John 4

One of the most important realizations that can overtake a soul is that in all the vastness of the universe, the God who created and sustains all things knows and loves me. To believe such a thing can change a life. A woman of Samaria met Jesus at a well, and from the progress of the dialogue between them, we are left with the distinct impression that she is known and loved by God. It all starts with a drink of water, but it ends with a large number of people, Samaritans no less, apparently convinced that Jesus, a Jew, is the Messiah.

It is rather surprising to the woman at the well that Jesus would be talking to her at all. The region of Samaria, in between Judea to the south and Galilee to the north was populated by a people who rejected large sections of the Hebrew Scriptures. They were a mixed multitude, ethnically and spiritually diverse as a result of foreign settlers during centuries of occupation by outside empires, yet with a strong identification with the heritage of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. They knew that Jews generally did not have dealings with them, but here was a Man who actually asked for a drink. She questions this, and He speaks of Himself and something He calls “living water” that He claims He can give to her.

The woman can see that Jesus is in some way asserting greatness, and she questions this. To her He appears to be poorly equipped to give any kind of water to anyone. Jesus clarifies His message some by speaking of “living water” as greater than physical water, which has such temporary benefits. The water that Jesus is speaking of has something to do with forever, and a life that Jesus says is eternal.

The woman claims to want this living water, though she is still thinking of water that only satisfies daily thirst. Jesus tells her to call her husband, and to bring him to the well. He then gently exposes some central facts about this woman’s life that He could not have been expected to know. She has had five husbands, and the one she lives with now is not her husband. This is where we begin to see the intentionality of divine love. Jesus knows this woman. He has engaged her in this conversation. His purpose is not to expose her, but to bless her.

This Samaritan woman is aware of one of the great areas of contention between the Jews and the Samaritans, the issue of the place of worship. According to portions of the Bible that the Samaritans reject, the followers of Yahweh are to worship Him in the temple in Jerusalem. The Samaritans have an alternate holy site. Jesus reveals that something major is happening in the story of God’s saving work that will soon make this question unimportant. The true worshipers of the Father will worship in some different “place,” called here “in spirit and truth.” Though this statement is not explained, there can be little doubt that the place is a Person, that Jesus Himself is the Temple of the Holy Spirit, and that the church becomes a temple of the Holy Spirit when we worship in Him. It is at this point that the woman reveals that she is waiting for Messiah to come, and Jesus plainly reveals Himself as the Messiah.

At this point the disciples return, and the woman, leaving her water jar, goes back into the town and gathers many people to come out and see Jesus. She draws their attention to His special knowledge of her own life story, and then asks them something like this, “This can’t be the Christ. Could it be?” At the same time, as the people are coming toward Jesus, He speaks to His disciples of a future harvest that is beginning even now. This is a companion piece of important theological information, fitting well with the revelation that the temple in Jerusalem will not be the most important spiritual place in the world anymore. The time is almost here for a gospel harvest, and the disciples will eventually be very much engaged in that operation, that will involve sowing of the Word of God, and gathering a new kind of temple, involving the labors of many over some period of time. The imagery of the final age of blessing is quoted from the Hebrew prophets. This great age is now upon us, somehow sneaking ahead in front of the cross and the resurrection in this amazing encounter in a Samaritan town. The harvest is now, and it turns out that God loves Samaritans, and many from that town come to believe in Jesus, that He is the Savior of the world.

As our Lord returns to Galilee, He performs the second of John’s revelatory signs, healing the son of an official at a distance. This too is a display of the coming of a new day of resurrection. When that age has fully arrived, we will all see with our eyes what we are called to believe with our hearts now. Until the fulfillment of this in the return of Christ, this resurrection age is lived out in a preliminary stage, the era of the proclamation of the gospel. In the Word of the gospel we are told to believe that we will live, though we cannot yet see the fullness of that life.

The true announcement of the healing of this boy is a fitting display of the coming of this exciting time of spiritual opportunity. Now the Word goes forward with divine power, and not only Jews, but also Samaritans, and Gentiles from the uttermost parts of the earth hear the message of the divine love of God supremely displayed in the cross of Christ. To hear this message, to understand that God knows us and loves us, to believe that our sins have actually been atoned for through the blood of this Jewish Messiah, this is life-changing and powerful. Until the Lord returns in glorious splendor, it remains a fact that the fields are still white unto harvest, and that the message that we have been given to communicate is strikingly good news.