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  Speaker 2: entire life, inspired by the Gospels.
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  Speaker 3: I'm so glad you joined us on the Bible in
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  Speaker 3: a Year podcast today. But before we get to today's episode,
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  Speaker 3: I want you to know that I would absolutely love
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  Speaker 3: to send you my daily devotional that will give you
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  Speaker 3: fresh encouragement every single morning and day. From the moment
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  Speaker 3: we wake up to the moment our head finally hits
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  Speaker 3: the pillow, There are thousands of things demanding our attention.
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  Speaker 3: But it's in the midst of all this crush and
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  Speaker 3: hustle and bustle that you and I need peace and
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  Speaker 3: truth in God's Word. That's why I want to help
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  Speaker 3: you spend time each day growing in God's life-giving, life-changing
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  Speaker 3: Word by sending you my free daily email devotional, PowerPoint Today.
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  Speaker 3: So visit JackGraham.org to sign up for your PowerPoint Today devotional.
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  Speaker 3: That's JackGraham.org In our last episode, we heard how Jesus
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  Speaker 3: cleared the temple, an act of zeal for God's house,
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  Speaker 3: and a sign once again that he is the Messiah.
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  Speaker 3: He is the Lord of the temple. Many did not
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  Speaker 3: understand him or accept him and even rejected him. The
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  Speaker 3: religious leaders began to feel the threat that Jesus posed
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  Speaker 3: to their status quo religious system. We also heard of
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  Speaker 3: one Pharisee, a very religious man, a very bright and
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  Speaker 3: noble man by the name of Nicodemus, who wanted to
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  Speaker 3: know more about Jesus, and he sought him out, and
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  Speaker 3: Jesus said, you must be born again. Today, we'll hear
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  Speaker 3: the story of a very different kind of person. Not
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  Speaker 3: a person who was religious and thereby close to God,
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  Speaker 3: but a woman who, though religious in some way, was
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  Speaker 3: very far from God. A person who didn't seek God out,
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  Speaker 3: but Jesus sought her out. She was in many ways
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  Speaker 3: the polar opposite of Nicodemus. And yet, as Jesus spoke
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  Speaker 3: to her directly with love and compassion, her entire life
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  Speaker 3: is changed and she experiences the new birth, the forgiveness
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  Speaker 3: that is ours in Jesus Christ. So let's listen now
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  Speaker 3: to this powerful story.
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  Speaker 2: The sun was high above the skies of Samaria. Its
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  Speaker 2: rays scorched the earth below, beating down restlessly. It was
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  Speaker 2: around the valley of Samaria where Jesus was traveling on
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  Speaker 2: his way to Galilee. The Jews hated the Samaritans and
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  Speaker 2: held deep prejudices against them. Usually, any Jewish traveler walked
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  Speaker 2: around Samaria.
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  Speaker 1: Not Jesus.
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  Speaker 2: He decided to travel through it. The afternoon sun was merciless,
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  Speaker 2: and Jesus' disciples departed to get food. Jesus walked towards
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  Speaker 2: a single well resting on the bottom of a hill.
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  Speaker 2: A Samaritan woman was drawing water there in the heat
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  Speaker 2: of day. It was a peculiar sight, since most women
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  Speaker 2: gathered water for the day early in the morning to
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  Speaker 2: escape the sun. Jesus sat on a rock beside the well.
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  Speaker 2: The woman saw him there, but paid no attention to him.
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  Speaker 2: Jesus looked up at the sun, then back at the woman.
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  Speaker 2: You mind drawing me some water? Jesus asked. The woman
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  Speaker 2: looked up at him. Her face was cold and impassive.
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  Speaker 2: Now why would a Jew want a woman from Samaria
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  Speaker 2: to draw him water? She said as she lowered the
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  Speaker 2: bucket down into the well. Jesus smiled, not allowing her
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  Speaker 2: harsh tone to bother him. If you knew who was
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  Speaker 2: asking you for water, you would ask me for living water,
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  Speaker 2: Jesus replied. The woman looked Jesus up and down. You
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  Speaker 2: have nothing to draw water with. Where would you get
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  Speaker 2: flowing and living water from anyways? This is a well.
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  Speaker 2: Jesus stood up and walked closer to the well. He
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  Speaker 2: looked down into the water below and said, Whoever drinks
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  Speaker 2: this water will be thirsty again. They will surely have
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  Speaker 2: to keep coming back, but whoever drinks of the water
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  Speaker 2: I give will never thirst again. The woman did her
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  Speaker 2: best to hide her shock. She had been coming to
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  Speaker 2: the well for years and hated every single trip. She
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  Speaker 2: was shunned by the other women, so she had to
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  Speaker 2: draw in the middle of the day when the sun
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  Speaker 2: was high and hot. I need this living water, she
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  Speaker 2: said impatiently. I never want to come back here again.
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  Speaker 2: Jesus paused for a moment. Very well. Go and call
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  Speaker 2: your husband, he said casually. The woman looked away. I
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  Speaker 2: don't have a husband, she replied. Ah, yes, Jesus said.
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  Speaker 2: You are right. You have no husband. Jesus looked her
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  Speaker 2: in the eyes. You have had five husbands, and the
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  Speaker 2: man you are living with now is not your husband.
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  Speaker 2: The woman held back tears with a fake smile as
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  Speaker 2: she tried to change the subject. Sir, I perceive you
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  Speaker 2: are a prophet. You know this well as sacred ground.
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  Speaker 2: Our forefathers worshipped here on the mountain, although the Jews
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  Speaker 2: say that the temple is the place we should worship now.
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  Speaker 2: The woman was speaking quickly. Her eyes were watering. There
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  Speaker 2: was pain behind her religious small talk. Jesus could feel
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  Speaker 2: her anguished heart. He had struck a chord by mentioning
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  Speaker 2: her five divorces. He approached the other side of the
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  Speaker 2: well and sat next to her. He gave a reassuring
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  Speaker 2: smile and looked into the distance. Believe me, the time
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  Speaker 2: is coming when people won't worship on a mountain or
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  Speaker 2: in a temple. The true worshippers will worship in spirit
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  Speaker 2: and in truth. The woman nodded. Yes, I suppose they
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  Speaker 2: will when the Messiah comes. He will tell us how
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  Speaker 2: and where we should truly worship. Jesus nodded. He smiled
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  Speaker 2: from cheek to cheek as he looked the woman in
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  Speaker 2: the eye.
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  Speaker 3: Yes, he will.
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  Speaker 2: I am he. As Jesus was saying this, his disciples
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  Speaker 2: were returning with their lunch. They saw Jesus from a
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  Speaker 2: distance and judged him for speaking to a Samaritan woman,
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  Speaker 2: although none of them said anything or asked why he
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  Speaker 2: was speaking to her. They saw the woman leap up
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  Speaker 2: from where she was sitting and run away back to
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  Speaker 2: the city. The woman ran fast and with great joy.
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  Speaker 2: She knocked on every door in the city. Quick, to
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  Speaker 2: the well, come quick. People poked their heads out of
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  Speaker 2: their doors and windows. You must come see this man.
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  Speaker 2: He told me everything about me. I think he may
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  Speaker 2: be the Christ. So the Samaritans left their homes to
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  Speaker 2: come see Jesus. They sat at his feet and listened
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  Speaker 2: to him teach for two days. Many believed as they
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  Speaker 2: heard him speak.
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  Speaker 3: We open today's reading with Jesus traveling on a hot
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  Speaker 3: and long road into a place most Jews avoided at
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  Speaker 3: all costs. Samaria was despised by Jewish people. They viewed
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  Speaker 3: the Samaritans as half-breeds and impure. But Jesus did not
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  Speaker 3: see these distinctions. These were people created in God's image,
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  Speaker 3: people that God loved, people in need of redemption like
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  Speaker 3: every person on earth. And so, rather than avoid or
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  Speaker 3: walk around this city of Samaria, taking a longer road
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  Speaker 3: to get away from the undesirables, Jesus went through Samaria.
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  Speaker 3: Under the heat of the sun, he became thirsty, showing
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  Speaker 3: his humanity. He was needing a drink of water. So
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  Speaker 3: he went to a Samaritan well at midday. There was
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  Speaker 3: one woman there drawing water. She was clearly not a
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  Speaker 3: part of the mainstream of society. She was there alone.
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  Speaker 3: His very presence would have been surprising and unusual for
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  Speaker 3: this woman. He was clearly a Jew, and he was
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  Speaker 3: a man, and good Jewish men did not talk to
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  Speaker 3: Samaritan women, certainly not publicly. But then notice what Jesus
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  Speaker 3: did next. He asked her to draw water for him
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  Speaker 3: to drink. Now, why would he ask her this? Well,
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  Speaker 3: he's asking her to draw water so that he could
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  Speaker 3: draw her out. She asked Jesus this question, wondering why
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  Speaker 3: he would break so many unwritten rules. He could tell
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  Speaker 3: that this woman had often been told and shown that
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  Speaker 3: her place on the societal ladder was very low. But
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  Speaker 3: Jesus persevered in conversing with this woman. He was unfazed
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  Speaker 3: by her distracting question and answered that if she knew
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  Speaker 3: who he was, she would ask him for living water.
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  Speaker 3: Living water? Well, once again, she didn't understand. What did
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  Speaker 3: he mean? He couldn't even draw physical water for himself.
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  Speaker 3: He had no bucket or rope of any way to
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  Speaker 3: get water from the well. So what is this living water?
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  Speaker 3: Jesus went on to explain that the water that she
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  Speaker 3: would draw would quench physical thirst for just a while,
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  Speaker 3: but that he would offer a living water that would
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  Speaker 3: last forever, that would satisfy once and for all. What
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  Speaker 3: is this water? Water that quenches thirst forever. She needed that.
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  Speaker 3: She wanted that. She asked Jesus to give her some,
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  Speaker 3: especially if it meant she never needed to come alone
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  Speaker 3: to this well again. Jesus then told her to call
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  Speaker 3: her husband, knowing full well there was no husband. The
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  Speaker 3: Samaritan woman replied with obvious shame in her voice that
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  Speaker 3: she had no husband. He then told her he knew
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  Speaker 3: her heart and he knew her life, that not only
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  Speaker 3: was she not married, but that she had been married
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  Speaker 3: five times before and was now living with a man
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  Speaker 3: that was not her husband. The goal of Jesus was
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  Speaker 3: not to shame this woman. This is not cruel, but
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  Speaker 3: this is convictional. He is bringing her face to face
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  Speaker 3: with her sin and her need for a Savior. She
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  Speaker 3: needs to know that her life can be changed, that
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  Speaker 3: what she's looking for in life is not found in
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  Speaker 3: a man or a relationship or anything else that this
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  Speaker 3: world offers, but only the eternal living Word of God, Jesus.
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  Speaker 3: She then called Jesus a prophet. Anne began a conversation
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  Speaker 3: about the differences between the Jews and Samaritans' belief and
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  Speaker 3: practices of worship. In one way, she's trying to throw
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  Speaker 3: Jesus off as he's zeroing in on their great need
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  Speaker 3: for salvation. Jesus listened to her and then spoke to her,
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  Speaker 3: saying there was a time coming for true worship, and
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  Speaker 3: it wasn't about a place. People would worship God in
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  Speaker 3: spirit and in truth. His words triggered a recognition in
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  Speaker 3: her mind, and in John 4, 25 and 26, we
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  Speaker 3: read these words from the woman who said to him,
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  Speaker 3: I know that the Messiah is coming, he who is
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  Speaker 3: called the Christ. When he comes, he will tell us
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  Speaker 3: all things. Jesus said to her, I who speak to
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  Speaker 3: you am he. Now, don't miss this. Jesus is clearly
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  Speaker 3: claiming to be the Messiah, and he shares this truth
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  Speaker 3: with a woman, a woman at the well, a sinner,
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  Speaker 3: shamed by her sin, a Samaritan who was a cast-off,
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  Speaker 3: and yet he reveals himself, and she believes. She responds
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  Speaker 3: in faith. And not only that, but she ran back
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  Speaker 3: to the city and told everyone in town who she
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  Speaker 3: had met. This outcast woman led others to a saving face.
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  Speaker 3: She said, come and meet a man that will change
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  Speaker 3: your life. And once again, we see how God extends
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  Speaker 3: his mercy and grace to all who will come to him.
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  Speaker 3: We need to spend our days like this woman because
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  Speaker 3: we have trusted in Christ telling the world who Jesus is,
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  Speaker 3: the good news of his salvation. Thank you, Lord, for
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  Speaker 3: the wonderful story of Jesus. Thank you that you love
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  Speaker 3: us in spite of our sins, that you went to
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  Speaker 3: a cross and died and then rose again so that
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  Speaker 3: we could be forgiven and drink of the living water
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  Speaker 3: forever and ever. Amen. Thank you for listening to today's
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  Speaker 3: Bible in a Year podcast. I'm Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas.
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  Speaker 3: And before we go, I want you to know that
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  Speaker 3: I would love to send you my daily devotional to
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  Speaker 3: give you fresh encouragement every single day. So visit jackgraham.org
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  Speaker 3: to sign up for your PowerPoint Today devotional. That's jackgraham.org.