June 16
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THE WELL OF LIVING WATER
7 There came a woman of Samaria to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.” 8 For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. 9 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.) 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.” 11 She said to Him, “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?” 13 Jesus answered and said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; 14 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 4:7-14
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There was a long history of the conflict between the Jews and the Samaritans that dated back in the days of King Rehoboam where the Jews hated the Samaritans and they never spoke to each other. In this story, we see Jesus defying the protocols between Jews and Samaritans by speaking to a Samaritan woman. So, the woman was bewildered why a Jew would even talk to her and ask her for a drink. In John 4:4, it says that Jesus had to pass to Samaria. He had a plan to meet this woman. It wasn’t coincidence. He came to save this woman who had been thirsty all her life for living water and she didn’t even know it. Jesus starts a conversation with her by asking for water to illustrate what he already knows about her. He knew that she had been searching for something to quench her spiritual thirst. In verse 12, she began to wonder who this man was and asked if he was greater than Jacob. His reply illustrated the actual dilemma she was in. He assured her that if she drank the water he gives, she won’t be thirsty at all anymore and that it will be a well of water that springs up to eternal life. Jesus was explaining to her the difference of what his kingdom can offer versus what the world gives. The difference between Jacob’s well and Jesus’ well is that the water from Jesus’ springs from eternal life which means that when you have Jesus in your heart, you will never be feeling empty again. He fills you up and quenches your thirst.
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REFLECTION
• Why do you think Jesus defied the protocol of not associating with Samaritans?
• Why did Jesus pass by Samaria to meet this woman? What was Jesus’ agenda?