http://beloved-eternity.50megs.com, a painting by Simon Dewey
Like the Woman at the Well, We Are Thirsting for Things that Do Not Satisfy
Part Two: John 4:5-42
From John 4: 16 Jesus said to her, "Go, call your husband, and come back." 17 The woman answered him, "I have no husband." Jesus said to her, "You are right in saying, "I have no husband'; 18 for you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true!" 19The woman said to him, "Sir, I see that you are a prophet. 20 Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem." 21 Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him. 24God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth." 25 The woman said to him, "I know that Messiah is coming" (who is called Christ). "When he comes, he will proclaim all things to us." 26 Jesus said to her, "I am he, the one who is speaking to you." 27 Just then his disciples came. They were astonished that he was speaking with a woman, but no one said, "What do you want?" or, "Why are you speaking with her?" 28 Then the woman left her water jar and went back to the city. She said to the people, 29 "Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done! He cannot be the Messiah, can he?" 30 They left the city and were on their way to him.
Some of us have done some really private things that we pray will never be discovered. Like this woman at the well, we think that we're fine and when challenged with the truth of God's love in spite of what may come our way, we may not know what to do. Jesus in this passage tells the woman to go and call her husband and come back. She replies that she has no husband. Jesus affirms that by saying, "You are right in saying, 'I have no husband;' for you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true!" Busted! Discovered! What would you do? This woman says, "Sir, I see that you are a prophet." And then changes the subject to talk about ancestors and their worship practices on the mountain on which they were on, and Jewish customs about worship. Jesus continues with His message about His message and purpose. First, Jesus declares that worship is about God and the coming hour when she will worship God the Father in ways she does not yet know and in places that will not matter. Jesus defines true worship as being that which is done in spirit and in truth, for those who worship in that way are the ones being sought by God.
Jesus explains that God is spirit and God's worship should be done in spirit and in truth. This woman may have known about worship and the location of worship, but she did not know the Who and Why behind worship. Jesus is inviting her beyond the rituals and traditions to the reality and truth of worship. He is also inviting her to be truthful in her worship. Worship should contain a time of confession; of being made right with God about what we've done and what we've tried to hide, for that opens us up for what God can do with us and our sinfulness.
The woman replies with her declaration about "the Messiah is coming" and how His arrival will allow Him to "proclaim all things to us." Jesus then says, "I am he, the one who is speaking to you." The arrival of the disciples at that point don't allow her to respond to Jesus' declaration but she leaves her water jar and returns back to her city, and there she invites others to "come and see" the man who told her everything that she had done. She also questions whether Jesus can be the Messiah, but those whom she invited went to see what this was all about.
We do not know what prompted this woman's thirst for having had five husbands and one who was not; but she had yet to drink the living water of Jesus. She sought and found what she thought was the quenching of her soul in being married to many men, and finally with one who was not her husband. Jesus' living water is the truth about God and in turn should lead us to the truth about ourselves. To worship this God of love we must confess our sinfulness, be made right with God and accept and share the love that God offers to us through Christ Jesus. Until we do that we will go from thing to thing or person to person, still seeking and not being satisfied for the only thing that can, and that is to receive the living waters of Jesus Christ. You can only eat so much sand from a mirage before you discover you're more parched than ever; only in Jesus can we find living water that takes away the thirst of the world. Walk away from the mirages in your life and come to the true oasis Who is Jesus Christ. Drink deep and fully, and never thirst again!
PRAYER: God of the Living Water, come and fill my soul and spirit with the living waters that will lead me away from the mirages of this life. I have sought for too long the true oasis where I could find the quenching of my thirst; now I know I can only find it in You. "Fill my cup, Lord; I lift it up." In Jesus' precious and powerful name I pray, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
Eradio Valverde
