John 4 (The Samaritan Woman) [Part 2]

Vs. 10-14

“You have nothing to draw water with and the well is deep. Where then do You get that living water?”

      The woman must have been really puzzled, because the man before her claimed to have living water and yet asked her for a drink. Furthermore, can He provide better water than the one her ancestor did? This well had been used for centuries, and here is a man who says he could give something better to her.

      Here we also see Christ making His move to bring the conversation past physical satisfaction to spiritual satisfaction. As we know, even the best pleasures and satisfaction this world can offer would not last. Deep down, we all have a need, a craving, for something lasting, but we need to realize that eternal satisfaction can only come from an eternal Giver, an eternal Fullness, an eternal Joy, an eternal Well of Living Water.

“. . . but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.”

      The woman came to the well, but Christ wanted to place the well within her.

      What are the wells we go to for fulfilment? Do we find ourselves searching for wells of riches, wells of entertainment, wells of lust? The Lord wants us to come to Him, the Eternal Well, and place in us wells of living water to overflow onto those around us.

Vs. 15-20

      But this Samaritan woman had a difficult time grasping the words of our Lord. She was still thinking of the water in the well.

“Sir, give me this water, so I will not be thirsty nor come all the way here to draw.”

      The prospect of eternal fulfilment attracted her, but her focus still needed to shift to a different dimension—the realm of the soul.

      So Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband and come here.” And when she said she had none, He pointed out her sinful life. He was moving the subject from physical thirst to spiritual emptiness.

      Perhaps the Samaritan woman was uncomfortable with where the conversation was going, so she changed the subject: the right place of worship. The Samaritans worshiped on Mount Gerizim while the Jews worshiped in Jerusalem. Is there a right location to worship?

Vs. 21-24

      Christ said no. “Salvation is from the Jews” because the Messiah was a Jew, and the Jews were the first messengers of the Gospel. But we will worship neither on the mountain nor in Jerusalem, because the true worshipers will worship in spirit and truth, regardless of location. However, does this mean that we can stop going to a physical church building every Sunday? Although it is not a sin to stop going to church, we know that God desires that everyone of us will join in the fellowship of His people, and there is power in a gathering of believers.

      What does it mean to worship in spirit and in truth? Worship is primarily an intimate communion and communication with our Heavenly Father. And since God is spirit, we must worship, or communicate, with Him in spirit. Can we then still worship with our bodies and minds? Of course! Our bodies are the temples of the Holy Spirit, so use it for worship! “Love the Lord with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and with all your strength.” The intellect and physicality were not excluded in worship. And we must worship God the right way—in truth, not falsehood.

      I am reminded of what Archbishop William Temple of Canterbury said about worship, and I believe it is the best definition I’ve come across:

                                        “Worship is the submission of all of our nature to God.
                                        It is the quickening of conscience by His holiness,
                                        Nourishment of mind by His truth,
                                        Purifying of imagination by His beauty,
                                        Opening of the heart to His love,
                                        And submission of will to His purpose.
                                        And all this gathered up in adoration is the greatest of human
                                        expressions of which we are capable.”

      The woman at the well must have been confused at all this. Perhaps this was too deep for her limited understanding. “I know that the Messiah is coming, and that He will explain all these things to us.”

      This is where Jesus made one of the clearest declarations of His identity in the Bible. “I who speak to you am He.”

      We can learn a lot from Jesus’ method of conversation. We cannot give water to one who is not thirsty. We cannot give food to one who is not hungry. We need to help that person come to realize and acknowledge his need so that he would be able to receive the fulfilment that we present to him in the person of Jesus Christ. Though the woman attempted to change the subject, He used the new topic to continue revealing Himself as the answer to all of life’s questions. By declaring “I am He,” Jesus was explicitly offering the living water which He was speaking of, and the soil of the woman’s heart was ready to receive.

Next, the disciples arrived on the scene. . .

Blessings,
Nathanael Chong