Living Water

LIVING WATER

John 4:3-15

When you think back on the summer that we had we were all reminded of how important water is. It was so hot and dry that several trees out at camp died; grass died and there was no grass for their cattle to graze on; yards and flowers all over town turned to dust and dry stems.

Without water things die.
And that is true for people too. Without water we will die.

But the thing about this passage is Jesus tells us that you can have water; you can have a well full of water; but if you don’t have “living water” you are still going to die no matter how much water you may have.

So, let’s look at this passage and hopefully learn about the importance of “living water.”

In vs. 3, Jesus and His disciples left Judea to go to Galilee. This would be about a 90 mile trip (walking).

To get to Galilee they had to pass through Samaria; and vs. 5 tells us that Jesus and His disciples came to the city of Sychar, “near the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.”
And vs. 6, “Jacob’s well was there and Jesus, being wearied from His journey, sat down by the well.”
And vs. 6 tells us that it was about the 6^th According to Jewish time this would be about 12 noon or during the heat of day.

Now, look at vs. 7. The normal time for women to get water was either early in the morning or later in the afternoon when it was cooler.

And the well was a place where women gathered to talk as they fill their pots.
But in vs. 7 “a woman of Samaria” came to draw water.”

We can’t say for sure why this woman came to the well at noon; it may be because of her immoral life.

18 tells us that she had been married 5 times and the man she was living with now was not her husband; we don’t know how she got rid of her previous husbands; perhaps she took advantage of the divorce laws; or it may be that her husbands “got rid” of her; we don’t know.
But the reason she may have come to the well at this time of day is to avoid the whispers and crude comments of some of the other ladies.

But she comes to the well and sitting there is this Jewish man and he asks her “for a drink.”

Now, it is hard to know if she was a little resentful when this Jewish man asks her for a drink; but when you consider the hostilities that exist between Samaritans and Jews it is very possible.

There are a lot of reasons why there was hostilities between the Jews and Samaritans.
Much of the hostilities dated back to 722 B.C. when the Assyrians captured the Northern Kingdom and deported most of the Jews in Samaria to Assyria and replaced them with foreigners who came into Samaria and intermarried with the remaining Jews who were still there; to the Jews in Judea the Samarians were not considered to be ‘pure Jews.”
And because of the Assyrian influence the Samarian religion was a mixture of foreign gods and Judaism.
And when the Jews returned from Babylonian captivity in 535 BC to rebuild the temple, the Samarians offered to help but the Jews viewed them as foreign enemies and refused to let them.
And so, the Samaritans built their own temple on Mt. Gerazim and that caused more animosity with the Jews.
There are many things that caused the Jews to look at the Samaritans with disdain; and for the Samaritans to have animosity toward the Jews and those hostile feelings alone would be enough to make this woman at the well resentful of the Jewish man.

And then, according to the Jews, in their own culture, it was unacceptable for a Jewish man to speak to a Jewish woman, much less for a rabbi to speak to a woman; and it would be even more unacceptable for a Jewish rabbi or man to speak to a lowly Samaritan woman.

But, not only did this Jewish man speak to this Samarian woman, he had the audacity to ask her for a drink!
“You Jews despise us and now you want me to give you a drink!”
It is very possible that this woman resents Jesus’ request for water.

Look what she says in vs. 9: “How is it that You (emphatic), being a Jew, ask me(emphatic) for a drink since I am a Samaritan woman?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.)

“What do you mean asking me for a drink?”

Now, look at vs. 10: Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”

What Jesus is saying here is: “If you really knew who is talking to you and what I have to give you, you would be asking Me to give you a drink instead of Me asking you!”

Now she is curious. Look at vs. 11: She said to Him(sarcastically), “Sir, You have nothing to draw with and the well is deep; where then do You get that living water? 12 “You are not greater than our father Jacob, are You, who gave us the well, and drank of it himself, and his sons, and his cattle?”

In her sarcasm she is unconsciously stating the truth that Jesus is greater than Jacob.

Now, look at Jesus answer in vs. 13: Jesus answered and said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water (Jacob’s well) shall thirst again; 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life. ” 15 The woman said to Him, “Sir, give me this water, so I will not be thirsty, nor come all the way here to draw.”

Now, obviously this woman doesn’t understand and she is still thinking about the physical convenience this “living water” would be to her: she wouldn’t be thirsty anymore and she wouldn’t have to come and draw water again.

So, she still doesn’t understand who Jesus is; and she doesn’t understand what He is talking about.
In vs. 25 and 26 she will realize who He is and that is the primary lesson of this whole passage.

But, what about the “living water?” What is Jesus talking about?

Well, there are a couple of things to notice right off.

First of all, Jesus does not say that He is “the living water.”

Instead, in vs. 10 and vs. 14, Jesus says that He will “give” the living water. It is not something to be earned; you don’t deserve it; it is a “gift!

And notice in vs. 14 that Jesus says, “Whoever drinks of the water”; this “living water” is available to everyone; that includes the wealthy, the prominent or those who are like this woman; those whose past or whose life has not been what they might want it to be.

And notice in vs. 14 that Jesus says, “Whoever drinks of the water that He gives that it will become a well of water springing up to eternal life.”

Whatever this “living water” is, it results in eternal life and that should really catch our attention!
So, what is this “living water?”

There is a lot of speculation about what it is; but the best thing to do is let the word of God tell us; even better let’s let Jesus tell us.

There is only one other place in the N.T. where Jesus speaks of the “living water”; look with me at John 7 starting in vs. 37.

Here in these verses it is the time of the Feast of Booths; vs. 2. The Feast of Booths was a Jewish holiday that commemorated the 40 years during which the Israelites wondered in the wilderness, living in temporary shelters called sukkots.

It was a 7 day long celebration in which the people would build and live in small booths for that 7 days.
The festival also included a water pouring ceremony to commemorate those occasions when God gave Israel water in the desert.

During this festival Jesus goes to the temple and begins to teach and the people marvel about His teaching even though He has never been educated; vs. 14. And when Jesus explains His teaching some take exception to Him and in vs. 30 some were seeking to seize Him and others were beginning to believe in Him.

Now, vs. 37: Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If any man is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. 38 “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water.'” 39 But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

Jesus was not the “living water.” Instead, He would give the “living water” and here in vs. 39 we are told that the “living water” is the Holy Spirit “whom those who believe in Him were to receive.”

So, when is the “living water” or Holy Spirit given? Many will say that the Holy Spirit is given when a person simply believes in Christ. But, what does the Bible say. Look at this found in Acts 2:38:

And Peter said to them, “Repent, and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift (it is given to you) of the Holy Spirit.

And look at this found in Ephesians 1:13:

Paul is writing to Christians, people who have already been baptized and he says: In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation– having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.

Remember Jesus connected the “living water” or Spirit to “eternal life” in John 4:14?
Well, here in vs. 13 we are told that the Holy Spirit is a “seal of promise”; the Holy Spirit seals us for salvation.
In vs. 14 the Holy Spirit is “given” as a pledge of our inheritance; with a view to redemption.”

And when we receive the Holy Spirit, in keeping with what Jesus said about the Holy Spirit “flowing like a river from our inmost being”, the Holy Spirit working in us not only produces the “fruits of the Spirit; love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control;

But the Holy Spirit will bless others through us as bring light to the world.

The woman at the well had a well full of water; but no matter how much water she had she would die without the “living water.”

And the same is true today.
Without the “living water” we can “thirst for salvation” but our thirst will never be quenched.
And no matter who you are, poor or rich, Jesus is willing to give the “living water” to you; there is no reason why anyone should not drink it; unless they simply refuse to believe in Christ; and refuse to be baptized; thereby refusing the precious gift of the Holy Spirit that seals them for salvation.
This Samaritan woman asked Jesus to give her this “living water.” Will you do the same?