by Bruce Mackay | Download PDF | Purchase Hardcopy

During one of the many journeys Jesus made with His disciples, they passed through the region of Samaria. While His disciples went to purchase food, Jesus rested near a well. It was the middle of the day and He was hot, tired and thirsty. While He was waiting, a woman came with her pot to draw water from the well. Jesus asked her for a drink and this then led to a most interesting and insightful discussion.

From the discussion between Jesus and the Samaritan woman, we learn about Jesus, everlasting life, worship and how to receive the gift of God. These subjects will be the focus of this article as we look at another event in the Life of Jesus. This story can be found in the Gospel of John 4:1-26.

Jesus

From this meeting and conversation, the first thing we notice about Jesus is His humility. This lady was not of a high reputation. Traditionally, Jews and Samaritans didn't mix, let alone a man and a woman, and definitely not with women of low morals. From this we learn that Jesus was not governed by nationality, skin colour, religion, employment or life-style. Jesus was interested in her well-being and her relationship with God. He knew all about this lady and, despite her sinful past, her many divorces and de-facto relationships, and her different religion, He cared for her. He loved her in purity and desired that she receive God's life. He said, 'I can give you the gift of God … living water that will become in him a fountain of living water springing up into everlasting life'. John 4:13.

Jesus hasn't changed. He is interested in everyone. He desires to meet us all regardless of our past, our faults, our shame or perhaps even our 'goodness'! It is the individual He loves and longs to have a relationship with. Let us look in on this conversation and learn how we can receive 'living water' from heaven.

Living Water - everlasting life

Jesus answered and said to her, 'Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life'. John 4:13-14. Jesus compared God's gift of everlasting life to water.

Natural water only quenches our thirst for a short time and then we need to drink again. Living water satisfies our soul and spirit for eternity. We are born with human life, with needs and desires. These needs don't ever seem to be met and our desires lead us to make self-centred responses which cause us to sin against others. Regardless of how hard we try, we revert to self-centred responses which are sin. We all look for happiness that will last. This Samaritan woman had been married and divorced five times and still wasn't content. We are all sinners and there is nothing that this human, worldly life can offer that will fully satisfy. It won't satisfy any more than salty water will, on a humid day.

The living water is God's life. It is everlasting life from God. This is not just life that exists forever. It is the fullness of God that makes our spirit alive and causes a well of peace, joy and love to spring up. It's God's life. We can live in His will and His purpose. It is spiritual. The eternal life of God meets and satisfies our deepest desires.

Jesus is the only One who can give us this well of water, the everlasting life of God. Jesus is the only begotten Son of God who came for the very purpose of giving divine life to all who will believe. The heavenly Father has granted Jesus to have this life within Himself. Whoever believes and receives the Son has life, or living water, and whoever does not receive the Son does not have this well of living water.

On another occasion, Jesus expressed this same principle in another way. 'Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water".' John 7:37-38.

Worship

As Jesus and the woman spoke, they compared religions, rituals and methods to worship God. Jesus made it clear that the worship that is accepted and received by God is not according to rituals, buildings or location. It is a relationship that is pure in spirit and truth. This relationship is not hypocritical. It is in truth and reality with no pretence and no covering up. The Holy Spirit leads us in all truth. He brings truth and reality and directs us according to God's plan for our lives. Only worshippers led by the Spirit can genuinely worship in truth, because they have found truth. Their worship is founded in thankfulness for His guiding truth and it comes from the deepest realm of the heart.

One of the deep desires in each of us is to be real. We hate pretence in others and yet, because of our longing for acceptance, we often act in a false way toward others. Because Jesus will receive us as we are, we don't have to be false and we don't have to respond out of insecurity or inferiority. Our acceptance is not based on performance, but on the fact that Jesus has chosen to love us just as we are.

This Samaritan lady was able to meet Jesus, receive His love and life, and drink from His well of living water, because even though Jesus knew all about her and her past, she didn't try to deny it, or lie, or cover it up. She simply acknowledged the truth and received life.

The gift of God

Everlasting life is God's gift to all who will receive it. 'The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life.' We all know the difference between wages and a gift. A wage is payment for work done and a gift is something given and not earned. The wage for our sin is separation from God. The gift of God is His life, His forgiveness and His Spirit that enables us to be His children. But it is a gift. We cannot earn it. He has purchased it by giving His life for us when He died for our sins. It must be received. It has been purchased for all who are willing to receive it.

Try and imagine yourself in this next scene. You have spent a large amount of time and effort to purchase a gift for someone. You really wanted to bless them with this gift. You knew they would benefit from it and you also knew they could never get it for themselves. Then at the time of giving it to them, they choose not to receive it, or say that they will buy it from you. You're left standing there. Do you feel hurt, offended, sad? What do you say? All you can manage is, 'But it is a gift, especially for you. Please receive it'.

Many people respond to Jesus this way. They act as though they don't need or want living water. Or, they try to earn it and work for it. Remember, living water is a gift of God. It is not earned by works. It is received by grace through faith.

The Samaritan woman received God's gift to her that day. That day, when her sinful life was exposed and the gift of everlasting life was offered, she made no excuses for her sin and did not crawl away in shame. She became free to be who God had always purposed her to be. She went straight back to the city and said to the men, 'Come see a man who told me all the things I have done'. John 4:29.

'And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, "He told me all that I ever did". So when the Samaritans had come to Him, they urged Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days. And many more believed because of His own word. Then they said to the woman, "Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world".' John 4:39-42.

The saviour of the world

Jesus is indeed the Saviour of the world. He is your Saviour. Will you receive Him like the Samaritan woman did?

We will finish this article with the words of Jesus, who alone has the words of eternal life, the words of the living water.

John 4:13-14
'Jesus answered and said to her, "Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life".' John 4:13-15.

'Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgement, but has passed from death into life.' John 5:24.

Author: Bruce Mackay | Citywide Christian Fellowship - Cairns | CCFC
Published by Vision One at Toowoomba Christian Fellowship | TCF
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