Sunday: Give Me to Drink — John 4:4-9
There were many good reasons for Jesus to keep silent when this Samaritan woman came to the well for water. First, Jesus was tired from the journey, and the fact He was in Samaria at all is perplexing: the Jews despised the Samaritans. That Jesus spoke publicly to a woman is also odd, for conversations between Rabbis and women violated strict proprieties. Jesus would have been justified to avoid this particular woman, from what He reveals about her life. Drinking from her water vessel was also considered unclean! Yet, Jesus asks her for a drink of water, for He came to seek the despised and outcasts. She herself is stunned.
Monday: Living Water — John 4:10-15
This water from Jacob’s well would satisfy bodily thirst for a short time, but the water Jesus offers provides continual satisfaction. One who drinks His living water will have an inner spring of life-giving water (John 7:38-39). This inner spring contrasts with the water from the well, which required hard work to acquire. Jesus was speaking of the Holy Spirit who brings salvation to a person who believes and through Him offers salvation to others. The woman couldn’t grasp this dark saying because of her sin and materialism. She just knew that if she had a spring she would not get thirsty and wouldn’t have to work so hard.
Tuesday: The Adulterous Divorcee — John 4:16-19
Since she was not able to receive His truth (1 Corinthians 2:14), Jesus dealt with her most basic problem. (Apparently she never served Him a drink. He forgot His own physical need in order to meet her spiritual need.) Jesus suggested she get her husband and bring him back with her. This suggestion was designed to show her that He knew everything about her (John 2:24-25). Jesus, including her life of sin, knew her entire history. In a few words, Jesus revealed her need for salvation.
Wednesday: In Spirit & Truth — John 4:20-26
This woman, as most of mankind, misses the point of worship, making the “activity” of worship the important thing. Jesus brings her focus back to the worship’s heart: the Father. Men get hung up on the “where,” the “how,” and the other mechanics of worship, and too often miss adoring the “Who.” This can only be achieved in Spirit and in Truth, for He is a Spirit, and He is Truth.
Thursday: Come, See a Man — John 4:27-30
Jesus, by teaching one poor woman, spread truth to a whole town. Blessed are those who are not offended at Christ. Those truly taught of God will want to learn more. Notice that they came out to Him. Jesus didn’t ring doorbells, nor chase people down. He was light, and the people were drawn to Him.
Friday: Divine Sustenance — John 4:31-38
Jesus responds profoundly to His disciples’ concern for His welfare. He had gained a soul by setting aside His wants and needs, and through her would gain more souls, perhaps even establish a great work in Samaria. This raised Him far above any sense of natural hunger or weariness. Can we see past the immediate? Will we see with spiritual eyes what might be gained if we could see the harvest fields of the world as He sees, and work with His passion?
Saturday: Evangelizing Sychar — John 4:39-45
The Samaritans believe because they meet Jesus (John 1:46-49). For Jesus to lodge there, eating Samaritan food and teaching Samaritans would be roughly equivalent to defying segregation in the United States during the 1950s or apartheid in South Africa in the 1980s—shocking, extremely difficult, somewhat dangerous. The real Jesus builds bridges to humanity, and is far more concerned with people than with custom.