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A Well Of Springing Water (John 4:14)
I. The Meeting
II. The Asking
III. The Conviction
IV. The Belief
I greet you all in the blessed name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Our main text for today's message is taken from John 4:14, “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 into everlasting life” (John 4:14). This is an amazing verse because there are many things leading to this verse and many other things that come after this verse that makes it so significant.
Let me give you an overview of the circumstances that led to this verse.
This passage was about Jesus and the Samaritan woman. There are several things we can learn from here. Firstly, the fact is that she was a woman. Throughout history, women had never been the focus in society. Especially in ancient times, the priority was given to the men. Like I often said, the Jews would always begin each morning with a word of prayer. And one of the first things that many Jewish men would pray each morning was a prayer that goes something like this: ‘Oh God, I thank you that I was not born a slave, a Gentile or a woman.’
The reason was because of the low status of such individuals in the land. The slave was despised not only because he had no property to his name, but he had to perform the most menial tasks in the land. The Gentile was despised because of his uncleanness as he did not perform the purification rights of the Jews. The woman was despised because she had no rights, no wealth, no heritage. Here she was not only a woman but an adulterous woman. A sinner who was married five times [and] most likely divorced five times because the next statement indicates that the man she was living with now was not her husband.
So of all the people in Israel, she could well be the worst, the outcast. But the love of God is able to reach out to the king sitting in his palace just as it is able to reach out to the murderer sitting in his prison cell.
And she was also a Samaritan. In those days, there were this bitter rivalries between the Samaritans and the Jews. In the history of Israel, there was a time when the kingdom was divided into the northern and southern kingdoms. The northern kingdom fell to the Assyrians in 722 BC. The southern kingdom fell to the Babylonians in 586 BC.
After the fall of the northern kingdom to the Assyrians, the Israelites were brought away into exile, away from their own land to Assyria. And the king of Assyria brought men from other parts of his kingdom to live and settle in the city of Samaria. The foreigners intermarried with those Israelites remaining in Samaria. And soon after that the word Samaritan became sort of a derogative term or name. It speaks of a people that were not pure Israelites and it speaks of a people that had mixed the God of Israel with the idols of the Assyrians.
However, later on the Samaritans abandoned their idols and worshiped the God of Israel only. When the Jews returned from their exile in the time of Ezra and Nehemiah, their first priority was to build the temple. The Samaritans professed their loyalty to the God of Israel and offered their help, but they were refused by the Jews. The Samaritans became very bitter. From then onwards, the Jews built their own temple at Jerusalem while the Samaritans built their own temple on Mount Garism just before the New Testament time, during the 400 silent years from Malachi to the Gospel of John or Gospel of Matthew. It was believed that the Jews destroyed the temple on Mount Garism which led to a deeper animosity between the Samaritans and the Jews.
I. The Meeting
During the time of Jesus, it will be easier to travel through Samaria to get to the other side because the distance will be shorter. But many Jews would rather travel a longer distance along the coastal road or along the side of Jordan in order to bypass Samaria. They did not want to have anything to do with the Samaritans. Just to give you a picture of how bad the situation was. When the Jewish leaders wanted to insult Jesus, they called him a Samaritan. John 8:48, “Then answered the Jews, and said unto him, “Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil?”That was just how bad the relationship between the Samaritans and the Jews. But the love of God transcends all barriers of race, gender, language, and culture. Remember Jesus repeatedly said, “The Son of Man is come to save that which was lost.” Jesus could have done what the other Jews would do by bypassing Samaria, but he did not. He was there at the right place at the right time. It was by God's providence.
Take a look at our church today. We come from different countries and backgrounds. Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia, India, China, Australia. Some of our brethren trace their roots to the different parts of the world. It is the love of God through Jesus Christ that has brought us together. As Galatians 3:28 says, “There is neither Jew nor Greek. There is neither born nor free. There is neither male nor female. For ye are all one in Jesus Christ.” It does not mean that the Jews became Greeks or the Greeks became Jews, the masters became slaves or the slaves became masters, the males became females or females became males. No, we do not lose our identities or nationalities.
What it meant is that as believers, we are all united as one spiritual family. We become brothers and sisters in Christ. The reason why you are a believer is not because you are fortunate to be born into a Christian family or you are wise enough to understand the gospel while others are not. It is simply because the love of God reaches out to you through Jesus Christ. Somewhere along your life, you met Jesus Christ because he sought after you. Just as he went out of his way to sit at that well to meet the Samaritan woman. Have you met Jesus Christ?
Without this meeting, the Samaritan woman would never be saved. But it was not just a meeting. It was a meeting that led to some questions asked. In life, we ask questions because we want to know. We ask because we have needs.
Look at the Samaritan woman. Her life was a sad and pathetic string of failed relationships. Consider this. Why must she be married five times? As the saying goes, once beaten, twice shy. Isn't it enough for her to realise her folly the first time and yet she was married five times? The fact that she was married five times would indicate that she longed for the fulfillment in her life and she thought it could be fulfilled in marriage. So one man came, then another, and another, and another. Perhaps finally she became so sick and tired of marriage that the man she was living with now was not her husband. In other words, she was cohabiting. It was a terrible sin.
Dear friend, what is the longing in your heart? What is the thing you thirst for in your life? When we were at the age of a young child, we think life will be fulfilled when we become teenagers, when we get big and strong. When we were teenagers, we think life will be fulfilled when we get a car. When we got a car, we think life will be fulfilled. When we graduate from college. When we graduated from college, we think life will be fulfilled when we get married. When we got married, we think life will be fulfilled when we have children. And when our children grew up and left the home, we paint our hopes on our retirements.
There will always be longings in our hearts. But whatever longings you may have, there is nothing in this world that can fully satisfy you. Only Christ alone can satisfy your deepest longings.
II. The Asking
Notice how the meeting at the well led to the asking. Now even in the asking, it was Jesus who first asked the Samaritan woman. It was about noon 12 p.m. and Jesus in his humanity was tired and it was Jesus who asked in verse 7, “Give me to drink.”
It was a shock for her to hear that a Jew would ask a Samaritan for a drink. And how much more a Samaritan woman. That was why she said in verse 9, “Then say the woman of Samaria unto 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.” But Jesus used this occasion to turn the tables on her. When the conversation started, Jesus was the one who was physically thirsty and she was the one with the water. Now he spoke as if she was the one thirsty and he was the one with the water.
Verse 10, “If thou knowest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink, thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. The woman was confused, and she said in verse 11, "Sir, thou has nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. From whence then has thou that living water? She was focusing on the physical water while Jesus was speaking of the spiritual water. The living water that he was offering her was the salvation in all his fullness, including the forgiveness of sins and the ability and desire to live an obedient life that glorifies God, through the wonderworking of the indwelling Holy Spirit.
It was not as if she did not understand anything about the living water. Throughout the Old Testament, in Jeremiah, Isaiah, Ezekiel, and in the Psalms, there were many passages that talk about the living water. For example, Jeremiah the prophet warned the people in Jeremiah 17:13, “They have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living water.” So there he spoke of the Lord, the Lord himself was the fountain of living water. She might have heard of the living water, but the physical needs had clouded her mind. And most importantly, she was sceptical of his ability to provide the living water.
So she said in verse 12, “Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle?” Even Jacob could not provide water without first digging the well. In our mind, this Jewish man was not greater than Jacob. Most certainly not. That was when Jesus answered and said unto her, “Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again.” Referring to the physical water. Just as whosoever ate of the mana was hungry again, he was not speaking about sustaining the physical life. He was speaking about the blessing of eternal life.
But whosoever drinkketh 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 into everlasting life, eternal life, a life that will never end. No doubt Jacob should be accorded a place of honor by both the Samaritans and the Jews. But Jesus Christ was far more superior. There was no comparison. What is man's greatest need? Man's greatest need is not just to feed this physical body. Man's greatest need is to feed the soul with this living water of eternal life.
Man's greatest need is to have his sins forgiven and receive salvation. That is something that no man can provide. Not Jacob, nor any of the patriarchs, only Jesus Christ. Dear friend, you may be working in a company and you are so focused on the promotion or you may be in high school or university and you are so consumed in your academic studies. Or you are taking piano or violin classes and you are so engrossed in passing the music examination with distinctions. It is necessary for you to work hard on those things.
But you must bear in mind that they are not your greatest needs. Not even close. Your greatest need is to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Believe in the only one who can save you and forgive all your sins. If you have not already believed in him.
III. The Conviction
So there was this meeting and then there was the asking and now comes the conviction.
Verse 15. The woman saith unto him, “Sir, give me this water that I thirst not, neither come hether to draw.” At this point, the woman did not seem to understand this matter of spiritual transformation.
This matter of eternal life. Jesus had spoken to her about the living water of eternal life. Though she did not fully understand it, she seemed willing to accept it. If you are able to give me this living water and I will not need to be thirsty again and I do not need to come to this well and draw water again, why not give this living water to me? But no sinner can be saved unless he or she understands two crucial things. The reality of sin and the need of a Saviour.
If you do not acknowledge your sins, if you do not understand the consequences of your sins, you will not turn to the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. That is why in the sharing of the gospel, we must always preach about sin and the Saviour. If we only tell the people, believe in Jesus, you will go to heaven. Believe in Jesus, you will have eternal life. Believe in Jesus, you will have spiritual blessing. The people will say to us like the Samaritan woman, give it to me then without understanding what salvation really means.
Jesus being omniscient, all knowing, had to deal with her sins. Verse 16, Jesus saith unto her, “Go call thy husband, and come heal.” He moved the conversation to her need for repentance and salvation from sin. In other words, he exposed the heart of the issue, her sins. Those who truly thirst for the salvation that God provides will confess and forsake their wicked ways. God cannot deliver someone who is not willing to be delivered. God cannot deliver someone who wants to continue in his or her sins.
There is no salvation without repentance. Not that we are perfect. No man is. As long as we live in this mortal body, we will still sin. But salvation must involve a radical change in our lives. Salvation must involve a turning away from sin and onto God. So this matter about sin had to be dealt with.
Verse 17, the woman answered and said, “I have no husband.” Jesus said unto her, “Thou has well said, I have no husband. For thou hast five husbands, and he whom thou hath now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly.” The woman said unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet. Her sins were exposed by saying that he was a prophet. She was affirming that what he said about her sinful life was accurate. In other words, she acknowledged her sins. ‘What you said about my sins were right. I have sinned.’
IV. The Belief
But it is not good enough to say he was a prophet or he was a teacher or he was a shepherd. Salvation involves believing that Jesus was the Messiah, the Christ, the anointed one whom God has promised who will save his people from their sins. If your sins have been exposed and your heart have been convicted, what would you do? You want to turn to God, right?
The woman was convicted of her sins and saw the need for forgiveness and she wondered where she should go to meet God and seek his grace and salvation. Where should she go to and who should she turn to? So she said in verse 20, “Our fathers worship in this mountain garism, and ye the Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.” Jesus saith unto the 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. So the real issue was not where one should worship but one should believe Jesus Christ who came from amongst the Jews. True worship is offered to every heart which believes in Jesus Christ. Salvation is of the Jews. In other words, the Saviour came from the Jews, not from other people or other nations, not the Samaritans.
Then Jesus said, “But the hour cometh, and now is when the true worshipper 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.”
The phrase the hour cometh and now is speaks of an urgent and personal call to the Samaritan woman. It was as if Jesus was saying, “You do not have to go up to the mountain to worship God. You do not need to go up to the little church on the hill. Right now you can receive me by faith and worship right now.” So the whole conversation was turned to the Messiah.
The woman said in verse 25, “I know that Messiah cometh which is called Christ. When he is come, he will tell us all things.” So this Samaritan woman knew about the Messiah, the Christ whom God has promised who will save his people from their sins. She did not recognize Jesus as the Messiah yet. She's still looking forward to the coming of the Messiah. And it was at that point that Jesus revealed to her that he was the Messiah. I that speak unto thee am he.
In other words, I am the Messiah, the Christ, the anointed one, the saviour of the world whom God has promised to come and save his people from their sins. The woman after meeting the Lord Jesus, after the asking, after her sins were exposed, her hearts was convicted and she was pointed to the Messiah. She believed in him and all of a sudden she became evangelistic. She dropped everything, ran all the way to the city and told the people that she has found the Christ. And the other Samaritans came to see the Lord Jesus Christ and they said, “Now we believed him, not because of what you said, but because we have heard from him.”
Dear friend, the Messiah has come. In him is the truth. There is no salvation outside Jesus Christ. Only Jesus saves. He is the only one who can give the living water which is the salvation in all his fullness including the forgiveness of all sins and the ability and desire to live an obedient life that glorifies God. [clears throat] He is the one who gives his spirit to those who believes in him. And to those who believe in him and are given the spirit of God, they will be like a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
Take a moment and consider each and every one of our lives. There was a moment or a place where we met the Lord Jesus Christ. Right? When we first heard the gospel, there were many questions in our hearts about sin, the saviour, heaven, and hell. And only God is able to answer all our questions. Our sins were exposed because we know we can never hide from God. Our hearts are convicted and then we are being pointed to the saviour who is able to save us and offer us the forgiveness of our sins. And we believe in him just like the Samaritan woman.
This is what we long to say in every life that walks into our church. And this is what the church is all about. We pray that Bethel BP church will be a place where the people will meet God, where the gospel of Jesus Christ will be preached, where questions are being asked and being answered, where hearts are being convicted. It and the people would believe in the only saviour of the world, Jesus Christ. And like the Samaritan woman, Jesus said, I that speak unto thee am he, the Messiah, the Christ, the saviour of the world.
So may we not only understand this passage but let us also apply this passage into our lives. Like the Samaritan woman, she did not keep the gospel to herself. But she ran all the way to her own people, the other Samaritans, and told them that she had found the Christ. That also reminds us of our duties, our responsibilities. We ought to go out there to tell others that we have found the Lord Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the Christ, the anointed one, the saviour of the world, that they too will come and believe in him.
So may Bethel BP church be such a church, such a place where people would meet God.
Let us pray.
Father in heaven, we praise and thank thee for how thou has saved us. And once again, thou has reminded us even through the life of the Samaritan woman, how it was thee, the Lord Jesus Christ, who first went out of his way into Samaria to sit at the well in order to meet the Samaritan woman, without which she would never be saved. And it was not only a meeting but in that meeting questions were asked and it was our Lord Jesus who first asked give me to drink. And from there he taught her the valuable lesson not of the physical water but of the living spiritual water of eternal life.
And then he exposed her sins. She was convicted and she realized that she had to worship God. But she did not know where to turn to or who she should turn to. And only then our Lord Jesus revealed to her that he was the Messiah. She believed in him and went and told others.
Oh Lord, as we learned of her testimony, in a similar fashion, it was our testimonies too. Somewhere along our lives, we met the Lord Jesus Christ because he first sought us. Our questions about life, death, heaven and hell. Things that we are in doubt were answered. We believed him. And we want to share the gospel with others too, especially with our unbelieving loved ones and friends.
So we pray that thou will teach us not just to understand this passage in our minds, but to put into rightful application so that we will also go out there and tell others that we have found the savior of the world, the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ, that they too will come and believe in May better be BP church be such a church that will point others today. We give thee thanks and we pray all this in Jesus' name. Amen.