Where then do You get that living water?

Therefore, when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John (though Jesus Himself did not baptize, but His disciples), He left Judea and departed again to Galilee. But He needed to go through Samaria. So He came to a city of Samaria which is called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, sat thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour.

A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, "Give Me a drink." For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, "How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?" For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans. Jesus answered and said to her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, 'Give Me a drink,' you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water." The woman said to Him, "Sir, You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where then do You get that living water? Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?" Jesus answered and said to her, "Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life." The woman said to Him, "Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw."

Jesus said to her, "Go, call your husband, and come here." The woman answered and said, "I have no husband." Jesus said to her, "You have well said, 'I have no husband,' for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly." The woman said to Him, "Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship." Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." The woman said to Him, "I know that Messiah is coming" (who is called Christ). "When He comes, He will tell us all things." Jesus said to her, "I who speak to you am He."

- John 4:1-26

In yesterday's reading, we read that Jesus was in Judea with His disciples, where they were baptizing. John the Baptist was also there with his disciples, for he had not yet been thrown into prison. There was a dispute between John's disciples and some of the Jewish leadership about purification. John's disciples came to him and said of Jesus, "Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified -- behold, He is baptizing, and all are coming to Him!" John answered and said, "A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven. You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, 'I am not the Christ,' but, 'I have been sent before Him.' He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease. He who comes from above is above all, he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all. And what He has seen and heard, that He testifies; and no one receives His testimony. He who has received His testimony has certified that God is true. For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure. The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand. He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him."

Therefore, when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John (though Jesus Himself did not baptize, but His disciples), He left Judea and departed again to Galilee. But He needed to go through Samaria. So He came to a city of Samaria which is called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, sat thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour. Jesus leaves Judea because of the growing attention of the Pharisees to Jesus' popular ministry. John's Gospel is full of hints of opposition to both the Baptist and Jesus from the leadership. Samaria, as the text indicates, is north of Judea, between Judea and Galilee to which Jesus is returning. My study bible says that the Old Testament doesn't mention Jacob's well, but Jacob did own property in the area. It says, "Wells and springs are significant in Scripture becuase of their rarity in desert life. In the Old Testament they often symbolize the life given by God, especially a life of blessedness." This particular well, at the foot of Mt. Gerizim, is maintained as a shrine to this day, where pilgrims may still drink from it. Jesus, we're told, is tired from travel -- an important indication of His full experience of humanity. He's a poor man who travels with His disciples, as one of us. The sixth hour is noon: a time of full sun, in a place with a dry, hot climate.

A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, "Give Me a drink." For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, "How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?" For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans. The Samaritans are a mixed race people, traditional enemies of the Jews. They believed only in the first five books of the Old Testament, or the Pentateuch. They worshiped here on this mountain, Mt. Gerizim, at the foot of which she and Jesus talk. In 128 B.C. the Jews destroyed the Samaritans' temple on the mountain. As their dialogue continues, it hints at this dispute over the proper place of worship. It wouldn't have been common for a Jewish man to publicly speak with any woman who was a stranger, let alone a Samaritan.

Jesus answered and said to her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, 'Give Me a drink,' you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water." The really remarkable thing about Jesus is that He follows His own rules and directives. Not only does He initiate this conversation with a Samaritan woman, He is here opening up His gospel message directly to her. "Living water" would normally indicate fresh, flowing water -- as my study bible says, "from a spring rather than a pond or cistern. In the spiritual sense it symbolizes true life from God, who is the fountain of life." Jesus is opening up for her what all of us will seek to know and to understand.

The woman said to Him, "Sir, You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where then do You get that living water? Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?" Jesus answered and said to her, "Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life." The woman said to Him, "Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw." There's an interesting metaphor at work here in the drawing out of water, because this is exactly what Jesus is doing with her. He's drawing her out and into the understanding of His message, couched in words that we know as those which teach us about the spiritual life of the Kingdom and what He offers us. She's drawn in by what He's saying, and so thirsts for better enlightenment. The misunderstanding, my study bible points out, is typical of John's Gospel. Jacob received the revelation of the divine ladder, and "is a prefiguration of Christ. Jesus is thus greater than Jacob; He is the final revelation of God and giver of life and refreshment to all." The fountain of water springing up to everlasting life is of course the Holy Spirit. From John's text we receive a vivid understanding of the faith, the Gift that Jesus offers. Of course, she doesn't yet quite understand!

Jesus said to her, "Go, call your husband, and come here." The woman answered and said, "I have no husband." Jesus said to her, "You have well said, 'I have no husband,' for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly." And here is a deeper step in the action of coming to Christ. It is He who calls and offers the invitation, but in coming closer to the Light, He knows us well. Everything about us is revealed and laid bare. There's no escaping this step in encounter with Him. No fooling. My study bible says that this new direction in dialogue is initiated by Jesus so that she may better understand what is being offered. It's not the first, nor will it be the last instance in this Gospel of Jesus' foreknowledge of all people.

The woman said to Him, "Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship." This is the great dispute between the Samaritans and the Jews. Once she believes He's a prophet, this becomes the important question to ask. My study bible notes, "The Samaritan version of the Ten Commandments decreed they worship on Mt. Gerizim, whereas the Jews worshiped on Mt. Zion in Jerusalem."

Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." Jesus' hour is the time of His death on the Cross, "when the sacrifice made once for all will supplant the necessity for any temple anywhere," says my study bible. "The idea that worship must be performed only at a specific place of revelation -- Mt. Zion or Mt. Gerizim -- will give way to His revolutionary teaching about worship in spirit and in truth." Here Jesus teaches us further about the nature of the Kingdom. This reality of the spiritual life is one that encompasses each one of us and our daily lives; but our life in the world cannot circumscribe the Kingdom. When Jesus tells her that the Father is seeking true worshipers who will worship Him in spirit and in truth, He is describing His saving mission in the world, the thing for which He is sent. That salvation is of the Jews teaches us the centrality of Jewish spiritual history to the saving mission of Christ. His disputes are with the leadership, not the people and not Jewish spiritual heritage. My study bible says, "The Messiah was prophesied within Judaism, the Incarnation took place among the Jewish people. God's universal gift of salvation arises within the context of His promises to the Jews and their religious tradition."

The woman said to Him, "I know that Messiah is coming" (who is called Christ). "When He comes, He will tell us all things." Jesus said to her, "I who speak to you am He." In the Greek, this is written ego eimi, or I AM, echoing the name of God from the Old Testament. So John gives us mirrors upon mirrors of greater understanding and depth. Jesus is revealing Himself fully to this woman, a Samaritan of the hated enemies of Israel and a female. Let us consider Jesus' words elsewhere (in Luke's Gospel): "I tell you that many prophets and kings have desired to see what you see, and have not seen it."

Here in John's Gospel is the first instance of a Theophany, or revelation of God. My study bible points out that it is a kind of formula of self-revelation that will be used more times in the Gospel. It notes, "Jesus reveals Himself to be more than the Mosaic Prophet and more than the Jewish Messiah; indeed, He is the Incarnate God Himself." John's Gospel gives us hints of the revelation of Jesus throughout its pages. Perhaps this is the disciple that Jesus knew best in some sense, the one whom Jesus loved. John therefore gives us great testimony about Jesus, in a very personal sense. This is a personal revelation in a private moment, standing at a well. It's just the woman and Jesus. But what we find in this encounter is the greatest revelation of the universe: that God is human. He is sent to all of us, for God so loved the world. Not just John, not just Jesus' mother, or a handful who will become His close disciples. But truly, God so loved the world. We may find this encounter inside ourselves in a private moment, when we're really in trouble. We may find it in the need (or thirst) of others, who come to us in disguise but are ready to truly reveal to us the face of Christ. We may find it when we can't see any other way to go on, and when we need to change. But it's a revelation for the life of the world. In Jesus' encounter with the Samaritan woman, God is telling us He cannot be limited, God's abundance is for each of us.