The Living Water

Never Judge a book by its cover

Rewind history and go back to a time in the free state some 60 years and imagine the tension and mutual hatred between the white supremist of the AWB and the black communist of the ANC.

If you can imagine the mutral feelings of hate, then you may begin to understand the tension between the Jews and the Samaritins.

Orthodox Jews avoided Samaria because there was a long-standing, deep-seated hatred between them and the Samaritans.

The Samaritans were a mixed race, part Jew and part Gentile, that grew out of the Assyrian captivity of the ten northern tribes in 727 b.c.

Rejected by the Jews because they could not prove their genealogy, the Samaritans established their own temple and religious services on Mt. Gerizim.

They were called dogs and half breeds. A pice of bread given to a poor samaritian was as sinful as a jew eating poks flesh”

So intense was their dislike of the Samaritans that some of the Pharisees prayed that no Samaritan would be raised in the resurrection!

When His enemies wanted to call Jesus an insulting name, they called Him a Samaritan.

John 8:48 AV

48 Then answered the Jews, and said unto him, Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil?

All this makes the encounter between a Samaretian woman and the jewish Jesus more powerful and touching.

John 4:4–6 AV

4 And he must needs go through Samaria. 5 Then cometh he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. 6 Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour.

He arrived at Jacob’s well at six o’clock in the evening, the usual time for women to come for water.

The disciples went to the nearby town for food while Jesus deliberately waited at the well.

Why? because he knew he would soon meet a woman, who will come to besaved, and share her experince with her whole samaritan village.

When the bible says “whosovere” it means whosoever.

John 4:7–10 AV

7 There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink. 8 (For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.) 9 Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. 10 Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.

Why would Jesus, a Jew, want to use her “polluted” vessel to get a drink of water?

Because racial barriers are man made and do not exist to God who made all men. God created us white or black or indian or asian, or whatever, we are the work of his hands and in our mothers wombs he chose the pigment of our skin and made us in his image.

So Jesus ignored the social barriers and saqw this woman, not as a woiman or as a sameritan, but as a presious human being, who is in desperate need of a savior.

Of course, our Lord’s request was simply a way to open the conversation and share with her the truth about “living water.”

Living Water

John 4:11–15 AV

11 The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water? 12 Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle? 13 Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: 14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. 15 The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.

Jesus was speaking about spiritual water, but she interpreted His words to mean literal water.

Again, we see how easily people confuse the material and the spiritual.

Furthermore, this woman showed a classic error of so many people when it comes to the work of God:

She was concerned about how He would obtain this water, instead of simply asking Him to give her a drink of it.

How is a irrelevant question when it comes to God - we say God i dont know how but i do know you.

To paraphrase His reply: “Whosoever continues to drink of this material water (or anything the world has to offer) will thirst again.

But whosoever takes one drink of the water I give will never thirst again!” (see John 4:13–14)

How true it is that the things of this world never completely satisfy. In hell today, people are crying, “I thirst!”

Have you not noticed the thirst that drinkingfrom the world creates? Why is 1 cig, 1 drink, 1 puff never enough?

Its the same with worldy possesions: 1 par of shoes, 1 jacket? now im not advocating minimalism, but the reality is that many peol;e have shoes they dont wear, or clothes that they have not worn in ages.

Yet these things cost money.

We have noted before that life is one of John’s key concepts.

He uses the word at least thirty-six times.

Mankind needs air, water, and foodand light in order to have life.

All of these are provided in Jesus Christ.

He provides the “breath” (Spirit) of God (John 3:8; 20:22). He is the Bread of Life (John 6:48) and the Light of Life (John 1:4–5), and He gives us the water of life.

The woman’s immediate response was to ask for this gift, but she did not know what she was saying.

The seed of the Word fell on shallow soil, and the shoots that sprang up had no root.

Preparing the Soil

John 4:16–18 AV

16 Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither. 17 The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband: 18 For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly.

The only way to prepare the soil of the heart for the seed is to plow it up with conviction.

That was why Jesus told her to go get her husband: He forced her to admit her sin.

There can be no conversion without conviction.

There must first be conviction and repentance, and then there can be saving faith.

“I have no husband” was the shortest statement she made during the entire conversation!

Why? Because now she was under conviction and her “mouth was stopped” (Rom. 3:19).

Sowing the Gospel

John 4:25–30 AV

25 The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things. 26 Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he. 27 And upon this came his disciples, and marvelled that he talked with the woman: yet no man said, What seekest thou? or, Why talkest thou with her? 28 The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men, 29 Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ? 30 Then they went out of the city, and came unto him.

In spite of her ignorance, there was one truth this woman did know: the Messiah was coming and would reveal the secrets of hearts.

Our Lord’s response to her statement was, literally: “I that speak to thee, I am!”

He dared to utter the holy name of God!

At this point, the woman put her faith in Jesus Christ and was converted.

Immediately she wanted to share her faith with others, so she went into the village and told the men she had met the Christ. When you consider how little spiritual truth this woman knew, her zeal and witness put us to shame.

But God used her simple testimony, and many of the people came out to the well to meet Jesus.

The rabbis said, “It is better that the words of the Law be burned than be delivered to a woman!”

Why did she leave her waterpot when she hurried into the city? We have to leave the sin behind.

conclusion

This woman did not come to faith in Christ immediately. Jesus was patient with her, and in this, He sets a good example for us in our own personal work. Certainly she was the least likely prospect for salvation, yet God used her to win almost an entire village!