The water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life

 

 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 

 

Yesterday we read that Jesus and His disciples came into the land of Judea, and there He remained with them and baptized.  Now John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there.  And they came and were baptized.  For John had not yet been thrown into prison.  Then there arose a dispute between some of John's disciples and the Jews about purification.  And they came to John and said to him, "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.  In a recent reading, Jesus has been to the temple in Jerusalem for the first Passover described in John's Gospel.  There He cleansed the temple.  He taught Nicodemus, a man of the Pharisees, by night while He was in Jerusalem, and then went east near the Jordan river, baptizing (but as the text tells us here, it was Christ's disciples who baptized).  He is already  clearly known to the religious leaders after cleansing the temple, but now that He has made and baptized more disciples than John -- who was widely revered as a holy man by the people -- this truly might pose a challenge to the authority of the Pharisees, in their sight.   In this context, Jesus once again journeys toward His home province of Galilee, far away from the authorities in Jerusalem.  But, as today's reading tells us, He needed to go through Samaria to go there.

 

 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.  My study Bible tells us that the Old Testament does not mention Jacob's well, although Jacob did live in this area (Genesis 33:19). It notes that wells were significant because of their rarity and their value in the life of the desert.  So, therefore, wells came to symbolize life itself (Psalms 36:9-10, 46:4; Isaiah 55:1).  Still today, this well is maintained as a shrine from which pilgrims can drink.  Jesus is wearied from His journey, which my study Bible says shows us His complete humanity.  The sixth hour is noon, with the sun at its highest point overhead.  In the tradition of the Orthodox Church, this woman is identified as St. Photini ("the illumined one").

 

 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. My study Bible comments that the Samaritans were a mixed race and traditional enemies of the Jews.  Although they worshiped the God of Israel, and they were also awaiting the Messiah, they accepted only the first five books of the Old Testament (that is, the Pentateuch or Torah) as their Scriptures.  They had built their own temple on Mt. Gerizim, which the Jews destroyed in 128 BC.

 

  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."  Living water in the ordinary sense, my study Bible explains, means fresh, flowing water.  That is, water from a stream or spring rather than a pond or a cistern.  Jesus is using this term to indicate the grace of the Holy Spirit that leads to eternal life (John 7:37-39).  This gift not only remains in a person, my study Bible tells us, but it is so abundant that it overflows to other people.  This woman misunderstands Christ.  She asks Him, "Are You greater than our father Jacob?"  But in the Scriptures, Jacob is a type of Christ, for it is Jacob who received the vision of the divine ladder (Genesis 28:12), which is fulfilled by Christ.  Additionally, just as Jacob gave this well for earthly life, so now Christ gives the well of the Holy Spirit for eternal 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."  My study Bible comments that, since Jesus perceived that she was living with a man without being married, and as He knew of her many husbands, this woman perceives that Jesus is a prophet.  But the Samaritans did not accept any prophets after Moses, and so the only prophet that was expected by them was the Messiah foretold by Moses (Deuteronomy 18:15-18).  Jesus' insight into people's hearts, my study Bible says, reported so many times in the Gospels, is a characteristic that underscores His divine nature.  

"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."  My study Bible tells us here that if Jesus was truly the expected Prophet, then He could settle the historical argument regarding where worship was to take place.  But Jesus refuses to answer an earthly question like this -- and He instead elevates the discussion to the manner in which people ought to worship instead.  More importantly, He focuses attention on the One whom we worship:  God.  The Father is worshiped in spirit (in the Holy Spirit) and in truth -- Christ Himself (John 14:6), and according to Christ's revelation.   God is Spirit:  My study Bible notes that God cannot be confined to a particular location.  Those who receive the Holy Spirit and believe in Jesus Christ can worship God the Father with purity of heart.  Salvation is of the Jews:  Here Christ affirms that true revelation comes from Judaism.  My study Bible quotes St. Athanasius the Great, who teaches, "The commonwealth of Israel was the school of the knowledge of God for all nations."  Moreover, Jesus testifies here that the Messiah, who was prophesied among the Jews, now has risen from among the Jews.  The gift of salvation in Christ has indeed come to all nations, but it has come from within Judaism.  The hour, my study Bible says, refers to Jesus' death and Resurrection and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, which will inaugurate the worship of the new covenant. 

 

 Jesus said to her, "I who speak to you am He."  This sentence is literally translated "I AM [Greek εγω ειμι/ego eimi], who speak to you."  "I AM" is the divine Name of God, my study Bible reminds us (Exodus 3:14).  Its use here indicates a theophany, or revelation of God.  The use of this Name by a mere human being was considered blasphemy and was punishable by death (see John 8:58; Mark 14:62).  But, as Jesus Himself is divine, His use of this Name is a revelation of His unity with the Father and the holy Spirit.  He is God Incarnate.  

One can only imagine the impressions of this woman of Samaria sitting at the well of Jacob.  Her very first impression must have been one of being quite startled.  We can see this by her first question to Jesus, "How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?"  In the bright sunlight of noon, at a public well in a desert region, a Jewish man sitting alone would be quite out of place speaking to a Samaritan woman for any reason at all.  In accordance with the customs of these peoples, their time, and their place, this is potentially scandalous behavior on the part of Jesus to initiate a conversation in speaking to this Samaritan woman, even to ask for a drink of water.  So the first thing we must conclude from this story is Jesus' deliberate action in knowing what He was doing by engaging her this way.  From this beginning, one can only imagine how her wondering grew as she spoke with Jesus.  Imagine being told that if she knew with whom she spoke, she would ask for "living water" -- and another question later, that living water is explained as water that would "become [in a person] a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life."   Not for the only time, a woman encountering Jesus becomes bold enough to speak up and ask things of Him: "Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw."  Perhaps such women are the ones who eventually reap the harvest of faith, for they are the ones who engage Him in return, and desire what He offers.  Here Jesus asserts what He already knows, that she's had many husbands, and so she thinks He's a prophet.  Again her boldness comes forward with Christ.  She asks about the religious controversy between her people and the Jews, and she gets much, much more in return than the answer to her query.  He tells her, "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."  This is such a startling and powerful truth we cannot underestimate its effects and its power, even today as people encounter it.  But then she tells Him, "I know that Messiah is coming" (who is called Christ).  "When He comes, He will tell us all things."  Jesus then reveals to her more than He will reveal in Israel for some time to come:  "I who speak to you am He."  She is rewarded with a theophany:  a manifestation of God before her Incarnate.  How could we possibly imagine being the recipient of such an experience and encounter?  It does seem very important to note her boldness, that her encounter with the Lord does not produce in her a reticence or sheepishness, neither an apology for speaking up.  Perhaps it speaks to us mostly about a true and deep desire for what He offers, so much so that nothing stands in the way of her questions and requests.  As the name given to her in the Church (Photini, "enlightened" or "illumined one") will reveal, one thing is clear with her:  she is open and receptive to His light.  Her mind and heart are open to receive the truth He offers to her.  That is why this story is so important, because it is telling us that perhaps in the least likely places, God finds receptivity for what God offers, and here Jesus' truly prophetic words ring true about this woman:  that "the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth" and that "the Father is seeking such to worship Him."  She is the first to whom Jesus reveals Himself as Messiah.  That He does so in such a plain and direct way is proof to us of her capacity to receive Him and His identity in all its startling, even shocking fullness.  Let us also consider that He reveals to her the truth of the Father and the Spirit as well.   In the following reading, on Monday, we will read the rest of this story.  Let us marvel at the ways God works, even the Spirit who blows where He wishes, as Jesus said to Nicodemus (John 3:8).  For she, too, will be washed with the waters of Holy Baptism, and illumined by the Spirit, forever known to us in the story of Jacob's Well and the living water that springs up into fountains within us.