John 4
I'm actually going to start with what I journaled at the end,
"The story of the woman at the well is so much richer than I remember. It actually made me think of (Lazarus and) the rich man, who from Hades asks for a drop of water to cool his anguish (Luke 16:24). It makes me wonder if he was thirsty for actual water because he was hot, or if he was after Jesus, the living water, and eternally separated from Him. Also, this ties in great with what I've been learning in Psalm 63"
A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” (For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying 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 water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.” verses 7-12
Just try and imagine this for a moment with me. We can modernize this, right? You're at the drinking fountain (in Wisconsin we say bubbler) filling up your water bottle. Then another guy comes up and asks you for a drink. But instead of giving him a drink, you ask, why are you asking me for a drink? We don't even go to the same school. You're on the other team. Then this guy says, "If you knew who I was, you'd be asking me for a drink" This guy has no vessel in which to carry water. Who does he think he is?
Not a perfect example, but I'm trying to illustrate how striking this must have been. Living water.
Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.” verses 13-15
Do you see why I was reminded of Psalm 63? I love that imagery of thirsting for God. Which is also why I was drawn to think about that rich man. He is in eternal torment, and begging for just a touch of water. But a small drop would not satisfy him; neither would it work once, but he would be thirsty just a moment later. His will never and can never be quenched. So this begs the question, why would he ask for just one drop of water? Is he so desperate that he thinks that one drop would help? I've been in intense heat before, and let me tell you, a drop of water does nothing. Often even a glass if futile. I can't even imagine what the rich man had to have been feeling.
And to just take this another step further, let's look at this picture of the new heavens and the new earth from Revelation
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.” 21:1-8
What a contrast here. The one who conquers will be a son. He will not thirst, and he will not pay for the heritage that he is given. But to the rest, they will be with fire and sulfur. Ouch.
As I read about this woman at the well, and how Jesus knows her whole history and everywhere she's been and everything she's done, she is amazed that Jesus would offer her His living water, His very self. She is aware that she has not earned it, but instead joyously accepts it, and proclaims this news to those around her. And at first, people believe because of her testimony. Then it changes:
Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony, “He told me all that I ever did.” So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. And many more believed because of his word. They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.”
John 4:39-42
Testimony is important, but true belief has to come from being awakened to the truth of God by the Holy Spirit. Like the woman at the well, we can't think to ask for living water without knowing it exists. If we were unaware of our need for a Savior, why would we look for it?
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