Scriptures: John 4:7-15 (NKJV):
A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.”
For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.
Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says 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 with, and the well is deep. Where then do You get that living water?
Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?”
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.”
The woman said to Him, “Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw.”
In the beginning of this month, during our Praise and worship even before the Pastor starts his sermon i had these strong impressions at the back of my mind about the story of the Samaritan woman at the well. Then lo and behold the sermon started about this ”woman at the well” and the sermon was about the well. This is not also my first time to preach about this topic. As far as i can remember i had several sermons about this, but each time i noticed different approaches, different ways and specific outlines but of course it always leads to the general truth that JESUS is the LIVING WATER and WE need WATER.
Science says man can survive without food for many days but without drinking water three days maximum and beyond can result to severe damages to every organs in the body, after all 55-60% of our bodies are made of water and even our own blood half of its volume is the liquid called ‘plasma’ which is 90-95% made of water.
Now let’s go deeper into the Scriptures…Jesus though He is the God incarnate (John 1:1,14) but having a physical body, felt tired and thirsty and in need too of water to drink. While his disciples left him to find some foods, he on the other hand intentionally stay at the well in Samaria at the sixth hour (noon– John 4-5-8) and as the story was told and unfold before our very eyes of understanding there are several truths we can draw out from such ” encounter with Jesus at the well”
- Jesus is always at the right time and the right place patiently waiting for you to come to Him in the time of your great need.
Jeremiah 23:23-24”I am a God who is everywhere and not in one place only. No one can hide where I cannot see them. Do you not know that I am everywhere in heaven and on earth?
My father who will celebrate his 88th birthday next month, since my teenage years until now, he never goes to church nor attend church services, and i remember one time i invited him to come with me in my early years of conversion from Roman Catholic to Born-again Christians declined my invitations and told me ” Even if i will be sitting here under this mango tree and pray, God is here” i never forgot those words that God is everywhere echoes from my father’s voice.
2. Jesus is no respecter of person, He is like a bridge that connects every gap in all relationship, with Him there is no “cultural barriers”.
In other words, the free offer of the gospel is available to all—Jew and Gentile alike.
1 Corinthians 1:24 (NKJV): But to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
3. Jesus, is the open door for every opportunity without partiality or favoritism (Acts 10:34)
Jesus being a Jew, a man speaking to a Samaritan(gentile) woman. Laying aside ”gender differences” the encounter was a beautiful picture of the Holy God speaking to a sinful man. A sinless Jesus meeting the need of a sinful woman.
John 10:9 (NKJV):
I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.
4. Jesus is well aware of our status and situations in life, our past and present circumstances no matter how hard we tried to hide it from others.
John 4:17-18 “”Jesus said to her, “You have well said, ‘I have no husband,’
for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly.”
The Samaritan woman wants to draw water from the well at the sixth hour (noontime) who does that? under the intense heat of the day unless you are trying to avoid crowds of people this means that she doesn’t want to be seen or recognized by others whether it was shame, guilt or fear it was not mention there. One thing for sure she has no choice but to go to the well and in need of water and no one is available to do it for her.
Job 34:21 (NKJV): “For His eyes are on the ways of man, And He sees all his steps. God watches every person and sees every step they take.
Remember the story of Hagar in Genesis chapters 16 and 21, two recorded events when Hagar encountered God. First, she got pregnant not by her own choice by Abraham who is not even her husband and running away from Sara, the responsible person who put her in such situation. Felt unloved and unwanted found great comfort from God, whom she called “You are the God who sees me”(Genesis 16:31). God found Hagar by a fountain of water in the wilderness, the well that was called “Beer-Lahai-Roi” meaning “the well of the Living One who sees me”. The second time, together with her son, Ishmael, she was sent away by Abraham by God’s will and purpose, wandering in the dessert and running out of water, both are crying and in great need for water to drink. God again saw Hagar, opened her eyes to see a well of water.
- Jesus knows our heart condition.
In the eyes of the world, the Samaritan woman at the well is nothing but a promiscuous woman in search of casual relationship to satisfy her own physical thirst for love and affection. And in her own eyes and understanding, she is just a person searching for someone who can truly provide and satisfy the deep longingness in her heart that when her own waterpot dried and runs out of water, she just have to go to the same well, going to the same source of water, same route and routines, same way of life, even if she has to go through hardship thinking at least her needs were met.
But in the eyes of Jesus the dryness in her life is not just physical but spiritual dryness.
If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”
Jeremiah 2:13 (NKJV): “For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, and hewn themselves cisterns—broken cisterns that can hold no water.
Who are the Samaritans in the Bible? They are actually descendants of the Northern tribe of Israel (Ephraim and Manasseh) that when the Assyrian conquered their land, they stay and intermarry with this foreign and pagan nation resulting with different religious beliefs and practices though they shared a common Israelite heritage that can be traced in her conversations with Jesus ”Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well?
During their conversations, we can tell that the Samaritan woman believed in God and waiting in expectation for the coming Messiah but her concept of boundaries and beliefs at first caused her to reject Jesus, when asked “Give me a drink”. Then Jesus wisely and lovingly shifted their conversation from his need to the woman’s need of water carefully addressing her physical needs to spiritual needs. 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.”
From Jacob’s well to a place of worship pointing that the true worshipers are the ones who worship God in spirit and in truth.
Speaking of Spiritual dryness what does it mean? As our body in need of drinking water constantly so does our spirit too. What are the signs of Spiritual dryness?
Have you felt that sometimes God is far from you, though you believed He is near. You are reading God’s words but just for the sake of reading and not absorbing ‘anything no “rhema”(spoken word) at all. You are praying but it becomes a mechanical merely head knowledge not heartfelt prayer. You are aware that there something wrong but cannot specifically identify what it is? You wanted to do something spiritual but lack passion and faith, you find yourself sluggish and slothful.
What Causes Spiritual dryness in our life?
- Unconfessed sin– Psalm 32:3–5: David describes the physical and emotional toll of keeping silent about his sin. ‘When i kept silent my bones grew old, my vitality was turned into a drought of summer’
- Simple drift and neglect of Responsibilities -Life gets full and we are distracted by the busyness in our life without realizing that our simple negligence of not spending time in prayer and reading God’s words turns into a normal routine of our life. When we choose laziness over diligence this can lead to spiritual dryness as well.
- Uncontrolled lust and unchecked pride– I Peter 2:11 (NKJV): Abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul” Proverbs 16:18 “Pride goes before destruction”
- Life circumstances – Exhaustion, sickness, grief and sorrow can leave us spiritually depleted too. Proverbs 17:22 “A glad heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones.
How to overcome Spiritual Dryness?
- Repent – 1 John 1:9 – Acknowledge your sin
- Return to Jesus –
- Refill –
Isaiah 58:11 (NKJV):
The Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy your soul in drought, and strengthen your bones; You shall be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.