6 Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, sat thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour.
6 Now Jacob’s well was there.
The word “well” here is spring. The well was fed by the spring at the foot of Mount Ebal. Today the well is 106 feet deep. The well lies about half a mile south of the village of Sychar. Mount Gerizim across from Mount Ebal was the center of Samaritan worship.
Jesus therefore,
The “therefore” draws an inference as to why Jesus went to the well. He was thirsty.
being wearied from His journey,
The humanity of Christ can reach the point of being “wearied” from His travel from Judea. He had been walking about six hours by this time. The deity of Christ had no limitations; the humanity of Christ had limits.
In order to die for the sins of humanity, Jesus had to have a human nature. It was His human nature that became tired from His long walk through Samaria.
Jesus was not a human person who subsequently received a divine nature. Neither was He two persons with both a divine and human nature. Rather, He was one person with two natures, divine and human. His human nature began at His birth in Bethlehem, and it was His human nature that became physically tired.
It is possible to have a human nature without sin. That was true of Adam and Eve before they sinned. It is true of Christ because He was born of a virgin and did not receive a sin nature from Adam. All Christians will have a human nature in eternity without a sin nature or the capacity to sin. Jesus was tempted from the world and from Satan but not from a sin capacity.
sat thus by the well.
Jesus sat by Jacob’s Well to rest Himself physically.
It was about the sixth hour.
Jesus arrived at the well about 12 noon Jewish, not Roman, time.
PRINCIPLE:
Jesus possessed true humanity and can relate to true humanity.
APPLICATION:
The gospel of John places both the deity and the humanity of Christ in tension side-by-side. The gospel of John in particular places the deity of Christ alongside His finite humanity. The gospel writer did not compromise either.
Jesus did not have just the appearance of fatigue; He was actually tired. He laid aside the voluntary use of His attributes that are exclusive to God (incommunicable attributes such as being everywhere present and all knowing). In doing this Jesus experienced normal functions of humanity. He was both undiminished deity and true humanity. Because Jesus experienced fatigue and weariness, He can identify with our limitations and weaknesses (Mt 11:28).
Sometimes our physical limitations lead to opportunity to share Christ with others. Because Christ experienced the limitations of a human being, He could identify with people in their pain. He could empathize with problems. Our personal pain can help us empathize with those who hurt.
Jesus could naturally talk to the woman at the well. She did not meet a critic but a friend because He broke down barriers that divide. A rabbi would never speak to a woman in public, especially a harlot, but Jesus was willing to risk His reputation by talking to her. Jesus broke through religious, national, and gender barriers when He was upon earth.
