When we read the story of the woman of Samaria from the gospel of John, we should remember John’s purpose in writing his gospel: “But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ and that believing ye might have life through his name” (John 20. 31).
John tells us of Christ resting by Jacob’s well while his disciples are away buying food. We can imagine our Saviour tired after a long day, resting peacefully, letting the quietness and solitude of the countryside fill His being. As Christ watched He saw a woman slowly making her way towards the well. As in the case of Nathanael, Christ saw through to the heart of the woman and knew her way of life. She came close by and Christ, always ready to minister to His sheep, put aside His tiredness and gently asked her, “Give me to drink”. The Samaritans were the descendants of those whom the Assyrians took with the ten tribes into captivity. They had inter-married with the Jews and considered themselves to be one with Israel. They had wanted to help Israel build the temple in Ezra’s time, but had not been allowed. The hatred between the two peoples lasted and the Jews still would have no dealings with the Samaritans.
So the woman was amazed that Christ, whom she knew to be a Jew, should even speak to her. She enquired of him, “How is it that thou being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans”. Jesus answered, “If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.” Living water was the usual description of running water or a bubbling spring. The woman must have been puzzled that Christ should offer her living water after first asking her for a drink. She could not yet see that the living water which Christ offered her had a thirst-quenching power of an entirely different kind. Neither did she realize that her soul was parched. She needed her Master to make her realize her need before she could echo the words of the Psalmist, “As the heart panteth after the water-brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God” (Ps. 42. 1).
So, her mind fixed on the literal water in the well, the woman saith unto him, “Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep; from whence then hast thou that living water? Thinking that Christ may have had a special gift from God she continues, “Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well and drank thereof himself and his children and his cattle?” Jesus answered, “Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again; but whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst, but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up unto everlasting life”. The woman must have thought that Christ was offering to give her a spring near her home, for she answered, “Sir, give me this water that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw”.
The woman has now a very real interest in Christ’s gift and Christ sees fit to show her plainly that he is a prophet, and that his gift of living water is much more precious than gold. Jesus saith unto her, “Go call thy husband, and come hither”. The request brought her sins to light and revealed to the woman her great need. Humbly she replied, “I have no husband”. She now realizes that he is a prophet. More eagerly she says to Christ, “Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet”. She now realizes her soul is parched and she begins to long for the thirst-quenching gift which Christ has offered her.
Wondering what she should do, her mind goes to the age-old problem of the Samaritans and their approach to God. “Our father’s worshipped in this mountain”, she says, “and ye say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.” What joy would fill her heart as she heard Christ sweep away traditions and rules of men and reveal to her the true basis of approach to God. The living waters flow into her heart as Christ saith unto her, “Woman believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain nor yet at Jerusalem worship the Father. Ye worship ye know not what; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour cometh and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in Truth, for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a spirit; and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth”.
Is this he? Could this prophet of God be the great Messiah, she wonders. Longing for Christ to assure her, she opens the subject, “I know that Messiah cometh, which is called Christ; when he is come, he will tell us all things”. Jesus saith unto her, “I that speak unto thee am He”. Peace, joy and thanksgiving would fill the heart that was once ugly with sin. From the depths of her heart she wishes to thank God, so she goes quickly away to spread the glad tidings to the people of the city. Her reward is great for her friends came unto Jesus.
To gain full benefit from this story, I think we should apply the lessons to ourselves. God in his mercy has given us his Son that whosoever believeth on him should not perish but have everlasting life. Christ is able to give us the living water. We, like the Samaritan woman, must at some time pass by near to Christ-he will knock and it remains for us to open the door. Every creature that is in Adam is parched, useless and old, and we all need the healing touch of Christ that we might be made alive. We must all repent as did the woman of Samaria and we must be willing to receive the life-giving gift which Christ alone can give, for he alone is the way, the truth and the life; no man cometh unto the Father but by him.
We read in Josh. 15. 19 of Achsah, who, when given a field for a gift, asked Caleb also for springs of water. So we must continually water our knowledge that we may bring forth the fruits of the spirit: love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance. Let us not be like the children of Israel when Jeremiah was told to prophesy, “For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns that can hold no water”, but let us rather respond to Christ’s cry, “If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. He that believeth on me, as the Scripture saith, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water”. So having received this unspeakable gift we must give to others. The Apostles had the Holy Spirit with which to minister to the brethren, but we too are expected to give what we have. We are the temple of the living God and He has promised to dwell in us—so let Him shine forth from us, to go out to help others.
As temples of the living God we will desire with all our heart and soul to worship our Father in spirit and in truth. We shall not be as those that have a zeal towards God without the knowledge thereof, nor will we be bound by rules, ceremonies and traditions; instead we will give our whole being and our very spirit to God in truth. The human heart is deceitful; it is very easy to deceive ourselves. Do we worship God in spirit and in truth with unmixed motives? It is possible to give our life to the Christadeiphian organization without giving our heart to God. If we were to lose the organization, if some of our beliefs were wrong, if our friends deserted us—would we still remain firm? Could we say with the Psalmist, “Whom have I in heaven but thee and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee”?
God is a Spirit and he must be worshipped in spirit. God is holy, he is perfect, he is true, he is just and merciful and loving—those that worship him must be like He is. They must not be of the letter, for the letter killeth but the spirit giveth life. The father seeketh the humble and poor in spirit to worship him. “To everyone that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.”
Having repented and received the gift of living water, and having given our life to God and the service of our brethren, we do not stop here. Christ said, “The water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life”. It is a gradual process—a springing up. The well is deep, but the deeper we reach the more refreshing will be the draught. There is no limit to the depth we need to go, when we realize our struggle to rid ourselves of the carnal mind which is enmity against God and when we realize how far we have to go to become perfect, even as our Father in Heaven is perfect. We thank God that with him all things are possible, and we shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
We look forward longingly to that time when Christ returns to set up his kingdom,
“For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto the living fountains of waters; and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes”.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One