Thirst No More
John 4:1-26; Psalm 1
"...but 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."
(JOHN 4:14)
Thirst is a powerful metaphor. Bright students are said to have a "thirst for knowledge." Dictators are remembered as "cruel and bloodthirsty." Those who ascend Mt. Everest, skydive, or have other daring hobbies have a "thirst for adventure." Thirst brings to mind a passionate desire to have a longing fulfilled.
Everyone has thirsted at some point, even in the very real sense of the word. Jesus Himself said from the cross among His last words, "I am thirsty" (John 19:28).
But ever since sin entered the world, separating us from God, nothing will quench our spiritual thirst except the Living Water, Jesus. The woman at the well is a picture of us all. Jesus went out of His way, literally, to bring Good News to her: Our souls can find true and lasting refreshment in Him. We become springs of His life-giving water to share with the thirsty souls around us. After she believed, that's exactly what the Samaritan woman did (John 4:39-42). May your passionate desire for a meaningful life be fulfilled in Jesus!
INSIGHT
"THE POOR AND NEEDY SEARCH FOR WATER...; THEIR TONGUES ARE PARCHED WITH THIRST. BUT I THE LORD WILL ANSWER THEM..."
(ISAIAH 41:17)
READ THROUGH THE BIBLE IN A YEAR
Ecclesiastes 3-4
Psalm 64
John 4
John 4:1-26
New International Version 1984 (NIV1984)
Jesus Talks With a Samaritan Woman
4 The Pharisees heard that Jesus was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John, 2 although in fact it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples. 3 When the Lord learned of this, he left Judea and went back once more to Galilee.
4 Now he had to go through Samaria. 5 So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour.
7 When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” 8 (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.)
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.[a])
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.”
11 “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his flocks and herds?”
13 Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but 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.”
15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.”
16 He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.”
17 “I have no husband,” she replied.
Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. 18 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.”
19 “Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.”
21 Jesus declared, “Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 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. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.”
25 The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”
26 Then Jesus declared, “I who speak to you am he.”
Footnotes:
a. John 4:9 Or do not use dishes Samaritans have used
Psalm 1
1 Oh, the joys of those who do not
follow the advice of the wicked,
or stand around with sinners,
or join in with mockers.
2 But they delight in the law of the Lord,
meditating on it day and night.
3 They are like trees planted along the riverbank,
bearing fruit each season.
Their leaves never wither,
and they prosper in all they do.
4 But not the wicked!
They are like worthless chaff, scattered by the wind.
5 They will be condemned at the time of judgment.
Sinners will have no place among the godly.
6 For the Lord watches over the path of the godly,
but the path of the wicked leads to destruction.
JESUS MY COURAGE
Where do we find courage? Movies and motivational speakers tell us to look inside ourselves, but Jesus says, "Look to me!" If you feel discouraged today, this is a timely message of encouragement!
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