Welcome to Day 2140 of Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

The Gospel of John – 8 – Water for a Thirsty Woman – Daily Wisdom

The Gospel of John – Part 2 Presentation of the Word – Water for a Thirsty Woman

Today we continue our Good News series according to John the Apostle. Today we will learn that Jesus is concerned for and loves those rejected by others. The passage for today is a rather long one, John 4:1-26. Instead of reading it all upfront, I have embedded the scripture in today’s message. Once John the Baptizer announced Jesus as the Messiah, the Lord wasted no time calling disciples. Within forty-eight hours, five hand-selected students had begun training for the transformation of the world. They had seen Jesus perform miracles (2:1–12), they had experienced His passionate desire for revival (2:13–25), and they had heard Him preach and teach (3:1–36). The time had come for them to glimpse their future as evangelists. Jesus, the Jewish reformer, would become Jesus the missionary and show His students how to reach the world outside of Judaism. Between Galilee to the north and Judea to the south, a lost and forsaken people lived in a spiritual no-man’s-land called Samaria, and they needed to hear the good news. Jews traveling between Judea and Galilee usually avoided Samaria, a land they considered defiled by Gentile intermarriage and religious syncretism. Rather than walk on impure soil, they descended the mountains surrounding Jerusalem to the Jordan Plain, journeyed along the eastern shore of the Jordan River, and then turned west into Galilee. Jesus, however, chose a direct route from Jerusalem to Cana, which took Him through the Samaritan town of Sychar. 4:1–3 Tracing Jesus’ movements in the Gospel of John is not as helpful as in Luke, which provides more geographical information. However, the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) don’t tell us nearly as much about the Lord’s ministry in Judea. We learn from John that Jesus frequently traveled between Galilee and Judea, and His reasons for moving from one region to the other varied significantly. Now Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that he was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John— although, in fact, it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples.  So he left Judea and went back once more to Galilee. In this case, He sensed that His ministry in Judea was attracting attention for the wrong reasons. While truth will always stir controversy, Jesus was not interested in squaring off with the Pharisees—at least not yet, not until it served His ultimate purpose (15:22–25). 4:4 Now he had to go through Samaria. The phrase “had to” is translated from a Greek verb meaning “to be necessary.” Anyone unfamiliar with Samaria’s history who might be looking at a map would not see anything peculiar about John’s word choice. Draw a straight line from Jerusalem to Cana (4:46), account for the hilly terrain, and a stopover in Sychar appears perfectly reasonable. However, John’s choice of words would have been provocative to any Jewish reader. Jews despised Samaritans. To the Jews, Samaritans were idolatrous half-breeds—ethnically polluted, religiously confused, and morally debased. Moreover, during a particularly dark period in Israel’s history, the Hebrew inhabitants of this region intermarried with Gentiles and established their own temple to rival the one in Jerusalem. Consequently, Jews—particularly Pharisees (separated ones)—would not set foot on Samaritan soil, and, frankly, /there was no love lost/ on the part of the Samaritan people either. To avoid “contamination,” most Jews traveling between Galilee and Judea chose to cross the Jordan River and go around Samaria to the east rather than journey straight through. So to say, “It was necessary to pass through Samaria,” suggests that the need was not geographical. 4:5–6 So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon. John locates the Samaritan city of Sychar not in terms of its geographic location, but by its historic relevance. This parcel of land was significant in Israel’s history as a place purchased by Jacob (who was later renamed “Israel”) and given to his sons (Genesis 33:18–20). This was also the place where the bones of Joseph were laid to rest after Israel’s exodus from Egypt (Joshua 24:32). John’s mention of the well is no accident either. Samaria had no major rivers to supply water, only wadis (natural drainage channels), which brought seasonal rains and dried up for months. Jeremiah used the wadi as an image of deceit (Jeremiah 15:18). The historic location and the presence of Jacob’s well gave Jesus (and therefore John) another perfect opportunity to draw upon the familiar symbol of life: water. Early in May (during the barley harvest), the sun would have been high at noontime, and the weather hot and dry. Jesus and the disciples traveled throughout the morning and needed food and water to continue their journey. NTL said that Jesus sat wearily beside the well. Just think, the creator of the universe was plum-tuckered out. 4:7–8 When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.) As John tells the story—this portion of which he had to have heard from Jesus—the appearance of the woman appears coincidental. Again, those familiar with the day's customs would immediately notice two ominous details. First, she came alone. Women generally came to the well in groups to share the labor of drawing water, protect each other, and socialize.  Second, she came during the heat of the day. The best time to carry a one-bath jar holding 5 gallons of water, weighing approximately 40 pounds, was early morning or just before sundown. The circumstances appear curious and add to the impression that the meeting was not accidental—the meaning of “had to” (4:4) becomes a little clearer now. There are no coincidences in God’s economy. Jesus broke with the tradition of His day by speaking to the woman. He also politely asked her to draw Him some water from the well. While Jesus would never break a commandment or behave immorally, He routinely defied (and sometimes appeared to take special delight in) the nonsensical customs of religion. He had come to redeem this woman and knew how to reach her. She wore the emotional armor of a woman beaten down by the morality of the righteous. Nevertheless, he honored her closely guarded vulnerability by appealing to her kindness. As we read how Jesus engaged the woman in conversation, take note of a repeated cycle. Six times Jesus appealed to the woman, and six times she attempted to deflect the discussion:

• Jesus appealed to her kindness (4:7), and the woman responded defensively (4:9).
• Jesus appealed to her curiosity (4:10), and the woman responded sarcastically (4:11–12).
• Jesus appealed to her spiritual need (4:13–14), and the woman was focused only on her physical needs (4:15).
• Jesus appealed to her personal interest (4:16), and the woman responded with a half-truth (4:17).
• Jesus appealed to her conscience (4:17–18), and the woman raised a controversial issue (4:19–20).
• Jesus appealed to her will (4:21–24), and the woman tried to delay any decision (4:25).

4:9 The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.) The woman’s response was defensive. The way John records her words reveals her shock in her thinking: “You, a Jew, despise me as a non-Jew, as a woman, and as a Samaritan. You can’t instantly overcome centuries of barriers like that.” John underscores the cultural prejudice for anyone who might have missed the source of her tension. 4:10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.” Jesus didn’t react to the woman’s defensiveness. The structure of the sentence in Greek emphasizes the adjective “living water,” which is a gift of God. What a puzzling statement! Jesus deliberately laced His comment with enticing phrases and then casually delivered it. This statement was no less outrageous than if I were to drop the following line into a typical conversation: “Well, back on Mars, where I’m from, everyone has free cable TV.” People would think I was joking.  He clearly intended to excite her curiosity. 4:11–12  “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?” She showed a quick wit by responding with sharp sarcasm. So where do you plan to get this water, the living kind?” By drawing upon the site's history, she also reacted to Jesus’ insinuation that He’s someone special. This woman was knowledgeable with a delightful sense of humor; however, a rough life had ground her wit to a razor’s edge. Undoubtedly, many men had charmed her and then left her broken. Any man who thinks he’s God’s gift should think again. Most men would have gotten the message and backed off. But Jesus didn’t want to use her as other men used her. 4:13–14 Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (NLT: “It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.”) Jesus bypassed her sarcastic assault and then appealed to her spiritual need. She needed new life. Sin had destroyed her old life, both in the theological sense and in the emotional. She had long since stopped living and was merely existing. Furthermore, her death-like life would soon end in eternal death. Jesus played upon images of well water, which is stagnant, and running water, “a spring of water welling up/ bubbling spring within them,” to describe the kind of life available to those who believe in Him. Those who trust in Christ never need to look outside themselves for satisfaction because He dwells within them, supplying every emotional and spiritual need. They will never be without water again. It cannot be contained within that person either; it bubbles to the surface. 4:15 The woman told him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.” Either the woman was spiritually tone-deaf or deliberately avoiding the real issue. People often avoid talking about spiritual matters because physical needs are easier to satisfy and frequently provide the illusion of more profound satisfaction. That’s what drives all sorts of compulsions and addictions. People also avoid spiritual discussions because they are too painfully personal. They have learned to cope with their hopelessness; they don’t want anyone upsetting the delicate balance they have worked so hard to achieve. So the woman returned the conversation into the shallows, where she was more comfortable. 4:16 He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.” Jesus put an end to her coy bantering with an innocent request. At the surface level, He appealed to her personal interest. In almost any other conversation, no one could have taken offense. But Jesus knew the dilemma it posed for her. She undoubtedly felt stung and probably connected “thirst” and her living arrangements. Of course, Jesus knew her situation. He knew about her promiscuous life, went directly for her need, and appealed to her deepest longing. The woman responded evasively. She hoped to shift the topic of conversation to the acceptable side of her half-truth: 4:17–18 “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.” Jesus used His supernatural knowledge to take the conversation below the surface. He set aside all fun and games to appeal to her conscience. It is noteworthy that Jesus didn’t condemn her, shame her, or exploit her sinfulness. He merely stated the truth and let it stand on its own. The man she was living with was not her husband, but the sixth temporary man in a long line of temporary men. Despite that ugly reality, Jesus found a way to commend her for the truthful half of her half-truth. The woman didn’t feel so threatened as to run away. Exposing the source of someone’s shame too quickly leaves them feeling emotionally stripped naked, and the only natural response is to run for cover. But Jesus’ timing was perfect. He had already established a rapport. He allowed the woman to see His genuine concern for her as a person, not an object. He treated her with uncommon dignity and spoke compassionately to her spiritual need. He didn’t allow her to distract Him from the real issues involved, including her attempt to flatter Him and then engage in a pointless theological debate. 4:19–20 “Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.” Oh, you’ve been to seminary. You must be brilliant. Let me ask you something I’ve always wondered about. How do you reconcile the debate about the most appropriate place to worship an omnipresent God? 4:21–24 “Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, 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 the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.  God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” I wish I could think on my feet as quickly as Jesus. He neither indulged her ruse nor ignored her question. Instead, he used her distraction to return the conversation to the real issue. Jesus responded by appealing to her will. He presented three points to challenge her. First, the physical location of worship is of secondary concern to God. A temple is given for the benefit of man, not God. A temple merely serves to focus our wandering attention. Many Jews faithfully worshiped God when they moved thousands of miles from the Jerusalem temple, even as it lay in ruins. Second, the object of worship is primary in heaven—but it had become secondary in Samaria. Make no mistake; the Samaritan temple was designed and built in direct opposition to the reconstruction efforts of Ezra and Nehemiah. And the men who built it did not know the true God. Jesus didn’t shy away from the uncomfortable truth: The Samaritans were idolatrous. Third, the quality of worship is the true measure of devotion to God. Even as Jesus spoke to the woman in Samaria, the Jewish religious leaders were polluting the temple with money-changing schemes. Therefore, the temple in Jerusalem was no better or worse than the one on Mount Gerizim. The Lord wants genuine, Spirit-empowered worship. 4:25–26 The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”  Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.” The woman fell back to her last line of defense, one commonly used today: delay. She tried to backpedal out of the conversation, claiming that all matters of theology are moot until the Messiah comes to resolve them. The Samaritans expected a Messiah like Moses—more teacher and prophet, less ruler and priest (Deuteronomy 18:15–18). According to this line of reasoning, “No one can really say what truth is and what isn’t until this great Teacher comes to reveal all things.” We fall into the same trap today.  A large segment of believers is more focused on being taken out of the world and escaping trials instead of being about the business of building God’s kingdom, God’s global Eden, as part of the world. This attempt to back out of the conversation for this woman played perfectly into Jesus’ hands. John’s description of the encounter builds toward a climax. The Lord successfully bypassed her defenses to lay the ultimate truth before her. He said, in effect, “Good! You don’t have to wait any longer. I am the Messiah, and I am here just as promised.” The woman was now without excuse. The phrase “I Am” is particularly emphatic in Greek: egō eimi. It refers to God’s self-identification to Moses: “I Am Who I Am.” Both Jews and Samaritans understood Jesus’ meaning. Throughout John’s Gospel, the religious leaders accused Jesus of blasphemy for claiming to be God because of His repeated use of the “I Am” formula. Like the woman at the well, I was seeking things that could not satisfy me. And then I heard my Savior speaking— “Draw from My well that never shall run dry.” Fill my cup, Lord; I lift it up, Lord; Come and quench this thirsting of my soul. Bread of Heaven, feed me till I want no more. Fill my cup, fill it up, and make me whole. Now that Jesus had settled every objection that this Samaritan Woman had, and she recognized Him as the Messiah, guess what she did next? Next we will continue our lesson by seeing The Woman Who Shares the Living Water. Please read John 4:27-42 in preparation for next week’s message. Thank you so much for allowing me to be your guide, mentor, and, most importantly, your friend as I serve you through this Wisdom-Trek podcast and journal. As we take this trek together, let us always:

1. Live Abundantly (Fully)
2. Love...