Scripture:
John 4:13-15
13: Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again:
14: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
15: The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.
Theme:
Water and the Well
Introduction:
- The Gospel of John is the fourth gospel written by the Apostle John. Some believed that it was to fill the gaps left by the first three gospels, but no concrete evidence makes this universally true. However, it does in a unique and genuine way divulge the depth of the relationship between God and the Son AND the relationship between the believer and the Godhead.
- The scripture is taken from a well-know story in the Bible often named “The Woman at the Well”. In Jesus’ traveling from Judea to Galilee, Jesus expressed the almost dire need to go THROUGH Samaria.
- Samaritans were an “impure” people to the Jews – although close in relation (Samaritans were unrecognized cousins from mixed relations outside of Judaic marriage)
- The Jews did not associate themselves with Samaritans. – although close in proximity (35 miles from Samaria to Jerusalem)
- The Land of Samaria represented a den of temptation to the Jews.
- Jesus replied with the specific need to go THROUGH…not TO.
- Jesus meets the woman at Jacob’s Well, which Jacob had given to his son Joseph.
- The scripture is the focal point of Jesus’ sermon to the woman regarding salvation
- The change from well water to living water
- The change from the physical well to the well within
- The key elements of His ideology, if you will, being WATER and THE WELL
Body:
Water
- Water is the first of the basic elements of this world –
- Psalm 148:4-5, “Praise him, ye heavens of heavens, and ye waters that be above the heavens. Let them praise the name of the LORD: for he commanded, and they were created.”
- Genesis 1:9, “And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.”
- Described as:
- Cold — Jeremiah 18:14, “Will a man leave the snow of Lebanon which cometh from the rock of the field? or shall the cold flowing waters that come from another place be forsaken?”
- Still — Psalm 23:2, “He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.”
- Deep — Psalm 69:2, “I sink in deep mire, where there is no standing: I am come into deep waters, where the floods overflow me.”
- Standing – Psalm 107:35, “He turneth the wilderness into a standing water, and dry ground into watersprings.”
- Mighty — Isaiah 28:2, “Behold, the Lord hath a mighty and strong one, which as a tempest of hail and a destroying storm, as a flood of mighty waters overflowing, shall cast down to the earth with the hand.”
- Living — Jeremiah 2:13, “For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.”
- God:
- Creates water — Genesis 1:2, “And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.”
- Gives water — Psalm 104:13, “He watereth the hills from his chambers: the earth is satisfied with the fruit of thy works.”
- Blesses the earth with water — Isaiah 55:10, “For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:”
- Withholds water — Isaiah 50:2, “…behold, at my rebuke I dry up the sea, I make the rivers a wilderness: their fish stinketh, because there is no water, and dieth for thirst.”
- Reveals His wonders with water — Psalm 107:23-24, “They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters. These see the works of the LORD, and his wonders in the deep.”
- Sets bounds to water — Psalm 104:9, “Thou hast set a bound that they may not pass over; that they turn not again to cover the earth.”
- There are 12 miracles in the Bible, found in the Old AND New Testament, pertaining to water. (e.g., Moses parting the Red Sea, Christ walking on water, etc.)
- Special uses of water in the bible include:
- Ordination (Exodus 30:18-20)
- Cleansing (Exodus 40:7-32)
- Purification (Exodus 19:10)
- Baptism (Acts 8:36-39)
- Sanctification (Ephesians 5:26)
- Business (Psalm 107:23) (e.g. fishermen)
Well
- A well, being different than a fountain, is:
- a deep shaft dug for the purpose of getting water from it. Reaches through layers of the earth’s crust to reach the water table or the earth’s inner reservoir of water
- water “wells” up through the rocks of the surface of the well
- an available resource for people to obtain water.
- Women characteristically were the ones who went to the wells to obtain water
- Surrounded by trees — Genesis 49:22, “Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall:”
- Wells in the Bible – Beer (Numbers 21:16-18), Esek (Genesis 26:20), Jacob’s Well (John 4:6)
Conclusion:
It was here at Jacob’s Well that we find Jesus and the Samaritan Woman:
- The Samaritan woman had come to Jacob’s Well to draw water and found Jesus sitting at the well.
- She commanded her to give him a drink of water.
- She was confused that a Jew would have any dealings with a Samaritan
- Instead of addressing the social concern, Jesus addressed the spiritual need, knowing salvation & knowing Jesus, by introducing her to Living Water, the Holy Spirit.
- The woman showed her focus on the physical well and the physical water by asking of how Jesus was to get water when he has nothing to draw with. She even mocked him subtly by asking if He was greater than Jacob himself who first drank from the well.
At this point we enter into our scripture with Jesus saying:
“Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again:”
- Jesus meets her where she is in her ignorance and misunderstanding.
- Whoever drinks THIS WATER will thirst again:
- THIS WATER >> H2O
- THIS WATER >> Money
- THIS WATER >> Self
- THIS WATER >> Companionship
- THIS WATER >> Status
- THIS WATER >> A Good Job
- THIS WATER >> Sins of the World
“whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst;”
- Jesus walks her to the marvelous light of knowing Him and His gift
- When Jesus gives you His water, His Spirit, you have no need for any other.
- Luke told us about His Spirit in Acts 5:32, “And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him.”
- Then Paul followed in Philippians 4:11 by saying, “Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.”
- HE’S ALL I NEED!! That’s what Paul then confirmed in Philippians 4:19 by saying, “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”
“but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.”
- Jesus goes even further to explain that the water that He gives “shall be in him a well of water”. The living water when allowed into the life/heart/soul of man becomes a WELL of water.
- The unseen becomes what is seen
- The oddity becomes an entity
- The resource becomes a source
- The well is not low or inactive but, instead, it is “springing up into everlasting life”
- As David said in the Psalm, “My cup runneth over”
- It is more than what we can contain.
- Just can’t help it!
“Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.”
“Sir”
- Jesus has the respect of the woman.
- Isn’t it amazing how the very words of God can instantly get our attention and respect…before we even have understanding.
“give me this water”
- She wanted the water that Jesus could give.
- What was in the well was not as appealing as it use to be.
- What a blessing it was when through Jesus what was in the world was not as appealing as it used to be!!
- As Paul said in Philippians 3:13-14, “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”
“that I thirst not”
- First reason
- She didn’t want to thirst any more
- She didn’t want to hurt any more
- She didn’t want to moan any more
- She didn’t want to cry any more
- She didn’t want to hunger any more
- She didn’t want to be alone any more
- She didn’t want to be hopeless any more
“neither come hither to draw”
- Second reason…often overlooked
- She didn’t want to even go back to the well again
- The water was replace with living water, AND Jacob’s well was replaced with a well of water inside.
- She didn’t want to need the old water OR the old well anymore
- Oh, the day when we can leave behind:
- The sin and the sin environment
- The lies and the lying places
- The drinking and the drinking places
- The drugs and the drug areas
- The greed and the greedy endeavors
- She wanted to leave the old resource and not return to the old source either
Thank you, Jesus, that I have changed my focus from PHYSICAL WATER to A WELL OF LIVING WATER IN ME!!
Changing from:
- What saves a body to what has saved a soul
- A bound mass to masses bound for glory
- A living element to an elemental life
- A finite resource to an infinite source
Thank you, Jesus, for stopping by my life with Water to place a Well in me!
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