Image from http://beloved-eternity.50megs.com, a painting by Simon Dewey
The Woman at the Well, Part One
From John 4:5 So he came to a Samaritan city called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob's well was there, and Jesus, tired out by his journey, was sitting by the well. It was about noon. 7 A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, "Give me a drink." 8 (His disciples had gone to the city to buy food.) 9 The Samaritan woman said to him, "How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?" (Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.) 10 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." 11The woman said to him, "Sir, you have no bucket, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? 12 Are you greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us the well, and with his sons and his flocks drank from it?" 13 Jesus said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14 but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life." 15 The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water."
(This is Part One of Three on this passage from John's Gospel)
After His encounter with Nick at Nite, Jesus and the Disciples traveled into Judea, and later back to Galilee. His journey required a trip through Samaria, and we find Him in the town of Sychar, "near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph." Jesus chooses to rest by the well known as Jacob's well. It was during the heat of noontime that this conversation begins with a Samaritan woman who had come to draw water. The history between Jews and Samaritans has never been a perfect one, and had become one of distance, thus the remarks shared by the woman with Jesus.
Jesus asks this woman for a drink of water. The disciples had gone into the city to buy food at Sonic, and left Jesus by himself. The woman cannot believe that Jesus, a Jew, would ask her, a Samaritan, for a drink of water. I love how the Bible says "The Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans" which is a nice way of saying, 'The Jews only bucket is not here.' Jesus replies by saying, "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." A deep, spiritual and theological revelation made by the Son of God to this unsuspecting woman. Jesus identifies Himself as "the gift of God" who could give to her "living water." She looks around and says, You don't have a bucket, and that well is deep, where would you get that living water? She cannot see the equipment necessary for drinking. She did catch the part about living water, but without a bucket, how would this man reach it? At this point it is fair to say she's thinking that Jesus is calling the water from Jacob's well, living water. She goes on, by asking Jesus if He was greater than Jacob, who had given the Samaritans this well to begin with, and the history was that Jacob and his sons and flocks all drank from this well. Jesus continues with the message; all who drink from this well get thirsty after a while; "but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life." More revelation, more confusion.
Jesus' message is all about life and having life in abundance. The things of God satisfy every thirst and hunger that we could possibly have. Those who have drank deep from the life-giving message of Jesus no longer thirst. They have found life in Jesus and a life that never ends; this is abundant life. The things that the world offers may quench a temporary thrust, but it will wear off. If you have thirsted for money or fame, those things wear off, and soon your name is on the Where Are They Now list. You might still be thirsty for more money if you're not careful. If you thirsted for newer and newer cars or homes; they get old, and without the proper care rust or decay. And you will always seek more and more. To find satisfaction with your life in Jesus Christ is to find the true quenching that nothing else can match.
It's easy to become like this woman who still did not quite understand what Jesus was offering or Who Jesus was. Her response in this last verse has her saying, "Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water." She heard what she wanted to hear, something that would reduce her work load and she thought, "That's cool; this guy will give me water that will prevent me from having to come here time after time to draw water; cool, give me some of that!" Wrong. Jesus had spoken to Nicodemus about being born from above, of having a spiritual birth; and that spiritual birth is what helps us understand and accept spiritual things. If we continue to guide our thinking by earthly, human ways, the spiritual will not make sense. What Jesus was offering was on another plane that this woman had not yet captured.
What about you? Are the draws and pulls of society keeping you from drinking from this living water? As long as you feel pulled or weighed down by earthly cares and worries, the spiritual and eternal things will slip from your grasp. What Jesus offers is something that we can only understand from a spiritual point of view. Yes, you or your loved ones will still get sick; but you'll see beyond that to what God ultimately offers beyond the human realm. Yes, you'll feel stress and strain in your job, but you have the hope and calm that comes with it if you truly trust the Lord as having shared with you living water. This Lenten Journey has been all about the spiritual and our need for it. Journey towards God and the things of God and the things of earth will be put in their proper place, and more importantly, you'll be put in the Book of Life.
PRAYER: God of this journey, help me to truly understand and receive the living water that Jesus offers to me. Help me to become truly born from above to deeply understand Your ways. This I pray in Christ Jesus' precious and powerful name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
Eradio Valverde
