John the apostle wrote how Jesus, “came to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour. There came a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus said unto her, Give me to drink. (For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.) Then said the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that you, being a Jew, ask drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knew the gift of God, and who it is that said to you, Give me to drink; you would have asked of him, and he would have given you living water. The woman said unto him, Sir, you have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from where then have you that living water?”, and in chapter four and verse twelve of his book, John shared how the woman asked Jesus, “are you greater than our father Jacob” where we read:
Are you greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself,
and his children, and his cattle?
The verse reads, “Are you greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, ...” John began with the words, “are you greater” or “are you, Jesus, larger and of more importance” “than our father Jacob” which means “compared to the Samaritan's immediate progenitor and ancestor Jacob whose name means heel-catcher or supplanter and was the second son of Issac”, “which gave us the well” or “who granted, bestowed, furnished and supplied the hole in the ground which was dug for obtaining or holding water is profoundly deep”, “and drank thereof himself” which means “and his own self imbibed from the well”. John shared how the “Samaritan woman” questioned whether Jesus thought He was of “more importance” than “Jacob” who was the “Father” of the people of Israel because Jacob not only provided them with the “well”, but also “drank” from it.
The verse continues, “... and his children, and his cattle?”. John added the words, “and his children” which means “and Jacob's offspring and progeny”, “and his cattle” or “and Jacob's flock, sheep and goats”? John shared how the “Samaritan woman” wondered about Jacob's “progeny” as well as his “animals” who also “drank” from the “well”.
When we meditate upon John's words in this verse, we learn how the “Samaritan woman” continued to question Jesus as she wondered if He was of “greater importance” than “Jacob” who was“fore-father” of the people of all of Israel. Jesus will respond to her question in our next few verses, but for now let it suffice us to know that Jesus is equipped to handle any situation whether on earth or in Heaven. He came to the earth to make a way for mankind to have a relationship with God, and through His death on the cross and subsequent resurrection, every person who yields their life to Him will be forgiven of their sins and receive everlasting life. Let all who read these words answer, “YES”, Jesus is greater than “Father Jacob” or any other person in the world.
Next time John shares how Jesus tells the woman, “whosoever drinks of this water shall thirst again”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book
“Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the
marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the
Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms
Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County"
in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com
; http://www.barnesandnobles.com
; download to e-books, and find it locally at
www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
All references are from "Strongs Concordance".
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