The Well
Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
- John 4:13–14
I came across these verses today. I have been working my way through the book of John for a couple of weeks now. It’s not like this is the first time I have heard the story of the Samaritan woman, but as I was reading a sentiment about these verses held my attention. Something I have been looking at more intently while reading through John this time has been the words spoken by Jesus. Time and time again I am taken aback by just how weird it is we have the words of God incarnate written down for us to read. It just seems wild to me.
In addition to the things that Jesus said, there’s a lot to learn from the way he acted. Jesus is the “model human.” All his actions were in accordance with God’s will. So, when Jesus goes and talks to a Samaritan woman, a person typically ostracized, we should take note. In Jewish culture, at this time the Samaritans were looked down on and seen as unclean. Within that context, this woman was shunned by the Samaritans, her people. You can see this in the way that she went out to get water around noon instead of early morning, which was typical. This was a person who likely didn’t live with much hope. However, Jesus came to the well to talk to her. He spent very little time discussing her sin. Instead, he went right to the source of the issue. This woman was looking for sustenance in all the wrong places. Jesus offers her the biggest gift someone has ever given — Eternal life. It may seem the appropriate course of action to be for Christ to offer her a large sum of money. That way she could get out of her current living situation. There is no doubt that he could’ve supplied her with all the food, water, and money she could ever need. Yet Jesus skips right to the most important need we have. He addresses the God-shaped hole in her heart. Without God, no amount of money or earthly goods will offer lasting joy. This woman needed hope, she needed a spring of living water welling up inside her. This encounter with Jesus is such an amazing scene. The woman, seeking momentary relief from her thirst, instead receives an invitation to glory. Jesus seeks this life for everyone. This is the most important gift ever offered to anyone and how incredible that it is offered to everyone. There is nothing God asks in return. Which is good because nobody has anything to offer back. We are all like the woman at the well. We all have sin in our lives that abounds. We all go to the well of this world to find something to quench our thirst. God seeks us out and offers us the only thing that can truly satisfy us.
