Harmony Of The Gospels Series 7, Read Jn 4:7-41
For more information about Jesus see these books on the History of Jesus Christ.
This story is about more than forgiveness or God knowing everything. We're going to learn about our relationship and responsibility to the Living Water. We'll talk about a well. People visit wells because they're thirsty. They're looking to have a need satisfied. What are we thirsty for? How do our needs present themselves? We travel through life, craving this and craving that, sometimes even addictive cravings for things that don't truly satisfy that need. Most things we crave only diminish or dull our need, usually in a steadily decreasing manner. What are we addicted to? What can heal us of those addictions? To help understand how this episode relates to us, see these best-selling books on Jesus and the woman at the well. Even if we don't sense some addiction, many of us feel that we're more and more useless for service; like we've run out of whatever supplied us with our ability to serve, driving on empty with our engine sputtering. I've often looked into the vision of my calling and said, "I don't have what it takes to do that." How about you? Are you addicted to something, out of gas, or balking in the face of what you know you should do? You're in luck! This section of Scripture was written for you. We're going to study the character of living water. This passage reveals to us that...Living Water Flows.
We'll use one verse as an outline for the whole 34 verse section. In verse 14, Jesus said, "whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." 'Never thirst' is point 1, Removing Thirst. 'Become a spring' is point 2, Replenishing Supply. 'Welling up' is point 3, Refreshing Others. You see, everything in this section seems to be an object lesson, or metaphor for the teaching Jesus gave on living water.
1. Removing Thirst: Jesus said if we drink His water we'll never thirst. As it appears, unlike the woman He was talking to, we know He wasn't talking about literal water, but something else. What is it that we crave at least as much as water? I'm a diabetic. I drink 12-16 8-oz-glasses of water each day, and still I wake up thirsty. Healthy people should drink 10 glasses a day to maintain their health. Water is a serious need. It's a need! If you go 3 days without water, you die. What do we need as much as water? Some would think their addiction to alcohol is that strong. Others, drugs, money, power, praise, food addiction. What cravings are you sacrificing your life for? The woman had a craving, too, and I don't think it was water. Vs 17-18: "I have no husband," she replied. Jesus said to her, "You are right when you say you have no husband. The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true."
I think it's pretty likely the woman's craving had something to do with men. The implication seems to be she's had five men living with her as her husband without actually being married. Today, sadly, this kind of thing is common, but at that time it was extremely rare. Frankly, I think she was 'hitting on' Jesus, too. Why else would she tell a strange man she wasn't married and ask for His 'living water' not even knowing what it is? Whatever her thirst was, Jesus had told her His living water would eliminate it. Eliminate it, not just satisfy it. When we go to the gas station to fill up our car, we satisfy the need for gasoline for about 2 weeks; then we have to return to the station. There seems to be no escaping these repeated trips to the station. Since we have not increased our oil supply in the US, this year we've paid the highest prices ever for gasoline. We're very concerned that we'll pay a lot more, maybe even run out at some point. I was reading about a 'pill' that a company had developed that would revolutionize the transportation industry. You could drop this thing into an empty tank and it will fill up and never drop below ¾. Plus, your engine will run more efficiently, allowing you to accelerate twice as fast. That's not all! Anyone you know can tap a few ounces out of your tank and it will do the same thing in their car. And, everyone they know can do the same with their car, etc. etc. etc. Oh, one more thing…it's free. I'm sure you caught on to my fib a while back. But that living water is just like that. Whatever we're craving we no longer crave…healed of our addiction by Jesus. As the cheesy commercial says, "But wait! There's more!"
2. Replenishing Supply: Jesus said this water would become a spring. In many places the Bible refers to the Holy Spirit as water. The Holy Spirit (spring) enables us to worship God and leads us in our lives. He provides for us an internal spring and an internal compass.
Internal Spring: vs 20-24: "Our fathers
worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must
worship is in Jerusalem." 21Jesus declared, "Believe
me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this
mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we
worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming
and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and
truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and
his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth." In those days, the
place of worship was Jerusalem. Today, many still believe you have to go
to a 'place of worship' to worship God. Jesus said that's not true. The place He
said we must be willing to go to worship is in Spirit and truth. Once we've got
His living water we carry around in us the only place of worship we'll ever
need. Don't let anyone tell you you need their building to worship God because
'the kingdom of God is within you'. You are a place of worship. Go tell your
nearest friend, "I'm a place of worship!" This spring in us keeps us
in worship of Him and in overflowing 'water' to fulfill His calling on our
lives. We need never run out of gas.
Completed at
Jesus And The Woman At The
Well-2
Bible Studies
Zechariah,
Elizabeth...
The Childhood Of Jesus
Life Of John The Baptist
The Temptation Of Jesus
Jesus Begins His
Ministry
Jesus And Nicodemus
Jesus...Woman At Well
Jesus
Rejected At Home
Pool Of Bethesda
New Wine...Wineskins
Sermon On The Mount A
Sermon On The Mount B
Sermon On The Mount C
Sermon On The Mount D
Jesus Anointed With Oil
Parable Of The Sower
Jesus Calms The Sea
Jesus Sends The
Twelve
Jesus
Walks On Water
Clean And
Unclean-Blind
Jesus Is The bread Of
Life
Jesus And The
Canaanite
Jesus Heals On Sabbath
Who Do You Say I Am
Mustard Seed Faith
Who Is The Greatest
Giving God Honor
The
Truth...Set You Free
Jesus The
Good Shepherd
Treasure-Heart In Heaven
Lost Sheep, Coin, Son
The
Shrewd Manager
Destiny Of
Judas...Mary
Meaning Of Palm Sunday
The
Greatest Command
Prophecy...The Last
Days
The Last Days
Parables
Analysis Of Last Supper
The Real Easter Story
Bible Questions Forum
New Testament Studies
Study Bibles
Bible Study Software
Bible Study Books