“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 to come here to draw water.’” (ESV)

She came to Jacob’s well in the heat of the day to draw water; not in the early morning with the other women who laughed and talked as they did this daily chore for survival in a dry land. It is believed she came alone because she was an outcast. Her multiple failed relationships must have been like a scarlet letter she wore with shame. The hole she was trying to fill must have been deeper than the well, always thinking the next one would satisfy her longing. Did she carry her water jar on her head? Did she strain and sweat under the weight of it as she walked the well-worn path day after day after day? All we really know is that everything changed the day she met Jesus at the well.

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Jesus begins their interaction by simply asking the Samaritan woman for a drink of water. Being a Jewish man, Jesus was not even supposed to speak to the woman he found alone drawing water from the well. She boldly tells him as much, and that he doesn’t even have a bucket with which to draw water.  

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His response to her is our text for today. He tells her that drinking the well water won’t satisfy her unquenchable thirst. But the water Jesus offers satisfies forever. Can you even imagine water like this? The Message translation says Jesus describes his water as ‘an artesian spring within, gushing fountains of endless life.” Jesus was offering her the eternal life and hope that can only be found in him.

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The Samaritan woman would never have to walk to the well in her shame again. Jesus pointed out her sin but didn’t leave her there. Instead, he offered her himself. The hole in her heart, deeper than the well, would be filled with him. She wouldn’t have to go seeking after love and fulfillment in the relationships that could never meet her deeper needs.

At the end of the story, in verse 28, the woman left her water jar and went into the town to tell people about Jesus. She no longer needed the jar to satiate her thirst. Just as her need was met when she encountered Jesus, today, he is still the only one who can satisfy our hearts. He meets our deepest need for rescue and unconditional love.  

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For those of us who have trusted in Jesus, we can lay down our water jars. We do not need to return to the “wells” again and again. In what areas of your life are you seeking satisfaction in other things besides Jesus? Where do you need to let him fill you today? Let us make that trade from well water to the “artesian spring of life” found in Christ.

Our fount of Living Water, today we acknowledge our never-ending thirst. We confess that we go to everything and anything else to satisfy what only you can in our lives. Forgive us for returning again and again to the wells of the world, for working and striving to fill buckets, when we should be surrendering our lives to you. Fill us to overflowing with your spirit, we pray. Satisfy our every longing with you and nothing less. Amen.