John 4:5-42 - Give me a drink
5 So he came to a Samaritan city called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired out by his journey, was sitting by the well. It was about noon. 7 A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” 8 (His disciples had gone to the city to buy food.) 9 The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?” (Jews do not share things in common 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 living water.” 11 The woman said to him, “Sir, you have no bucket, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? 12 Are you greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us the well, and with his sons and his flocks drank from it?” 13 Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14 but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.” 15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.” 16 Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come back.” 17 The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; 18 for you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true!” 19 The woman said to him, “Sir, I see that you are a prophet. 20 Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem.” 21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” 25 The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). “When he comes, he will proclaim all things to us. ”26 Jesus said to her, “I am he, the one who is speaking to you.”
27 Just then his disciples came. They were astonished that he was speaking with a woman, but no one said, “What do you want?” or, “Why are you speaking with her?” 28 Then the woman left her water jar and went back to the city. She said to the people, 29 “Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done! He cannot be the Messiah, can he?” 30 They left the city and were on their way to him. 31 Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, “Rabbi, eat something.” 32 But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” 33 So the disciples said to one another, “Surely no one has brought him something to eat?” 34 Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to complete his work. 35 Do you not say, ‘Four months more, then comes the harvest’? But I tell you, look around you, and see how the fields are ripe for harvesting. 36 The reaper is already receiving wages and is gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. 37 For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ 38 I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.” 39 Many Samaritans from that city believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I have ever done.” 40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them; and he stayed there two days. 41 And many more believed because of his word. 42 They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the Savior of the world.”
Give me a drink
How many times have we heard about Jesus' encounter with the Samaritan woman?
What are the main lessons we extract from this specific encounter?
Jesus' determination to preach the Gospel for all nations. We have seen Him heal the daughter of the Syro-Phynician woman in what is South Lebanon today.
A woman in eastern culture represents her own personality as well as the people to whom she belongs.
No nations are excluded for Jesus, all are equal in God's eyes. He grants them love and mercy.
Jesus starts His dialogue with the Samaritan woman by asking her to give Him a drink, just what she can give at that moment. Then gradually He goes deeper and deeper, creating a bridge of mutual trust despite the conflicts between their two nations and their social restrictions.
The dialogue leads the woman to ask for the water Jesus is able to give, but she is still unable to realize the nature of this water, "Give me this water" (V. 15).
Jesus looks for the lost sheep, the marginalized, the rejected, the despised, and the excluded who are morally condemned by their society.
He brings them hope, rehabilitation and restoration of their dignity.
He considers them worthy of respect and tells them who He is, the Messiah.
The woman recalls what she received from her national legacy, that true worship is not in Jerusalem but on Mount Gerizim. This is where Samaritans still continue to celebrate their Passover. It's where they believe that Abraham tried to offer his son Isaac as a sacrifice to God and where Joshua pitched the tent of the tabernacle that he received from Moses.
Jesus' statement about worshiping God the Father is direct and decisive. True devotion has nothing to do with place, not on Mount Gerizim, not in Jerusalem, but in spirit and truth (V. 23). It is not animal sacrifices, but "a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise" Psalm 51:17.
The woman was changed. She became a witness for the prophet she met, who delved into the depths of her life's secrets.
Prophet Jesus, very confident, accepted the Samaritans' hospitality for a few days.
What do we take from this event?
Are we hesitant to give Jesus a sip of water through the needy ones?
Are we ready to talk with Jesus, telling Him our concerns and our hesitations, to follow Him today?
Are we ready to invite others to meet Him and be a witness to His love and rehabilitation?
Do we remember Him saying to us on the Cross, "I am thirsty?"
What kind of drink shall we offer Him today?
Are we accepting the living water He is willing to give us?
May we consider these seeds of meditation during our Lent.
Lord, grant us a sip of living water to quench our parched thirst, and let us bear witness to You. Help us return to You, giving thanks for our Lenten fasting that's in imitation of You, and in obedience to Your recommendation.