Living Water

Continuing His discussion about living water with the woman at the well, we learn that Jesus understood the true heart of this Samaritan woman. Jesus, being the Son of God, understood the desire of the woman's heart.

15 The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.
16 Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither.
17 The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband:
18 For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly.
19 The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet.
20 Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.
21 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.
(John 4:15-21, King James Version)

As the conversation between Jesus and the woman at the well regarding living water continued, the woman said to Jesus, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.

How would you expect Jesus to respond to this? How would you respond to a question like this?

Jesus, being the Son of God, understood the desire of the woman's heart; she was being drawn to Him, although her understanding was still darkened by her own sin. Because of this, Jesus pointed to her sin. When confronted with her sin, the woman responded, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet.

Looking at the response Jesus gave to the woman's words, Sir, give me this water, why do you suppose He pointed to her sins? Years ago I remember an evangelist saying, you have to get people lost before they can be found. I think a better example given by Christ was the example of the Pharisees. Jesus said that the righteous do not need salvation--only the sinners see their need of Him.

The point here is that unless we perceive our own sin, and therefore see ourselves as totally unworthy before God, we cannot be saved! Think about that! It does not matter who we are, or how we live, we still cannot approach the righteous throne of God. Only when our sins have been covered by the blood of Christ will God look upon us. When our sins are washed by the blood of Christ, God views the righteous blood of His son instead of our sins.

Does that mean we are home free when we believe in Christ? Can we just pray a prayer and then live however we please? No!

Jesus was working on the woman's heart. With true salvation comes a complete change in our hearts. In the past, our lives were dominated by the world around us, but as Christians, our heart's desire, to please the Lord Jesus Christ, changes us completely.

No longer do the things of the world dominate our lives, but instead we seek to be obedient to Christ, develop a personal relationship with Him, and study His Word, the Bible, so that we may become more and more like Him.

How does the woman at the well respond to this conversation with Christ Jesus? That answer will be discovered as we walk through John 4.

Do you have the living water of life? If not, plead with Christ, "Lord, give me this water."

Next: The Messiah - verses 22-30