If They Only Knew!

John 4:10-15 Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. (11) The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water? (12) Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle? (13) Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: (14) But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. (15) The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.

We continue looking at the conversation between Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well in John chapter 4. In the context of previous verses, Jesus was passing through the region of Samaria and stop to rest at a well. While there, a Samaritan woman comes by to draw waters so Jesus asked her for a drink of water. She was perplexed at the question because social prejudices frowned upon the two interacting.

Jesus’ response is very interesting. He tells her, (and I am paraphrasing) If you only knew who I am, you would ask for me to give you Living Water.

So what is this Living Water of which he speaks? He tells us in verse 14. Unlike ordinary or physical water in which one has to continually partake of it in order for it to be beneficial, The Living water is eternal. In other words, we get thirsty several times a day and so we have to drink several times a day to refresh ourselves. Water is not just needed to quench thirst, our bodies NEED it to sustain life. In fact, it may be even more vital than food. If we do not get the proper amount of water we will die.

Therefore, Jesus is using that principle to teach that he is offering us LIFE. But it is not just an extension of this life....but rather Eternal Spiritual life!

Why then do so few people take advantage of such an offer? Who wouldn’t want to live spiritually forever rather than die in eternal punishment? The same reason the Samaritan didn’t ask Jesus for the Living Water. Jesus says...If they only knew! If they only knew the gift of God and if they only knew who Jesus was. That may seem ridiculous since most of the world has heard of Jesus. Most of the world may have heard of Jesus, but most are not willing to do what it takes to drink the water that he offers. Jesus says that you must Follow HIm (Matt 16:24). Following is much more than just understanding his existence. It requires making sacrifices like living the manner of life that he requires of us.