Thirst-Quenching Grace
by Lisa Wallover, Guest Writer
Today’s Treasure
Come and see. . .
John 4:29a
Suggested Scripture reading for today: John 4:1-42
It had been a long journey, and He was tired. He was thirsty. It was almost noon, the hottest point of the day. But Jesus knew there was a well—Jacob’s Well—just ahead.
The disciples had left to buy food. They were likely confused as to why Jesus said He had to go through Samaria on their way from Jerusalem back to Galilee. While it was the more direct route, many faithful Jews would have added miles to go around this region to avoid the people here. Though they shared a common heritage, the Jews and Samaritans were bitterly divided by religion, history, and ethnicity. In the eyes of the faithful, to be a Samaritan was to be unclean.
The woman, also making her way to the well, was very aware of this dynamic. So while she was surprised to see a Jewish man sitting alone at the well, she was confident she could go about her task of collecting water for the day completely ignored. As a Samaritan and as a woman, she would be doubly avoided.
There was no way she could have anticipated what would happen.
“Give me a drink,” Jesus asked her, breaking all expected cultural norms.
In her surprise, she was equally direct: “How is it that You, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?”
And so began the longest discussion recorded in the Gospels between Jesus and an individual. They covered topics both deeply personal and deeply theological. Their conversation was filled with honesty, history, truth, curiosity, respect, surprising revelations, and great hope.
“If you knew the gift of God,” Jesus said, “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.”
Jesus was calling her to deeper waters, but it would take her a moment to get there.
She answered based on what she saw and knew: This man has no pitcher, and the well is deep. But there was more in His words… she heard it. She knew the history of this place. To offer water greater than this well, which had never run dry, the One before her must be claiming to be greater than their common ancestor, Jacob.
Jesus’s reply answers her and, at the same time, calls her to move beyond the common cares of her world: to discover Life that is both true and more wonderful than any life she could imagine.
…whoever drinks of the water I will give them will never again be thirsty…it will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.
In her limitation and her pain, did she hear a promise of true refreshment: If she had this promised water, would she never have to return to this place again? This place of shame, where she must draw water at noon—to avoid the gaze and judgment of the other women, the women who would never trust her around their husbands.
Is that why Jesus responds to her with the instruction to: “Go, call your husband, and come here”?
She was honest in her confession: “I have no husband.” Jesus revealed that He knew all of her story. He commends her for speaking the truth to Him. He does not shame her or send her away.
Who IS this man? A prophet?
She wanted truth and to understand. And so, her one question: how to worship God properly.
And in that place, the very place where God had met with Abram and promised him the land, Jesus revealed God’s plan of salvation for the whole world to her, a woman of Samaria.
Jesus told her remarkable things: The Messiah does come from the Jews, but He comes for the world. He actively seeks people to be in a relationship with Him and worship Him in spirit and in truth. True worship of Him is not limited to any one place. Worship is how we approach Him—in truth and the power of the Holy Spirit—not where.
Was this news too great for her to take in? Was she confused, or did she somehow anticipate His answer? Her reply revealed a belief the Jews and Samaritans shared: “I know the Messiah is coming . . . when He comes, He will tell us all things.”
And Jesus’s clear and rare declaration: “I who speak to you am He.” There was no doubt.
Her joy and freedom almost leap off the pages of Scripture, just as we imagine her almost leaping back to her town. Leaving her water jar, she runs to tell those in her town about a Man who told her everything she had ever done. He had turned her life, marked by the drought of painful sin and failure, into a testimony of God’s thirst-quenching, life-giving grace and gospel.
“Come and see. . . .Can this be the Christ?”
LIFE-GIVING ENCOURAGEMENT
In case we wonder, Jesus makes clear that the living water He provides is the very Holy Spirit of God, given to all believers (John 7:37-39). Theologian John Calvin vividly points out that “... living water is not so called from its effect, as life-giving, but the allusion is to different kinds of waters. It is called living, because it flows from a living fountain.”
When you consider that God’s Spirit in you is not just refreshing you, but is actually God dwelling in you, how does that give you hope? Courage? Peace? How does He
meet you in your thirst?
PRAYER
Lord, even in the hardest of times, You are utterly life-giving. When I consider that You are seeking people from every nation, tribe, and language to become followers and worshipers of You, I am amazed. Thank You for giving Yourself, through Your Son and through Your Spirit, to bring sinners to new life, to eternal life. You are my living fountain.
More free resources for help, hope, and healing:
Ask Dr. Betters is a topical video series of over 425 videos that have reached over 1 1/2 million views. Dr. Chuck F. Betters answers questions submitted by the listening audience on suffering and the sovereignty of God. It is MARKINC's hope that Dr. Betters answers will reinforce that God is good and worthy of our trust even when life is difficult and when we struggle to understand Him. You can learn more or subscribe by clicking here: Ask Dr. Betters
About the Author: Lisa Wallover loves writing and creating gospel-centered resources for the local church. Married to PCA pastor David Wallover, she is author of the Post Tenebras Lux Series of five Good Friday services, published by the Presbyterian Church in America. This series was created within the context of a local church community which deeply embraces the rich truth that God’s grace is greater than our sin and shines all the brighter against the darkness. Lisa also assists with Midwest Alliance Readiness Seminars for church planting couples, and is a member of both the Parakaleo Leadership Community and the PCA’s WE (Wives of Elders) Connect Team. She has contributed articles to byFaith online and the enCourage blog.
As empty nesters, Lisa and David love traveling to visit their kids’ new nests.
Connect on fb: LisaWallover1 Connect on IG: lisawallover
For more from Daily Treasure please visit MARKINC.ORG.
Originally published Friday, 13 September 2024.
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