The Gospel of John has a heart-warming story of a woman at a well in chapter four. This story takes place in an area where there were mixed race people called the Samaritans. The Jewish people looked down upon Samaritans because they were of mixed races. They worshipped God at a different temple, and they didn't believe in the entire Old Testament, like the Jewish people did. The Jewish people and the Samaritan people were very different and had a history of indifference and hatred.
One very hot day, Jesus was traveling with His disciples (the men Jesus was mentoring) and they stopped near a town called Sychar (a town in Samaria). The disciples went to the market place to get some food to eat, but Jesus stayed behind and rested at a well.
This well was very deep and at the bottom was an underground running water spring. When water is running in the form of a stream, river, or creek, the water is cleaner and fresher, as opposed to water that just sits there. And it just so happened that this was the very well that another spiritual ancestor named Jacob had built and used many generations earlier for his family and cattle to sustain them in the hot climate. This well was known for its active running living water.
As Jesus was sitting at this well, resting His feet, a Samaritan woman came to the well to get water. When Jesus saw that she had a water bucket to draw the water, He asked her for a drink. As the story reveals, Jesus and this Samaritan woman discussed several different topics. They talked about where to worship God. They discussed the history of the well. They talked about how many husbands this woman had married. They discussed the fact that if this woman accepted Jesus's invitation to drink this living water, she would never thirst again.
The woman kept her discussion at a physical level and earthly level, but Jesus was referring to deeper spiritual matters, so it took the woman a while to get the meaning of what Jesus was talking about. Just as the well was deep, so were Jesus's teachings. His teachings always went beyond the surface or physical meanings.
Jesus talked to this woman on purpose even though talking to a woman was not a popular thing for a Jewish man to do, especially since she was a Samaritan woman. Jewish men were not even supposed to speak with their wives in public, so Jesus's discussion with the woman would have caused cultural tension. Plus, when you add all the bad history between the Jewish people and the Samaritan people, this especially wasn't an acceptable situation.
The disciples finally returned and joined Jesus at the well. They asked if He had eaten yet. Once again, Jesus referred to the fact that doing God's will was His food and He didn't need earthly nourishment. The disciples were baffled. They hesitated to ask Jesus why He was talking to this Samaritan woman, but by this time they probably knew Jesus didn`t go about things the way normal people do. In fact, Jesus didn't do things like anyone.
The heart of this story is about Jesus offering this woman eternal life (living water), and the fact that if she would drink this spiritual water she would never thirst again. She thought this was a great idea because then she wouldn't have to drag herself to this well in the heat of the day and draw water for herself and the sixth man who was in her life. She also wouldn`t have to avoid the other women who came to the well. This sounds fantastic.
She finally realized that this living water Jesus was referring to meant believing in Him as the Messiah and Savior of the world. Most people didn`t understand that Jesus was this One, but this woman did. After she believed in Jesus, the rest of the town believed also and the people of the town were transformed.
Jesus, the Savior of the world, could deal with years of hurt and sorrow. The Samaritans' hurting hearts could finally start healing. The woman understood this, but the disciples still struggled with judging. The town believed, but the Jewish people still looked for ways to trap Jesus in a lie.
Living water was water that moved in the form of a stream, or river, or creek, such as the water that ran under the well that belonged to Jacob. Jesus provided pure spiritual living water, and when accepted by faith, it not only healed a person`s heart and prevented them from experiencing spiritual dehydration, but it also allowed that person to live forever. Do you know a man or woman or child who could use some water?
Parry Stelter is a Bible teacher, author and speaker. He is founder of Word of Hope Ministries. If you are interested in having Parry do a workshop on dealing with grief, loss and trauma, you can contact him at parry@wordofhopeministries.ca.
