not, neither come all the way hither to draw.
Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither."--JOHN
iv. 1-16.

Jesus left Jerusalem because His miracles were attracting the wrong kind
of people, and creating a misconception of the nature of His kingdom. He
went into the rural districts, where He had simpler, less sophisticated
persons to deal with. Here He gained many disciples, who accepted
baptism in His name. But here again His very success endangered His
attainment of His great end. The Pharisees, hearing of the numbers who
flocked to His baptism, fomented a quarrel between His disciples and
those of John; and would, moreover, have probably called Him to account
for presuming to baptize at all. But why should He have feared a
collision with the Pharisees? Why should He not have proclaimed Himself
the Messiah? The reason is obvious. The people had not had sufficient
opportunity to ascertain the character of His work; and only by going
about among them could He impress upon susceptible spirits a true sense
of the nature of the blessings He was willing to bestow. To the woman of
Samaria He did not hesitate to proclaim Himself, because she was a
simple-minded woman, who was in need of sympathy and spiritual strength.
But from controversial Pharisees, who were prepared to settle His claims
by one or two trifling theological tests, He withdrew. The time would
come when, after conferring on many humble souls the blessings of the
kingdom, He must publicly proclaim Himself King; but as yet that time
had not arrived, and therefore He left Judaea for Galilee.

A line drawn from Jerusalem to Nazareth would pass through the entire
breadth of Samaria, and quite close to the town of Sychar. Between
Judaea, where Jesus was, and Galilee, where He wished to be, the province
of Samaria intervened. It stretched right across from the sea to the
Jordan, so that the Jews, who were too scrupulous to pass through
Samaritan territory, were compelled to cross the Jordan twice, and make
a considerable _detour_ if they wished to go to Galilee. Our Lord had no
such scruples; besides, the springs near Salim, where John was
baptizing, were not far from Sychar, and He might wish to see John on
His way north. He took, therefore, the great north road, and one day at
noon[11] found Himself at Jacob's well, where the road divides, and
where, at any rate, it was natural that a tired traveller should rest
during the mid-day hour