To satisfy your thirst, the Samaritan woman John 4: 1: -26 (Bible)　

9 February 2022

There is thirst in the human mind. Humans try to quench their thirst, but the various things in the world do not quench our thirst, but rather add even more thirst. German philosopher Schopenhauer said, ” Wealth is like sea water. The more you drink it, the more thirsty you become .”

The more we drink, the more we want to drink. The higher the position, the higher the price, the larger the business, the bigger the business, and the more people who have a lot of money. What the world gives is to deepen thirst and still make people feel dissatisfied, but it does not quench their thirst.

Previously, it was reported that entertainers committed suicide. I think there are various reasons, but the biggest reason is probably because their heart was not satisfied. Today’s character, the Samaritan woman, was also thirsty.

Jesus Talks With a Samaritan Woman

4 Now Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that he was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John— ² although in fact it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples. ³ So he left Judea and went back once more to Galilee. ⁴ Now he had to go through Samaria. ⁵ So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. ⁶ Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon. ⁷ When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” ⁸ (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.) ⁹ The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.) ¹⁰ Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.” ¹¹ “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? ¹² Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?” ¹³ Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, ¹⁴ 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.” ¹⁵ The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.” ¹⁶ He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.” ¹⁷ “I have no husband,” she replied. Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. ¹⁸ The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.” ¹⁹ “Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. ²⁰ Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.” ²¹ “Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. ²² You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. ²³ Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. ²⁴ God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” ²⁵ The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.” ²⁶ Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.” (John 4: 1-26)

“Christ and the Samaritan Woman” / Josef von Hempel (19th century) / Austrian painter

The work of Jesus expanded further, making more disciples than John the Baptist. He suddenly became a super celebrity. Jesus left Judea and went to Galilee. In the Japanese sense, he goes to north of Japan ,Tohoku and Hokkaido from Tokyo and the metropolitan area,  He had to go through Samaria at that time. There was a region called Samaria to go from Judea to Galilee. The Jews and Samaritans were not on good terms, so many Jews avoided Samaria and took a detour to Galilee. But Jesus had to go through Samaria. It was to lead a woman suffering in Samaria to salvation. Jesus had love and passion for the lost.

This is the word that Jesus commanded his disciples before he was ascended to heaven. When the Holy Spirit comes upon you, you receive power. And you will be my witness to Jerusalem, all of Judea and Samaria, and even to the ends of the earth . (Acts 1: 8) Jesus prepared and set an example for the Samaria mission for his disciples.

Feeling tired of the trip, Jesus sat down beside the well (verse 6). We see human Jesus here. Jesus was weakened by incarnation, by God becoming a human being, and by being born as a human baby. Therefore, we are the ones who can sympathize with the weaknesses of human beings. Our high priest is not the one who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses. He was not guilty, but in all respects he was, like us, met with an attempt. (Hebrews 4:15)

The sixth time is 12:00 noon in Jewish time. It’s the hottest time. Lunch in the Middle East was so hot that people would have spent their time at home instead of going out. However, a Samaritan woman came to fetch water (verse 7). She has come to hide. When it was so hot that no one wanted to go out, she went to the well to get water. This is because she doesn’t have to meet anyone. This is just like Nicodemus came at night. Jesus speaks to her. ” Give me water ” (verse 7)

The Samaria woman was surprised. Because the Jews and the Samaritans were not talking (verse 9). They have been at odds with each other for a long time. In 721 BC, Samaria, the capital of northern Israel, was occupied by Assyria, and many inhabitants were taken prisoner. Eventually, the marriage to a newly immigrated ethnic group led the Samaritans to become mixed-race and worship the idols worshiped by the other ethnic groups. Because of this, the Jews hated the Samaritans, and the conflict between the two became deep-seated, and such a situation continued for hundreds of years until the time of Jesus.

“The Woman of Samaritan and Jesus” / by Guercino (17th century) / Italian painter

Jesus said to her, “I can give you living water” (verse 10), saying “water of life” to quench the spiritual thirst of human beings. She should have understood spiritually, but she could only take it literally. She said, “You do not bring anything to draw, and this well is deep. Where do you get the living water?” (Verse 11)

This is very similar to the reaction of Nicodemus. Jesus said to Nicodemus. “A man cannot see the kingdom of God unless he is born again ” (John 3: 3). He responded in this way. “How can a man be born in old age? Can he be born again in the womb of his mother?” (John 3: 4)

At first, Nicodemus could only be interpreted literally. He couldn’t understand a spiritual interpretation. However, what he could not realize at the beginning was that the spiritual eyes were opened later, and Nicodemus was burying Jesus, believing in Jesus’ cross. It is very important to interpret the Bible literally, but spiritual interpretation is also important.

Jesus said to her. ” Anyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give will be a fountain, and water for eternal life will come out ” (verse13, 14) . She says. “Give me that water so that I will not be thirsty and will not have to come this far” (verse 15) Perhaps she wanted to be freed from her manual labor of pumping a well. She may also have been tired of avoiding people’s eyes. I think she wanted to be rescued from labor and shame. She said, “If you have such convenient water, I definitely want it.”

At first Jesus said, “Give me water,” but now, this woman said to Jesus, “Give me living water,” (verse 15). But her understanding is still limited to material and visible water. She hasn’t been able to realize spiritually. She couldn’t understand the invisible area.

“Christ and the Samaritan Woman” / by Benedetto Luti (1715-20) / Italian painter

The topic suddenly changes here. Jesus pokes at her pain. He cut into her problem and pointed out her sins. “Go and call your husband here.” (Verse 16-18) She was unable to satisfy her thirst in her marriage. We may be happy with our marriage, but our thirst will not be satisfied. We wish we had a child. It is a great blessing to have a child, but thirst will not be satisfied.

There are two major revelations in Christianity. One is about God. The other is about us humans. We wake up to our true self. A sense of guilt arises. Realize that we need God. Knowing our true form leads to knowing the true God. And we will be able to know who Jesus Christ is. That was the Samaritan woman.

She is shown her sin and asks Jesus. The problem of thirst in “Where should the sacrifice be offered?” Jesus’ answer is this. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. ²⁴ God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” (Verse 23,24) God is a spirit and is invisible. If God is a spirit, the offering to God must be a spiritual offering. Even today, God wants true worshipers.

Her evaluation of Jesus goes up. She was first promoted from teacher to prophet (verse 19). And she goes from the Prophet to the Savior. ” This is what I am talking to you (I am the Messiah) ” (Verse 26). Teacher → Prophet → Savior.

“Christ and the Samaritan Woman” / by Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller (19th century) / Austrian painter

“I am that,” Jesus declares the Messiah. We meet God here and are forced to make a decision. By believing in Jesus Christ as our Savior, the water that lives in us, the water for eternal life, begins to flow. Water → Living water → Water for eternal life.

The Samaritan woman was thirsty. She was trying to fill her by a man. But she wasn’t satisfied. Jesus was able to satisfy her thirst. Augustine wrote in his book Confession.  Our hearts cannot be at ease until we rest in you (Jesus).

Augustine, the greatest theologian of ancient times, did his best to be prodigal and indulged in pleasure during his youth. But his heart was never satisfied. He was full of emptiness and anguish and was desperate for his life. But when he was 31, he read the Bible, met Jesus Christ, a turning point in his life, and gained hope and peace. And he confessed as above.

Nothing in the world can satisfy the thirst in our lives. Maybe there is something that will fill us temporarily. But that won’t last long. But there is good news. Jesus fills our thirst.

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