October 15th | John 4

Have you ever been truly thirsty? Not just wanting a drink, but so parched that you could think of nothing else? I remember taking my daughter to the zoo on a hot summer day. When we first arrived, she wanted an Icee. I told her no, we wouldn’t get that right now. After we had walked for several hours and the heat of the day picked up, she came to me with a red and sweaty face and she begged, “Now can I PLEASE have an icee?” At that point, I happily obliged to buy her an ice,e and I also took a few sips for myself because I too was incredibly thirsty!

That moment reminds me of a deeper truth: every one of us is thirsty not for water, but for something that truly satisfies. The world offers all kinds of “drinks” success, relationships, money, comfort. However, none of those things can quench the thirst of the soul. Only Jesus can.

In John 4, Jesus meets a Samaritan woman at a well. She’s an outcast, drawing water alone in the heat of the day. Yet Jesus intentionally seeks her out. He asks her for a drink, then offers her something far greater: “living water”. Look at four truths from this passage today about Christ and the living water he offers. 

1. Salvation Is for Everyone

Jesus crossed every social and cultural boundary to reach this woman. She was a Samaritan, a woman, and a sinner, but Jesus didn’t avoid her; He pursued her. That tells us something powerful: no one is too far gone for God’s grace. Whether you’ve been in church your whole life or you feel like you don’t belong there at all, Jesus offers the same living water to you.

As one pastor said, “Everyone, everywhere needs Jesus. The moral can’t be saved by their morality; the immoral are never too immoral to find salvation in Jesus.”

2. Salvation Requires Repentance

When the woman asked for this living water, Jesus told her to call her husband, knowing full well that she had been in a string of broken relationships. He wasn’t trying to shame her, but Jesus was lovingly exposing her wound so He could heal it.

Sin is like saltwater because it looks refreshing, but the more we drink, the thirstier we become. We try to quench our thirst with money, pleasure, approval, or distractions, but it never lasts. True satisfaction begins when we turn from sin and turn to Jesus, giving Him all of our hearts.

3. Salvation Is Found in Christ Alone

The woman asked where she should worship, on the Samaritan mountain or in Jerusalem. Jesus answered that true worship isn’t about where you worship, but who you worship. Salvation doesn’t come from religion, rules, or rituals. Instead, it comes through a relationship with Christ alone.

Then Jesus revealed something incredible: “I who speak to you am He.” The first person He clearly told He was the Messiah wasn’t a religious leader or a disciple, it was a broken, rejected woman. That’s grace.

4. Salvation Demands Action

Once she believed, the woman ran back to her town and told everyone what Jesus had done. The same people she once avoided were now the ones she couldn’t wait to tell. Her story became a testimony that led others to faith.

Meanwhile, Jesus’ disciples had just come from that same town and hadn’t told anyone about Him. It’s a sobering reminder that the harvest is ready, and we’re called to go.

If you’ve tasted the living water of Jesus, don’t keep it to yourself. Someone near you is still thirsty.