The Samaritan woman came to Jacob’s well every day at noon. Her neighbors would come earlier or later to avoid the heat of the day, so she came at noon, hoping to avoid running into any of the townspeople. She never expected a divine appointment with the Lord God Omnipotent!
Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
(John 4:13-14)
This woman was scorned by everyone in her town; she had been married to five different men and was now living with a man out of wedlock. So she deliberately came to fetch her water at the time of the day when no one else would be there. No doubt she hated the scornful looks of polite society and the whispering behind her back. She came to Jacob’s well marked by shame and disgrace. And this was the turning point in her life! Expecting to meet no one, she instead met the God-man, who knew everything about her and yet would not sneer at her or turn His back on her. He spoke the Word of life to her at the deepest level.
Every day she had come to the well alone, feeling naked and ashamed, dragging a past littered with sin behind her. But no more. Jesus changed everything for her.
Leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?” They came out of the town and made their way toward him.
(John 4:28-30)
For the very first time in her life, she was able to quench her soul thirst that could be slaked in no other way. She forgot all about her water jug; now she was filled with the life-giving water of the Word of God, and she ran to greet her neighbors—the very people she had been trying so hard to avoid just moments ago—and tell them about the Man she had just met. She had been immediately transformed from outcast to evangelist for the glory of God. The old had passed away; all things had become new!
Before her divine appointment with Jesus, Jacob’s well was a reminder of her shame and disgrace, and drinking from that well affected all those in her home whom she drank with. But after meeting Jesus, Jacob’s well became a place of forgiveness, mercy, and grace. For the first time in her life, she was naked and un-ashamed, standing before the Lord Jesus Christ, who knew everything about her and still loved her.
Regarded by her neighbors as little more than a dirty harlot, she stood before the Lord Jesus Christ clothed in radiant garments of white . . . she was the Bride of Christ! She’d gone through one husband after another, each leaving her thirstier than the one before. But now she had found the one thing . . . the irreplaceable treasure . . . the only One who would truly satisfy her thirst . . . and His name is Jesus.
So . . . what well have you been drinking from lately? Remember, the well you drink from will affect all those you drink with. Drinking from the well of living water will slake your deepest soul thirst and send you out to share the joy of your Savior with all those you meet: “Come and see a man who knows everything about me, yet still loves me unconditionally and forgives me completely!”
This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!
Grace for the Race 