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John 4:10-
"Jesus answered and said to her, 'If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, 'Give Me a drink,' you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.'"
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The Water
Many years ago, during a subbing job for Nathan's history teacher, we went over the history of Egypt. And one thing that stood out to me was how the Nile has always been a predictable river for the Egyptians. They know when it will flood every year....so much so that they are able to plan when to harvest their crops according to the river.
Contrast that with the Tigris and Euphrates. These two rivers are very unpredictable. The Iraqis who reside near these rivers know not when it will flood or recede.
I thought it was interesting how the Lord allows one river to nourish and care for its people and yet other rivers to be so harsh in a dry and thirsty land.
Water is seen in so many ways in Scripture. We are about to see how Jesus views water...
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So far we have looked at John 4 piece by piece:
The Wanderer- Jesus was God in the flesh but still a human being with physical needs. He stops to rest and drink water.
The Well- we learn that the well where Jesus stops to rest is a very significant well in Scripture. We learn that culturally, the women came to draw water from the well in the evening time.
The Woman- we have learned that this woman was Samaritan and understood that Jews have no dealings with Samaritans. We can see that she recognized Jesus to be a 1st century Jewish man and nothing else. But she did think it odd that He would speak to her, a Samaritan woman and ask to use her water pot to draw water since Jews had no dealings with Samaritans.
Today we will look at The Water.
The Living Water
John 4:10-
"Jesus answered and said to her, 'If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, 'Give Me a drink,' you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.'"
"If you knew the gift of God...."
Jesus emphasized here that salvation is not earned, but it is a gift given by God.
Eph 2:8-For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God...
Titus 3:5-6 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior...
And that He, Jesus, is that gift of God:
John 3:16-For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
Rom 5:15-But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man's trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many.
Gal 2:20-I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
"He would have given you living water."
In the Old Testament times, running water was considered "living" water. The act of finding water in the desert lands was seen as a divine activity. (Commentary, New Geneva Study Bible, 1995)
Jer 2:13-for my people have committed two evils:
they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters,
and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.
Zech 14:8- On that day living waters shall flow out from Jerusalem, half of them to the eastern sea and half of them to the western sea. It shall continue in summer as in winter.
A symbol for salvation:
Is 12:3-With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.
A symbol for the forgiveness of sins:
Zech 13:1-On that day there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness.
And for Jesus giving the Holy Spirit:
John 7:38-39-Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
Remember, for those of us who live in the desert, water is most precious. When it rains in the desert, we feel anew! Imagine living in the desert during the times of Christ. The thought of "living water" was glorious indeed. Soon we will see that the Samaritan woman desires to have this living water.
"And who it is who says to you..."
Jesus hints that He is about to reveal to this woman who He is. How wonderful that God has removed the veil from our eyes so that we can see a part of Him in His word. He has revealed Himself to us today! Yet, like the Samaritan woman, one day we shall see Him as He really is...
Until then...
"For I will pour water on him who is thirsty,
And floods on the dry ground;
I will pour My Spirit on your descendants,
And My blessings on your offspring.."
Isaiah 44:3
Blessings,
Ruth
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