(Pastor Van)
And He had to pass through
Samaria. So He came to a city of Samaria called Sychar, near the parcel of
ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph; and Jacob's well was there. So Jesus,
being wearied from His journey, was sitting thus by the well. It was about the
sixth hour. There came a woman of Samaria to draw water. Jesus said to her, "Give Me a drink." For His disciples had gone away into
the city to buy food. Therefore the Samaritan woman said to Him, "How is
it that You, being a Jew, ask me for a drink since I am a Samaritan
woman?" (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) 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." She said to Him, "Sir, You have
nothing to draw with and the well is deep; where then do You get that living
water? "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?" Jesus
answered and said to her, "Everyone
who drinks of this water will thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water
that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him
will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life."
John 4:4-14
The encounter of Jesus with The Woman at the Well has been
discussed and written about countless times.
There is so much to learn here about the person of Christ and the
hungers of men. There is the sadness of
this woman having to come at an inopportune time because she has been labeled
by the people as below their class.
There is the issue of race and politics that are brought into play as
this Jew speaks to a Samaritan. There
are issues in religion as to whether a Rabbi should be in conversation with
such a woman.
But the real issue of this story is the search for
contentment and satisfaction. Jesus
brings up the issue of finding something that would satisfy forever. He goes on the passage to share the fruitless
search the woman has been on through five husbands. In His conversation he casually states the
present status of the woman with her live-in boyfriend which startles her.
Was Jesus preaching a doctrine? No. There was no doctrine.
The only thing He did was point to Himself, as if to say, "Well, if you know who He is, you will ask of Him at once, and He
will give you living water, that you may never thirst again." Have you
seen this? The whole question is who Jesus of Nazareth is.
What did Jesus say to a Samaritan woman there? "Everyone who drinks of this water
shall thirst again" (v. 13). It is so sad to watch people sell their souls
for the world’s options to satisfy.
Fame, fortune, fineries, power, pleasure and any number of passions are
fed daily in an attempt to be content.
But, they thirst again and even more than before.
How do you quench this thirst? The Lord Jesus said, "But whoever drinks of the water
that I will give him shall by no means thirst forever" (v. 14).
An amazing fact is that no other religious leader ever said such a thing. The
teachings of Confucius only tell you to be content and to abide in your
poverty. The person Confucius or any
other religious figure has nothing to do with your contentment. However, the
person Jesus has a great deal to do with your thirst being quenched.
What is required is that you know who Jesus is. "The woman said to Him, Sir, I perceive that You are a
prophet" (v. 19). He corrected her and stated that He was the
long-awaited Messiah. The first thing
that a sinner needs to do is not to repent and change his behavior, but to
realize who Jesus is. All will be well
if he realizes who Jesus is. Once we
have Jesus, we will have real satisfaction; we will be filled with the sense of
having acquired everything.
Scripture
to Claim
"Come, see a man who told me all that I have done. Is this not the Christ?" John 4:29
"Come, see a man who told me all that I have done. Is this not the Christ?" John 4:29
