"Where Do You Get That Living Water?"
A study of John 4:10-15
"Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, 'Give me a drink,' you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water." The woman said to him, "Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock." 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." The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.""
John 4:10-15 ESV
Definitions of the original language in the context of this passage:
-You Knew: "ᾔδεις"; "eidō", "εἴδω"; verb - understand, perceive of any fact.
-Gift: "δωρεὰν"; "dōrea", "δωρεά"; feminine noun - a gift.
-Living: "ζῶν"; "zaō", "ζάω"; verb - living water: i.e. bubbling up, gushing forth, flowing, with the suggested idea of refreshment and salubrity (opposed to the water of cisterns and pools (cf. our spring water)), is figuratively used of the spirit and truth of God as satisfying the needs and desires of the soul.
-Water: "ydōr", "ὕδωρ"; neuter noun - water.
-Nothing: "oute", "οὔτε"; adverb - an adjunctive negative conjunction; neither, and not.
-Well: "phrear", "φρέαρ"; neuter noun - a well.
-Deep: "βαθύ"; "bathys", "βαθύς"; adjective - deep.
-Greater Than: "μείζων"; megas", "μέγας"; adjective - of persons, eminent for ability, virtue, authority, power; is used of those who surpass others — either in nature and power.
-Jacob: "Iakōb", "Ἰακώβ"; proper masculine noun - Jacob = 'heel-catcher or supplanter', the second son of the patriarch Isaac.
-Thirst: "διψήσει"; "dipsaō", "διψάω"; verb - to suffer thirst; figuratively, those who are said to thirst who painfully feel their want of, and eagerly long for, those things by which the soul is refreshed, supported, strengthened.
- A Spring (A Well): "pēgē", "πηγή"; feminine noun - fountain, spring.
-Welling Up (Springing Up): "ἁλλομένου"; "allomai", "ἅλλομαι"; verb - to spring up, gush up, of water.
-Eternal: "αἰώνιον", "ainōnios", "αἰώνιος"; adjective - without end, never to cease, everlasting.
-Life: "ζωὴν"; "zōē", "ζωή"; feminine noun - life real and genuine, vita quae sola vita nominanda (Cicero, de sen. 21, 77), a life active and vigorous, devoted to God, blessed, the portion even in this world of those who put their trust in Christ, but after the resurrection to be consummated by new accessions (among them a more perfect body), and to last forever.
-Sir: "κύριε"; "Kyrios", "κύριος"; masculine noun - a title of honor, expressive of respect and reverence; employed by anyone who wishes to honor a man of distinction.
Observation/Summary (short explanation of what the passage says in your own words):
After being asked by a Samaritan woman why He, a Jew, would ask her for water, Jesus answers that if she knew who He was, she would ask Him for water and He would give her living water. Confused by this, the woman notes He does not even have a vessel to draw water out of the deep well with and asks Him where He would get this "living water." She also asked if He was greater than their forefather Jacob who dug the well centuries before. To clarify, Jesus tells her that whoever drinks the water He gives will never be thirsty again, and they will have this same living water fill them up inside and lead to eternal life. In response to this, the woman says, "Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water."
Implication (what does this mean to us):
In this passage Jesus is conversing with a Samaritan woman who came to draw water from a well in the heat of midday. Jesus Himself was exhausted and thirsty from His journey and was resting by this well as his disciples went into the nearby city of Sychar to buy food. He was thirsty and had nothing to draw water out of the well with, so He asked this woman for a drink. She was shocked because not only was she a woman, she was a Samaritan. Jews and Samaritans hated each other and Jewish Rabbis would never talk to women in public, not even their own family members, much less a Samaritan. But this man is different than any man she has ever met. So, likely as she politely gave Him a drink of water, she asked in verse 9, "How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?"
As we continue studying this conversation we will notice that just like with Nicodemus, Jesus begins by stating an abstract concept, and then He slowly expands on the concept as the one He converses with considers what He says and asks follow up questions. Jesus is a brilliant conversationalist. He gently draws people into conversation, makes statements of truth, and then patiently explains as people ask questions and wrestle with concepts that challenge their worldview and cultural presuppositions.
This conversational approach to sharing the gospel is important for us to take note of. In his own imitation of Jesus, this is also how Paul approached gospel work in various settings as we read in Acts 17:2-3 that Paul went to the synagogue and conversed with people as he "reasoned" and "explained" the gospel of Jesus Christ. We do not need to be gifted orators or preachers to follow this model. We all have people in our lives God wants us to reach and most often a sermon or finger wagging in their face is not going to reach them. Oftentimes, it is in the small, courteous and respectful conversations we have with people where the Spirit of God moves. Sermons and more direct teaching have their place and Jesus and Paul did that too. But so does polite and gracious conversation where we listen to people, ascertain their greatest felt needs and speak to those and how Jesus wants to and can meet those needs, even as we also express their ultimate need for salvation in Christ.
This brings us to verse 10 where Jesus responds by saying if she knew the "gift of God" and who it is that is asking her for a drink, she would ask Him and He would give her living water. This is another example of Jesus brilliantly and gently drawing a person into conversation. Just like when He told Nicodemus that even he, a pious Jew, must be born again, He drops a shocking abstract concept in the lap of this lady by telling her if she asks, He will give her living water. As we read this, we should ask, "Who or what is the gift of God?" Jesus is referring to. While Jesus is certainly a gift from God (John 3:16), He distinguishes between Himself and the gift He is talking about because He says, "If you knew the gift of God [AND] Who it is that is saying to you...". So for this reason I do not think Jesus is talking about Himself, the second Person of the Trinity. Because of the reference to "living water" that follows I think it is very likely Jesus is talking about the third Person of the Trinity: God the Holy Spirit.
At this moment the lady is confused because she is standing by an ancient well from which nearly countless people have quenched their thirst, and this Man who has nothing to draw water out of the well is simultaneously asking her for water and telling her He has "living water" to give her. Jesus cannot be talking about regular water from an earthly well. He must be talking about something more. Thankfully John the gospel writer makes it clear for us elsewhere what is meant by "living water". In John 7:38-39 Jesus says, "Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, 'Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.' Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified." So we can see from this that Jesus is talking specifically about the Holy Spirit.
To be clear, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are One, so in a way Jesus is talking about Himself. But even as they are One perfectly unified Being, They are also three distinct Persons. This concept is complex but not illogical. We, as humans, are each one being made up of one person. God is One Being, made up of three distinct, yet perfectly unified Persons who fulfill different roles but are all equally God and equally One. This is kind of like trying to understand and conceptualize 4-dimensional space as a being that lives in 3-dimensional space. It is a complex concept, but not an illogical or fanciful one.
This lady stands by a deep, earthly well from which water has been drawn to quench the thirst and therefore give life to generation upon generation of people, but it is barely even a trickle compared to the bottomless, ever-abounding well of living water that is the Holy Spirit. The water from this well will quench a person's thirst for a short time, but the Holy Spirit will quench a person's deepest, eternal need and thirst forever, and then He will flow through them to quench the spiritual thirst of others. In meeting this woman at the well Jesus is using the analogy of natural, physical thirst, to inform us of our far greater spiritual thirst and the thirst quenching, overflowing, work of the Holy Spirit, which Jesus gives to all who ask Him.
The woman's question as to whether or not Jesus was greater than their father, Jacob seems to have been genuine because we will read later on that she does accept the gift of Living Water Jesus offers. But even if it was a little cynical, she stuck around to hear an answer, and Jesus provided one. In verses 13-14 He made it abundantly clear He was using the physical thirst everyone experiences as an example of the far greater spiritual thirst all people have. As she listens she will begin to understand Jesus is offering her lasting, eternal, spiritual satisfaction. And this satisfaction can only be received from Jesus. There is nothing we can do to satisfy God or the deepest longing of our souls. It is God who gives, and we who receive from Him. Trying to be our own savior is like trying to quench our thirst with salt water. The more we try to satisfy our own spiritual thirsts in our own ways, the thirstier we get.
Importantly it is not a single sip of water that we need, but rather, a continuous "spring of water welling up to eternal life." We must continually, day by day, drink this Living Water. We must daily come before God in worship and adoration, relying on His Spirit to sustain us and satisfy our thirst. The gift Jesus offers is a continual, eternal relationship with Him as our Lord, Savior, Friend and life-giving Thirst Quencher. To use another analogy, He is the Vine and we are the branches. If a branch is cut off and discarded it will die, but if it remains connected to the Vine it will continually, daily receive the nourishment it needs to be sustained. So it is with us who follow Jesus. From Him and Him alone we receive life and are sustained. He does this through the Holy Spirit Who dwells within us, and we abide in Him by faith and through the power of this same Spirit.
As we abide in Him in this way, continually being filled with His "living water," the Holy Spirit will shape us more and more into the image of Jesus Christ, and thereby work through us to give this same living water to others.
The Samaritan woman's response at this point in the conversation is, "Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water." Her response makes sense but it is not a spiritual one. She does not fully understand what He is saying yet. She still thinks He means to give her something that will result in her no longer needing to go to this well for water. She thinks He is offering her something to make her life easier and more comfortable in this world, but she misunderstands. Jesus wants to give her something better. Jesus wants to satisfy her greatest need.
Physical thirst and trials in this world, at least in part, are meant to awaken us to our greater, eternal needs. A jug of water from this well would have met this woman's needs for the day. The material and physical blessing we pray for will meet our physical needs for a short time, but we all have a far greater need. We all have a spiritual chasm in our souls and no amount of earthly wealth, success or achievement will satisfy us. The thirst we are trying to quench is infinite because it is a thirst for the infinitely glorious God who made us to worship Him. It is only in Him that we will find lasting, eternal satisfaction.
This woman's response is a good one, but as we continue on in the passage she will learn that Jesus has a far greater gift to give her. As we read on, we should consider the "thirst" in our own lives, and how Jesus can and will satisfy our thirst for eternity if we trust in Him and only Him.
Application (How does this change how I think, act and pray?):
From this passage we learn Jesus came to offer us spiritual rebirth to new life in Him. This does not mean an easy or comfortable life in this world. We will still thirst and hunger for a short time here, but our physical needs, while important, should serve as an alarm bell to alert us to our far greater spiritual need for redemption. Our sin separates us from God, the one and only source of life and joy. Apart from Him we will thirst for eternity, but in Him we will never thirst. Even our temporary earthly thirst, hunger and pain will end one day soon forever, but we can have our spiritual thirst quenched right now by the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit.
Importantly this Living Water is only available through faith in Jesus Christ. For this reason if we want our bottomless, spiritual thirst quenched, we must trust in Him alone as our Lord and Savior. And once we have received this LIving Water, who is the Holy Spirit, we must abide in Him by faith. We must daily draw near to Him in adoration and worship through regular prayer, Bible study and Christian fellowship. As we do so He will teach us to rely on Him more and more, and His Living Water will flow through us to others as we testify of His love, mercy and grace in both word and deed.
Self Reflection:
What does the fact that Jesus became thirsty and exhausted for me tell me about His character and love for me?
Do I have any "thirsts" I am trying to quench by earthly means?
When I ask Jesus to quench my thirst am I more concerned with my temporary, physical thirst, or my eternal spiritual thirst? What is Jesus most concerned about?
#Thirst #livingwater #jesuschrist #Biblestudy #love