Jesus Offers Living Water

“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? Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle? Jesus answered and said unto her, 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 into everlasting life.” John 4:11-14

What was it that Jesus wanted to give to this Samaritan woman? She didn’t understand, for she thought of water to quench her earthly thirst and wondered how Jesus would be able to give her living water with nothing with which to draw it from the well. She asked Jesus if He was greater than Jacob who dug the well and drank from it.

Jesus pointed out to her that anyone drinking from the well of Jacob would thirst again. This water could only temporarily quench one’s thirst and need for water. The water Jesus offered and wanted to give to her was different. It was a water which would satisfy her spiritual thirst forever. The water which Jesus offers and gives will be in the recipient “a well of water springing up into everlasting life.”

What was Jesus offering to this woman of Samaria? What does He offer and desire to give to you and to me? Jesus offers and desires to give us Himself and eternal salvation through faith in Him (cf. Isaiah 12).

He says, in John 6:35, “I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.” In chapter 7:37ff, Jesus says, “If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.” John goes on to explain: “But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive.”

Water is, of course, necessary to sustain life; and the people living in the arid parts of Israel knew what it was to thirst. Jesus and the forgiveness and life He won for all by His innocent sufferings and death upon the cross are needed by all to have life eternal. He desires to give to everyone this living water which springs up into everlasting life, for He wants no one to perish and be lost forever.

It is the Holy Spirit who opens our eyes to see Jesus for who He really is: the Son of God and our Savior. It is the Spirit, working through the Word, who assures us that God is gracious to us and forgives our sins for the sake of Jesus’ holy life and innocent sufferings and death in our stead. It is the Holy Spirit who strengthens us in our faith and keeps us trusting in Jesus for forgiveness and life. And God’s Spirit moves and enables us to share our faith and tell others of Jesus and what He has done for us.

So it is that all who come to know and trust in Jesus as Savior and are baptized in His name have the gift of God’s indwelling Spirit who, not only brought them to such faith and conviction, but keeps them trusting in Jesus and moves them to share their faith with others who thirst spiritually. The life-giving water that Jesus gives is in believers a well of water springing up into everlasting life. It satisfies for eternity and continues to well up within us and refresh us with forgiveness and life.

O dearest Jesus, grant us Your Spirit and the forgiveness and life You have won for us by Your holy life and innocent sufferings and death in our stead. Preserve and keep us in the true and saving faith unto life everlasting. Amen.

[Devotion by The Still Small Voice, Gentry, Ark. Scripture quotations taken from the King James Version of the Bible]