Probing the Woman’s Need
TRANSLATION
(11) The woman said to him, “Sir, you have nothing with which to draw water, and the well is deep. Where will you get this living water? (12) Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us this well and drank from it himself as did his sons and his livestock.” (13) Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks this water will thirst again, (14) but whoever drinks the water that I give him will never thirst again. Indeed, the water that 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 will not thirst and not have to come here to draw more water.” (16) Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband and come back here.” (17) The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband,’ (18) for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.”
OBSERVATIONS
In the conversation Jesus held with the Samaritan woman, we should note how quickly she became aware that she was talking to someone far greater than she had ever met. Several repetitions should be noted in this segment. “Water” functioned as the paragraph’s key word by dint of the number of its repetitions, eight times in eight verses (twice in vs. 11, once in vs. 13, three times in vs. 14, and twice in vs. 15). Related words were also repeated: “well” twice (vss. 11 & 12), “drink(s)/drank” (vss. 12, 13, & 14) and “thirst” (vss. 13, 14, & 15) each three times. Finally, “husband” was repeated four times in the last three verses (vss. 16, 17, & 18).
OUTLINE
I. When the woman questioned what he meant by “living water,” Jesus responded with a description of the fullness of life that he alone could give her. (11-14)
II. When she asked for living water, Jesus evidenced his awareness of her deep needs. (15-18)
IDEA STATEMENT
In order to receive the living water that Jesus offers, we must be willing for him to deal with the deepest needs of our broken lives.
APPLICATION
In his conversation with the Samaritan woman, Jesus disclosed his identity by offering her living water which leads to eternal life and by letting her know that he was aware of of her darkest secrets and deepest needs. While he held out the promise of providing what her heart most desired, he also made it clear that receiving what he had to offer meant that she could no longer continue living as she had, seeking fulfillment apart from God.
Often in presenting the Gospel we say things like, “Jesus will fulfill your every desire,” and “all you have to do is trust in Christ.” While true, this is really only part of the story. Instead of presenting the Good News as a panacea for all problems, it might be more accurate to describe the Gospel as a disruptive message with words like, “Becoming a follower of Jesus means that you can never remain the same person you are now.” While the Samaritan woman was obviously not comfortable with Jesus’ intimate knowledge of her past sins, she realized that his was an offer she could not afford to ignore. She would first make a futile attempt to deflect his laser-like focus into her life with a theological question and, in the process, open herself to eternal truths so deep and revolutionary that readers to this day marvel at what Jesus would reveal to an adulteress.