LIVING WATER

Passage: John 4:1-15

Key verse: 13-14

NIV

Jesus Talks With a Samaritan Woman

4 Now Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that he was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John(A)— 2 although in fact it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples. 3 So he left Judea(B) and went back once more to Galilee.

4 Now he had to go through Samaria.(C) 5 So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph.(D) 6 Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon.

7 When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?”(E) 8 (His disciples had gone into the town(F) to buy food.)

9 The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan(G) woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.[a])

10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”(H)

11 “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well(I) and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?”

13 Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst.(J) Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water(K) welling up to eternal life.”(L)

15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty(M) and have to keep coming here to draw water.”

Read full chapter
Footnotes
  1. John 4:9 Or do not use dishes Samaritans have used
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Source: BibleGateway

ESV

Jesus and the Woman of Samaria

4 Now when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and (A)baptizing more disciples than John 2 (although Jesus himself did not baptize, but only his disciples), 3 he left Judea and departed (B)again for Galilee. 4 (C)And he had to pass through Samaria. 5 So he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the field (D)that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob's well was there; so Jesus, (E)wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well. It was about the sixth hour.[a]

7 A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, (F)“Give me a drink.” 8 (For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.) 9 The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?” ((G)For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) 10 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 (H)living water.” 11 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? 12 (I)Are you greater than our father Jacob? (J)He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.” 13 Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14 but (K)whoever drinks of the water that I will give him (L)will never be thirsty again.[b] The water that I will give him will become (M)in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” 15 The woman said to him, “Sir, (N)give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.”

Read full chapter
Footnotes
  1. John 4:6 That is, about noon
  2. John 4:14 Greek forever
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Source: BibleGateway

To avoid the Pharisees, Jesus traveled back to Galilee. Instead of taking the normal route, he went through Samaria, which was a territory that the Jews stayed clear of. Jesus went beyond all human barriers, to the most despised and most rejected places, to encounter and save one lost and needy soul. While his disciples went to get food, he sat by a well and met a Samaritan woman.

Jesus asked for her a drink of water. In response, the woman refused because Jesus was a Jew and she was a Samaritan. But Jesus did not turn away from her. He wanted to offer her a gift: living water. This woman came to the well every day for a drink, but she always needed to come back until finally the Messiah came to her. Jesus wanted to satisfy her soul with the gift of God so she would never be thirsty again.

We often feel dissatisfied and look for physical things to fill our hearts (success, wealth, romance, popularity). We want to take away the emptiness of our daily lives but going to these “wells of water” does not cure our inner thirst. What is the solution? Jesus declared that it is only when we drink the water that he gives that we will never thirst. When we drink the water he gives us, we will overflow with the living water of eternal life. We can receive this free gift from God when we put our faith in Jesus (John 6:35).

Prayer: Father, thank you for Jesus, who came to give us living water so we would never thirst in this world. May we be open to receiving your gift today.

One Word: Receive the living water of eternal life from Jesus today