One hot day, Jesus was walking through a place called Samaria. The sun was shining bright, and the birds sang sweet songs in the trees. Jesus was tired from his journey, so He sat down by a well. This well was very old and had cool water deep inside.
A woman came to the well to get water. She was surprised to see Jesus sitting there. Jesus smiled kindly at her and said, “Please, give me a drink.” The woman was surprised because Jews and Samaritans did not usually talk to each other.
Jesus said something very special. He told her about “living water.” “If you knew the gift God gives, and who is asking you for a drink, you would ask him, and he would give you living water,” He said. The woman was curious and asked, “Sir, where can I get this water? Is it better than the water from this well?”
Jesus explained, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again. But whoever drinks the water I give will never be thirsty again. The water I give will become a spring inside them, giving life forever.” The woman thought about this. She wanted to have this special water that would never run out.
Jesus then told her about her life. He said, “You have had five husbands, and the man you live with now is not your husband.” The woman was amazed. She knew Jesus was telling the truth about her life. She felt like He understood her very well.
The woman said, “Sir, I see that you are a prophet!” She wanted to know more about God. Jesus told her that soon, people would worship God not just in one place, but in spirit and truth. He said that God wants people to worship Him with their whole heart.
The woman was so happy! She ran to tell the people in her town about Jesus. She said, “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did! Could he be the Messiah?” The Messiah is the special one God promised to send to save everyone.
Many people listened to the woman and went to see Jesus. They believed in Him because of what He said. Jesus stayed there for two days and taught many people about God’s love.
Jesus showed us that He loves everyone, even people who feel lonely or sad. He wants to give us living water—His love and life—that never ends. When we believe in Jesus, we are never thirsty for love or help again because He fills our hearts with joy.
Questions to think about
- Why was the woman surprised to talk to Jesus?
- What is the “living water” Jesus talked about?
- How did Jesus show He knew the woman’s life?
- What did the woman do after she met Jesus?
- How does Jesus want us to worship God?
Message of the story
Jesus loves everyone and gives us living water—His life and love—that never runs out. He wants us to trust Him and worship God with all our hearts.
Bible passage
John 4:1-42 (World English Bible)
1 Now Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that he was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John—
2 although Jesus himself did not baptize, but his disciples did—
3 so he left Judea and went back again to Galilee.
4 He had to go through Samaria.
5 So he came to a city of Samaria called Sychar, near the piece of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.
6 Jacob’s well was there. Jesus, tired from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour.
7 A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.”
8 (His disciples had gone into the city to buy food.)
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