Remember the post called All 6’s & 7’s? We talked about the Six ceremonial jars used at the Wedding At Cana and how they relate to the 6 Days of Creation right.
Well… hold on to your mystical hats cuz we’re about to go on a rollercoaster ride of esoteric wisdom on this one.
“He left Judea and departed again for Galilee. And he had to pass through Samaria. So he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there; so Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was resting beside the well. It was about the sixth hour.”
-John 4:3-6
Samaria was pretty much a no-fly zone for the tribe in those days. Not for Yeshua. Look at the language.
John says he had to pass through Samaria. It wasn’t something He could just go around like the rest of His people did. So He entered into the town of Sychar (Συχάρ)- it means “drunken.” That’s an interesting name for a town isn’t it?
One can’t help but think of Thomas 69 “I found them all drunk; I found none of them thirsting, and my soul was afflicted for the sons of men.” Yet this is where He comes to rest at the 6th hour entering into the 7th day. Why here?
All we’re told is it’s near the field that Jacob has given to His Son Joseph. Jacobs well was there. There’s a Father and Son language where a field is passed down. From Father- On High to Son. The well provides the water to sustain life for generations. Since both men are Biblical Patriarchs I think it would be safe to say the father shared wisdom with his son. Yet, when Christ comes to visit however many generations later “He finds them all drunk.” His soul became afflicted for us. He went in search of ones who wanted to never thirst again.
A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” (For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.)”
-John 4:7-9
The Samaritan woman walking up at the 6th hour paints her as one who’s slightly an outcast from her community because she comes to draw water at the really hot part of the day. She pulls the 7th jar and finds Yeshua at rest. What does God do on the 7th day of creation? Yeshua asks her to draw water from the well of Jacob and give Him a drink. She recognizes He is Jewish and is very well aware that Jewish men would consider her ritually unclean. It was forbidden for Him to accept a drink from a vessel she had even touched.
Yeshua was not concerned with any of that. In this time when His disciples were away getting what was needed He sits at a well and asks this outcast for a drink. He was really out there doing the things He taught others to do.
Let’s consider another reference to Samaritans from Luke, Yeshua and his disciples were big chilling and spreading the word a bit when a lawyer walks up. Now this man had ill intentions of tripping the Christ up and proving him ignorant. So he spouted off a question hoping to entice a philosophical debate. He said, “Rabbi, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” Now Jesus was anything but foolish and clearly understood what he was up to.
Jesus answered with a question. “What is written in the Law? How does it read to you?” The lawyer undoubtedly thought a minute before answering but he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” Jesus validated the lawyers statement and said, “You have answered correctly; do this and you will live.”
At this point the lawyer went full Columbo on the Christ. I can almost see him turning to walk away before pausing, holding one finger up with clear confusion on his face as he turned to face him. ”Just one more question: Who is my neighbor?” (you can read it in your own new york accent. I’ve crossed the line enough with my own paraphrasing)
Yeshua replied and said, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among robbers, and they stripped him and beat him, and went away leaving him half dead. And by chance a priest was going down on that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Likewise a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt compassion, and came to him and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them; and he put him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn and took care of him. On the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I return I will repay you.’ Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers’ hands?” And he said, “The one who showed mercy toward him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do the same.”
Do I really need to elaborate the point here? No but I will provide some context. The Samaritans and the Judahites (the lawyers tribe) didn’t see eye to eye on anything. They had different versions of the Torah. They even argued over where the Temple to YHWH should be. In fact, Judea invaded Samaria and destroyed their Temple atop Mount Gerizim somewhere around 120 BC. Now probably the most heinous of all crimes, in the eyes of Judea, was the fact Samaritans accepted paganism with open arms. They spiritually coexisted with other belief systems and didn’t force their religion on ANYONE. Yeshua, a Galilean somewhere between the two tribes, clearly understood the political climate of the day and answered accordingly. He meant to say treat everyone, sworn enemy or not, with the same care you would want shown to you.
What an amazing spiritual lesson. That parable really puts religion into perspective doesn’t it? What good is religious purity if we will allow our neighbor to suffer through atrocities while we cling to our observance of its principles? We have to do better. Xenophobic tendencies aren’t helping us move forward in a healthy and positive way.
Moreover, Yeshua brought Divine truth to everyone. He sits down at the well in Samaria to carry on with his work. He asks for water from this woman in this place where Fathers shared wisdom with their sons. Practicing what He preached.
She reminds Him of how taboo it is for Him to ask her for a drink. He tells her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.”
We’re beginning to recognize what living water is as we tie it into our subconscious soul silently observing. It’s a peaceful scene to see. We should all get to enjoy those moments where everything is at peace. These waters are living though. Christ transforms water into wine. To see this through takes turning to the living Christ and saying:
“Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.”
-John 4:11-12
The Samaritan woman follows the same pattern as the story with Nicodemus. She asks for clarification seeking a deeper meaning. Feeding sons and livestock with the well is a continuation of the 6th day of creation.3 feeds into 6. Yeshua and the Samaritan woman were able to rest in union because of the 3rd day in Cana. He had transformed water into wine in a celebration of divine union and now he had come to demonstrate that truth.
Yeshua clarifies:
“Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
-John 4:13-14
It becomes a wellspring within. When you feel the water of the Spirit well up within you it is Christ who transforms it. We gotta get real silent and observant before we can learn to look from the true eye but it truly does become a lamp shining from your body.
She immediately asks for this living water. There’s almost zero hesitation. She also alludes to a desire to leave the place of the well. She says “or have to come here to draw water.” Yeshua is sharing something deep that shouldn’t be left at the well. She’s ready to take it to her own people and freely share what she’s just been given.
From the jump, Yeshua spread light and love to one and all. He didn’t care what name the Samaritans called G-D or which mountain they placed their Temple. He came in writing off all of the religious quarrels of the day and sharing a message of Union with all of humankind.
Maybe that’s why some of us weep for those caught up in religious fervor. The Christ in us recognizes the Christ in them is trapped behind dogmatic nonsense that separates humankind.
Rest with that message a bit. We’ll get into how the Samaritan Woman internalized Yeshua’s words next time.
For now, continue to live in love.
“Love each other, as I have loved you!”
Mystical Mindstate 