Living Water

Jesus will refresh better than anything else you may try.

John 4:7-14  Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, "Please give Me a drink."  8  He was alone at the time because His disciples had gone into the village to buy some food.

9  The woman was surprised, for Jews refuse to have anything to do with Samaritans. She said to Jesus, "You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. Why are You asking me for a drink?"

10  Jesus replied, "If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask Me, and I would give you living water."

11  "But sir, You don't have a rope or a bucket," she said, "and this well is very deep. Where would You get this living water?  12  And besides, do You think You're greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us this well? How can You offer better water than he and his sons and his animals enjoyed?"

13  Jesus replied, "Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again.  14  But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It

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What is Jesus doing in Samaria? The good news of the Messiah wasn't accepted in Jerusalem, the religious leaders were already upset because Jesus cleaned house at the Passover, Jesus ministry is just beginning and he is already being rejected by the Jews.

There was a man in our previous study of the gospel of John, a seeker named Nicodemus came to Jesus, he was a religious man, moral, rich and powerful man, he came to Jesus to learn more. Jesus taught Nicodemus and explained the concept of spiritual birth. The next person to have an encounter with Jesus is a woman that is quite a contrast to Nicodemus.

Psalms 63:1-3 A psalm of David, regarding a time when David was in the wilderness of Judah. O God, You are my God; I earnestly search for You. My soul thirsts for You; my whole body longs for You in this parched and weary land where there is no water.

How could he talk to a woman? How could Jesus talk to a Samaritan woman? And to make it worse a woman that is an outcast among her own people! It was bad enough to be rejected by the Jews but she was rejected by her own people as well. She had a divine appointment with Jesus, he is there at the right time and he is alone because he sent his disciples away to shop for food.

I have to wonder about these guys. How uncomfortable were they with traveling through Samaria? Did they leave Samaria to get food from a better neighborhood? It seems odd to me that none of them stayed behind with Jesus but Jesus was very intentional about being alone for this encounter.

Unlike Nicodemus, she didn't seek out an opportunity to talk to Jesus, she didn't have any idea who he was and he was so hot and tired that he didn't look like he could have anything to offer to the Samaritan woman. The only thing she had in common with Nicodemus was that they both took Jesus teaching literally. He couldn't understand how to be born again and she couldn't understand how she could have water that would satisfy her thirst forever.

We are all like the Samaritan woman... don't be offended, we are all thirsty and we are looking for a way to get relief. Having a dry mouth is the least of your worries, as our physical thirst gets worse it can cause weakness, dizziness, confusion and fainting. Imagine your spiritual thirst causing all of those same symptoms.

Finally she has met a man that could meet her ultimate need, a man that could satisfy, Jesus saw beyond her sin to the root of the problem. Her ultimate need wasn't found in short term physical pleasure, the ultimate need wasn't to clean up her life, Jesus saw that she had a longing that wasn't being met by the men in her life.

Never Thirst Again
Revelation 21:6  And He also said, "It is finished! I am the Alpha and the Omega--the Beginning and the End. To all who are thirsty I will give freely from the springs of the water of life.

The offer is an eternal one, this refreshing gift from God will never run dry. Jesus told the woman at the well "It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life." All of our solutions to stop our thirst are just a cheap temporary substitute that will leave you feeling like an addict that needs another hit.

Satan wants us to miss the living water, he wants us to look through our box of idols and try a different one, he wants us to talk back at God and doubt his goodness. We look at our circumstances and put our trust in ourselves to bring short term satisfaction when God has a much better solution that will last for eternity. (Exodus 17:1-7, Numbers 20:1-11).

"The only one who can quench that thirst is the one who said, “I thirst.” -Rick Warren

Jesus thirsted on the cross so you don’t have to thirst. He paid for what you don’t have to pay for. He became thirsty so you never have to be thirsty again."