Soul Satisfying Water

Would you open up your Bibles to John chapter 4?

John 4 · chapter mention

Have you experienced a desperation of thirst?

By early afternoon, we had our packs on and we quickly went through our fresh water and

we were starting to suffer these intensifying headaches, you know, the early signs of heat

exhaustion.

So we were tired and we were cranky and we were desperately thirsty.

I remember my tongue sticking to the roof of my mouth.

I remember just my head pounding, this growing anxiety.

Are we going to find any water?

Because we've been searching for hours.

And then we came across a stagnant puddle of water in a putrid, marshy area, filled with

decaying leaves, insects, smelled noxious.

But we were desperate.

So I pulled out our water purifier and started pumping.

Have you experienced desperation of thirst?

Maybe upon hearing what you've heard this morning, you find your soul parched.

This morning, we're encountering Jesus having a conversation with a woman at an ancient well.

Here are just the first few verses of John 4.

Now, when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing

more disciples than John, although Jesus himself did not baptize, but only his disciples, he

left Judea and departed again for Galilee, and he had to pass through Samaria.

So he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the field that Jacob had given to his son

Joseph.

Jacob's well was there.

So Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well.

It was about the sixth hour.

A woman from Samaria came to draw water.

This historic well was given by the patriarch Jacob, as in Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

And what's ironic about this moment, what we're about to look at, is that Jesus offers this

woman a different kind of water.

He calls it living water.

However, Jesus knows that this woman is desperately thirsty, but it's a soul thirst.

She's been trying to quench her soul through multiple relationships with multiple men, but

those relationships had not filled her up.

It was quite the opposite.

It hollowed her out.

It left her soul thirsty.

She hadn't been satisfied.

And we all know the deep longing we have for relationships with other people.

Grief is an example of that.

To be fully known, fully accepted, and fully loved.

We're soul thirsty to be loved and to love.

But that deep longing to be loved and to love can become so desperate, so intense, so controlling,

that we willingly drink from toxic sources.

And we suffer for it.

This unnamed woman at the well had five marriages that ended in divorce, and the man that she currently

had a relationship with, who she was sleeping with, she was an adulteress, well, wasn't her

husband.

She'd been drinking from a broken cistern.

How many of us in the room have pursued relationships with disastrous effects because we were so desperate to be loved or to love that we compromised?

We want to be filled up, but we get hollowed out.

We're left saying, surely there's more.

You feel empty.

You feel numb.

The water from Jacob's well isn't going to quench that kind of thirst.

There's no other wells that you can make on your own that will quench that thirst.

Are you asking this question?

What is life all about?

Is this all that there is?

If there is a good life, what is the good life?

Maybe you're bumping into hopelessness.

Like, what is the point?

You have an unsatisfied soul.

You're thirsty.

This first century conversation between Jesus and this Samaritan woman is good news for us living in 2026.

Because Jesus alone can satisfy your thirsty soul.

That's what this well side conversation is all about.

So let me just ask you, are you thirsty?

We're going to walk through this conversation.

And there are going to be three parts for you to see and to consider.

The offer.

The obstacle.

And the result.

The offer.

The obstacle.

And the result.

On the day this conversation happened,

this woman brought her empty water jug to Jacob's well.

Having no idea that God incarnate was waiting for her there.

Could you have come into this building this morning

with an empty soul,

not realizing Jesus Christ, the risen King,

has been waiting for you?

And he wants to fill you up in a way

you've never been filled up before.

So let's look at the offer.

And we're going to be looking at verses 7 through 15.

Jesus offers this woman living water.

But let's just look at 1 through 6 for a little bit

to set the scene of this conversation.

In verse 1,

Jesus, who was in Judea,

which is in southern Israel,

he learns that he has popped up on the Pharisees' radar,

which concerns him.

And so he makes a decision to return to Galilee,

which is up in northern Israel.

Now this is a significant detail

because what lies between southern Israel, Judea,

and northern Israel, Galilee,

is a region called Samaria.

And many Jews would never step foot in Samaria.

Jews considered Samaritans morally impure half-breeds.

It was a strong prejudice.

The Samaritans historically were a people with mixed blood.

Jewish blood and non-Jewish blood.

The blood of the nations.

And the Jews resented them for that.

And the Samaritans resented the Jews

for resenting them for that.

Samaritans had established their own view of the Bible.

They just used the first five books of the Old Testament.

They had their own view of the Messiah.

And they had their own place of worship.

They had their own mountain they worshipped at.

Mount Gerizim.

But instead of Jesus traveling around Samaria,

we see in verse 4 that he had to pass through Samaria.

He had an appointment with a Samaritan woman

at Jacob's well that he's going to keep.

She just doesn't know it.

In verse 6,

dirty, tired, and thirsty after traveling by foot for hours,

Jesus arrives in Sychar,

this Samaritan town where there is this Jacob's well.

This was the parcel of land that Jacob had purchased

back in Genesis 33.

And this well was on that land.

What had taken place is after Jacob purchased the land

and passed it on to Joseph,

this well remained there.

And this land, this area,

eventually was called Samaria.

Did you notice the time marker in verse 6?

It was about the sixth hour.

This woman came to the well at the sixth hour,

which is noon,

which is very unusual.

It's the hottest time of day.

Most women at that time in that culture would come out to fill their water jars

in groups of women,

and they would come out either early in the morning or early in the evening

when the temperature was cooling.

But this woman was by herself at this well at the hottest point of day.

And you've got to ask yourself,

what is going on here?

Jesus knows, and that's why he's there.

We learn in verse 8 that Jesus alone is with her,

and he initiates a conversation with her.

Let me read from 7 through 15.

A woman from Samaria came to draw water.

Jesus said to her,

Give me a drink,

for his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.

The Samaritan woman said to him,

How is it that you, a Jew,

ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?

For Jews had no dealings with Samaritans.

Jesus answered her,

If you knew the gift of God,

and who it is that is saying to you,

Give me a drink,

you would have asked him,

and he would have given you living water.

The woman said to him,

Sir, you have nothing to draw water with,

and the well is deep.

Where do you get that living water?

Are you greater than our father Jacob?

He gave us the well and drank from it himself.

He did his sons and his livestock.

Jesus said to her,

Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again,

but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him

will never be thirsty again.

The water that I will give him

will become in him a spring of water

welling up to eternal life.

The woman said to him,

Sir, give me this water,

so that I will not be thirsty

or have it to come here to draw,

or have to come here to draw water.

Jesus is alone with her.

Verse 8,

disciples have gone to get something to eat,

and he initiates the conversation.

It's a major crossing of a cultural boundary,

and we're seeing our king do it.

We see how unusual it is

by the way it registers with the Samaritan woman.

Look again at verse 9.

He says,

Give me a drink.

She's like,

How is it that you, a Jew,

are asking me, a woman of Samaria,

for a drink?

What is going on?

The prevailing belief was that Samaritans,

and Samaritan women in particular,

were in a constant state of defilement,

unclean in God's eyes

because of their mixed race.

So for a Jew,

let alone a male Jew,

let alone a male rabbi Jew,

to talk with,

and even possibly share

the same drinking vessel

with a Samaritan woman

was absolutely unheard of.

You know what she's asking Jesus?

Why are you crossing the line?

Why are you doing this?

This is getting weird.

In verse 10,

we read,

Jesus responds,

this is why it's weird.

This is why he's initiating.

If you knew the gift of God

and who it is that is saying to you,

give me a drink,

you would have asked him,

and he would have given you

living water.

This is the first time

in this passage

we read of living water,

but in this passage itself,

the word water

is repeated multiple times,

and what is becoming evident

is that there are two kinds of water

being talked about

in this section.

what Jesus is telling her

is that,

hey,

you have no idea

who it is that is talking to you

and what I have to offer.

Again,

Jesus is doing his third person

talking about himself

kind of a thing.

And what I want you to notice

is that when he says

the gift of God

in verse 10,

if you knew the gift of God,

and then he,

at the end of verse 10,

he says,

he would give you

living water.

Jesus is using gift of God

and living water,

two different ways

of talking about the same thing.

Are you starting to get interested

in what this living water is?

In verse 11,

she thinks that

he is offering her

literal H2O.

Because,

look at what she says.

She's like,

you don't even have a bucket.

You don't even have a rope.

You don't have the stuff

you need

in order to get down

into a well

to get the water.

And by the way,

where do you get

this living water anyway?

I don't see any other

wells around.

Furthermore,

she goes on to say,

is the water you offer

better than Jacob's water?

I mean,

think about it.

She's making this case.

This well

has a pretty good namesake.

This is Jacob's well.

And it's got a pretty good

track record

of supplying

fresh,

life-sustaining water

from generation

to generation.

It's working just fine,

mister,

sir.

No living water

needed here.

Maybe you're in the room

and Jesus' offer

of this living water

sounds like

all the other

religious offers

out there.

Maybe you're thinking,

I don't know

who Jesus is

or what this living water is,

but my life is just fine

without it.

Maybe you're even

a little sympathetic.

Maybe you're like,

you know,

everybody needs something

to lean on

and if Jesus works for you,

that's great.

You know,

if Tibetan monk chanting

!

works for you,

great!

If Zumba works for you,

great!

But I don't see the need

for what Jesus is offering

when my self-made wells

are working just fine.

If that's you,

let's just pause here

for a second.

What I really want

to ask you is,

are you really satisfied?

Are you anxious?

Are you depressed?

Is your inner being

chasing something

that can't satisfy it?

How are you sleeping?

Are you turning to chemicals

to settle your inner being?

Maybe you're not

as fine as you think you are.

Because all of those

are descriptions

of soul thirst.

There's a difference

between Jacob's well water

and the living water

Jesus offers.

In 13 and 14,

Jesus says this,

everyone who drinks

of this water.

Now imagine Jesus

is there

and he's pointing

to Jacob's well.

Everyone who drinks

of this water

will be thirsty again

because it only addresses

physical thirst.

But whoever drinks

of the water

that I will give him

that comes from me

will never be thirsty again.

Jesus is talking about

two different kinds

of water for dew,

two different kinds

of thirst.

His water,

the water that Jesus

provides,

quenches soul thirst

permanently

and forever.

Soul thirst is

a spiritual condition

of being empty inside.

Hollowed out,

without purpose,

anxious,

depressed,

incredibly bored,

sleepless.

You have no compelling

reason for being.

There's nothing

that seems to satisfy you.

What that means

is you're thirsty,

soul thirsty,

inner being thirsty,

you just haven't

realized it yet.

The living water

that Jesus provides

will fill up

your empty soul

forever.

And the question becomes,

how does that work?

We see it

in the end

of verse 14.

The water

that I will give him

will become in him

a spring of water

welling up

to eternal life.

He pictures

a spring,

this internal spring

in a human being

that wells up

to eternal life.

If you've been

to Petrifying Springs

park,

chances are

you have taken

a drink from

the natural spring

adjacent to the

parking lot

right across

from the beer garden.

A lot of people

get their water there.

But Jesus is saying

here,

the water that I

will give him

will become

in him,

in her,

a spring of water

welling up

to eternal life.

The spring Jesus

speaks of

is a supernatural

spring

that forever

satisfies your soul

thirst

by constantly

filling you

with eternal life.

Soul satisfied.

when Jesus

gives you

this living water

it takes up

permanent residence

in you

as a supernatural

spring

constantly

welling up

eternal life

abundant life

a quality of life

that starts now

in relationship

to the living God.

In verse 15

she says

sir,

sir

she's very polite

sir

sir give me

this water

so that I

will not be

thirsty

or have to

come here

to draw

water.

She still

thinks that

she needs

her water

jug.

She still

thinks that

this is about

physical

H2O.

She's not

getting it.

If you look

to chapter

earlier in

John 3

when Jesus

is speaking

at night

with Nicodemus

Nicodemus

didn't get it.

So Nicodemus

didn't get it

at first

this Samaritan

woman

didn't get it

at first

let me ask you

are you getting

what Jesus

is saying here?

What is this

living water?

This living water

is not an it

but a who.

if you flip

in your

Bibles to

John chapter

John 7 · chapter mention

7

in verses

37

through 39

Jesus tells

us what

this living

water is.

On the

last day

of the

feast

the great

day

Jesus stood

up and

cried out

if anyone

thirsts

he's not

talking about

physical thirst

if anyone

thirsts

let him

come to

me and

drink

whoever

believes

in me

as the

scripture

has said

out of

his heart

will flow

rivers

of

living

water

verse 39

now this

he said

about the

spirit

the

holy

spirit

you see

this

living

water

that

Jesus

is

promising

to

give

is

none

other

than

the

holy

spirit

the

third

person

of

the

trinity

you see

the

giving

of the

holy

spirit

in

his

fullness

is

the

distinct

!

mark

of

a

new

era

the

new

era

of

the

new

covenant

and

that's

where I

want you

to turn

back

to

Ezekiel

Ezekiel 36 · chapter mention

chapter

36

we looked

at this

a couple

weeks ago

it's on

page

860

of your

pew

bible

this is a

promise

God is

making to

his people

and he

says

in verse

26

and I

will give

you a

new

heart

and a

new

spirit

I

will put

within

you

and I

will

remove

the

heart

of

stone

from

your

flesh

and give

you a

heart

of

flesh

and I

will

put

my

spirit

within

you

and cause

you

to walk

in my

statutes

and be

careful

to obey

my

rules

this is

what Jesus

is actually

talking about

that

that if

this

Samaritan

woman

would just

receive

this

gift

of the

Holy

Spirit

this

gift

of

a

new

way

of

relating

with

God

this

new

covenant

she

would be

forever

changed

the

new

covenant

is a

new

era

when

God

gathers

to

himself

a

new

people

from

every

tribe

and

nation

a

new

people

in

Christ

and

they

live

for

God

in

a

new

way

what

Jesus

is

offering

this

Samaritan

woman

is

the

Holy

Spirit

he's

offering

her

salvation

he's

offering

her

eternal

life

something

that

Jacob's

well

wasn't

able

to

give

no

man

made

well

can

give

salvation

in

fact

our

own

self

made

wells

become

obstacles

to

receiving

this

gift

and

there

was

something

in

this

woman's

life

keeping

her

from

quenching

her

thirst

in

Christ

and

that's

where

we

turn

next

we've

we've

looked

at

the

offer

this

living

water

the

Holy

Spirit

salvation

and

now

we

turn

to

the

obstacle

in

verses

16

and

18

notice

when I

read

it

the word

husband

Jesus

said to

her

go call

your

husband

and come

here

the woman

answered him

I have

no

husband

Jesus

said to

her

you are

right in

saying

I have

no

husband

for you

have

five

husbands

and the

one you

now have

is not

your

husband

what you

have

said

is

true

seemingly

out of

nowhere

Jesus

tells

the

Samaritan

woman

to

go

get

her

husband

what's

up

with

what

he's

doing

here

is

an

act

of

love

and

if

you

remember

from

John

3

20

for

everyone

who

does

wicked

things

hates

the

light

and

does

not

come

to

light

lest

his

work

should

be

exposed

what

Jesus

is

doing

is

out

of

love

for

her

he

is

exposing

a

wicked

work

in

her

he's

exposing

an

obstacle

to

her

drinking

deep

from

the

waters

of

the

Holy

Spirit

she

says

I

have

no

husband

to

which

Jesus

replies

you

are

right

in

saying

that

I

have

no

husband

you

have

five

husbands

and

the

one

you

have

now

is

not

your

husband

the

one

you

are

sleeping

with

what

you've

said

is

true

Jesus

is

exposing

this

woman's

chronic

moving

from

one

man

to

the

next

he's

exposing

the

broken

cistern

that

she

has

made

for

herself

to

satisfy

what

she

thinks

is

her

greatest

need

a

cistern

is

an

underground

water

container

and

in

this

region

of the

world

in which

this

was

originally

written

which

is

arid

and

dry

and

lacking

water

cisterns

are

really

important

it's

a way

to

store

water

it's

a way

to

preserve

life

in

Jeremiah

2

13

God

says

this

to

his

people

for

my

people

have

committed

two

evils

they

have

forsaken

me

the

fountain

of

living

waters

that's

how

God

is

describing

himself

the

fountain

of

living

waters

the

fountain

of

life

and

hewed

out

cisterns

for

themselves

broken

cisterns

that

cannot

hold

water

do

you

see

what

Jesus

is

doing

here

this

woman

doesn't

think

she

needs

living

water

but

she

does

she

just

doesn't

see

that

this

man

pursuit

is

a

broken

cistern

of

her

own

making

and

so

by

exposing

her

obstacle

Jesus

is

loving

her

and

opening

her

to

receive

the

gift

of

God

he's

loving

her

from

empty

cistern

to

the

living

waters

of

salvation

here's

how we

apply

it

what

broken

cisterns

has

Jesus

been

trying

to

show

you

this

woman

2000

years

ago

in

Sychar

isn't

the

only

one

who

makes

broken

cisterns

life

are

are

you

pursuing

a

relationship

as

though

it's

going

to

give

you

life

are

you

pursuing

wealth

as

though

in

wealth

is

life

in

the

acquisition

of

knowledge

or

the

preservation

of

order

at

all

costs

you

know

how

you

can

identify

a

broken

cistern

it's

what

happens

when

you

don't

get

what

you

want

it

doesn't

satisfy

and

they

can't

because

they

are

by

nature

unable

to

give

you

what

you

really

crave

eternal

life

there's

no

living

water

in

broken

cisterns

living

water

is

found

only

in

the

well

of

Jesus

so

what

is

making

you

anxious

what

is

the

cause

of

your

depression

why

are

you

fearful

or

angry

be

on

the

lookout

for

a

broken

cistern

what

is

the

broken

cistern

in

the

way

of

you

finding

soul

satisfaction

in

Jesus

what

I

want

you

to

see

is

Jesus

brings

up

husband

because

he

wants

to

remove

an

obstacle

from

this

woman

having

her

soul

quenched

in

Christ

it's

the

most

loving

thing

he

can

do

but

you

know

what

she

doesn't

like

it

we

typically

don't

like

having

our

broken

cisterns

exposed

so

she

tries

to

change

the

subject

on

Jesus

by

opening

up

a

debate

but

Jesus

knows

exactly

what

she's

doing

she's

actually

playing

right

into

his

hands

and

now

we

turn

to

verses

19

through

26

the

result

the

result

of

receiving

the

living

water

is

a

new

way

of

worship

let

me

read

it

for

you

the

woman

said

to

him

sir

I

perceive

I

perceive

that

you

are

a

prophet

our

fathers

worshipped

on

this

mountain

but

you

say

that

in

Jerusalem

is

the

place

where

people

ought

to

worship

Jesus

said

to

her

woman

believe

me

the

hour

is

coming

when

neither

on

this

mountain

nor

in

Jerusalem

will

you

worship

the

father

you

worship

what

you

do

not

know

we

worship

what

we

know

for

salvation

is

from

the

Jews

but

the

hour

is

coming

and

is

now

here

when

the

true

worshipers

will

worship

the

father

in

spirit

and

truth

for

the

father

is

seeking

such

people

to

worship

him

God

is

spirit

and

those

who

worship

him

must

worship

in

spirit

and

truth

the

woman

said

to

him

I

know

the

Messiah

is

coming

he

was

called

the

Christ

when

he

comes

he

will

tell

us

everything

Jesus

said

to

her

I

who

speak

to

you

am

he

if

you

were

just

to

take

a

look

at

verses

19

through

26

just

to

look

over

it

quickly

you

will

see

the

word

worship

repeated

again

and

again

in

verse

19

she

responds

to

his

little

poke

by

saying

I

see

that

you're

a

prophet

she's

acknowledging

that

Jesus

has

a

knowledge

of

her

life

that

only

God

could

have

revealed

to

him

what

she

doesn't

realize

is

that

Jesus

is

God

revealing

himself

to

her

in

verse

20

she

opens

the

debate

she

says

our

fathers

the

Samaritans

worshipped

on this

mountain

and

she's

likely

pointing

to

Mount

Gerizim

which

Sikhar

was at

the

very

base

of

you

could

see

it

but

you

say

speaking

of

Jesus

and

the

Jews

that

in

Jerusalem

Mount

Zion

is

the

place

where

people

ought

to

worship

so

she's

saying

we've

got

a

problem

worship

either

at

your

mountain

or

mine

which

one

is

it

and

so

what

she's

doing

is

a

redirection

tactic

to

take

the

pressure

off

her

but

Jesus

doesn't

bite

in

21

through

24

he

explains

to

her

a

new

way

to

worship

God

in

verse

21

Jesus

asserts

there's

coming

an

hour

when

a

new

way

to

worship

will

make

Mount

Gerizim

and

make

Mount

Zion

utterly

obsolete

in the

worship

of God

totally

irrelevant

there was

a time

when

those

mountains

were

relevant

but

that's

no longer

the case

Jesus

is

saying

in

verse

22

Jesus

clarifies

he says

you

Samaritans

worship

what you

do not

know

they've

only got

five

books

of the

Bible

you

only

know

so

much

about

God

with

that

we

Jews

worship

what we

do

know

for

salvation

is

from

the

Jews

Jesus

is

claiming

that

God's

gift

of

salvation

for

all

people

and

all

time

has

a

Jewish

origin

not

a

Samaritan

origin

just

don't

miss

what's

going

on

here

Jesus

a

Jew

is

offering

salvation

to

an

adulteress

while

in

Samaria

this

is

remarkable

verse 23

he takes

things a

step

further

in this

argument

he's

making

he's

saying

an hour

is