2. A conversation with
a sinner, Jn. 4.9-14
You know, we all get
thirsty. And we all enjoy a good, thirst-quenching drink of clear,
cold well water, just like the kind that came from Jacob's well. But
we all have a spiritual thirst too, and this woman had tried many
different ways to satisfy the thirst of her carnal nature. We don't
even know her name, but that isn't important, not even to Jesus, at
this point anyway; the fact is, He's concerned for our lost
condition, and it was with that need in mind that He led the
conversation down the path that He did. So what we have in these
next verses, is a true-as-life, God-inspired witness, from the very
Saviour Himself!
First of all, Jesus asked
about water, apparently having no way of His own to draw Himself a
drink. Now vs. 11 tells us that this well was deep, as many desert
wells are, so I asked "Google" about "Jacob's
well" and found that in Jesus' day, that well could have
been as much as 100 feet deep! Even today, it's about 75 feet deep, due to infalling rubble; you definitely needed somethoing to draw with
if you wanted a drink from that well! And that's the very
truth that Jesus wanted this woman to understand. He was about to
offer Himself to her as the "fountain of living Water",
which when drawn by the thirsty soul, provides eternal life!
Isaiah 12.3 prophesys perhaps, this very event in the life of this Samaritan
woman..."Therefore with joy, shall ye draw water from the well
of salvation". And just like the ability of Jacob's well to
quench our physical thirst, so Jesus has the miraculous
ability to quench our spiritual thirst. You know, in the Old
Testament book of Numbers, 21.16, Moses was commanded by God to gather
the people together, and He would give them water; and then Israel
sang this song..."Spring Up O Well"! What a well that must
have been, and what water must have sprung from it, to satisfy all of
Israel; and here we have that well personified in the very Son of
God!
Jesus approached this
woman right where she was at. He pointed out that she could drink
from Jacob's well every day and she would still have to come back and
draw more; but He could give her water to drink that would
satisfy her forever! One drink, one time, and the thirsty spirit
would be quenched forever! That's the nature of the water of
salvation that Jesus offers...you can drink of the pleasures of this
world, like that woman was doing, and you'll continually have to find
new and more exciting ways to satisfy your thirst. But one trip to the
"fountain of living Water" will meet the need of your soul
throughout eternity!
When I was younger there
was a popular song that wailed out..."I can't get no
satisfaction...!" Well, that song speaks of our inability to
quench the thirst that this world has...for money, for sex, or
popularity...you can name your own poison, and just as it's true in
the physical sense, when our spiritual needs go unsatisfied that
thirst can get pretty intense! You know, this Samaritan woman had a
lot of questions, just like our friend Nicodemus had...and just like
many people today, who just can't get to the Truth that Jesus has power
to save...vs. 9, "How is it that Thou...", and vs. 11,
"From whence then hast Thou...". She could only attempt to
reason those things through with her mortal mental capacity; she
wanted answers, just like many of us do, before we can get saved
solely by faith. You see, the lies of Satan, and the nonsense of
this world are all so readily accepted, so as soon as Jesus by His
Spirit speaks, all many can do is try and rationalize with the Creator
and Sustainer of life..."But how...from whence?"
How plainly Jesus answered
that woman, in vs. 14..."but the water that I shall give...shall
be a well of water springing up into everlasting life"! This
really does reveal to us the Spirit of Jesus. He didn't get into an
argument with her, or get exasperated with her or get discouraged
with her refusal to believe; He was only interested in one
thing...her eternal salvation; her need for "the gift of God",
as stated in vs. 10; and with sharing the water that quenches that
never-ending thirst!
Before we are redeemed, we
don't have one thing to offer God...not one iota; nothing to give,
but a new life to receive! And that's exactly what we
see, in the last section of this passage...
3. The conversion of a
sinner, vss. 15-30
The woman at this well of
Jacob's knew that she had nothing, that had come out of a life of
nothingness, and Jesus knew it too, and yet, the very first word that
Jesus had spoken to her, back in vs. 7, was..."give"! And
now that He had aroused her interest, He began to get serious with
her...it was time for her to have a very serous talk with Jesus!
(a) First, He talked with
her of wickedness, vss. 16-19
That woman needed to be
awakened to her spiritual need. Up until now, Satan had been
influencing her life, but now, Jesus was beginning to bring her along
to the point of soul conversion, as we saw in vs. 15, where she had
asked Him to give her water! I've said over and over
again that the natural mind is consumed with natural things...our
employment, our enjoyment and our annoyment! We are confined in our
thinking, to our own little world of feelings and ideas, and so it
was with that woman. Even if we admit the existence of the Saviour,
we don't recognize Him when we see Him, eyeball to eyeball. So Jesus
was about to awaken her..."Go, call thy husband and come
hither". You see, only a poor and contrite sinner can ever
receive the living Water! Notice that Jesus told her to "go",
and then to "come"..."Go, and look your sinful life
square in the face, and then come, in a repentant state and believe,
and receive Me!"
Just think that, in that
moment, all the guilt and shame of her many infidelities over all her
years, flashed through her mind like the life of a drowning person!
And her thirst was great...we see that again in vs. 15; but even though
she didn't realize it yet, she was about to have her thirst quenched!
You know, there may be
some who would say that this was a cruel thing for our Lord to do,
but the fact of the matter is, until a sinner realizes the extent of
her lostness, she will never have a desire to be found. And you have
to admit Jesus had gotten that woman's full attention, so now was the
time to talk with her about her religious life, in our next lesson
that is, when...
(b) they talked of
worship, vss. 20-22
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