The Living Water
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[SLIDE 1] Introduction
If you have your Bible, then please turn to John 4:1-15.
1 Now when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John 2 (although Jesus himself did not baptize, but only his disciples), 3 he left Judea and departed again for Galilee. 4 And he had to pass through Samaria. 5 So he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there; so Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well. It was about the sixth hour. 7 A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” 8 (For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.) 9 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.) 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.” 11 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? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.” 13 Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14 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.” 15 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.”
Illustration
Let me begin by asking you a question: Have you ever been so thirsty that it felt like your whole body was shutting down?
There’s a New Testament professor by the name of Kenneth E. Bailey.
He spent 40 years living and teaching New Testament in Egypt, Lebanon, Jerusalem, and Cyprus.
He wrote an experience of what it feels like to nearly die of thirst. Listen as I read it:
[SLIDE 2] While living in the south of Egypt, a group of friends and I traveled deep into the Sahara Desert by camel.
As our trek began, the temperature soared to above 110° Fahrenheit in the shade, and there was no shade.
On our way, one goat-skin water bag leaked all of its precious contents.
With consumption high due to the heat, we ran out of water, and for a day and a half we pressed on while enduring intense thirst.
The goal of the excursion was a famous well named Bir Shaytoun, deep in the desert.
Our guide promised us that it was never dry — ah, but could we survive to reach its life-giving liquid silver?
My mouth became completely dry, and eating was impossible, because swallowing felt like the rubbing of two pieces of sandpaper together.
My vision became blurred, and the struggle to keep moving became harder with each step.
We knew that if the well was dry, our armed guards would probably have forcibly seized our three baggage camels, and ridden them back to the valley, leaving the rest of us to die.”
The group did manage to stagger to the well, and it was full of “the wine of God.”
It’s actually a water source named by desert tribesmen in the Middle East.
The reason why I share this story with you is because a lot of people in the world who do not know Jesus Christ are suffering from spiritual thirst.
They chase after the “wells” of success, popularity, materialism, or pleasure to satisfy them, but they only left them empty.
[SLIDE 3] What are the “wells” you’ve been drawing from in your life?
How has relying on these “wells” left you feeling—full or still longing for more?
What you truly need in your life is knowing and encountering God because He alone can truly satisfy your deepest human needs.
Biblical Theology
Context
[SLIDE 4] The conversation between Jesus and the Samaritan woman is probably the longest conversation that Jesus has with another person in any of the gospels.
You may know this well-known story through Sunday schools, Bible readings, or sermons.
This passage from verses 1-42 highlights three different themes.
It talks about True Worship.
It talks about the Spiritual Harvest.
It talks about the Living Water.
So, we’re going to spend several sermons digging deep into this important conversation.
In the wider context, Jesus’ conversation with the Samaritan woman is a contrast with Nicodemus in the beginning of John 3.
Nicodemus was a religious leader, a Jewish man, educated, morally upright, upper-middle class, and sought Jesus as night, but Jesus tells him to be born again if he wants to see and enter the kingdom of God.
The Samaritan woman was a nobody, uneducated, immoral, a lower class, and did not intentionally seek Jesus at noon, but Jesus reaches out to her and tells her about Himself.
Both parties are as different as they can be.
Both are in the opposite side of the spectrum, but Jesus loves both of them and anybody in between the spectrum.
Our Lord Jesus came to seek and to save all types of people.
Jesus will evangelize to this sinner.
To which, the Samaritan woman in verse 39 ran back to her town and tell her people all that Jesus has ever done.
So, you evangelize the lost sinners so that they can evangelize to people within their reach.
While we can learn much of Jesus’ way of evangelizing to a lost sinner, that is not the point that the Apostle John is emphasizing.
[SLIDE 5] Remember, in John 20:30-31, John’s purpose is to tell us who Jesus Christ is.
He wants to convince us to believe that Jesus is the Son of God.
He wants to persuade us to trust in Him for eternal life.
Every part of the story in John’s gospel aims to tell us more and more about the person and identity of Jesus Christ.
[SLIDE 6] So, the big idea I want you to remember is this: “Jesus is the living water who can satisfy your spiritual thirst forever.”
In this passage, Jesus will perform three actions that reveal the heart of His mission, not just for the Samaritan woman, but for each of us today.
They also reveal to us what He does to transform the lives of unworthy sinners.
Follow along in your Bibles as I go through this section.
Exposition
[SLIDE 7] First, we’ll see that “Jesus Looks For The Lost” in verses 1-6.
Take a look at verses 1-3 as the background that sets up the story.
1 Now when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John 2 (although Jesus himself did not baptize, but only his disciples), 3 he left Judea and departed again for Galilee.
Back in John 3:22, we recall that Jesus was on the road from Jerusalem to the Judean countryside, baptizing people.
If you recall, I have established the fact that Jesus was not baptizing people himself, but His disciples were doing so.
That is what verse 2 says.
As the teacher of the group, He supervised and superintended the ministry of baptism through His disciples.
Now, Jesus and His disciples are leaving Judea and going to Galilee.
Why is that?
It is because in verse 1 He learned that the Pharisees had heard that He was making and baptizing more disciples than John.
He’s supposedly growing more popular than John the Baptist.
Our Lord probably did not want to make Himself known to the religious leaders, and be interrogated by them just like they did with John the Baptist back in John 1:19.
Since Galilee was His destination, our text tells us that Jesus went through Samaria to get to Galilee.
Take a look at verses 4-6.
4 And he had to pass through Samaria. 5 So he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there; so Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well. It was about the sixth hour.
Notice, in verse 4, it says, “And he HAD TO pass through Samaria.”
This is important.
Another way to translate this is: “It was NECESSARY for Jesus to pass through Samaria.”
[SLIDE 8] There are probably two reasons why Jesus went through Samaria.
First, it was in accordance to the will of His Father.
Second, geographically, going to Galilee through Samaria was the shorter route.
Ultimately, by the providence of God, Jesus intentionally went through Samaria so that He can encounter the Samaritan woman.
This reveals why “Jesus Looks For The Lost.”
However, strict Jews typically do not pass through Samaria if they want to travel to Galilee from Judea and vice versa.
They would cross the Jordan and travel north to avoid Samaria altogether.
Why is that?
It is important for you to learn history.
When I was in high school, I did not like history class because I thought it was boring and irrelevant, but I was totally wrong.
History generally teaches us why things are the way they are in the present time.
[SLIDE 9] What you need to understand is that the Jews and Samaritans have a long history of ethnic prejudice and animosity against one another for about 1000 years.
Hence, in verse 9, the woman tells Jesus why He’s talking to her since Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.
Knowing the Old Testament would be helpful to understand the history.
In 1 Kings 12, there was a split between two kingdoms in Israel at around 931 BC.
The northern kingdom would be called the kingdom of Israel.
And Samaria would be the capital city of Israel.
The southern kingdom would be called the kingdom of Judah.
After the Assyrians conquered the northern kingdom in 2 Kings 17 in the year 722 BC, the population in the north became mixed with foreigners.
The Assyrians took possession of Samaria.
And Samaria then became a pluralistic nation where the citizens worshipped their own idols / gods while also worshipping the LORD (YHWH).
Some of the Israelites who remained in Samaria intermarried with foreigners.
So, Samaritans became known as half-Jews and half-Gentiles.
Eventually, Samaria became a region, not just a city.
The Samaritans were perceived by the Jews as being ritually unclean.
So, both groups have their conflicts for many years.
Both have their own place of worship, which we’ll talk about next time.
Both have their own canon of the Old Testament.
The Samaritans viewed the first five books of the Old Testament as their sacred text.
The Jews would have the 39 books of the Old Testament, much like what we have as Christians.
So, it is important to understand this history because it’ll underscore Jesus’ shocking interaction with the Samaritan woman later on.
[SLIDE 10] Our text tells us in verses 5-6 that Jesus went to a town called Sychar, which is also known as Shechem in the Old Testament.
It was the near the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph.
In case you don’t know who Jacob and Joseph were, they’re important characters in the book of Genesis.
Joseph was the son of Jacob.
And Jacob was the son of Isaac.
And Isaac was the son of Abraham.
Fun fact: Shechem is also the place where Joseph was be buried.
You can find the references in Genesis 33 and Joshua 24:32.
And we’re told in verse 6 that Jesus was sitting beside Jacob’s well at about the sixth hour.
In the Jewish method of calculating time, the sixth hour would be 12 PM because they start their day at 6 AM, sunrise.
Usually, noon would have been a hot sunny day in Israel.
But, why was Jesus there?
The text says, “wearied as he was from journey.”
In other words, he was tired from his long journey from all the walking.
Plus, He was thirst, so he asked for water to drink in verse 7.
He was also hungry; hence, Jesus sent His disciples to buy food (in verse 8).
Now, I really want you to pay attention to verse 6 because there is so much to learn about Jesus wrapped in this single verse.
Since Jesus is God, why would He be tired?
Why would He be thirsty and hungry?
Since He’s truly God, isn’t He the everlasting God who does not grow faint or weary according to Isaiah 40:28?
Well, you need to also remember John 1:14 where the eternal divine Word, who’s God, became flesh.
God the Son took upon Himself human nature.
So, in His true humanity, Jesus was indeed hungry, thirsty, and tired.
I don’t believe for a second that He pretended to be tired and thirsty just to strike a conversation with the Samaritan woman.
While still being truly God and truly Man, the Apostle Paul says in Philippians 2:5-8 that Jesus did not take full advantage of OR grasp His divine nature.
He humbled Himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.
So, this is the truth of who jesus Christ is.
He’s truly God and truly Man.
And being truly Man, He Himself shares in the flesh and blood and partakes in the same nature of humanity.
He ate food with people.
He drank with people.
He even slept on the boat in the middle of the storm.
Jesus experienced the reality of the human nature with the exception of sin because He’s the sinless and perfect man of God.
In this passage, we can learn the fascinating and mind-boggling truth about Jesus.
Jesus is the Creator of world, including water, YET He asks the woman - His own creation - for water.
Jesus’ power is made perfect in weakness, YET He was physically weak and tired.
In a hot weather at 12 PM, Jesus would have been tired from His journey and being thirst.
In Israel, there is not a lot of water to come around.
They did not have tap water like us.
In a desert, water is like gold.
It was a huge asset.
So, Jesus sat beside Jacob’s well to receive water resources from the Samaritan woman.
Jesus intentionally looks for the lost. He seeks out sinners when they were not even seeking Him in the first place.
So, we’ll learn the second action:
[SLIDE 11] Jesus Gives The Gift in verses 7-12.
7 A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” 8 (For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.) 9 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.)
Here, we see the initial famous dialogue between Jesus and the Samaritan woman.
[SLIDE 12] She came to draw water at Jacob’s well.
Usually, the practice of drawing water from the well is reserved for the role of women in biblical times and Ancient Near Eastern Cultures.
This would be a daily activity for women in the villages.
But, what the Samaritan woman is doing is very unusual.
According to FF Bruce, women usually came to draw water in company, and at a cooler time of the day, either in the morning or in the afternoon.
So, she came alone to draw water by herself at the hottest time of the day.
Why is she doing something unusual?
It’s possible she desperately needed water.
OR, more likely, it is because she’s a disreputable woman.
John 4:17-18 says that she’s living with a man who is not her husband.
They’re living together.
They’re cohabitating.
This lifestyle would ostrocize her from the Samaritan community.
We do not know much about the Samaritan woman.
We do not know her name.
We do not know her age.
She could possibly be in her 40s since she had five husbands in the past.
I do think this woman knows her religious background as she debates with Jesus on the sacred place of worship.
She knows about the Messiah that is going to come and save His people.
Yet, despite her background, Jesus - who is God and all-knowing - knew about her sinful lifestyle, and He still chose to speak to her.
[SLIDE 13] So, Jesus speaks to her, “Give me a drink.”
After requesting water from her, she responds to Jesus with a question in verse 9:
“How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?” (For Jews have no dealings OR not in a friendly term with Samaritans).
If you’re reading this right now as a Jew, this would have been shocking.
It is because Jesus, as a Jewish teacher or a Rabbi, broke Jewish customs.
First, He spoke to a woman publicly.
There is a Jewish custom where rabbis do not speak to Jewish woman publicly, including their own wives.
For them, it would be considered inappropriate and potentially sinful
In John 4:27, after His disciples arrive from their grocery shopping, they were marveled that Jesus was talking with a woman.
Second, He spoke not just to any woman, but a Samaritan woman, let alone to even ask water from her.
In a religious sense, Samaritans were ceremonially unclean.
Drinking the water given by her would cause you to be impure.
So, Jesus broke two Jewish customs.
What Jesus did would have been offensive to the Jews.
But, Jesus is not afraid to break Jewish traditions because they were not the inspired word of God.
They were rules added by the Jews.
Jesus has a necessary reason and purpose for breaking cultural norms.
He came to seek and save the lost.
He came from heaven to reveal the Father to the world.
He came as the Messiah, the Saviour of the world.
He’s not afraid to break social and cultural barriers in the pursuit of His mission.
Here’s what you need to know about Lord Jesus Christ.
He came not just to reveal Himself to the Samaritan woman, but He wants to reveal Himself to you.
You may feel like you can relate to the Samaritan woman.
You may have suffered the consequence of your sins.
Therefore, you feel lonely, ashamed, isolated, and full of regrets.
You’re desperate for a solution to your deep problems in life.
But, you’re creating a barrier or a wall where you may be avoiding and deflecting the problem and the pattern of your sins.
You feel absolutely unworthy to have Jesus approach you.
You may feel like you have not done enough for Him.
You may feel like you are not good enough (which you’ll never be apart from His grace).
You can try to create a barrier between you and God.
However, no matter who you are or what you have done in your life, Jesus can break that barrier.
He wants to speak to you this morning.
He wants to approach you personally.
He wants to confront you intentionally.
He wants to give you the gift of God.
Now, Jesus responds to the Samaritan woman, and the dialogue continues in verses 10-12.
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.” 11 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? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.”
What is the gift of God that Jesus is talking about?
He’s talking about the living water.
What’s interesting about verse 11 is that it is structured in a chiastic form.
[SLIDE 14] The first idea mirrors the last idea, the second idea mirrors the second-to-last idea.
A: If you knew the gift of God.
B: and who it is that is saying to / asking you, ‘Give me a drink,’
B’: you would have asked him
A’: he would have given you living water.
Why does Jesus talk about the living water?
Jesus’ strategy of evangelism is to connect her physical needs to her spiritual needs.
She was physically thirsty, but Jesus used this need to point her to her deeper, spiritual thirst.
Jesus is saying to her, “If you KNEW who’s asking you for water...If you KNEW that I am actually the Messiah (the Christ) that you’ve been anticipating,” you would have asked Him for the living water.
Of course, she doesn’t know right now.
Instead, she’s a bit confused by what Jesus said regarding the living water.
She understands the living water this way…but Jesus meant it in a different way.
[SLIDE 15] For her, her understanding of “living” water is “fresh, running water.”
Kind of like that of the spring that feeds the well.
It’s called “living” because there’s movement going on.
So, she interpreted the living water “literally.”
She asks him, “Well, Jesus, you don’t have anything to draw water from Jacob’s well.
Plus, it’s so deep.
Where do you get that living water...IF it’s not from this well?
[SLIDE 16] And she further comments in verse 12:
Are you greater than our father Jacob, which is surely a rhetorical question.
For us, the answer is a big fat, “YES.”
He is greater than John the Baptist.
He is greater than Abraham.
He is above all and superior.
Surely, He’s greater than Jacob.
But for her, she’s expects Jesus to say, “NO!”
No, Jesus.
You’re not greater than Jacob.
So, she has a bit of skepticism about the identity of Jesus.
Jesus then proceeds to answer her questions: “Where do you get that living water and are you greater than our father Jacob?”
[SLIDE 17] Truly, we’ll learn that “Jesus Satisfies The Soul” in verses 13-15.
13 Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14 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.” 15 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.”
He responds to her by pointing her to the water that she drew from Jacob’s well in verse 13.
He’s saying, “Look, everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again...”
And you can personally insert whatever “wells” you may be trying to draw water from in your personal life.
But, Jesus is making a contrast in verse 14.
He’s contrasting the water that Jacob provides vs. the water that He provides.
The water that Jesus provides is greater than Jacob’s.
Now, I don’t want to get too technical, but this is important.
[SLIDE 18] In verse 13, the word “drink” is in the present tense, meaning that anyone who keeps on drinking this water will get thirsty again.
But in verse 14, “drink” is a different verb tense, meaning drinking just once will quench your thirst forever.
You can drink the water “once for all,” and it’ll satisfy you for eternity.
Jesus points to her how she can obtain this water in verse 14.
It’s the water that He gives.
But, it’s no ordinary water.
Jesus is the living water.
As the God of the universe who created water, He is the source of life and the fountain of living water.
[SLIDE 19] Take a look at the last half of verse 14.
By receiving the gift of living water from Him, you will become a spring of water welling up or bubbling up to eternal life.
That spiritual water will overflow abundantly in you, quenching and satisfying you forever.
Of course, the Samaritan woman continues to misunderstand Jesus in verse 15.
She desires this living water from Jesus...
Why?
She wants to go to that literal spring, running, and fresh water so she doesn’t have to draw water from that well again.
She longs for this living water.
She’s willing to receive it.
She’s willing to drink it.
But, she needs to understand her sin.
And she also needs to know the truth of the Person whom she’s talking to.
He’s Jesus the Messiah.
He’s the Saviour who came to rescue her.
He’s the One who can truly satisfy her deepest spiritual longings, needs, and thirsts.
One cannot desire salvation and heaven without recognizing their own sinfulness and the Savior who can truly transform them.
Like the Samaritan woman, we all have a deep longing for something.
Something that can quench the thirst deep inside our soul.
Something that can fill the deep well inside our hearts.
And only Jesus, the Living Water, can do that for you.
Only He can satisfy your soul.
The invitation is for you to come to Jesus, the Living Water.
You don’t need to pay anything.
You don’t need to give anything.’
This living water is a free gift of eternal life.
Gospel Presentation
[SLIDE 20] You may be wondering, “How can I get this living water?”
Again, this is figures of speech.
Those who drink of the water that Jesus gives will never be thirsty again.
Drinking the living water means believing in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Not being thirsty again means receiving the gift of eternal life.
If you don’t know Christ this morning, Jesus is offering the water to you.
Will you drink of it?
Will you believe that He is the Christ, the Son of the living God?
The One who came to die on the cross for your sins and be raised so that your sins can be washed by His blood?
And that by believing in Him, you may have life in His name, and become a spring of water?
If you drank the living water, if you have received the gift of eternal life by trusting in Jesus as your Lord and Saviour for your salvation, you have the fountain of water in you.
It’s an endless supply of satisfying water that is not temporary, but permanent.
It is forever.
You can come back to Jesus over and over again, because His water supply is rich and overflowing.
[SLIDE 21] And if you drink of the living water, the Holy Spirit gives you new life and transforms you from the inside out.
37 On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ ” 39 Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
And our hope as Christians is that the LORD will take us to the place in the New Heaven and the New Earth…and the angel will show us something MARVELOUS that we can anticipate.
We as Christians who have drank the living water is a foreshadow of the future yet to come.
[SLIDE 22]
1 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
I personally look forward to tasting that fresh water of life from that river.
I’m sure it’ll taste so much better than Vancouver tap water.
Application
[SLIDE 23] In conclusion, we learn that Jesus is the living water who can satisfy your spiritual thirst forever.
We saw three actions that reveal the heart of His mission.
Jesus Looks For The Lost (John 4:1-6)
Jesus Gives The Gift (John 4:7-12)
Jesus Satisfies The Soul (John 4:13-15)
[SLIDE 24] Here are some questions for your devotional considerations. Feel free discuss them with your family, Bible study groups, or with other Christians.
What barriers might you need to cross to tell someone about Jesus in your life? Are there people or places you avoid because of discomfort or prejudice?
When you feel spiritually thirsty, what Bible verses, prayers, or worship songs help you reconnect with the Living Water? How can these resources help you find refreshment in Him?
What “wells” in this world are you drawing from to find satisfaction or comfort in your life? What would it look like to turn away from these “wells” and seek satisfaction in Jesus instead?
After the service, if you want to discuss these questions or the sermon, if you need prayers, I’ll be available in the Vernon Hall.
[SLIDE 25] Conclusion
Hopefully, as we have some refreshment with water or coffee, may it just remind us everyday that we need Jesus the Living Water in our lives.
Benediction
May the Lord, the source of living water, fill you with His grace and satisfy your soul. As you go, may His presence overflow in your life, quenching every thirst and leading you to eternal joy and peace in Christ. Amen.
Announcements
Before I dismiss all of you, I have several announcements I want to make.
Next Sunday - October 6th - is our monthly combined service at 10:30 AM, followed by a pot-luck luncheon. Please remember to bring a dish to share for lunch.
I encourage you to come out on Tuesday nights for a very practical, interactive, and in-depth study of God’s Word with the letter of James. We meet at 7:00 pm in our church library. This Tuesday's topic is “How To Gain Wisdom for Our Trials.”
If you have keys to the church, please remember to check all the doors and make sure that they’re locked if you are the last one out after a meeting or program.
Finally, there will be a baby shower for Tina Wang on November 30th from 2 PM - 4 PM. This is for ladies only. So, ladies, watch for your invitations on November 2nd. What an exciting time to celebrate and see more babies and children in our church family.
If you want to give your offering, [name] is standing at the corner ready to receive your offering. If you want to give online, then go to our church website to find more information about it.
Off to the side room in the vernon hall is our time of refreshment and fellowship. I encourage you to join us.
Please welcome and greet one another, especially someone you do not know.
You’re dismissed, and God bless all of you.
