Introduction
What is the purpose of hunger and thirst? Hunger and thirst are built-in warning signals, telling us what we need to stay alive. Ignore them long enough, and you die. But we don’t live like that, do we? In our culture of abundance, we’ve turned survival into entertainment. We’re not thinking about sustenance. We’re chasing flavours, textures, experiences. We want something salty, something sweet, something that hits just right. And we can get it. Every craving satisfied, every whim indulged.
But strip away the abundance. Get hungry enough—truly, desperately hungry—and all that pickiness evaporates. You’ll eat anything. It’s no longer about taste or preference. It’s about one thing: the will to live. That’s hunger and thirst at their purest. Not a desire for food and water themselves, but a desire to survive. Now here’s the problem: when we fill ourselves with addictive substances, and in our ultra-processed world, it’s almost impossible not to, we lose even that. Our eating and drinking becomes about eliminating discomfort, not sustaining life. We’re not pursuing vitality; we’re just scratching an itch.
And this is exactly what Jesus is confronting in his conversation with the Samaritan woman. Jesus offers living water. A source of life that transcends our cravings. True life. Eternal life. But we’ll only desire what Jesus offers when we finally see that everything else we’ve been drinking leaves us thirsty. When we realize that what we thought was satisfying us has only been keeping us distracted from our real need. So let’s read the story from John chapter 4. Then I’ll give some historical context before we explore the nature, the source, and the purpose of the living water Jesus offers.
Read John 4:1-42
The relationship between Jews and Samaritans was marked by centuries of deep hostility rooted in both religious and political conflict. It all started early on in Israel’s history when the united kingdom of Israel fractured after King Solomon’s death around 930 BC. Solomon’s son Rehoboam inherited the throne, but his harsh policies drove the northern tribes to rebel under the leadership of Jeroboam, one of Solomon’s former officials. This split the nation into two kingdoms: Israel in the north, with its capital eventually established at Samaria, and Judah in the south, centred in Jerusalem.
The division was more than political. It was deeply religious. Jeroboam was afraid that his people would return their loyalty to Jerusalem if they continued worshiping at the temple there. So, he established alternative worship centres in the northern kingdom, complete with golden calves, which was clearly problematic, as we know from the Exodus story at Mount Sinai. When the northern kingdom of Israel eventually fell to Assyria, its population was mixed with foreign settlers who brought their own gods. The rift between Judea and Israel became irreparable in the eyes of the southern Jews. From their perspective, the Samaritans were seen as a compromised people, perpetually unclean. Their worship and ethnic identity were no longer purely Israelite but rather a fusion of many displaced peoples.
The tension between the Jews and Samaritans erupted in violence multiple times and involved attempts of both sides to destroy or delegitimize each others’ places of worship. Mutual suspicion ran so deep that, in Jesus’ time, when Galilean Jews regularly traveled through Samaria to reach Jerusalem for festivals, these journeys held the risk of harassment and conflict. Both groups claimed to follow the God of Israel, yet each saw the other as unfaithful, creating a social boundary that made Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well not just unusual but shocking.
While the focus of our message today is on the living water, we cannot overlook the message implied by Jesus in his offering of living water to the Samaritan woman. It is a message that the grace and blessing of God is offered to all people. The Jews and Samaritans were divided by what they thought were central elements of their faith. Yet, Jesus did not raise these differences as issues. He did not address whether the Jews or the Samaritans were right in what they believe. Only that the Messiah is from the Jews, pointing to himself. He said, if you want eternal life, you must look to me. John 4:22–23 says, “You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. 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.”
When we get caught up in the correctness and incorrectness of ours and others doctrine or behaviours, we miss the point of Jesus’ message. Spirit and truth is referring to the attitude of the heart and the character of the person. Truth is, according to multiple commentators, God’s reality. When we take on the attitude and character of Jesus, we will increasingly worship in spirit and in truth. By going to Samaria and offering living water to them, he is showing his disinterest in who is right and who is wrong between the Samaritans and Jews. He is far more interested in their character, that they take on the character of God, as most clearly demonstrated by Jesus.
Bringing this into our current context, it means that, while there will always be differences among us in belief and conviction, what is more important is that we extend the blessings of God to all people. Not everyone will feel comfortable coming to worship here among us because they may not share our convictions. But at the very least, when we interact with those who disagree with us, or when they come and visit, they should feel loved and blessed to have been in our presence. As we turn our focus to the nature, source, and purpose of living water, let’s not lose sight of the tremendous social shift that Jesus is introducing in this interaction.
The Nature of Living Water
As was the case with Nicodemus misunderstanding the meaning of being born again, the Samaritan woman took Jesus literally from the start. Due to her present circumstances and difficulties, she immediately understood Jesus as meaning a literal source of fresh water. A natural spring that would be a better source of water than the deep well. She wants this water because it will solve some problems for her. She says, “Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.” She wants a particular problem to be solved. A discomfort that she lives with every day. But this is not the problem Jesus wants to solve for her. It’s not the reason he is offering her living water.
We can see Jesus’ meaning in 4:13–14: “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 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.” And later, Jesus brings further clarity about what he means by living water. John 7:38–39 says, “Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.”
Based on these passages, the nature of living water is that of a spring within those who believes in Jesus. This spring is the Holy Spirit, the evidence of new life in Christ. Its nature is eternal. It is life-giving. And it’s not a mere trickle. Pay special attention to the verb associated with the spring of water in verse 14. John 4:14 says, “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.” That verb, welling up, can also be understood as leaping, or gushing. It’s a word that portrays not a trickle, but a rapid and plentiful stream. This life that Jesus gives is not a tame or stagnant thing. It is the abundant life. It is eternity bursting out from within us, meant to transform our lives and everything around us.
This is one of many past promises made by God, which is fulfilled in Jesus. Isaiah 58:11 says, “The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.”
The Source of Living Water
When we believe in Jesus, our nature is transformed so that the source of eternal life is not something we have to go and find. It is in us. Put there by Jesus himself. Let’s look again at verses 13-14 and 7:38. Notice the location of the spring of living water in both of these passages: 4:13–14 says, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 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.” And 7:38 says, “Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” Do you see it? Where is the living water located?
The original source of living water is the incarnate God. Jesus of Nazareth, the Messiah. By becoming human, God made it possible for all humanity to share in his eternal life. God literally transformed what is possible for humanity. He brought divinity and humanity together in the person of Jesus. So now, the spring of eternal life that Jesus was born with can be ours.
It is important to make the distinction between what is promised by Jesus and what is promised by other religious beliefs. Jesus does not offer divinity to those who believe in him. We do not become gods. Nor does Jesus offer us a resource which, if we consume it enough and do the right things, will make us new. Jesus himself is the source of eternal life. The Holy Spirit, the very presence of God lives in us the moment we trust him. Ephesians 1:13–14 says, “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.”
This transformation happens without us doing anything other than recognizing that Jesus is the only and true source of eternal life. And the transformation is not us becoming divine, but us becoming true representations of the divine. The image of God we are created to be but cannot because of our sin. This transformation is simultaneously complete and working itself out in our lives as we continue to trust Jesus throughout our lives. The basic way of saying this is that if you die after putting your faith in Jesus, you are welcomed into God’s kingdom. In the meantime, while we still live, we struggle against the flesh. Our task is to live in such a way that our thoughts, attitudes, and behaviour increasingly aligns with the completed transformation of our souls.
The Purpose of Living Water
In short, the purpose of the living water is to feed that process of transformation and to satisfy our souls with what it truly longs for. This is why we do not merely say the sinner’s prayer, accept Jesus into our hearts, and go about our lives with the hope that when we die we will go to heaven. The kingdom of God is not just future. It is present. Jesus said this to the woman in John 4:23: “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.”
The purpose of living water is so that we can enjoy what is promised to us through Jesus. We can experience and share in the enjoyment of God’s presence here and now. And this is not just at our church services and it isn’t just worship through music. These things are vital to our transformation process and our witness to the world, but they are only part of a life lived in constant worship. The spring of living water within us is meant to overflow into all areas of our lives. To illustrate, I’m going to read something that was written around 100 years after the church was established.
“Epistle to Diognetus” chapters 1 and five, modernized
Chapter 1
Diognetus, I can see how deeply curious you are about the Christian way of worshiping God. You’re asking serious questions: Who is this God they trust in? What kind of religion do they practice that allows them to face the world with such fearlessness and even look death in the eye without flinching? Why don’t they worship the Greek gods or follow Jewish traditions? What creates such deep bonds of love among them? And why has this new movement only appeared now, and not centuries ago? I’m grateful for your honest curiosity. I’m asking God—who gives us both the ability to speak and to listen—to help me explain this in a way that truly helps you understand, and to help you hear in a way that leaves me with no regrets about what I’ve shared.
Chapter 5
Christians aren’t set apart from other people by their nationality, their language, or their cultural practices. They don’t live in segregated communities, speak in some special dialect, or adopt an unusual lifestyle. Their way of life isn’t the product of human philosophy or the latest spiritual trend, and they don’t go around promoting some new self-help teaching. Instead, they live in ordinary cities—whether in their home countries or abroad—and they blend in with the local customs when it comes to clothing, food, and daily routines. Yet there’s something remarkable about the way they live.
They dwell in their own countries, but live as temporary residents. They participate fully as citizens, sharing in all community responsibilities, yet they endure hardships as if they were foreigners. Every foreign land feels like home to them, and every homeland feels foreign. They marry like everyone else and have children, but they don’t abandon unwanted babies. They share meals together, but guard the integrity of their marriages. They live in physical bodies, but they don’t let physical appetites rule their lives. They go about their daily business on earth, but their true citizenship is in heaven. They obey the laws of the land, yet their lives exceed what the law requires.
They love everyone, and yet are hated by many. They are misunderstood and condemned; they are killed, yet find life. They are poor, yet enrich many others; they lack much, yet overflow with abundance. They are dishonoured, yet that very dishonour becomes their glory. They are slandered, yet proven righteous; they are cursed, yet they bless in return; they are insulted, yet they respond with honour. They do good, yet are punished as criminals. When they suffer, they rejoice as though suffering itself has given them life. They are attacked by Jews as outsiders and persecuted by Greeks as threats, yet those who hate them cannot explain why.
Conclusion
This is the transformation that living water brings. When the Samaritan woman encountered Jesus at the well, she was coming day after day to draw water, living a life marked by broken relationships and social isolation. She represents all of us in our thirst. But Jesus offered her something that would fundamentally change not just what she did, but who she was.
The early Christians understood this. They received the living water, and it made them aliens in their own land. Not because they withdrew from the world, but because the source of their life was now different. They no longer drew their identity, their purpose, or their satisfaction from the wells the world offered. They had found the spring that never runs dry.
The question for us today is the same question Jesus posed to that woman at the well: Where are you drawing your water? What well are you returning to day after day, hoping it will finally satisfy the deep thirst in your soul? Everyone is searching for the living water. Everyone desires it. But we mistake it for other things. We fill our lives with those things we think will satisfy. But only the life given by Jesus will satisfy. Matthew 5:6 says, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.”
In response to this message, I challenge you to ask God to show you what you’ve mistaken for his life. And then repent, turn away from those things as your source of meaning and purpose. Turn toward the life of Christ.
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