4 Jesus knew the Pharisees had heard that he was baptizing and making more disciples than John 2 (though Jesus himself didn’t baptize them—his disciples did). 3 So he left Judea and returned to Galilee.
4 He had to go through Samaria on the way. 5 Eventually he came to the Samaritan village of Sychar, near the field that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there; and Jesus, tired from the long walk, sat wearily beside the well about noontime. 7 Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Please give me a drink.” 8 He was alone at the time because his disciples had gone into the village to buy some food.
9 The woman was surprised, for Jews refuse to have anything to do with Samaritans. She said to Jesus, “You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. Why are you asking me for a drink?”
10 Jesus replied, “If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water.”
11 “But sir, you don’t have a rope or a bucket,” she said, “and this well is very deep. Where would you get this living water? 12 And besides, do you think you’re greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us this well? How can you offer better water than he and his sons and his animals enjoyed?”
13 Jesus replied, “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. 14 But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.”
15 “Please, sir,” the woman said, “give me this water! Then I’ll never be thirsty again, and I won’t have to come here to get water.”
16 “Go and get your husband,” Jesus told her.
17 “I don’t have a husband,” the woman replied.
Jesus said, “You’re right! You don’t have a husband— 18 for you have had five husbands, and you aren’t even married to the man you’re living with now. You certainly spoke the truth!”
19 “Sir,” the woman said, “you must be a prophet. 20 So tell me, why is it that you Jews insist that Jerusalem is the only place of worship, while we Samaritans claim it is here at Mount Gerizim, where our ancestors worshiped?”
21 Jesus replied, “Believe me, dear woman, the time is coming when it will no longer matter whether you worship the Father on this mountain or in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans know very little about the one you worship, while we Jews know all about him, for salvation comes through the Jews. 23 But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way. 24 For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.”
25 The woman said, “I know the Messiah is coming—the one who is called Christ. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”
26 Then Jesus told her, “I am the Messiah!”
John 4:1-26
Dear God, as I sat here this morning and was trying to focus on verses 23 and 24 and decipher what I thought it meant, I had this incredible thought come to me: I am so ignorant. If Jesus were physically here with me in this room, I wouldn’t even try to interpret this passage. I would just worship him. Well, I know the Holy Spirit is in this room with me. There could very well be an angel or two here as well. And demons. There could be demons. In light of yesterday’s scripture and prayer, I don’t know what is going on with the powers and principalities of this world. But I just all of a sudden had this incredible sense of humility before you. Who am I to even try to interpret Jesus’s words as preserved by Luke 2,000 years ago? I just need to worship.
Even as I typed this out, it hit me that maybe that is exactly the point Jesus was making in verses 23 and 24. Maybe that is the kind of worshipper you are looking for. Someone who will embrace the omnipotent, omnipresent God that you are, understand part of your nature is here with me now, and simply worship you with as much honesty, transparency, and humility as I can possibly muster.
Father, Jesus, Holy Spirit, my Triune God, I love you, I worship you, and I thank you. I’m sorry for my selfishness and sin. I’m sorry for my lack of faith. I’m sorry for my fear. I’m sorry for the times you call me to act, and I fail to act. I’m sorry for the times you ask me to love people, and I fail to love them. I’m sorry for the times I feel sorry for myself and fail to see the good you are doing or have done. I bring all of that to you, lay it before you, ask that you continue to cleanse me, and offer this day to you. We have a staff meeting this morning at which we are going to be making some big decisions. Help me to lead in that. Let your Holy Spirit be among us. Guide us. There is pain happening right now among our staff and the clients we serve. There is fear. Don’t let that pain be wasted. Make it count. Make it all count for your good and your glory.
I pray all of this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,
Amen
Emails to God 