I. Christ the Living Waters v. 10
A. The problems
- Her station (vs. 9; 12; 20)
- Her sex (v.9)
- Her sin (v.16)
B. The Resolution
1. The gift
- Ezekiel 47 prophecy about water flowing from Israel
- Zec 14:8 On that day living waters shall flow out from Jerusalem, half of them to the eastern sea and half of them to the western sea. It shall continue in summer as in winter.
- The OT metaphor spoke of both the knowledge of God and His grace
- Water provides cleansing and transformation
- Naaman had to dip in the Jordan 7 times 2 Kings 5:10
- Lepers were to be sprinkled 7 times and on the seventh day go to the Jordan and dip seven times to be healed.
- Leprosy being a symbol of sin
- Isaiah 1:16; 12:3; 44:3
- The word for well often means a spring bubbling out of the ground but in this case it was referring to a cistern
- The gift spoken of here is the same gift we see in John 3:16 and Romans 6:23
2. The person
- V.12-15
- Jesus was claiming to be the living water that the OT prophecies spoke of.
- It is often said by liberals that Jesus never claimed to be the Messiah
- Also the Samaritans were looking for the Messiah to be coming from within them because they believe the Jews religion was corrupted and they were the true religion.
- John 4:20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship."
- There was this animosity and debate between the Jews and the Samaritans
- Jesus clearly makes the case here that He is the source of eternal life.
- The woman missed the spiritual implications here (v. 11)
- Nicodemus had the same problem (John 3:4)
- John 13:8 Peter failed to understand the spiritual significance of Jesus washing his feet.
II. Recognition leads to love (vs. 25-28; 39-42)
- Jesus met her where she was at (vs. 6-7)
- Jesus had dealt with her sin privately (vs. 17-18)
- Jesus claims to be the Messiah (v. 26)
- The woman was convinced (v.39)
- Many believed because of Jesus love for one woman (v.39)
Conclusion:
- We can be reminded that the love of Jesus is for everyone
- We love God because he first loved us I John 4:19
- We, like the Samaritan woman, can take that love of Jesus to others
