Christ the Living Water

Text: John 4:7–15
Series: Sermons 2001 Rewritten
Date:
Speaker: Ed Rangel
Location: Waupaca Church of Christ
Bible Version: NASB 1995
Sermon Type: Expository

Learning Objectives

1. Explain why Jesus’ conversation with the Samaritan woman displays His humanity, compassion, and saving authority.
2. Show how Jesus moves the conversation from physical water to spiritual life.
3. Identify the “living water” as the saving life Christ gives, springing up to eternal life.
4. Apply John 4 to evangelism, prejudice, spiritual thirst, and obedience to the gospel.
5. Call hearers to come to Christ, obey the gospel, and remain faithful to the source of living water.

Thesis

Jesus offers living water to spiritually thirsty sinners, and no soul will be satisfied until it comes to Him on His terms and receives the life He alone gives.

Introduction.

1. John 4 begins with Jesus tired and sitting by Jacob’s well. a. His weariness shows His real humanity. b. He was not pretending to be human. c. The Word became flesh and entered the exhaustion of ordinary life.
2. A Samaritan woman came to draw water. a. She came for physical water. b. She met the Savior of the world. c. She expected an ordinary trip to the well, but Christ turned it into a soul-saving conversation.
3. Jesus asked her for a drink. a. The disciples had gone into the city to buy food. b. Jesus was alone at the well. c. The request opened the door for truth.
4. The woman was surprised that a Jewish man spoke to her. a. Jews and Samaritans had deep hostility between them. b. Jewish custom made this conversation socially uncomfortable. c. Jesus crossed the barrier without compromising holiness.
5. Jesus did not let prejudice, custom, or awkwardness stop Him from reaching a soul. a. He did not answer her sharply. b. He did not treat her as untouchable. c. He used the moment to reveal the gift of God.
6. John 4 forces the question on every hearer. a. Do you know who Christ is? b. Do you know what He gives? c. Have you received the living water?

I. Jesus Came Near to a Thirsty Sinner.

A. Jesus sat at the well in real human weariness.

1. John 4:6 says Jesus, being wearied from His journey, was sitting by the well. a. The Son of God became truly human. b. He knew fatigue. c. He knew thirst.
2. His weariness does not lessen His deity. a. John 1:1 says the Word was God. b. John 1:14 says the Word became flesh. c. John shows both the glory and the humanity of Christ.
3. The Savior who offers living water first asks for water. a. He entered human weakness. b. He spoke in human language. c. He used an ordinary need to reach an eternal need.

B. Jesus spoke to a Samaritan woman.

1. John 4:7 says, “There came a woman of Samaria to draw water.” a. She was Samaritan. b. She was a woman. c. She came alone to the well.
2. John 4:9 shows the social tension. a. She asked why a Jew would ask a drink from a Samaritan woman. b. Jews had no dealings with Samaritans. c. The conversation crossed a deep social and religious divide.
3. Jesus did not treat her ethnicity or past as a barrier to truth. a. He knew who she was. b. He knew what she needed. c. He spoke to her soul.

C. The Old Testament background shows why this meeting matters.

1. Jacob’s well tied the scene to Israel’s history. a. The woman knew the well had come from Jacob. b. The place carried religious memory. c. But history could not quench her spiritual thirst.
2. Isaiah 55:1 had invited the thirsty to come to the waters. a. God had long called the needy to receive what they could not buy. b. The invitation was gracious. c. The need was deeper than the body.
3. Jeremiah 2:13 rebuked Israel for forsaking the fountain of living waters. a. God’s people had turned from Him. b. They had made broken cisterns. c. Jesus now stands at a well offering the water only God can give.

II. Jesus Offered More Than Physical Water.

A. Jesus exposed her ignorance before He offered the gift.

1. John 4:10 says, “If you knew the gift of God.” a. She did not yet understand the gift. b. She did not yet understand the Giver. c. She saw a tired Jewish man, but she was speaking to the Christ.
2. Jesus says, “and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink.’” a. The identity of Jesus controls the whole conversation. b. The gift cannot be separated from the Giver. c. Salvation is not an impersonal blessing detached from Christ.
3. If she knew, she would have asked. a. Spiritual poverty is often made worse by ignorance. b. Sinners do not ask because they do not know what Christ offers. c. The gospel opens the eyes to the gift and the Giver.

B. Jesus offered living water.

1. Living water was better than stagnant water. a. A well held water. b. A spring produced fresh flowing water. c. Jesus used the picture to speak of spiritual life.
2. John 4:13 says physical water cannot end thirst. a. Everyone who drinks of that water will thirst again. b. Earthly satisfaction always runs out. c. The body keeps needing more.
3. John 4:14 says Christ’s water becomes a spring. a. Whoever drinks of the water Christ gives shall never thirst. b. The water becomes a well of water springing up. c. It springs up to eternal life.

C. The living water is tied to salvation in Christ.

1. Jesus does not offer entertainment or self-improvement. a. He offers life. b. He offers eternal life. c. He offers what sin has taken away.
2. John 7:37–39 later uses living water language again. a. Jesus cried, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.” b. The one who believes in Him would have rivers of living water. c. John connects this with the Spirit who would be given.
3. The New Testament shows salvation comes through Christ’s word. a. Romans 1:16 says the gospel is God’s power for salvation. b. Romans 10:17 says faith comes by hearing the word of Christ. c. No sinner receives living water while rejecting the word of the One who gives it.

III. Jesus’ Living Water Turns Thirsty People into Witnesses.

A. The woman’s understanding grew through Christ’s words.

1. At first, she thought only of physical water. a. She saw the well. b. She saw no bucket. c. She asked how Jesus could give water.
2. Jesus kept pressing the spiritual issue. a. He did not stay at the shallow level. b. He did not allow the conversation to remain merely physical. c. He moved her toward truth about Himself.
3. Later in the chapter, Jesus exposed her life and revealed His identity. a. He knew her sinful history. b. He did not ignore her sin. c. He led her to see Him as the Christ.

B. The woman testified to others.

1. John 4:28–29 says she left her waterpot and went into the city. a. The ordinary errand was overtaken by spiritual urgency. b. The woman who came for water now spoke about Christ. c. She said, “Come, see a man who told me all the things that I have done.”
2. Her testimony brought others to Jesus. a. John 4:39 says many Samaritans believed because of her word. b. Her witness was not the final foundation of their faith. c. It brought them to hear Christ for themselves.
3. John 4:41–42 shows the stronger result. a. Many more believed because of His word. b. They said they no longer believed merely because of her report. c. They had heard for themselves and knew He was the Savior of the world.

C. This corrects shallow evangelism.

1. Personal testimony may open a door. a. Tell what Christ has done. b. Invite people to hear. c. Bring them to the word.
2. Saving faith must rest on Christ’s word. a. Not personality. b. Not emotional excitement. c. Not secondhand religion.
3. The church must bring thirsty people to Christ. a. Not to a social club. b. Not to denominational identity. c. Not to religious entertainment. d. To the Savior of the world.

IV. Christ Still Calls the Thirsty to Come and Drink.

A. The Old Testament promised water for the needy.

1. Isaiah 41:17–18 speaks of the afflicted and needy seeking water. a. Their tongue was parched with thirst. b. The LORD promised to answer them. c. God would open rivers and springs.
2. Isaiah 58:11 says the LORD will satisfy desire in scorched places. a. God can make His people like a watered garden. b. He can make them like a spring whose waters do not fail. c. The promise belongs to those who walk with Him.
3. These texts show God’s mercy toward the thirsty. a. God sees need. b. God supplies life. c. God does not forsake those who seek Him.

B. Scripture also warns against forsaking the fountain.

1. Jeremiah 17:13 says those who forsake the LORD will be put to shame. a. The LORD is the hope of Israel. b. To turn away from Him is to forsake the fountain of living water. c. Shame follows those who abandon the source.
2. A person can reject the water Christ offers. a. Through unbelief. b. Through pride. c. Through love of sin. d. Through delay.
3. A Christian can drift away from the source. a. By neglecting the word. b. By returning to sin. c. By treating salvation as a past event while refusing present faithfulness.

C. The invitation is still open.

1. Revelation 22:17 says, “Let the one who is thirsty come.” a. The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” b. The one who wishes may take the water of life without cost. c. God’s final invitation still uses the language of water and life.
2. The thirsty must come to Christ on His terms. a. Hear the gospel. b. Believe Christ. c. Repent of sin. d. Confess Him. e. Be baptized for the forgiveness of sins. f. Live faithfully.
3. No other water will satisfy. a. Sin cannot satisfy. b. Religion without Christ cannot satisfy. c. Human tradition cannot satisfy. d. Christ alone gives water springing up to eternal life.

Application.

1. For the sinner. a. You are thirstier than you think. b. The world keeps offering water that runs dry. c. Christ offers life that springs up to eternal life.
2. For the Christian. a. Do not leave the fountain after drinking from it. b. Keep coming to Christ through His word. c. Do not trade living water for broken cisterns.
3. For the church. a. Do not let prejudice keep you from speaking to souls. b. Jesus spoke to the Samaritan woman. c. The gospel is for every nation, every background, and every sinner willing to come.
4. For parents and teachers. a. Teach children that Christ is not merely part of religion. b. Teach them that He is the source of life. c. Do not let them grow up drinking from the world’s wells while the living water is ignored at home.
5. For evangelism. a. Start where people are. b. Move the conversation toward Christ. c. Let His word become the reason they believe.

Conclusion.

1. Jesus sat by a well, tired and thirsty. a. He was truly human. b. He entered ordinary life. c. He used a simple request for water to reach a soul.
2. The Samaritan woman needed more than Jacob’s well. a. She needed the gift of God. b. She needed to know who Jesus was. c. She needed living water.
3. Many Samaritans came to believe. a. First through her testimony. b. Then through His word. c. They confessed Him as the Savior of the world.
4. The same Christ still offers living water. a. Not stale religion. b. Not empty tradition. c. Not temporary satisfaction. d. Living water springing up to eternal life.

Invitation.

1. Hear the word. a. Romans 10:17 says faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.
2. Believe Christ. a. John 8:24 warns that unless you believe that Jesus is He, you will die in your sins.
3. Repent. a. Acts 17:30 says God commands all people everywhere to repent.
4. Confess Christ. a. Romans 10:9–10 teaches confession with the mouth and belief in the heart.
5. Be baptized for the remission of sins. a. Acts 2:38 commands repentance and baptism in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins.
6. Live faithfully. a. Revelation 2:10 calls the Christian to be faithful until death.
7. Drink from Christ’s living water. a. Do not delay in thirst. b. Do not return to broken cisterns. c. Come to Christ and obey the gospel.

Word Study.

Scripture Interlock Table.