John 4:1

Now when Jesus had heard that the Pharisees had heard that he was making and baptizing more disciples than John, although Jesus himself did not baptize, but only his disciples, he left Judea and departed again for Galilee, and he had to pass through Samaria... A woman from Samaria came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, "Give me a drink"... "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"... "Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again"... Jesus said to her, "I who speak to you am he"... Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony... "We know that this is indeed the Savior of the world."

When Jesus crosses every social line to meet one outcast woman, He reveals the only well that can satisfy a thirsty soul.

Why I Chose This Story

When I was asked to teach, I thought of John chapter 4 because it is part of my own testimony. It's because of this very story that I can say I'm standing here today, that I even wanted to be a pastoral intern here at Cross Connection. And it all started, surprisingly enough, with a can of Coke.

It happened when I was a freshman in my first week on the college campus at Cal State San Marcos. A little petite girl ran in front of me by the library and asked, "Are you thirsty? Would you like a Coke?" It was a hot day, and what's more refreshing than a cold can of Coke? She told me she was with InterVarsity, a Christian club. I had been raised in the church and in youth group my whole life, and yet I never once thought there might be a Christian club studying the Word of God on the college campus.

She asked, "What are you thirsty for? What would satisfy your thirst in college?" I told her I was looking to get my four-year degree in criminal justice and then go into law enforcement. I was pretty proud of that plan. But as we studied through this story, I came to realize I was thirsty for much more. There were a lot of thirsty students on that campus, and there are a lot of thirsty people here. There is a God-made void in each one of us that can only be filled by this living water.

"He Had to Pass Through Samaria"

Jesus was in Judea in the south, near Jerusalem, and He wanted to travel north to the region of Galilee. Smack in the middle was Samaria. At this time the Jews would not travel through Samaria; it was the no-go zone. The Jews and the Samaritans didn't get along—to say it lightly. The Jews actually practiced, though it wasn't biblical at all, that it was a sin for a Jew to have friendly conversation with a Samaritan. Out of all the idolatrous nations around them, they viewed the Samaritans as the worst race on the earth.

Why was Jesus traveling? The Pharisees had heard that Jesus was baptizing more disciples than John, and Jesus wasn't ready yet, at the beginning of His three-and-a-half-year ministry, to confront the Pharisees. So He needed to travel to Galilee. But there was another reason: He had an appointment with this woman at the well in Sychar.

The Jews would actually travel all the way around Samaria, adding days and hours to their trip just to avoid it. Jesus went straight through the middle, which was actually the quicker route. And what's funny is He never apologizes to the disciples for taking them into the most socially awkward place they could ever be. You can imagine them on the road: "Jesus, this is where we make the left and go around." And Jesus just keeps going straight.

Setting Aside Prejudice to Reach the Thirsty

I think there's a reason He doesn't apologize: He's preparing them. That leads to our first point—like Jesus, we must be able to set aside our prejudices to reach thirsty people. Jesus saw the people of Samaria as spiritually thirsty; they needed Him.

The Samaritans were a mix of intermarried Jews and people who had come from all over, bringing their idol worship with them and laying it on top of Judaism. It was a mixed religion, and the Jews didn't like that. But Jesus had to put aside His prejudices and teach His disciples an important lesson. In Acts 1:8, after He died and rose again, Jesus says, "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in Judea, and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." He includes Samaria. He's preparing them, and this is His first journey there.

A Wearied Savior and an Avoiding Woman

Jesus came to Sychar, wearied from His journey, and sat beside Jacob's well at about the sixth hour—noon, the hottest time of the day. None of us like hiking in the middle of the day, especially in this weather. Here we see Jesus's humanity revealed. He got tired, He was thirsty, He needed to stop for a drink. He takes on all of man's limitations except sin. And yet He also had a plan: He knew the woman would come at the sixth hour, and He needed to be there.

Why would this woman come at the hottest time of day? Normally the women traveled early in the morning together as a communal event to draw water, then spent the rest of the day in the shade. This woman chose the time when nobody else would be there—I think to avoid people. The well was the social place, where the gossip of Sychar took place. This woman had a reputation, and she wanted to avoid contact with the other women.

Jesus didn't just see someone physically thirsty seeking water; He saw a soul that was parched. "Give me a drink," He said. And the Samaritan woman replied, "How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?"

Three Strikes—and Jesus Stays

Strike one: Jesus is talking to a woman. In this time, the Jewish religious leaders wouldn't even talk to their own mother, wife, or daughter in public. As I studied, I read about the "bruised and bleeding Pharisees." Every time they saw a woman walking down the path, they would close their eyes and stumble into whatever was in front of them. They were too holy to look on a woman.

Strike two: He's talking with a Samaritan. Strike three: she's an adulterous Samaritan, living with a man who is not her husband—and Jesus knows it. Three strikes, you're out. But no. Jesus intentionally went there to meet this Samaritan outcast, alone, to settle with her the greatest question of eternity.

That leads to point two: even our least moments are directed and overruled by divine providence. This wasn't one of this woman's greatest moments. She probably despised every noon walk with her water jug, because it symbolized her position as the outcast of the village. Yet our least moments are where God wants to meet us.

It was no accident that the Midianites were traveling by when Joseph's brothers decided to kill him. It was no accident that Pharaoh's daughter walked to the river just as baby Moses floated by in his basket. There are no accidents with God. It was no accident that Jesus was at the well with this woman, and it's no accident that you are sitting here listening to this.

The Humility of the One Who Asked for a Drink

Jesus asked for a drink of water. This is Jesus—He could have called the angels to bring it, or performed a miracle. He had just turned water into wine a couple chapters earlier in Cana. Water is the cheapest gift man can offer, and yet we all need it. Look how Jesus humbled Himself.

Compare this to Nicodemus in chapter 3, who came with a similar question about eternity—how to inherit eternal life. Nicodemus was at the height of the religious ladder, the master of Israel, and he came under cover of night, scared his reputation would be ruined. The well Nicodemus drank from was religion, and religion doesn't satisfy. Religion is us seeking God; Christianity is God seeking down after man. Jesus made Himself of no reputation when He met this woman in broad daylight at a very social place.

"Are You Greater Than Jacob?"

Jesus said, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is saying to you, 'Give me a drink,' you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water." The woman answered with some attitude: "Sir, you have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Are you greater than our father Jacob?"

Jesus could have said, "I was there in the beginning; I created the heavens and the earth. I saw Jacob before he was." But He doesn't go there. He simply says, "Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again." That's irrefutable. Water fills a need we all have and will keep having. And water is something man cannot make—so similar to the gift of salvation. We cannot make salvation for ourselves, and we cannot go to the world's wells and find lasting satisfaction. It's all temporary.

"But whoever drinks the water I give him will never be thirsty. It will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." The woman said, "Sir, give me this water, so I won't be thirsty or have to come here to draw water." She's still thinking on the physical, material level. As a church, we can be so focused on the means rather than the ends with God—she fixated on what He would draw with, while God was offering Himself.

What Well Are You Drinking From?

Point three: the thirst of man's soul is a spiritual one, which cannot be quenched by material things. This woman looked to relationships—five husbands, and now a man she wasn't married to. I can't imagine how wrecked you would be after five marriages. Jesus tells her, in effect, your need is much deeper; you keep going to these men who won't satisfy you.

So this morning I have to ask: what are you going to that isn't satisfying you? Even as believers, we can so easily leave this living water behind to go back to an old well for temporary satisfaction, and the devil has done a great job of blinding us to it. What well are you drinking from? That's what I titled this message.

Are you seeking satisfaction from relationships like this woman? Or finances, your job, wealth, status? It'll leave you empty. Perhaps it's drugs or alcohol, which leave you numb. Perhaps it's religion like Nicodemus, or being so holy you close your eyes like the bruised and bleeding Pharisees. They all tried to fill the void with something other than what God offers.

We're so distracted—even by games. We're a Pokémon stop here, and we'd love to use that for the kingdom. If you walked in because of that, it's no accident. But just the other day at Oceanside Pier, hundreds of people were on their phones playing that game, walking in groups but not being social, not even really there. It's scary to think the devil has us so distracted we believe we can be satisfied by a game—a satisfaction that ends as soon as you reach a certain level. Christ has something much greater to offer.

"Go, Call Your Husband"

Jesus said, "Go, call your husband, and come here." He had to point her to her sin, because that was what kept her from taking the living water. She said, "I have no husband." Jesus answered, "You're right. You've had five husbands, and the one you're living with now isn't your husband."

He says it in a humble way: "I know all of your sin. I know all of your story." He doesn't dig into the root—"Why have you had five husbands? Did they die, or did you leave them?" He could have gone down many tracks to condemn her, and yet He simply states the truth.

Then, like all of us in an awkward conversation, she changes the subject: "I perceive that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say Jerusalem is where people ought to worship." Worship was a sensitive topic between Jews and Samaritans. The Jews worshiped at the temple in Jerusalem; the Samaritans worshiped on Mount Gerizim. Just 150 years before, the Jews had burned down the Gerizim temple, and it hadn't been rebuilt. You just don't bring this up. She thought it would fire Him up and distract Him.

Worship in Spirit and in Truth

But Jesus says, "Neither. A time is coming, and is now here, when you will worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth."

We learn a lot about worship here. To worship in spirit is to worship spiritually, with a concern for spiritual reality. To worship in truth is to worship the God of the Bible, the true God, and to bring our true self before Him. When we bring our true self before the true Jesus of the Bible, that's where life transformation happens.

She says, "I know that Messiah is coming, who is called Christ. When he comes, he will tell us all things." She realizes this is a conversation about her soul. And Jesus says, "I who speak to you am he." It's fascinating that one of the first people Jesus reveals His true identity to is an adulterous Samaritan woman. He loves to reveal Himself to those the world looks down on, including women, who were not treated well in this time.

"Come and See"

Just then the disciples came back and marveled that He was talking with a woman. I imagine the same trail the disciples took into Sychar to buy food was the trail this woman took to the well—they probably passed each other, and they likely treated her poorly. Now they return to find Jesus drinking water and talking with her. They were shocked. Yet none of them had the guts to ask, "What do you seek?" or "Why are you talking with her?"

So the woman left her water jar, went into town, and said, "Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?" When we are filled with this living water, we have to leave the water jars we've been using to draw from all the other wells. She runs into town, and this must have been a sight. People knew her reputation. Why is she excitedly telling all the men, "You need to come and see this man"? Apparently it worked, because many came. This woman's testimony saved people's lives.

Your testimony—where Jesus met you, maybe in one of your least moments—is a powerful story. Nobody can take it from you. As Christians we've sometimes lost the joy of our salvation. This woman was filled with joy; she had to go share. She didn't say, "I know all the answers"—she said, "Come and see this man." We forget the sin we were saved out of, and we lose the joy. Christ wants to renew that joy in us, because your testimony matters. If you share your story, you never know—the one you tell could be the next Billy Graham.

A Village Behind Every Person

Jesus saw not just a woman, but the village behind her. That's an important lesson I learned ministering to college students: every person is a village, and everyone has a network. This woman went back to the village and shared, and they all believed in Him. She became one of the first great evangelists. Don't minimize your testimony—she didn't.

Many Samaritans believed because of the woman's testimony. When they came to Jesus, they asked Him to stay two more days, and many more believed because of His own word. There were two groups: those who believed because of her testimony, and those who then believed because of what Jesus said directly. He spent two days sharing the gospel: "I have living water that can fulfill your deepest thirst."

Only Living Water Satisfies

Point four: only living water can quench our thirst and satisfy our hearts—and only Jesus can give it. We can't make water, and we can't make salvation. Salvation is this living water, and those who drink of it should be joyous.

This woman remembered what she had been forgiven. In Luke 7:47, Jesus speaks of the woman who washed His feet, saying, "Those who have been forgiven much, love much." When we forget what we've been forgiven of, it's hard to love others—it's easy to hold our prejudices and travel all the way around people to avoid sharing Jesus with them.

Which Group Are You In?

There are two groups here this morning. First, Christians who have lost the joy of their salvation. Pray with me this week through Psalm 51:10–12: "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit." The Psalmist recognizes how easily life's trials rob us of that joy. Leave today remembering you have a testimony, and pray for God to restore the joy of your salvation.

The second group, like this woman, realize they are thirsty—they have a void they've tried to fill with everything the world offers and found it unsatisfying. Maybe you've never drunk this living water. God wants to meet you this morning. It was no mistake that you were here.

Consider the steps the Samaritan woman took. First, she acknowledges her thirst: "Give me this water." Second, she confesses her sin: "I have no husband." Third, she believes: "I perceive that you are a prophet." Fourth, she confesses her faith: "I know that Messiah comes." It's easy to receive the Lord. Romans 10:9 says, "If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." This morning I extend that invitation to all of you.

Closing Prayer

Father God, I pray for those in here who are thirsty, Lord—those who have had these voids inside them, this God-made void that can only be filled by Your Spirit, by Your living water. I pray that this morning You would fill them with that water, or that You would renew the joy of the salvation of those who have believed in You. And I pray all these things in Your name. Amen.