"Now (Jesus) had to go through Samaria." (John 4:4) Of course, Jesus didn't HAVE to go through Samaria physically. Most Jews traveling between Galilee and Jerusalem went east, along the Jordan River valley, to avoid the territory of the hated Samaritans. (See 2 Kings 17 for why Jews hated Samaritans.) But Jesus is not "most people." His work is to reveal the Father's glory. It is what fed and sustained Him (John 4:34). In that sense, He HAD to go through Samaria to meet up with the Samaritan woman at the well. It was the work He was sent to do.

What I find interesting in this passage is the woman's deepening understanding of who Jesus is. (A common technique in John's gospel. We see the same thing in chap 9 with the man born blind.) The titles the woman uses to refer to Jesus show a deepening understanding of Who He actually is:

VERSE JESUS' ACTION LABEL UNDERSTANDING
4:15 Asks for water "Sir" Literal water, Jesus is just a man
4:19 Speaks of 5 husbands "Prophet" Sees into hearts, no secrets hid
4:25 "Spirit & Truth" "Messiah?" Proclaimer of Truth
4:29 "I am he" "Messiah" Witness: Come and see

Perhaps John is telling us something about ourselves and our response to Jesus. The longer we hang around Jesus, the more we converse with Him, the more we listen to Him, the more we get to know Him personally (rather than simply listen to what others tell us about Him), the deeper our understanding of Him becomes.

Where are you on this progression of understanding? Do you need to "hang around Jesus" some more today?