John 4:10 10Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God and who is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.”
Jesus’ response in the developing dialogue gets right to the woman’s deepest need. There was no time or need for pleasantries about the weather or the latest news. This woman was desperate for what Jesus had to offer. His response requires careful consideration. He begins with a condition: if you knew. The woman had been avoiding her deepest need, suppressing and trying to hide it from others and thinking perhaps she could hide it from God. God comes to each of us through his Spirit to speak to the deepest need of our hearts. We can be like this woman and try to hide it, but the voice of Jesus echoes, if you knew. If people would only realize what they were missing, they would not seek after their purpose for living in things of this world. This woman was broken in many ways, and Jesus came to her with the answer to restore her.
What she needed was the gift of God. Verse 26 gives that gift: Jesus. God’s greatest gift to us is his Son (3:16), and believing on him brings the result of that gift: eternal life. Jesus uses the metaphor of living water to describe this gift. Water comes in many forms. The stagnate water of a pond is not good to drink. It becomes smelly with mud and decay. Fresh water that brings life comes from deep springs and wells, like the one Jacob dug and still stands today. Ancient Judea and Samaria were mostly dry areas, with life teaming around the springs, creeks, and rivers. It was obvious where there was good water because there would also be green plants and trees. Life cannot exist without water. The living water this woman needed most was not physical but spiritual. She did not realize it yet but would by the end of his discussion with Jesus.
And last, the source of this gift was the one standing right in front of her. He had stopped at that specific place on that particular day and at the moment for her. She was looking for the wrong thing. She came to draw physical water but needed to meet the one who could provide her water that brings eterna life. She was spiritually empty and desperately thirsty within her soul. The metaphor of water powerfully illustrates the human need. God has created a deep thirst in our souls that can only be satisfied with his answer in Jesus. People ignore it and try to satisfy it with other forms of drink provided by the world, but they only end up even dryer than before.
For older posts, click here.