“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’” (John 4:10).
Have you ever been so thirsty that nothing would satisfy you but water?
I once experienced heat exhaustion (not difficult to do in the Central Texas heat). All I could think of was water. I wasn’t interested in a soft drink or iced coffee. I wasn’t even craving sweet tea, which is almost sacrilege in the South! All I could think of was, “water.” I can honestly say that I’ve never been so thirsty in my life, and the only thing that would satisfy me was water.
Jesus wanted the “Woman at the well” to understand the same concept in regard to what He was offering. Only the “living water” of Christ would bring satisfaction.
Her first instinct was to limit the Lord to what she was capable of comprehending and doing herself when she said to Jesus, “You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep” (v. 11). How often do we limit Jesus to what we can understand or even achieve in our own flesh? “Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become foolish that he may become wise.” (1 Cor. 3:18)
Second, she wanted Jesus to fit into her own truth: “You are not greater than our father Jacob, are You ...?” (v. 12). Do you find it hard to accept what scripture says because it doesn’t fit your own personal desire of how you want the Lord to work in your life? “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?” (Luke 6:46).
Next, the woman was confronted with the need to be completely honest before Jesus when she confessed only a half-truth in saying, “I have no husband” (v. 17). His reply was, “You have correctly said, ‘I have no husband’; for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; this you have said truly” (vv. 17b-18). Are you being honest before Jesus, who knows you better than you know yourself? “... but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do” (Heb. 4:13b).
The fourth thing that Jesus wanted the Samaritan woman to realize, if she was going to drink this “living water,” is that if she is going to approach God in true worship, it must be the way He has made it possible to be approached. “... true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth ...” (v. 23). Do you understand that true worship has nothing to do with your own understanding or effort but a giving up of your desires, your feelings, and your way? “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship” (Rom. 12:1).
Jesus has now brought the woman to the point where she is ready to see Him for who He is and drink. “The woman said to Him, ‘I know that Messiah is coming ... He will declare all things to us’” (v. 25). Jesus responds, “I who speak to you am He” (v. 26). He is saying, “I am the one who achieves that which is above your understanding. I am the standard of truth. I am the one who knows your heart, and I am the one who enables you to live a sacrificial life of worship. I am the only one who can bring you satisfaction in life. I am your living water. Now drink.”
According to verses 28-29, this is just what the woman did. Have you come to Jesus for His satisfying “living water”?
