A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” – John 4:7
I find it interesting that the reason that we have this famous story that has been called “The Woman at the Well,” all because Jesus was thirsty. It was Jesus’ thirst that created this moment. It was his thirst that led to a conversation that was life-changing for this unnamed woman. It was his thirst that led her to find enough forgiveness and healing to go out and tell her whole town about a man she just met (a town that had previously treated her as an outcast). In the end, Jesus’ thirst led to a situation in which, “Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony” (John 4:39). Aren’t you glad that Jesus was thirsty?
However, I want you to notice that the thirst that Jesus had, led the woman to a deeper thirst. Jesus’ thirst was physical… His body needed H2O (a chemical compound that he had created for physical bodies that he designed to be dependent on). However, the thirst in her that Jesus wanted to satisfy was a spiritual thirst. It wasn’t for a chemical compound but for a spiritual turnaround. She needed to rely on a new source of energy, and this is what Jesus gave. In this way, Jesus’ thirst was contagious. His thirst led to her thirst.
In a way, this is just as true for us as it was for this woman. We need Jesus’ thirst to lead to our thirst. We need Jesus’ thirst to become contagious for us. And this is because this was not the last time that Jesus was thirsty. John records that on the cross, some of Jesus’ final words were, “I thirst” (19:28). This thirst must have been this same mixture of the physical and spiritual. Yes, his body needed H2O, but I think the thirst that Jesus experienced on the cross was much more than that. At this moment he was experiencing the lack of “living water” for the first time in the 33 or so years that he walked this earth. In fact, this was the first and only time that Jesus’ thirst would be spiritual ever! Jesus, the Son of God, did not have a beginning, so for all of eternity, he had drunk freely from these waters of true life. This is why the lack of it, even for a relatively short period, was so excruciatingly painful to him.
But, he endured it, so that we might thirst for those same waters. I hope today that Jesus’ thirst would be contagious for you in a new way today. I pray that we would become thirsty, stay thirsty, and help others become thirsty for the true living water that only Jesus can provide. The best way I can say this is, “Stay thirsty my friends.” I hope you will.
Josh Rose
Discipleship Pastor