So He came to a city of Samaria which is called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, sat thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour. A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.” For His disciples had gone away to the city to buy food. Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans. Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.” The woman said to Him, “Sir, You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where then do You get that living water? Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and livestock?” Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” The woman said to Him, “Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw.” John 4:5-15
The woman, like Nicodemas in the previous chapter of John, (v.3:4), did not realize that Jesus was talking about her spiritual needs. Now up to this point, this woman had been rather sassy with Jesus, you can hear from her answers that she was already decided on what length of respect and courtesy she would give to Him. For she was know in her community for being a woman with bad moral character, in regards to her many relationships she has had with men. The type of woman that was used and then discarded by the men in her world, and therefore, had sized up all men to be the same way to her. For even the time of day, the sixth hour was the hottest part of their day, when no one would be there to confront her. Most women from that region would go out to the well at a much earlier time. So when she came to draw water and saw Jesus sitting there, and Him asking her, for a drink, She was puzzled at the request. ” Your a Jew and I’m a Samaritan, and were not supposed to have dealings with each other.” The Bible says in Matthew’s gospel, Now it happened, as Jesus sat at the table in the house, that behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Him and His disciples. And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to His disciples, “why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” When Jesus heard that, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.” (Matthew 9:10-13)
When Jesus is talking to this woman about water, about more specifically, living water, she did not understand what He was talking about. Even I’m sure, as Nicodemas did not understand the first time said to him, “You must be born again.” Jesus is talking about spiritual things, and the woman at the well is thinking of only material things. So we can surmise that the reading of the Scriptures deals with our hearts most deepest spiritual needs, as well as our physical needs. Now, the statement, “He who drinks of this water shall thirst again,” here Jesus is referring to that physical water, speaking further, Jesus mentions thirst, not just physical thirst, but spiritual thirst as well. Man is a three-fold being: he is body, mind and spirit. And we have physical thirsts, we have emotional thirsts, and there is a spiritual thirst in man. Jesus said to the woman, “If your going to drink this water, your going to thirst again.” And that can be said of every physical experience that any human might possess, or seek to find fulfillment from. There are those people who think to themselves, “If I only could _____you fill in the blank,” then I’ll be happy, then I’ll be satisfied! It seems as if, were always at a stage in our life that wants to make the statement: If I could just achieve this, or maintain that, I would be satisfied. I would thirst no more! But Jesus points out, with those things, You drink of this water, you will thirst again.
Living Water—The Old Testament is the background for this term, which has important metaphorical significance. The OT prophet Jeremiah wrote, “For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, and hewn themselves cisterns—broken cisterns that can hold no water.” Jeremiah 2:13 First Israel had abandoned the Lord, the source of spiritual salvation and sustenance. And secondly, Israel turned to idolatrous objects of trust; Jeremiah compared these with underground water storage devices for collecting rainwater, which were broken and let water seep out, thus proving worthless. The OT prophets looked forward to a time when “living waters shall flow from Jerusalem” (Ezekiel 47:9; Zechariah 14:8). The OT metaphor spoke of the knowledge of God and His grace which provides cleansing, and spiritual life, and transforming power of the Holy Spirit. So here, in our text, John applies these themes to Jesus Christ as the living water which is symbolic of eternal life and given to us through the Holy Spirit.
Beloved friend, Since the woman failed to understand the nature of the living water He offered (v.15), Jesus abruptly turned the dialogue to focus sharply on her real spiritual need for conversion and cleansing from sin. His intimate knowledge of her morally depraved life not only indicated His supernatural ability, but also focused on her spiritual condition. She was living conjugally with a man who Jesus said was not her husband. And that she has had five husbands before (vv16-18), By such an explicit statement, our Lord rejected the notion that when two people live together it constitutes marriage. Biblically, marriage is always restricted to a public, formal covenant before God. God has placed a seal on those who have believed in Him. This seal is the Holy Spirit which was promised by Jesus before He went to the cross, and is a sign that we are now God’s property. What belongs to God is God’s and cannot be taken by another. God will ferociously guard that which are His, and will allow nothing to separate us from Him. Praise the Lord, for His giving us His living water!
May the Lord bless your walk with Him!
