John 4:13-18
 
John 4:13 (KJB)
Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again:
 
Here Jesus was emphasizing the fact that those who drink the physical water will definitely become thirsty again. It is like those in religion, for a while they are in euphoria but when the shine starts wearing off the surface, you begin to find the scratches and then the religion which a person thought would bring fulfillment, only causes them to thirst for something more. They will not quench the thirst in their soul until they drink of the living water. Physical water can quench thirst for a while and sustain the body for a time but there must be constant replenishment. Just like the High Priest had to go into the Holy of Holies every year.
 
John 4:14 (KJB)
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.
 
Springing - Leap or jump
 
Jesus now contrasts the physical water from the well with the water which He will give. He compares the temporal nature of the physical water with the eternal nature of the spiritual water. Jesus only used the physical water as a metaphor to show that just as physical water can satisfy the body, the spiritual water of the Gospel can satisfy the soul and the difference is that the Gospel is eternal. Then Jesus states that the water which He will give will become a well of water, that is, there will be a great abundance of living water in every true believer. The word for “springing” can also be understood as leaping or jumping. Not only will the soul of the believer be leaping for joy, but because the supply of living water is unlimited, it will gush forth or leap out of the belly of the believer. The true believer is a witness wherever they go thus pouring out the living water.
 
(John 7:37-39 KJV) In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. {38} He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. {39} (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)
 
The living water is the Holy Spirit who indwells the believer and as a result they become living witnesses to the Grace of God. That indwelling will never lessen and will never run out and therefore the well of Grace will continue to run forever. Just as Jacob’s well was giving water after several hundred years, the believers in subsequent generations, until the last one, will continue to bring the Gospel as torrents of living water gush from them.
 
John 4:15 (KJB)
The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.
 
The woman still had not made the spiritual connection between the living water of eternal life and the physical water. This woman had an initial understanding of only the physical aspects. She wanted the water so that she would never thirst again plus if she had access to that water, then she would not have to come to the well and draw water. The specific gravity of water is 8.32 pounds per gallon (3.77 kg) and a five gallon bucket would be over 40 pounds which is heavy even for a big man because water is dead weight. So she may have figured that this would be the end of her water drawing days.
 
John 4:16 (KJB)
Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither.
 
Now Jesus changes the subject and is now speaking of her personal life. He is beginning to make an application of the Gospel to her showing her that the Gospel is something that people live by and that it is not just a theology or a religion, which she would have been used to. If she does not see the need for salvation, then she will not seek it further. When a person become saved, everything, especially their personal life will change for the better, it will be misunderstood, but always for the better. Jesus wanted her to go get her husband and to bring him back with her. The three commands in this verse, “go, call, and come” are all in the Imperative Mood which means they are commands.
 
John 4:17 (KJB)
The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband:
 
Of course, Jesus knew all about her situation because He is omniscient and knows all things. So the woman answers Jesus correctly in that she does not, at present, have a physical husband. Jesus affirms her statement that she indeed does not have a husband. This is an important statement because the woman is unsaved which means she does not have a husband and that husband would be the Lord Jesus Christ if she became saved. Christ is the husband of the bride of Christ which is the body of believers. So at this point, she is stating a great spiritual truth that she is unsaved and not spiritually a part of the bride of Christ.
 
John 4:18 (KJB)
For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly.
 
Here Jesus emphatically states that she has been married five times and she is presently living with a man who is not married to her. This verse should be a warning to every unsaved person in the world that Jesus knows the intricacies of every life and nothing can be hidden from the Lord. (Heb 4:13 KJV) Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do. No matter how we try to hide things, nothing is hidden from the Lord because every life is transparent, no matter how hard one tries to hide, even in the dark. (Psa 139:11-12 KJV) If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me. {12} Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee. Jesus had told the woman at the well that she had answered in truth about her present living condition. I think by now that she was starting to think that there was something different about this man.
 
Back