John 4: 12
“Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?”
The woman’s first question in verse 11 belies her intelligence. She states the obvious. Jesus clearly is not carrying any water nor does he have any means of drawing water from the well. Her second question is much different.
She is starting to understand that Jesus is offering something more than plain water. This “living water” he refers to sounds intriguing. After all, what does he mean by “living water?” Can water “live?” However, instead of arguing about whether water can live or not, she goes directly to the heart of the matter: Who are you?
Q: When she asks if Jesus is greater than her ancestor, Jacob, how would you answer her question?
Jesus is not only greater, He is the answer to every promise made to Jacob. He is the Messiah that the promise to Jacob pointed toward – that one would come through whom all nations would be blessed. He is the one from the seed of the woman who would crush Satan’s head (Genesis 3: 15). And of course – He is God in the flesh. He is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Of course, at least some of these things she would have understood from Jesus’ response in John 4: 26. These truths also are true for us today.
Thanks Rich! Nice summation!!
Yes 🙂
(I also agree with Rich’s longer answer)
First off,..I guess I would have to be Jesus to answer her,..so I guess I will role play here,..the answer I wold give would be a simple yet humble,..yes as a matter of fact,.. I am. To be honest here I created all that there is,..as I said if you only knew Who is asking you for a drink,..
But I am not Jesus so I will stick with what’s been written,..
Keep it up Jeff,..
Thanks John! Nice role playing, too!! 🙂