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.” 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.” John 4:7-15 (ESV)
If you have known me any length of time, you know that my weakness is Dr. Pepper. I was born and raised in Texas, and Dr. Pepper is practically the state drink. All that sweet, bubbly goodness is addicting! Yum!
However, one of my New Year’s resolutions is to drink less soda and more water. I want to improve my overall fitness and health so my physical body flourishes and has the energy I need to do what God calls me to do.
I even bought myself a new water bottle to help encourage me to drink water more.
I was thinking about this goal to drink more water and I remembered a story from the life of Jesus (John 4:7-15).
The setting is a well. In the dry Middle East, a well was an oasis to thirsty travelers. And this was a special well. This is the well that Jacob dug (you know, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob) and gave to Joseph (yep, the Joseph that was second in command in Egypt back in the day). Jesus has been on a journey with His disciples. They go into the city to buy food and He is alone. He comes to the well where a Samarian woman has come to draw water.
He asks her to give Him a drink.
This totally baffles the woman. You see, in Jesus’ time, the Jews and the Samaritans were enemies. The racial tensions between the two groups were so bad that a Jewish would never have dealings with a woman of Samaria. Yet, Jesus talks to her and asks a favor of this woman.
When she questions Him, He says something even more baffling.
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.” John 4:10 (ESV)
Living water?!? The woman must have thought she was talking to a crazy person.
After all, they are standing at a really deep well, and Jesus has brought nothing to draw water up. She obviously thinks this mad man is egotistical too. Because she questions if He thinks He is better than Jacob who dug the well.
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.” John 4:13-14 (ESV)
This sounds pretty good to this Samaritan woman and she says, “Sold! I’ll take it!” (Well, not quite exactly like that.)
“Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.” John 4:15 (ESV)
Jesus has conversation with her and tells her things that He could have no way of knowing. She calls Him a prophet. As He explains the spiritual differences between the Jews and the Samaritans, she starts to reply that she does know some stuff:
The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things.” John 4:25 (ESV)
Then, Jesus does something extraordinary. He tells her that He is the Messiah. It is VERY rare for Jesus to actually come out and say that He is the long-awaited Promised One. Most of the time, He is tight-lipped and evasive when people are questioning Him. However, alone with this woman at the well, He comes right out and says, “I am He.”
Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he.” John 4:26 (ESV)
Contact with Jesus gave this woman something she could not get any other way. Living water. A relationship with the Messiah. Belief. She runs into the city to tell others. A group comes back and when they hear Jesus, they ask Him to stay and teach them. Because this woman believed Him, the bible says, “many more believed because of His words.” John 4:41 (ESV)
I want to be that woman. The one who drinks living water, cultivating a relationship with the Christ, and leads others to belief in Him. I don’t want to waste my life on the unhealthy drinks this world offers, consuming and consumed by the spiritual equivalent of soda or alcohol.
I want to drink the good stuff.
How about you?
Action Step: I am pairing my desire to drink more actual water with my goal to drink more living water (spend more of my life with Jesus). When I drink from my new water bottle, I will take a quick moment to connect with my Savior. To thank Him for something, to acknowledge His presence and blessings in my life, to tell Him my concerns and worries, to share life with Him. As that living water flows into my life, I am purified and made healthier.
Dear God, Thank you so much for living water. Thank you for sending your Son and for Him revealing Himself to us. Help us to draw close to Him and drink more of the ‘good stuff’ and less of the bad. In Jesus’ name, amen.