Soul-Thirst
Rev. Sudha Mehta©
John 4: 7 There comes a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus said to her, Give me to drink. 8 (For his disciples were gone away to the city to buy meat.) 9 Then said the woman of Samaria to him, How is it that you, being a Jew, ask drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.
Jesus-teaches-a-samaritan-woman-Photo from LDS
10 Jesus answered and said to her, If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that said to you, Give me to drink; you would have asked of him, and he would have given you living water. 11 The woman said to him, Sir, you have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from where then have you that living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle? 13 Jesus answered and said to her, Whoever drinks of this water shall thirst again: 14 But whoever drinks 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.
The woman said to him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come here to draw.(AKJV)
In the Chapter above, Jesus was at the well and in need of a drink . . . or was He? Perhaps this was a conversation starter, one that was intended to raise the right questions in the woman’s mind and reveal the true thirst of her own heart.
The disciples had been released to go into town to purchase food, which alone had to make them uncomfortable, for in truth they as good Jews did not want any thing to do with the Samaritans, who were a mixed breed. They had some Jewish blood, but had other DNA mixed in. The usual custom was to take the long route and go around the region just to avoid being in proximity of Samaritans, yet this day, Jesus decided to walk right through, taking the short cut they wouldn’t have chosen.
After all, He was the master!
Then, not only did He take the short cut, He decided to sit and take a rest. Wait! The sun would be setting soon, it was about dinner time, and they had no food. They wanted to hurry, He wanted to take it easy.
John 4: 3 He left Judaea, and departed again into Galilee. 4 And He must needs go through Samaria. (AKJV)
This translation (the American King James Version) says “must needs,” other versions say “had to.” All make it clear that it was imperative. So, the reason He “had to” had little to do with time, for no matter the hurry, Jews stayed outside the region. Especially a good and Perfect Jew, which Jesus was, would have stayed out, but this Perfect Jew had an appointment to keep. This Perfect Jew understood, that it wasn’t the outward that mattered, it was the heart that determined the clean or uncleanness of a situation/ thing/ or person.
This Perfect Jew had an appointment of which no one was aware, not even the woman He intended to meet. He knew she had a need that only He could meet, and that she was the key to the whole town. This makes this passage even more exciting!!
So, Jesus sat alone, by a well, with nothing to draw water. I do not see Him drink the water, instead they converse. I have written about this in another blog which you should read, but here I want to take a different emphasis. Harvest Time
He says He wants a drink, she has the water, but He steers her into a conversation about her own thirst for water of which she was yet unaware, yet which would leave her forever satiated.
John 7:38 Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said: ‘Streams of living water will flow from within him.’”(BSB)
Living Water. That’s what Jesus offered. She is stuck on the here and now, the natural, the tangible and He moves to the unseen, the supernatural, the forever.
This Samaritan woman finally gets the message when He reveals that her life is known to Him, a total stranger, a man she has never met before. I presume somewhat with a gasp she says:
John 4: 19 “Sir,” the woman said, “I see that You are a prophet. 20 Our forefathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews say that the place where one must worship is in Jerusalem.”(BSB)
I think she should have stopped after saying He was a prophet. she didn’t! I think she is so taken aback she is nervous and can’t stop talking. I think her mind is racing, and she can’t make sense of it. So, she attempts to shift the conversation to another topic.
John 4: 21 “Believe Me, woman,” Jesus replied, “a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 But a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for the Father is seeking such as these to worship Him. 24 God is Spirit, and His worshipers must worship Him in spirit and in truth.” 25 The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When He comes, He will explain everything to us.” 26 Jesus answered, “I who speak to you am He.”(BSB)
It is only when He finally declares Himself the Messiah, that she drops her pot and runs to town. His thirst forgotten, and her own water left behind, she goes and gets the whole town. He said “go get your husband” as a way of engaging her knowing she had no husband, she ran and brought everyone, the whole town!!
Who but Jesus knew that revealing Himself as Messiah would become self-revelation to this woman, and would result in a harvest of souls that may have otherwise been lost forever.
Now that is an evangelist! She found the answer to all she thirsted for. Someone who understood her Soul-Thirst, and provided the drink of living water to satiate her forever.
What about you? Do you get stuck in the muck and mire of the here and now, the tyranny of the immediate and forget the more important forever, the eternal?
Life gets busy for all of us and we get so caught up in trying to take care of the immediate, whether it is our jobs or families, angry bosses, ailing children or parents, or any thing else, we forget what is truly important.
Photos from Pexel
A drink we need , but more than the temporal kind.
John 7: 37 In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come to me, and drink. 38 He that believes on me, as the scripture has said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. 39 (But this spoke he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)(AKJV)
Perhaps you have felt the thirst that no water has quenched, perhaps you have tried to fill and satiate that thirst with drinks, drugs, food, people, places that do not satisfy.
Photos are from Pexels.
Perhaps you have tried to quench this thirst with things, enjoyed the company of women that mama warned against, and then gone on pilgrimages:
Photos from Pexel
Think about that thirst that still leaves you wanting! The thirst that destroys the soul and steals your peace!
Is that enough for you, or are you thirsty for that which satisfies the soul and brings peace beyond human understanding?
He Himself comes as the Water-Bearer. The drink He gives, satisfies:
The Psalmist said:
Psalm 42: 1 As the deer pants for the water brooks, So my soul pants for You, O God.(NASB)
Her Soul-Thirst was quenched! what about yours?
She went and brought a whole town to meet the Messiah! what about you? What will you do??
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