Living Water for the Thirsty Soul

Introduction

People often mistake me for someone else.

I have been told that I look like someone’s favorite uncle.

Or a former boss, or close friend...

I have often been mistaken for that handsome devil Edgar Snyder !

But the most bizarre experience happened 15 or 20 years ago.

I went to the county court house to pay a tax or buy a dog license. The stairs were closed so I got on the elevator. A judge got on (in full judicial robes). He looked at me and his face lite up and he said “Hi Dave! How are you doing?” I replied “Fine, but I am not Dave.” He looked at me with a grave judicial countenance and asked “are you sure?” “Yes I am sure...” God saved me as the elevator doors opened and the Judge walked out.

A couple of weeks later I got off the bus and was walking to work up Grant street by the Federal Court House when someone beside me said “Hi Dave! How are you doing?” I replied “Fine, but I am not Dave.” And then the reply “are you sure?” “Yes, I am sure.”

A month later I went to the Post Office downtown next to the Federal Court House to mail a letter. A man passing by said “Hi Dave! How are you doing?” I replied “Fine, but I am not Dave.” And then with a puzzled look on his face he said “are you sure?” “Yse, I am

But I stopped him and asked “Who’s Dave???” The man looked at me as if Dave was having amnesia or pulling his leg and said slowly as if I knew this “Why Dave is a Federal Assistant District Attorney.” “What is Dave’s full You name?” I asked. “Well Dave So-and-so” as if I knew. The man walked away sure that Dave had just pulled one over on him.

And I left thinking that I was walking around in a city filled with people who Dave had put in jail !!! And who thought I was Dave.

In this morning’s Scripture text, a Samaria women meets Dave.

Well, not Dave. We all know it is the second person of the Trinity, King of kings, the Lord of lords, Lord Jesus Christ. But she didn’t.

So let’s look at this encounter and view it from the questions she asks. And frame the questions as “are you sure?”

I - You as a Jewish man are speaking to me a Samaritan woman. Are you sure?

English Standard Version Chapter 4

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.)

English Standard Version Chapter 4

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?”

We are told that Jesus “had to pass through Samaria”. Why?

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English Standard Version Chapter 4

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?”

Jesus was leaving Jerusalem in the south and heading north to Galilee. If you looked on a map, you would see that Samaria in between the Jerusalem (Judea) and Galilee.

There a other longer routes to Galilee to by pass Samaria. Up the coast or up the east side of the Jordan river. That doubles or triples a 3 or 4 day journey.

Why did Jesus have to pass through Samaria? Perhaps he had an appointment or could only afford a 4 day trip.

No, he had to pass through because of the Divine plan.

But then there was the accursed Samarians.

Well, John tells us that “Jews have no dealings with Samaritans”. Or as the Message has it “(Jews in those days wouldn’t be caught dead talking to Samaritans.)”

-History of Jews and Samaritans-

The Northern Kingdom of Israel was conquered by the Assyrians in 721 B.C. They did what conquerors often did in those days—they transported practically the whole population to Media (). Into the district the Assyrians brought other people—from Babylon, from Cuthah, from Ava, from Hamath and from Sepharvaim ().

Now it is not possible to transport a whole people. Some of the people of the northern kingdom were left. Almost inevitably they began to intermarry with the incoming foreigners; and thereby they committed what to the Jews was an unforgivable crime.

The Samaritans had a corrupted Bible with only the first 5 books (Pentateuch). And they built a competing Temple on Mount Gerizim (which was destroyed by the Jews in 130 B.C.).

This phrase could also be translated, “Jews use nothing in common with Samaritans,” referring to the legislation that forbade a Jew to eat or drink with Samaritans, who were more lax in their understanding of ritual cleanness. The surprise was not so much that Jesus would speak with a Samaritan, but that He would drink from a Samaritan vessel.

This phrase could also be translated, “Jews use nothing in common with Samaritans,” referring to the legislation that forbade a Jew to eat or drink with Samaritans, who were more lax in their understanding of ritual cleanness. The surprise was not so much that Jesus would speak with a Samaritan, but that He would drink from a Samaritan vessel.

So the Jews and Samaritans hated one another.

But Jesus breaks down this barrier. And notice how he does this. Not in a phony way. He didn’t do a focus group. He had genuine SYMPATHY for this Samaritan. (And this woman, which we will get to.)

Paul explains it this way -

Ephesians 3:6 ESV

6 This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

Luke 19:10 ESV

10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

But there was another problem. The Samaritan was not a man, she was a woman. (there were only 2 genders in those days…)

But there was another problem. She was a woman. (there were only 2 genders in those days…)

The Gospel of Luke The Gospel of Women

In the Jewish morning prayer a man thanks God that he has not made him ‘a Gentile, a slave or a woman’.

The strict Rabbis forbade a Rabbi to greet a woman in public. A Rabbi might not even speak to his own wife or daughter or sister in public. There were even Pharisees who were called ‘the bruised and bleeding Pharisees’ because they shut their eyes when they saw a woman on the street and so walked into walls and houses! For a Rabbi to be seen speaking to a woman in public was the end of his reputation—and yet Jesus spoke to this woman.

Add to that, we know this woman’s character - many husbands. She is coming alone to a well a couple of miles outside the city. It seems even the Samaritan women will have nothing to do with her.

But we know that from the beginning of the Bible, women in the eyes of God have the same worth, value, dignity that men do.

Genesis 1:27 ESV

27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

Genesis 1:26–27 ESV

26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

Jesus has come to seek and save the lost.

English Standard Version Chapter 3

27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.

Galatians 3:26–29 ESV

26 for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.

Jesus speaks to Samaritan women, because the in Christ there is no male or female, Jew or Gentile, Slave or free. Jesus is sure.

Jesus speaks to the Samaritan women, because the in Christ there is no male or female, Jew or Gentile, Slave or free.

Jesus speaks to the Samaritan women, because the in Christ there is no male or female, Jew or Gentile, Slave or free.

Jesus is sure.

Yes, Jesus is sure.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

II - You can give living water. Are you sure?

II - You can give living water. Are you sure?

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English Standard Version Chapter 4

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.”

Notice that the dialogue with the woman at the well, follows the pattern of Jesus’ dialogue with Nicodemus in the previous chapter.

Jesus makes a statement.

Jesus makes a statement. The statement is taken in the wrong sense. Jesus remakes the statement in an even more vivid way. It is still misunderstood; and then Jesus compels the person with whom he is speaking to discover and to face the truth for herself.

The statement is taken in the wrong sense.

Jesus remakes the statement in an even more vivid way.

It is still misunderstood;

and then Jesus compels the person with whom he is speaking to discover and to face the truth for themselves.

This section begins with Jesus observing: “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you..”

Spurgeon comments: See the deadly mischief of ignorance concerning spiritual things? If she had known, she would have asked, and Christ would have given. But the first link was missing and, therefore, the rest of the chain was not drawn on. Sometimes all people need is a little wise instruction, and they will then trust the Savior. God grant that we may always be ready to give it. Some need much more than that, but Christ could truly say to this Samaritan woman, “If you had known, you would have asked, and I would have given.”

The woman thinks Jesus is speaking about literal H2O. But Jesus is talking about something else - living water.

Well the Samaritan woman didn’t know what Jesus was talking about, do we?

In the Old Testament, living or running water was employed figuratively as a reference to divine activity (; ).

In the OT God is described as the source of ‘living water’ (; ) and also of the Holy Spirit ().

So what does living water refer to? Let’s cut to the chase:

English Standard Version Chapter 7

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.

The living water of which he spoke is the gift of the Holy Spirit. He spoke to Nicodemus about being born of the Spirit, to the woman of Samaria he spoke of drinking the living water of the Spirit, and during the Feast of Tabernacles he invited the crowds in Jerusalem to come to him and drink, referring again to the gift of the Spirit ().

The word ‘gift’ (dōrea) is found only here in the Gospels, but it is used four times in Acts, always in reference to the gift of the Holy Spirit (; ; ; ).

Jesus gives the gift of the Holy Spirit. What a blessing! And the magnitude of the blessing is explained --

English Standard Version Chapter 4

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.”

You, Christian, will never thirst. Do you never get thirsty? (Drink water…)

In practice what does it mean to ‘never thirst’? If the gift of living water refers to the gift of the Spirit, can we say that those who have received the Spirit never thirst?

If by this we mean that they never feel any dissatisfaction and always feel content, this is patently untrue. In what way, then, does the Spirit satisfy human thirst in the present time?

The answer is found in Jesus’ teaching about the Spirit in chapters 14–16. There the role of the Spirit is to take Jesus’ place in the disciples’ lives after he returns to the Father.

The Spirit mediates Christ’s presence to the disciples, creating a sense of intimacy with the Father and the Son. It is this relationship that lasts ‘to eternal life’ and it is the human thirst for a relationship with God that the coming of the Spirit satisfies even in the here and now.

Are you sure that Jesus can give the living water of Holy Spirit that creates a sense of union and intimacy with God which will be consummated in Heaven?

Jesus says, I am sure.

III - You say you know about worship. Are you sure?

English Standard Version Chapter 4

19 The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.” 21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. 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 is seeking such people to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”

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The Samaritan woman wants to litigate the Samaritan-Jewish debate - we must worship on the Mt Gerizim and you say we must worship in Jerusalem. Jesus cuts that off with the statement that salvation is from the Jews.

But then Jesus replaces her “must” with His “must”.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

English Standard Version Chapter 4

But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”

The Old Testament forms and types of temple, sacrifices, ceremonies, have been fulfilled by Jesus Christ. Now worship is by the Holy Spirit.

This has a lot of implications on worship and the regulative principle.

But what we want to emphase here is that worship in form or place is not worship.

At the heart of worship is the living water, the Holy Spirit given by Christ.

And this, Samaritan woman, is what worship is all about in the here and now.

And Jesus says, I am sure!

IV - You say things only the Messiah can say. Are you sure?

English Standard Version Chapter 4

25 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.” 26 Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he.”

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English Standard Version Chapter 4

those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” 25 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.” 26 Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he.”

Jesus claims to be the Messiah, the Christ.

Scripture references (not including His claim to Deity, king of the Jews, I am’s, lordship

Dictionary of Bible Themes 8402 claims

Jesus’ claim to be the Messiah Lk 23:2 See also Mt 23:10; Mk 9:41; Lk 22:67; Jn 4:25-26

Liberal theology questions whether Jesus know who he was. Supposedly Jesus questioned his Messianic office and Deity.

Liberal theology questions whether Jesus know who he was. Supposedly Jesus questioned his Messianic office and Deity.

Back in the 70’s there was a rock opera entitled Jesus Christ Superstar. It peddled the same line. Now I know that you Reformed Presbyterians would never go to a blasphemous performance like that (I did),

The title song was Jesus Chris Superstar. It is sung by the ghost of Judas who never believed that Jesus was Messiah and God and was upset that the other disciples did believe that.

And the song of Judas ends with this line:

“Jesus Christ, Superstar,

Do you think you’re what they say you are?”

And Jesus says in our Scripture of this morning, Yes, I am sure!

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