The Gospel of John-20 – Jesus Christ, the Source of Living Water

John 4:1–10

“Now Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that he was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John—although in fact it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples. So he left Judea and went back once more to Galilee. Now he had to go through Samaria. So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon. When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, ‘Will you give me a drink?’ (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.) 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.) 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.’” Amen.

 

Jesus Christ, the True Protagonist of the Story

As we continue our journey through the Gospel of John, we have arrived at the very famous encounter recorded in chapter 4. Just as there is a well-known hymn titled "The Samaritan Woman" or "The Woman at the Well," this story is deeply familiar to us. However, as we frequently encounter the stories of the Samaritan woman or Nicodemus, we can easily fall into a misunderstanding—thinking as if the Samaritan woman is the protagonist of chapter 4, or as if Nicodemus is the center of the narrative. While it is true that Nicodemus and the Samaritan woman seem to occupy a significant place in Scripture, we must not forget that the true protagonist of the story is Jesus Christ alone. If we lose sight of this fact, we will lose the most important perspective for viewing the Bible.

 

The contents of John chapter 4, following from chapter 2, are actually part of a single, great flow that began with the wedding at Cana. In the middle of chapter 2, the wedding at Cana appears, and the chapter ends with the temple incident. In chapter 3, the Nicodemus incident follows, and in chapter 4, the story of the Samaritan woman emerges. Finally, the grand finale of chapter 4 concludes with the second miracle that took place back in Cana. Looking at the overall structure, we can see that this narrative begins in Cana and returns to Cana, connecting in a full circle.

 

The first beginning in Cana was on the seventh day. This signifies the time when God’s creation is completed, Sabbath is proclaimed, and a banquet is held. Thus, the wedding at Cana is a prototype of the wondrous heavenly banquet that takes place on the seventh day. At that banquet, it was not merely wine visible to human eyes, but miraculous wine descended from heaven that was poured out. The subsequent temple incident reveals the true Temple from heaven, and the story of Nicodemus testifies to those who are born again from above. Furthermore, John the Baptist confesses toward the Bridegroom from heaven, “He is the Bridegroom, and I enjoy the joy of the friend who stands beside the Bridegroom.”

 

The story of the Samaritan woman in John chapter 4, which we face today, presents us with living water from heaven. And the second miracle in Cana at the end of chapter 4, through the story of a boy who overcame death and lived, declares a heavenly life that even death cannot block. Ultimately, all these stories clearly reveal that Jesus Christ—the wine from heaven, the Temple, and eternal life—is the central theme of every event.

 

God’s Providence of Salvation and the Expansion of the Gospel

If we look closely at the process of this story, the journey begins from Judea. After the wedding at Cana, Jesus enters Judea, specifically the Temple in Jerusalem, opening the prelude to His ministry of salvation. There He meets Nicodemus, followed by the testimony of John the Baptist, and only then does He set foot toward Sychar. Sychar is in the region of Samaria. Finally, before returning to Cana, He heals the son of a royal official, extending healing to a Gentile. Does a specific scripture come to mind as you see this sequence leading from the Jew Nicodemus to the Samaritan woman, and then to the Gentile? Let us remember Acts 1:8 together.

 

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” This flow, crossing the boundaries of the Temple, Jerusalem, and the Jew Nicodemus toward the Samaritans and then to the Gentiles, is deeply connected to the life that Jesus Christ Himself lived. The trajectory of the life the Lord lived and the command He personally gave are ultimately completed in the book of Acts as the Counselor Holy Spirit, the gift of Jesus Christ, descends upon Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth.

 

How marvelous an event this is! The story we are facing today is very closely linked to the grace of the baptism of the Holy Spirit enjoyed by believers—the event of the descent of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, I emphasize again: Nicodemus and the woman of Sychar are not the true protagonists of this story. The protagonist of this history is Jesus Christ alone, and this event is a testament clearly showing how the Lord specifically fulfills God’s work of salvation on this earth.

 

The Way of the Lord: Increasing by Decreasing

You will remember the confession of John the Baptist. He declared that he must decrease and Jesus Christ must increase. The ground upon which John the Baptist could confess such a thing was none other than this: the life of Jesus Christ itself was that very path. We often think that John the Baptist said Jesus must be exalted and he must be lowered simply because he was very humble. But how did the Lord’s ‘increasing’ specifically manifest? Surprisingly, the event of Him suffering, bearing the cross, and dying was the very event through which Jesus Christ increased.

 

In other words, the life of John the Baptist was a life that prepared for Jesus Christ, a life that projected the Lord’s life in advance like a shadow. Jesus Himself increased someone by decreasing. That someone is God’s people. The Lord chose the path of suffering and faced death to save His people. The life of John the Baptist was a life modeled after this life of Jesus. If the Lord came to this earth and increased God’s people by decreasing Himself, what should the life of us who follow Him be like? That we decrease so that the kingdom of God and His glory may increase—this is the clear principle of faith.

 

Just as John the Baptist confessed, “I must decrease and Jesus must increase,” Jesus Christ saved God’s people who needed salvation by decreasing Himself. Therefore, we as believers must also live with the confession: “We decrease, and God’s kingdom increases and receives glory.” This is the life of a true believer. Looking at the text now, we can see how this spiritual principle unfolds concretely.

 

The Inevitable Reason He Had to Go Through Samaria

Looking at verse 1 of chapter 4, it is recorded that the Lord learned that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John. This means that Jesus had gained immense popularity, with crowds flocking to Him. The Lord became the center of public attention, and people were vying to receive baptism and become His disciples. But at that very moment, something unexpected happens. Verse 3 records, “He left Judea and went back once more to Galilee.” When His popularity was at its peak and people's attention was focused on Him, the Lord instead left Judea. What principle is at work here? It is the principle of decreasing Himself. This principle of ‘decreasing’ is revealed even more clearly in the route toward Galilee. The Lord does not simply leave Judea; He deliberately chooses to pass through Samaria.

 

The region of Samaria may be somewhat unfamiliar to us. While we take pride in being a single ethnic group, for Israel, the pure lineage as descendants of Abraham was a great source of pride. However, around 720 B.C., when Israel was divided into North and South, the Northern Kingdom of Israel was invaded by the powerful Assyrian Empire. Assyria was a mighty nation, and Samaria, the capital of Northern Israel, fell helplessly.

 

At that time, Assyria implemented a harsh policy toward conquered territories. They forcibly relocated the intellectuals and leaders of Samaria to other lands while moving foreign peoples into Samaria. The intention was to mix the ethnicities so they could not resist Assyria. This policy was very successful, and eventually, Northern Israel became a people of mixed blood.

 

Consequently, the tribes of Judah and Benjamin remaining in the south began to fiercely despise the Samaritans for failing to keep their lineage pure. When ten out of the twelve tribes essentially vanished, the remaining two tribes claimed themselves to be the only true, orthodox lineage. This is also why the Apostle Paul later emphasized himself as a “Hebrew of Hebrews, of the tribe of Benjamin.” Beyond Judah and Benjamin, the ethnic significance had become meaningless. From then on, Samaritans were despised by Jews even more than Gentiles.

 

Looking at the geography of that time, the fastest way to get from Judea to Galilee was to pass through Samaria, located in the middle. However, the Jews hated even associating with Samaritans, so they chose to take the long way around the banks of the Jordan River to avoid that place. it was a stubborn expression of refusal to even set foot in the land of Samaria. But Jesus enters that very Samaria. And an even more astonishing event takes place—He meets a woman there.

 

Jesus Who Came in Providence

The fact that Jesus met this woman is a very surprising event considering the social situation of the time. This is not meant to look down upon women, but because of the strict customs prevailing among rabbis at the time. Although it was not a codified law, rabbis, according to their own sense of authority and rules, strictly forbade facing and talking to a woman in a public place. Yet now, Jesus meets this woman by the well, on the path to Samaria. The meeting itself is provocative, but the life of this woman was also extraordinary. According to the biblical record, she had been married five times, and the man she was currently living with was not her husband. We often guess that her life must have been wretched simply because of the fact of ‘five marriages,’ but the Bible does not reveal the details.

 

What is clear is that she sought happiness through marriage but ultimately failed to quench that thirst. Through repeated marriages and partings, she was now in a state of having lost meaning in the institution of marriage itself. She was simply staying with someone, her true purpose in life lost. Before applying moral standards, we can sufficiently gauge how anxious and weary this woman's life must have been, and how much of a failure she must have considered her own life.

 

The fact that the time she came to draw water was the 'sixth hour,' or noon in today's time, supports this. Usually, water is drawn in the cool of the morning or evening, so seeking the well at high noon under the scorching sun means she wanted to avoid people's eyes or was afraid of facing them. She was a soul who had tasted deep frustration in life. But what we must notice here is the expression in verse 4. The Bible records, “Now he had to go through Samaria.” The original text of this verse contains a powerful inevitability: “He must go through Samaria.” This word clearly shows, as mentioned before, that Jesus Christ is the protagonist of this story. The work of God’s salvation had begun, and God the Father was compelling and leading Jesus Christ toward Samaria.

 

Furthermore, looking at verse 8, it is recorded that the disciples had gone into the town to buy food just before the Lord began His conversation with the Samaritan woman. If the disciples had not been away and Jesus had not been left alone, this intimate conversation might have been difficult to achieve. Right now, you are witnessing how His delicate providence is specifically working at the moment God’s wondrous work occurs.

 

We often encounter unexpected opportunities while striving to share the Gospel with those around us. Confessions like ‘I didn't know I would say such things’ or ‘I don't know how He gave such perfect timing’ are never coincidences. This is the very essence of the history of salvation and the work God performs. As the Bible testifies, God is personally working and providing at this very moment. We must not lose sight of the fact that this same work is happening within us when we proclaim the Gospel.

 

It is not because of our fluent speech or wisdom that someone returns to God. It is the result of Jesus Christ—who visited the woman of Sychar according to God's providence—being present there at that very moment. Christ was with us, presided over the work, and personally accomplished it. There is not a single coincidence in the matter of believing in God. There is no room for coincidence in the knowledge of knowing God. Trace back the entire process of how you came to meet Jesus Christ personally. Whether it took many years or the time you spent mindlessly coming and going from church, at the moment of meeting the true Jesus, we finally realize: ‘God has led me here.’ It is not by anyone's persuasion, but by Jesus Christ who was present in that place that we meet the Lord and willingly surrender before that marvelous providence.

 

The Will of the Lord Who Says, "Will You Give Me a Drink?"

In such wondrous providence, God took note of a single Samaritan woman, and Jesus Christ departed Judea for the land of Samaria. Our Lord is the one who will later lay Himself down on the cross of Golgotha Hill to save a single lost soul. What a grand narrative of salvation this is! If such wondrous divine guidance is underway, what would we say in the face of this golden opportunity? We would likely try to proclaim the Gospel directly, saying, “Believe in Jesus” or “God loves you so much.” But the Lord in the Bible unexpectedly offers very ordinary and mundane words. He simply says, “Will you give me a drink?”

 

We often understand these words as a kind of conversation technique or medium for evangelism. While there is such an aspect, if we perceive the flow of the entire Gospel of John, we realize what the true theme of this story is. It is ‘living water.’ Jesus did not simply borrow the material of water for the sake of explanation, but intentionally made this request to reveal what true living water is. Therefore, there is a very deep spiritual meaning in the Lord's words asking for water.

 

Think about it for a moment. Between Jesus, who requests water, and the woman, who is in a position to give water, who is truly the wealthy one? On the surface, Jesus appears to be the one in lack. In His human form, the Lord must have been thirsty. However, the Lord later makes a very important declaration in verse 34: “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.” Without drinking a single drop of water from the woman, the Lord tells His disciples that He has food to eat that they know nothing about.

 

Ultimately, physical water was not the goal for Jesus. The words “Will you give me a drink?” were not so much because He needed water itself, but were a means to perfectly fulfill God’s work. Through this question, the Lord intended to awaken her to who the truly thirsty being was. He is asking, ‘Do you truly possess the true life that will moisten and enrich your parched life and make you never thirsty again?’ Even though the woman did not comprehend this deep meaning at first.

 

This request asking if there is water to quench the thirst of life has great significance for us today as well. Because Jesus alone is the one who truly possesses everything. Church life is no different. We confess with our lips that the church does not move by material things. But on the other hand, we find it difficult to shake off the realistic thought, ‘Shouldn't there be finances to continue the ministry?’ But does it even make sense to compare our possessions with God, the Master of all things in heaven and earth? It is a comparison that is fundamentally impossible.

 

Even though God possesses everything, He requires offerings from us, tells us to give our time, and commands us to serve in various offices. This is much like Jesus asking the woman for a drink. It is not because God has a lack that He asks us. The purpose of His requirement is only one: it is for our own sake. It is a spiritual consideration to make us realize who we truly are and what we truly possess.

 

It is not that the church is sustained by the offerings you give, but by requiring offerings, God teaches you that your life is not bound to material things. Some might not yet fully surrender their hearts before this teaching. But the true reason God commands us to be devoted is to make us know that we are not beings who live by our own strength. God is without lack. Nevertheless, He reaches out His hand to us to lead us out of the false wealth of putting hope in things other than God, so that we may become poor in spirit, satisfied by the Lord alone.

 

Is One Rich in Heart or Poor in Spirit?

If we do not understand this spiritual principle, we will always live under the illusion that we are wealthy. Nicodemus and the Samaritan woman appearing in the text are very contrasting figures in human terms. Nicodemus was a man who possessed everything in the world. He was a Pharisee, a member of the Jewish ruling council, the greatest scholar of his time, and a respected rabbi. He was a man who enjoyed wealth, fame, status, and power all at once. On the other hand, the Samaritan woman was in the opposite situation. She was a Samaritan woman who suffered social contempt, had failed in five marriages, and was now staying in deep frustration, having lost even the meaning of life.

 

We often presume that Nicodemus would have found it difficult to accept the Gospel because of his high and noble status, while the Samaritan woman would have easily repented and returned to the Lord because she was lowly and had many deficiencies. But the reality is not so. When Jesus told Nicodemus the heavenly truth that he “must be born again,” he countered, “How can a man be born when he is old? Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born!” He responded to the heavenly language with earthly logic. The Samaritan woman was the same. When Jesus said He would give her living water so she would not have to come to draw water again, she immediately requested, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.” Both understood and reacted to heavenly spiritual values only through the lens of earthly utility.

 

The commonality between them was that they possessed only earthly values and tried to be satisfied with them. For the woman, a single successful marriage might have been the answer to life. Just as Nicodemus tried to enjoy happiness through his background, she also tried to fill her life with earthly things. Ultimately, because they sought satisfaction in things other than God, they are ‘wealthy’ from a biblical perspective. The Bible defines being rich as a state where the heart is filled with things other than God. What are you filling your heart with right now?

 

When Jesus asked the woman, “Will you give me a drink?”, what He truly wanted her to realize was this: even though she was in a wretched and pitiful state, if she was still seeking satisfaction in earthly things instead of God, she too was in a state of being ‘rich in heart.’ We are no different today. According to a survey of Korean housewives, although housework has become easier due to the development of home appliances, about 50% of housewives are actually suffering from symptoms of depression. This shows that it is not a problem that can be solved by improving the living environment. The root cause of suffering is ultimately greed, and that greed stems from a heart trying to obtain satisfaction from worldly things.

 

Trying to fill the heart with worldly values is paradoxically a testament to fear, and this is the ‘wrong kind of wealth’ that the Bible warns against. This is a state that directly contradicts the Lord's words, “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” When the Lord requested, “Will you give me a drink?”, the woman believed she possessed something she could give. But the Lord's question was a fundamental one: ‘Do you truly possess the true living water that will moisten your soul and resolve the thirst of your life?’

 

The Lord asks us the same thing today. Even in the place where we serve and are devoted to the Lord, He is asking: “Do you believe that the thirst of your life will truly be resolved by what you have? What is the true value you possess?” Through this question, the woman finally begins to face who she truly is before Jesus Christ. she began to realize how futile her past life was, trying to find satisfaction in things other than God. The frustration and pain she experienced through repeated marriages and partings, and the longing for true happiness she had never enjoyed, began to be laid bare before the Lord. Her frustration, which only deepened the more she pursued happiness, has now led her to look toward Jesus Christ, the true protagonist of the story.

 

The Lord Who Bore the Thirst of Our Lives

At that moment, the woman looks at Jesus Christ, who had asked her for water. The Lord awakens us to the true meaning contained in those words, “Will you give me a drink?” Jesus was very tired from the long journey and sat down by the well, His strength exhausted. It is a clear fact that the Lord was thirsty and sought water. But why did the Lord specifically ask us for water? He had food different from ours and was capable of resolving that thirst on His own, so why did He leave His thirst as it was and reach out His hand to us? By that well where the woman’s despair pours out, the Lord is thirsty right now. The reason the Lord is thirsty is that He is now receiving into His own life that wretched, parched, and cracked life of the woman. The Lord's life was thirsty because of her life.

 

Dear saints, I hope that we do not stop at merely obtaining intellectual lessons or identifying information when we face the Bible. Today, I earnestly desire that you enter directly into the scene of Scripture together with the woman of Sychar. From there, look at the thirst of Jesus Christ through the eyes of the woman of Sychar. Why is the Lord thirsty? It is because of your cracked life that the Lord is thirsty. The Lord was thirsty with your life itself. He was thirsty because He personally bore your frustration, pain, death, and misery. And in exchange for that thirst, the Lord granted us eternal living water.

 

You will remember the last seven words of the Lord cried out from the cross. Among them was the desperate cry, “I am thirsty.” Was He thirsty simply because the physical pain was deep? No. The Lord poured into His life the entire lives of humans—the failure, frustration, and deep pain that each and every one of you had to experience. That is why the Lord was thirsty, and because of the price of that thirst, we are able to drink the living water flowing from the Lord. You and I are the ones who receive that very life.

 

But there is one thing we must clearly remember: Jesus Christ took my life and was thirsty instead. Therefore, do not be thirsty anymore because of your frustration and failure. That is a thirst the Lord has already taken. To us who are in the midst of a life stained with sin, a suffocating reality, and despair due to failure, the Lord grants living water. The words, “If you had asked him, he would have given you living water,” are a proclamation of life given to us today. My heart swells every time I meditate on this verse. Because I truly look forward to the journey of the Gospel that we will examine from next time.

 

What is that water, and what is that living water? Where is the love of Jesus Christ—who personally bore the thirst while saying “Will you give me a drink?”—heading? What kind of people are we who enjoy things in the Lord? The answers to these questions will unfold one by one through the conversation between the Samaritan woman and Jesus. When you face the Word of the Lord again next week, do not hide your wounded life, but bring it out just as it is, as if drying it in the sun. Do not package your parched and cracked heart, but lay it before the Lord. Let us meet again with an earnest heart, saying, “I too will become the woman of Sychar and taste the living water of Jesus Christ; I too will know what His living water is.” Today the Lord says to you: “Will you give me a drink?” I hope this calling becomes your deep meditation for the week.

 

Let Us Pray

Lord, who establishes us, holds us, and loves us, today You make us look deeply into ourselves. Are we wealthy ones who are satisfied with things other than the Lord, or are we poor in spirit who long for the Lord alone? Let us stand before the Lord's immense challenge. If we are fully satisfied with worldly things, we will never be poor in spirit. Lord, make us poor in spirit and let us face our true selves. When the Lord asks for water, let us confess: “Lord, I have no water to quench my thirst. Grant me only the living water of Jesus Christ and take away my thirst.” Let this confession become a reality and power in our lives.

 

We pray in the name of Jesus Christ, our eternal living water. Amen.