Our final example is found in the woman Jesus met at Jacob’s well.
7 There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink.
8 (For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.) 9 Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. (John 4)
It was highly irregular for a man to ask a woman to fetch water for him, and downright scandalous for a Jewish man to ask a Samaritan woman to do so. The woman’s humility was witnessed by the fact that, instead of running away or even ignoring him, she answered him to ask him why he was acting so strangely.
10 Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.
11 The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water?
12 Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle? (John 4)
Jesus responded to her reasonable consideration of what she had experienced by acting even stranger, saying that he had something called living water. Though she was confused, she did not respond by ignoring him or pretending to understand. She asked yet another two questions. Honest reason requires paying due diligence to evidence provided and asking as many questions as merited by what is observed.
13 Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again:
14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
15 The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw. (John 4)
Jesus’ response to the woman was to provide even more information. Though she certainly did not understand who he was yet, she responded to the evidence he had shown that he possessed something of value to her by requesting it of him. This was the exactly appropriate response for such evidence as was presented, showing her to be a reasonable person.
16 Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither.
17 The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband:
18 For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly.
19 The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet.
20 Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. (John 4)
Jesus provided her with greater evidence to show that the value of what he possessed was greater than she could know based on the information she already possessed. To this, she made the appropriate response, increasing her assessment of the value he possessed.
21 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.
22 Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.
23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
25 The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things. 26 Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he.
27 And upon this came his disciples, and marvelled that he talked with the woman: yet no man said, What seekest thou? or, Why talkest thou with her?
28 The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men,
29 Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?
30 Then they went out of the city, and came unto him. (John 4)
The woman demonstrated a sincere attempt at reconciling what she was learning from Jesus with what she knew from previous reasoning and experience. Jesus provided her with even more information, finally plainly telling her that he was the Messiah. Having made several iterations through the faith cycle during this conversation, she was now ready to hear the truth plainly, and demonstrated this by the appropriate response to such information: going and finding everyone who would listen to come hear him.
#Chapter 7: Faith and Belief