It was about the sixth hour. A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.”

Beloved, I am glad to share with you today the above theme from John 4:6-7. Indeed, it’s not only for esteemed people, like Nicodemus, that God gave His Only Begotten Son. This wonderful “gift from God” was made free of charge to the most wretched sinners. What a picture we have here! In his inconceivable lowering, the Son of God sits on the edge of this well, truly man, experiencing fatigue and thirst. And yet He thinks only of the salvation of His creature. For a woman approaches, and see how the Lord Jesus is gaining her trust. He asks her for a service, and puts himself within her reach by telling her about what she knows. Eager to find happiness, this woman drank from many disappointing waters in this world. She sought this happiness from five husbands. Always she was “thirsty again”.

But the Savior knows for her a “living water” of which He himself is the source (Jr. 2:12-19; Jr 17:12-13). Without understanding its nature, the Samaritan expects Him to receive this extraordinary gift. However, it’s necessary for the Lord first to put his finger on what is not in order in this woman’s life. For one cannot be happy until the light of God has penetrated into consciousness. It’s that grace in Jesus is inseparable from truth.

Here, it’s no longer only a question of the lost sheep of the house of Israel, but of any sinner who receives Jesus by believing in his name. It’s grace in all its beauty, as this gospel presents it, flowing like a wide river throughout the world, within the reach of all men and for all. This river of life still spreads its invigorating waters to which everyone is invited to drink, an urgent invitation, repeated in the Scriptures: “And let him who is thirsty come; let him who wants, take the water of life, free of charge.” (Rev 22:17) This call is addressed to everyone, before the course of this river stops, which will take place after the coming of the Lord. Let’s take a closer look.

Thus, the path that the Lord Jesus followed led him to where there was a well, called here “Jacob’s well”, a veritable fountain of the water of life in the person of Jesus. It was the sixth hour (noon according to our way of counting time). “Jesus, tired of the journey, was sitting by the well.” He was alone, his disciples having gone to the city to buy food. A Samaritan woman came to draw water. “Jesus said to him, ‘Give me a drink’. The woman was amazed that Jesus, whom she recognized as a Jew, asked her to drink, for the Jews had no relationship with the Samaritans. The woman had no idea that Jesus was there, not on the foot of human relations, but to put her in touch with God the Father.

Then he replied to the Samaritan woman: “If you knew the gift of God and who is the one who says to you: Give me a drink! you would have asked him to drink yourself, and he would have given you white water.” What treasures in the Lord’s response to this woman. It’s a summary of perfect grace and how it came to man. Jesus states it in two parts, each of which is wonderful, unfathomable, like all that is divine. For they form the present and eternal subject of worship and praise. It’s first and foremost “the gift of God”. This term indicates the change that has occurred in the way God acts towards men. Until then, God had demanded from the sinful man a life that met his requirements, formulated by the law. And no one could offer God what he asked for.

Secondly, this law was addressed only to the Jews who, by violating it, placed themselves on the same footing as any man before God, while Jesus had to deal with a Samaritan sinner. Thus the Jews, like the Samaritans and every man, sinners lost, without resources as for themselves, remained infallibly under eternal condemnation, if God continued to demand that they satisfy him. Then God, who is love and light, intervenes in favor of a lost and guilty race, makes himself known as the God who gives and no longer who asks. Indeed, he gives the Holy Spirit, grace, life; he takes into account what the sinner is only to give him, to save him, to make him perfectly happy, right now and for eternity. For he introduces it by the power of the Spirit, in the enjoyment of all that comes from his love: peace, happiness, joy, glorious hope.

But, to bring these hidden blessings, from all eternity, into the heart of God, it needed a means that the Lord indicates in the second part of His answer to the woman: “Who is the one who says to you: Give me to drink”. It was himself, a man tired of walking, under the ardour of the sun, sitting on the edge of a well, thirsting, waiting for food that his disciples had gone to buy. This man was “God manifested in the flesh”, the creator of the earth on which he had descended; the sun to which it was exposed; the water he asked the woman for; of this very woman… He was the one before whom every man must appear one day, the judge of the living and the dead, who came in the deepest humility to be accessible to all, an expression of divine love.

For she was far from knowing in the presence of who she was. It took the patient work of Jesus to bring light and love into this dark heart, unable to understand anything other than what related to her material life. She thought only of the water she came to fetch, and said to Jesus: “Lord, you have nothing to draw on, and the well is deep; from where would you have this living water”? Because she already realizes that, to make a similar offer, you have to be a distinguished character. So she adds: “Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us this well, and who drank it himself, as well as his sons and flocks”? Because she doesn’t know who’s talking to her and what he’s talking about.

But Jesus continues the conversation to attract to him this heart to which he brought true happiness, by making him understand that he did not offer him water similar to that of the well. This represents the things of the world of which man is thirsty, but which do not thirst; instead of satisfying his needs, they increase his desires, be it money, glory, pleasures, and passions in any form whatsoever. That is why the Lord Jesus says, “Whoever drinks this water will still be thirsty; but he who drinks water which I give him will never be thirsty, and the water which I give him will become in him a source of water which will gush into eternal life.” Wonderful difference between the water that the Lord gives and the water that the natural heart seeks in this world! He who drinks living water is no longer thirsty, that is to say, no longer needs to seek his enjoyments in the things of the world; for he finds them in the heavenly things, in the knowledge of the Father revealed in the Son. Indeed, this water not only desalts, but it becomes a fountain gushing into eternal life, instead of an altered heart and never satisfied.

Then Jesus no longer speaks to the woman of the water he offers her; he will do what is necessary so that she can receive it. For all is his work; this is what characterizes the activity of the Lord in this gospel, man being considered in the absolute incapacity of his natural state. And he will place this woman in the presence of divine light; he will bring him there by consciousness, the ability to distinguish good and evil, which man obtained through sin. But for consciousness to be useful, it must be enlightened by the Word of God; otherwise, it can harden to the point of producing no effect. For under the action of divine light, the sinner sees his guilt, his perdition, and he can accept grace. And to produce this effect in the woman, Jesus said to her, “Go,” Jesus said to her, call your husband, and come here. The wife replied: “I have no husband.” Jesus said to him: You were right to say: I have no husband. For you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. In this you have said true.”

By his answer, Jesus places the woman in the full light of God. It is before the one in whose eyes “all things are naked and uncovered” (Heb 4:13). So she replies: “Lord, I see that you are a prophet”. She understands that he speaks to her of divine authority, like the prophets. But these spoke on god’s part, while Jesus was God. Thus, the word of Jesus reached the conscience of the Samaritan woman and the work of God was fulfilled in her, when she goes to say to the men of the city: “Come and see a man who told me all that I have done”. Jesus had obviously not revealed all his deeds to her, but she had felt that he knew them all and, in this light, had understood his full guilt. Because it does not take much time for that.

The following verses have been compiled for your edification and grouped together for your better understanding.

• Humanity of Christ, he shared human experiences:

-sadness: Mt 26:37 He took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and he began to experience sadness and anguish.

-natural growth: Lk 2.40 Or, the child grew and strengthened. He was filled with wisdom, and God’s grace was upon him.

-hunger: Lk 4:2 where he was tempted by the devil for forty days. He ate nothing during those days, and after they were over, he was hungry.

-sleep: Lk 8:23 While they were sailing, Jesus fell asleep. A whirlpool melted on the lake, the boat filled with water, and they were in peril.

-poverty: Lk 9:58 Jesus answered him: The foxes have dens, and the birds of heaven have nests: but the Son of man does not have a place where he can rest his head.

-a physical body: Lk 24:39 See my hands and feet, it is indeed me; touch me and see: a spirit has neither flesh nor bones, as you see I have.

-fatigue: Jn 4.6 There was Jacob’s well. Jesus, tired of the journey, sat by the well. It was about the sixth hour.

• Physical thirst: 

Ex 17.3 The people were there, pressed by thirst, and murmured against Moses. He said, “Why did you bring us out of Egypt, to make me die of thirst with my children and my flocks?” Jg 15:18 Pressed by thirst, he invoked the Lord, and said, “It is you who has made this great deliverance possible by the hand of your servant; and now I would die of thirst, and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised? 2 S 23:15  David had a desire, and he said, “Who will make me drink water from the cistern which is at the door of Bethlehem?” Isa 41:17  The unfortunate and destitute seek water, and there is none; Their language is dried out by thirst. I, the Lord, will fulfill them; I, the God of Israel, will not abandon them. Jn 4:7  A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to him: Give me a drink. Jn 19:28  After this, Jesus, who knew that everything was already consumed, said, so that scripture might be fulfilled: I am thirsty. 1 Cor 4:11 Until this hour, we suffer hunger, thirst, nudity; we are mistreated, wandering here and there;

• Donations from parents, expression of love for children:

-a patrimony: Gen 24:36 Sarah, the wife of my lord, gave birth in her old age a son to my lord; and he gave her all that he possesses.

-a beautiful garment: Gen 37:3 Israel loved Joseph more than all his other sons, because he had had it in his old age; and he made her a tunic of several colors.

-water sources: Jos 15:19 She answered: Make me a present, for you have given me a land of noon; give me also springs of water. And he gave him the higher sources and the lower sources.

-a tunic made at home: 1 S 2.19 His mother made him every year a small dress, and brought it to him by going up with her husband to offer the annual sacrifice.

-an image of divine abundance: Mt 7:11 If therefore, wicked as you are, you know how to give good things to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him for them.

• Whitewater  

Song 4.15 A fountain of the gardens, A source of white water, Streams of Lebanon. Isa 49:10 They shall not be hungry and they shall not be thirsty; Glamour and the sun will not make them suffer; For he who has mercy on them will be their guide, and he will lead them to springs of water. Isa 55.1 All of you who are thirsty, come to the waters, Even he who has no money! Come, buy and eat, Come, buy wine and milk, without money, without paying anything! Jr 17:13  You who are the hope of Israel, O Lord! All those who abandon you will be confused. -Those who turn away from me will be inscribed on earth, for they abandon the source of living water, the Lord.

-who comes out of the house of God: Ez 47:1 He brought me back to the door of the house. And behold, water came out below the threshold of the house, to the east, for the face of the house was to the east; the water descended under the right side of the house, at noon from the altar.

-is not affected by the times or by the seasons: Ze 14:8 On that day, white waters shall come out of Jerusalem, and shall flow half towards the eastern sea, half towards the western sea; This will be the case in summer and winter.

-Christ, the source of living water: Jn 4:10 Jesus answered him: If you knew the gift of God and who is the one who says to you: Give me to drink! you would have asked him to drink yourself, and he would have given you living water.

-satisfies even the deepest needs: Jn 7:37-38 On the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus, standing up, cried out: If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me, and drink. 38 He who believes in me, rivers of living water will flow from his bosm, as the Scripture says.

-the inexhaustible reserve: Rev 7:17 For the lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall graze them and lead them to the sources of the waters of life, and God shall wipe all tears from their eyes.

-makes life fruitful: Rev 22:1-2 And he showed me a river of water of life, crystal clear as crystal, which came out of the throne of God and the lamb. 2 In the middle of the city square and on both sides of the river, there was a tree of life, producing twelve times fruits, rendering its fruit every month, and whose leaves were used for the healing of the nations.

-universal call to drink: Rev 22:17 And the Spirit and the bride say: Come. And let him who hears say: Come. And let him who is thirsty come; let him who wants, take the water of life, free of charge.

• Eternal life, conditions for receiving it:

-renounce the world: Lk 18:28-30 Peter then says: Behold, we have left everything, and we have followed you. 29 And Jesus says to them: I tell you in truth, there is no one who, having left, because of the kingdom of God, his house, or his wife, or his brothers, or his parents, or his children, 30 does not receive much more in this century, and, in the century to come, eternal life.

-faith in Christ: Jn 3:14-15:36 And as Moses raised the serpent in the wilderness, it is also necessary that the Son of man be lived, 15 so that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. 36 He who believes in the Son has eternal life; he who does not believe in the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God dwells upon him.

-spiritual work: Jn 4:35-36 Don’t you say that there are still four months until the harvest? Here, I tell you, look up, and look at the fields that are already bleaching for the harvest. 36 He who reaps shall receive a wage, and amass fruits for eternal life, that he who sows and he who reap rejoice together.

-self-sacrifice Jn 12:25 He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.

-knowledge of God: Jn 17:3 Now, eternal life is that they know you, the only true God, and the one you sent, Jesus Christ.

-sow for the spirit: Ga 6:8 who sows for his flesh will reap from the flesh corruption; but he who sows for the Spirit will reap eternal life from the Spirit.

From all of the above, we note that the Savior knows for the Samaritan a “living water” of which He Himself is the source. And without understanding its nature, she expects Him to receive this extraordinary gift. But the Lord first puts his finger on what is not in order in this woman’s life. For one cannot be happy until the light of God has penetrated into consciousness. It’s that grace in Jesus is inseparable from truth. For it’s no longer only a question of the lost sheep of the house of Israel, but of every sinner who receives Jesus by believing in his name. It’s grace in all its beauty, as this gospel presents it, flowing like a wide river throughout the world, within the reach of all men and for all. This river of life still spreads its invigorating waters to which everyone is invited to drink, an urgent invitation, repeated in the Scriptures: “And let him who is thirsty come; let him who wants, take the water of life, free of charge.” This call is addressed to everyone, before the course of this river stops. For he introduces it through the power of the Spirit, into the enjoyment of all that comes from his love: peace, happiness, joy, and glorious hope. Our prayers support you all in your efforts to seek with all your heart, this precious living water.

PRAYER OF ACCEPTANCE OF JESUS ​​CHRIST AS LORD AND PERSONAL SAVIOR

I now invite anyone who wants to become a new creation by walking in the truth, to pray with me as follows: 

Lord Jesus, I have long walked in the lusts of the world ignoring your love for humans. I acknowledge that I have sinned against you and ask forgiveness for all my sins, because today I have decided to give you my life by taking you as my Lord and personal Savior. I acknowledge that you died on the cross of Calvary and that you rose from the dead for me.

I am now saved and born again by the power of the Holy Spirit. Lead me each day to eternal life you give to all who obey your Word. Reveal to me and strengthen my heart and my faith so that your light may shine in my life right now.

Thank you, Lord Jesus, for accepting me in your divine family so that I too can contemplate the wonders of your kingdom.

I will now choose a nearby waterpoint to baptize myself by immersion, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

To you all worship, power, and glory, now and forever and ever. Amen!

I would be glad to respond to any questions and comments you may have, before sharing with you next week about “the accusations of the Jews and the answers of Jesus.”

May the Lord Jesus Christ bless you abundantly.

David Feze, Servant of the Almighty Lord.