When Your Soul Is Thirsty
John 4:5–42
Introduction
The past week was spent in the cold and dark, and for many, it remains that way. We’ve thrown away food from our refrigerators, gone through batteries, boiled water, and listened while tree limbs popped and broke, and for some of us landed in damaging ways. Many in our area (and other areas) are asking “How much longer is this going to last?” Many of us are just tired and drained from this experience.
When we began our journey through John’s Gospel, I mapped out our message texts and somehow I believe God had us in this text just for such a time as this. John 4 is the longest recorded conversation Jesus has with anyone in the Gospels, and it is with a weary, wounded Samaritan woman at a well in the heat of the day. She comes for water; she finds living water.
When life leaves us dry and exhausted, Jesus invites us to drink deeply of the living water that only He can give. Let’s walk through the story together
1. Jesus Welcomes the Thirsty (John 4:5–15)
John 4:5–10, NLT
Eventually he came to the Samaritan village of Sychar, near the field that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there; and Jesus, tired from the long walk, sat wearily beside the well about noontime. 7 Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Please give me a drink.” 8 He was alone at the time because his disciples had gone into the village to buy some food. 9 The woman was surprised, for Jews refuse to have anything to do with Samaritans. She said to Jesus, “You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. Why are you asking me for a drink?”10 Jesus replied, “If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water.”
Jesus is tired from the journey and sits by Jacob’s well at noon. A Samaritan woman comes to draw water. On almost every level this scene is “what’s wrong with this picture?” A Jewish rabbi alone with a woman, and not just any woman, but a Samaritan. The text reminds us: “Jews do not associate with Samaritans.” Yet Jesus speaks first and asks her for a drink. She is shocked: “How can you ask me for a drink?” Jesus answers, “If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water.”
“Living water” in their world could mean running water, a fresh spring. But Jesus is speaking of something deeper—water that satisfies the spiritual thirst in every human heart. He says a few verses later: “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. 14 But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.” (John 4:13-14)
Our wells are things we depend on and think we control. This week has reminded us how fragile our usual “wells” are—power, heat, schedules, routines. In a matter of hours, they can be knocked out by ice and wind. Yet there is a well that no storm can touch: the living water of Christ’s presence and Spirit within us. In prayer, ask: “Lord, give me this water. Teach me to drink from You.” Jesus welcomes the thirsty to this well!
2. Jesus Welcomes the Weary (John 4:16–18)
John 4:16–18.
“Go and get your husband,” Jesus told her. “I don’t have a husband,” the woman replied. Jesus said, “You’re right! You don’t have a husband, for you have had five husbands, and you aren’t even married to the man you’re living with now. You certainly spoke the truth!”
We are not told why she has had five husbands. In that culture, men could divorce women easily; death, abandonment, and injustice could all be part of her story. However it happened, her life has been one upheaval after another. She carries shame, gossip, and heartache every time she walks out her door.
Notice what Jesus does not do. He does not turn away. He does not say, “Come back when you’ve cleaned this up.” He meets her right in the middle of her tangled story, and He keeps offering living water. You and I carry our own weariness. Some of it is from this storm—cold nights, spoiled groceries, disrupted routines. Some of it is deeper—long-term family stress, grief, health concerns, and regrets that resurface when the house gets quiet and the lights are off.
To all the weary, Jesus says: “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28 RSV) Jesus is calling exhausted people and promising relief, rest, and refreshment for their souls. When you have a quiet moment, speak Matthew 11:28 back to Jesus in prayer: “Lord, You said, ‘Come to Me.’ I’m coming. Here are my burdens. I need Your rest.” Let that be your last conversation before sleep.
Jesus welcomes the thirsty, the weary, and …
3. Jesus Welcomes the Wondering (John 4:19–26)
John 4:19–24
“Sir,” the woman said, “you must be a prophet. 20 So tell me, why is it that you Jews insist that Jerusalem is the only place of worship, while we Samaritans claim it is here at Mount Gerizim,[a] where our ancestors worshiped?”
The woman changes the subject to aks about a long-running theological dispute between Jews and Samaritans. But it is also a very human question: “Where do I really belong with God? Which side is right? Where is God in all this?”
Many of us have our own questions right now:
“Why did God allow this storm to be so hard on us?”
“Why does it seem like some are restored quickly and others are still waiting?”
"Why doesn’t God answer my prayers the way I expected?”
Jesus doesn’t shame her for asking a loaded, controversial question. He answers it by lifting her eyes higher:
Jesus replied, “Believe me, dear woman, the time is coming when it will no longer matter whether you worship the Father on this mountain or in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans know very little about the one you worship, while we Jews know all about him, for salvation comes through the Jews. 23 But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way. 24 For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.”
Worship that God demands is not centered around the things we negotiate and claim -it is focused on Him, His Word., and with a genuine heart. The Holy Spirit is not limited by the power grid or the thermostat. Jesus is telling us: “You can meet My Father right here, right now, in this mess, with these questions.”
Then she says, “I know the Messiah is coming—the one who is called Christ. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.” 26 Then Jesus told her, “I am the Messiah!” (John 4:25–26). This is the first explicit self-disclosure of Jesus as Messiah in John’s Gospel, and He gives it not to a respected leader, but to a Samaritan woman with a complicated past. To the wondering, the confused, the unsure, He says, “I am the One you’ve been waiting for.”
Instead of waiting until you have all your questions answered before you trust Jesus, bring your questions as part of your worship. Pray, “Lord, I don’t understand everything, but I know You are the Messiah. Help me worship You in Spirit and in truth—even with my questions.”
4. Jesus Welcomes the Weighed Down (John 4:28–30, 39–42)
John 4:28–30.
The woman left her water jar beside the well and ran back to the village, telling everyone, 29 “Come and see a man who told me everything I ever did! Could he possibly be the Messiah?” 30 So the people came streaming from the village to see him.
“The woman left her water jar beside the well and ran back to the village, telling everyone, …” What a great detail! Commentators note that she is so taken with Jesus that she forgets the very thing she came for. She goes back to the people she’d probably tried to avoid and says, “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?” (4:29). The villagers come, they listen, and many believe in Jesus—not only because of her testimony, but because they have heard Him themselves and know that He truly is the Savior of the world (4:39–42).
The woman begins the day weighed down with shame and routine; she ends the day overflowing with witness and joy. You do not have to spend today with the same weight on your shoulders. Scripture gives us this
invitation: “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.” (1 Peter 5:7)
Conclusion
We have been reminded this week how quickly our comforts can disappear. Power lines snap, transformers blow, schedules crumble. But the living water Jesus offers is not tied to clear roads, warm houses, or working grids. It flows from His Spirit into the hearts of tired people who come to Him.
-He welcomes the thirsty.
-He receives the weary.
-He listens to the wondering.
-He lifts the weighed-down.
Jesus is still welcoming, receiving, listening, and lifting today.
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Resources
Euston, Tom. https://www.rockpres.org/single-post/2017/03/19/the-woman-at-the-well
Lucado, Max. Two Tombstones: The Story of the Samaritan Woman and Jesus Christ. https://www.crosswalk.com/faith/spiritual-life/two-tombstones-the-story-of-the-samaritan-woman-and-jesus-christ-11582592.html
O’Day, Gail R. The New Interpreter’s Bible Commentary, The Gospel of John. Abingdon Press, 2015.
Rush, Kip. Encounter, volume 89, number 2. Ministry Council of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, 2021.
Taylor, Barbara Brown. Identity Confirmation: John 4:5-42.
https://www.christiancentury.org/article/2008-02/identity-confirmation
Wright, Tom. John for Everyone, Part . Westminster John Knox Press, 2004.
