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

 

 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, no come here to draw."

 

- John 4:1-15 

 

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.  Samaria is the region to the north of Jerusalem, which was between Judea and Galilee.  Jesus journeys here after His experiences at the first Passover given in St. John's Gospel.  But notably, He comes to this Gentile land after He knew that the Pharisees had heard Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John.

 

 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.  My study Bible comments that the Old Testament does not mention Jacob's well, although Jacob did live in this area (Genesis 33:19).  According to my study Bible, wells were significant because of their rarity and their value in desert life.  Because of this, wells came to symbolize life itself (Psalms 36:9-10, 46:4; Isaiah 55:1).  This specific well is maintained as a shrine to this day, and pilgrims can drink from it.  It's noted also that Jesus is wearied from His journey, which shows us His complete humanity.  The sixth hour is noon; He is in a hot and arid climate, and it is likely summer.  In Church tradition, this woman is identified as St. Photini.  More will be learned about her in tomorrow's reading and commentary.  Regarding the Samaritans, my study Bible explains that they were a mixed race and traditional enemies of the Jews.  Although they worshiped the God of Israel and were also awaiting the Messiah, they accepted only the first five books of the Old Testament (the Pentateuch) 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."  The woman said to Him, "Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, no come here to draw."  My study Bible writes that living water in the ordinary sense means fresh, flowing water, from a stream or spring rather than from a pond or cistern.  It explains that Christ uses this term to mean the grace of the Holy Spirit that leads to eternal life (John 7:37-39).  This gift not only remains in a person, but is so abundant that it overflows to others.  As is frequently observed of St. John's Gospel, here this woman misunderstands Christ, and she asks, "Are You greater than our father Jacob?"  My study Bible comments that in the Scriptures, Jacob is a type of Christ, for he received the vision of the divine ladder (Genesis 28:12), which Christ fulfills.  Moreover, just as Jacob gave this well for earthly life, now Christ gives the well of the Holy Spirit for eternal life.  

 

Imagine being this woman, and encountering Christ!  It might be difficult to imagine a circumstance which would be seemingly more incongruous in terms of understanding and accepting Christ and what He brings to this woman and to the world.  Would we imagine that she could understand?  As we will see, it will be even hard for the disciples to understand why Jesus speaks with any woman in a situation potentially scandalous  -- even if she were a Jewish woman alone, the same would apply.  But this woman is a foreigner, a Samaritan, part of a group at active enmity with the Jews.  So what can she understand of Christ (we're tempted to ask)?  Why does He speak with her?  Let us note that it is indeed He who engages her first, not she who speaks to Him.  We know that in all things Christ acts in accordance with the Father's will, and does nothing to deviate from His public mission of salvation.  So why her?  This is something we need to ponder, for the answers tell us so much about the Lord.  First we observe that there is no barrier to His role as the Lord.  She need not be Jewish for Him to approach her, and even to begin to speak of the great mysteries He brings with Him in His mission for the salvation of the world.  As we have just read in chapter 3, Jesus Himself said to Nicodemus, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."  God loves the world, He said, not just one people or another; and God's Son has been given to the world out of that love, for all the world, and for the life of the world (John 6:51).  So we learn from this encounter that there are no barriers for Christ -- no barriers between human beings and our Lord; and moreover, that Christ's sacrifice, His giving of Himself to the world, also knows no boundaries that we, from a purely earthly perspective, might ascribe to Him.  So her supposed "preparation" for Him in terms of her education and understanding, her religious or cultural background, her gender, her status in the society, the customs practiced, and a host of other factors all mean nothing in terms of forming real barriers to Christ and to what He comes into the world to offer to all of us.  When we think we have an impossible task, something quite difficult to convey or express or to be understood, let us think about this circumstance.  For Christ to open up the powerful reality of the Holy Spirit, and even His own Incarnation, to this woman, someone of whom we might say she's the last person in the world we'd expect Him to speak to so directly.  St. John Chrysostom comments on another passage in St. John's Gospel, in chapter 7, when the temple officers failed to arrest Jesus, having been captivated by a single sermon.  He writes that when the mind is open, "there is no need for long speeches. Truth is like that."  In truth, we are made to be united to our Lord, the bride to Christ our Bridegroom, and so, as St. Chrysostom says, "Truth is like that."  He is the One who is the truth (John 14:6); when we encounter Him, we encounter truth.  This is another powerful mystery, how truth works within us, the recognition of Christ, the grace of faith.  Perhaps only our Lord, who began this conversation with the woman at the well, can truly understand it.  We will see further as we continue reading about Christ's encounter with the Samaritan woman in tomorrow's reading and commentary.  

 

 

 

 

Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw

 

 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 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."

 

- John 4:1-15 

 

Yesterday we read that, after Jesus' night teachings to Nicodemus, a Pharisee (see here and here), 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.   We note the growing awareness of the jealous scrutiny of the Pharisees.  Therefore Jesus leaves Judea (the region in which Jerusalem lies) for the more outlying territory of Galilee.  Samaria is the region to the north of Jerusalem, between Judea and Galilee, and so Jesus needed to go through Samaria, a Gentile territory.

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 comments that the Old Testament does not mention Jacob's well, although Jacob is known to have dwelt in this area (Genesis 33:18-19).  It notes that wells were very significant in this region, because of their rarity and their value in desert life.  So, wells came to be symbolic of life itself (Psalms 36:9-10, 46:4; Isaiah 55:1).  This particular well continues to be maintained as a shrine, and pilgrims can drink from it.  My study Bible emphasizes also that Jesus is wearied from His journey, which expresses His complete humanity.  It is the sixth hour (or noon), which means Jesus is in the noonday heat.  This woman is identified in church tradition as St. Photini, a name meaning "Illumined" or "Enlightened,"  We will delve more into her history in tomorrow's reading and commentary.  

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. My study Bible explains that the Samaritans were a mixed race and traditional enemies of the Jews.  They worshiped the God of Israel, and were also awaiting the Messiah, but the Samaritans accepted only the first five books of the Old Testament (the Pentateuch or Torah) as their Scriptures.  They had also built their own temple on Mt. Gerizim, a disputed location, 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 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."  In the ordinary sense, my study Bible explains, living water means fresh, flowing water, from a stream or spring rather than from a pond or cistern.  Jesus uses this term in order to mean the grace of the Holy Spirit that leads to eternal life (John 7:37-39).   My study Bible emphasizes that this gift not only remains in a person, but is so abundant that it overflows to others.  The woman misunderstands Christ and she asked, "Are You greater than our father Jacob?"  In the Scriptures, Jacob is a type of Christ, as he received the vision of the divine ladder (Genesis 28:12), which Jesus fulfills.  Additionally, just as Jacob gave the well for earthly life, so Christ now gives the well of the Holy Spirit for eternal life. 

 What is water in a desert?  So is the gift of the Holy Spirit within a world that seems sorely lacking of this fountain of life itself.  In the Creed, the Holy Spirit is referred to as "the Giver of life."  So this well, given by the Patriarch Jacob, becomes symbolic of the gift of God's work in the world, beginning with the Jews.  It is in this sense that Jesus will teach this Samaritan woman that "salvation is of the Jews" in tomorrow's reading (John 4:22).  Just as Jacob's dream of the Ladder reaching heaven and earth, with angels ascending and descending is fulfilled in Christ (Genesis 28:12),  so also we are to understand this conversation based on Jesus' image of living water hints to us that the coming of the Holy Spirit as given by Christ is a fulfillment of the "type" of Jacob's well in the desert.  Living water is that which vivifies us when we drink it; it's not only good for human life, it is essential.  It reminds us of Ezekiel's vision, given by "the Spirit of the Lord," of the very dry bones in the valley, and his question, "Can these bones live?"  The Lord God speaks to Ezekiel, saying, "I will put My Spirit in you," even as breath came to the dry bones so that they lived (Ezekiel 37:1-14).  Let us recall that the word for Spirit and breath are the same, in Hebrew and Greek.  So, we come to this everlasting fountain or well of "living water" meant to vivify the driest of dry bones, the longest of long shots, the most forlorn, difficult, unlikely situation through it can be saved to live again.  It is the hope of the hopeless even when all seems lost by worldly standards.  Like this Samaritan woman, we must be prepared to listen and learn from Christ, to be drawn into the sayings of Jesus that illuminate things that take us beyond the certainties and affirmations of the world, giving dimension and expression to the potential of the spiritual life, and teaching salvation.  In tomorrow's reading, Jesus will magnify these concepts, for her and for us, and we will find yet more substance to the poetry of Scripture and of the Gospels in the words of Jesus Christ.

 

 

 

 

Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst

 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."

- John 4:1-15

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 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 and His disciples are journeying northward, from Judea back toward Galilee.  To do so they pass through Samaria.   My study bible tells us that Jacob's well is not mentioned in the Old Testament, although Jacob lived in the area (Genesis 33:19).  My study bible says, "Wells were significant because of their rarity and their value in desert life.  Therefore wells came to symbolize life itself" (see Psalm 36:9-10; 46:4; Isaiah 55:1).  This well continues today to be a shrine, where pilgrims come and can drink from it.  Some personal notes about Jesus in this passage:  He's wearied from His journey, showing His humanity.  The Pharisees are already in the picture, having understood Jesus now has baptized more disciples than John.  The sixth hour is noon; we can imagine the sun and heat.

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 were traditional enemies of the Jews.  They were a mixed race, who worshiped the God of Israel and were also awaiting the Messiah.  But they accepted only the first five books of the Old Testament (the Pentateuch) as their Scriptures.  Their own temple was built on Mt. Gerizim, destroyed by the Jews 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."  The woman said to Him, "Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw."   As used in the ordinary sense, living water means fresh and flowing water, from a stream or spring as opposed to a pond or a cistern.  Here, Christ uses the term with a deeper meaning implied, that of the grace of the Holy Spirit that leads to everlasting life.  My study bible says that this gift not only remains in a person, but also is so abundant that it overflows to others.  The Samaritan woman asks, "Are You greater than our father Jacob?"  Jacob is the patriarch, also called Israel.  As such, he is also a "type" of Christ, says my study bible.  He is the one who struggled with the angel, and also had the vision of the divine ladder, which is a vision fulfilled by Christ -- already referred to by the words of Jesus Himself earlier in John's Gospel as He spoke to Nathanael (see 1:51).  As Jacob gave this particular well for earthly life, so Christ gives the well of the Holy Spirit for eternal life.

Water has been a feature so far all throughout John's Gospel.   After its Prologue, this Gospel begins with the work of John the Baptist, who baptized in the Jordan preparing the people for the Messiah with a baptism of repentance.  It is John who taught his disciples that Jesus would baptize with the Holy Spirit, and already there is an introduction to us likening water and the Holy Spirit.  The first sign we're given by the Gospel also concerns water:  turning water to wine at the wedding in Cana.  Next there is the cleansing of the temple by Jesus; water is not mentioned but water and cleansing go hand in hand.  In chapter 3 Jesus teaches Nicodemus by night, telling him, "Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God."  Water is the ingredient most essential to human life, and as my study bible has pointed out, those who dwell in the desert are particularly aware of this need.  It is the basic element that forms us and our planet, contained in everything.  It is a good likeness for the Spirit, teaching us of our true need for this living water that Jesus teaches the Samaritan woman about.  In our next reading, this conversation will continue with her.  She will come to be known in the Church as St. Photini in the East, bearing the gifts of this water into her life and that of the Church.  There are other remarkable things about this passage:   the fact that Jesus actually speaks to this woman is notable of itself!  Not only speaking to any woman alone, but to a Samaritan is very strange behavior for any Jewish man of His time.  Perhaps we are witnessing the work of this living water in Christ who bears it to us:  so many restrictions are released; and relationship revealed.  It is the work of pure grace.  His work, and that of the Gospel, after all, is to reveal what has been hidden since the foundation of the world.  Just as Jesus is both God and man, so we see in the element of water combined with Spirit what God can do in synergy with the elements of our world (and in us), what holiness means.  In the purest sense of it, Christ is the Incarnation of Logos, Creator of the world and the cosmos, a gift to all of us.  That gift of our lives, returned to Him, becomes endowed with more life and returned back to us, an infinitely greater and free gift (this is the complete picture of the Eucharist).  What is everlasting life?  What is a fountain of water that may live in us so that we may never thirst?