11 The woman said to him, “Sir, you have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. So where do you get that living water? 12 Are you greater than our father, Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank of it himself, as did his children, and his livestock?” 13 Jesus answered her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again,14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never thirst again; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.” 15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I don’t get thirsty, neither come all the way here to draw.” 16 Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.”
Jesus chooses to travel an unusual route to meet a woman1 who is avoiding the rest of town to draw water midday2; and offers her living water.3 The woman asks him where she can get this living water (11) and Jesus tells her to go and call her husband (16).
Here’s an interesting thought. What if this woman is more of a renaissance lady: possessed of power to move from one husband to the next… As soon as one wears out his charm, she tries out the next.4 Maybe the woman remains fully possessed of her worldly desires!
Here, though, regardless of if she possesses her wordly desires or not, the woman faces Jesus who offers living water. This Jesus and the water he offers seem far more quenching to the physical “water” (gaining husbands) that the woman has needed to draw frequently. And even after gaining these husbands she still thirsts.5
Also, what is she thinking when Jesus mentions the woman’s husbands? By pointing this out he is drawing to the surface her deep desire. Maybe part of her takes offense at the rudeness of another person seemingly guessing at and revealing her deep desire.
If I similarly encountered Jesus, part of me would probably want to leave offended. The presumptuousness of this man! The difficult truth! Telling me to trust that the water he offers will cause me to never thirst. But part of her sees Jesus and the water he offers for truth and water that springs up to eternal life. And she turns to him.
If we too could see our chasing after worldly desires as leading to unquenchable thirst the second we encounter Jesus. Might we see Jesus and receive him who offers water that springs up to eternal life!
Now he had to go through Samaria (4). ↩︎
The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband (18). ↩︎
Whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst (14). ↩︎
John mentions that the woman arrives at the well around noon (vs. 6); and asks Jesus how to not need to return to draw water (15), so the woman is probably avoiding facing shame and embarrassment from neighbors (a previous pastor would have called this low pride). But let’s entertain this thought that the woman actually possesses her heart’s worldly affections. ↩︎
Sir, give me this water so that I won’t have to get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water (15). ↩︎