Her Faith Sustains Her

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Jesus responded, “If you recognized God’s gift and who is saying to you, ‘Give me some water to drink,’ you would be asking him and he would give you living water.” The woman said to him, “Sir, you don’t have a bucket and the well is deep. Where would you get this living water?  You aren’t greater than our father Jacob, are you? He gave this well to us, and he drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.” Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks from the water that I will give will never be thirsty again. The water that I give will become in those who drink it a spring of water that bubbles up into eternal life.”

John 4:10-14 CEB



As I’ve noted before, the Gospel of John stands out among the gospels. One of the ways that John is different is found in this chapter and the story of the Samaritan woman. From the beginning of this story in John 4:4 to the end in John 4:42, the Samaritan woman undergoes a spiritual transformation because she experiences a theophany. A theophany is defined as a visible manifestation to humankind of God. So this Samaritan woman is one of the first to see Christ revealed as God. She comes to this revelation in a very interesting way; she has a conversation with Jesus. During this conversation, she continually asks Jesus questions and because of her persistence, she comes to the realization that this man by the well is truly the Messiah.

In the passage above, Jesus tells her about this living water that will sustain her forever, that whoever drinks of the living water will never be thirsty again. We’re not told outright what this living water is but based on this story, I wonder if faith is the living water. This Samaritan woman continues to talk to Jesus attempting to understand, even when some of the things he says are confusing. She doesn’t walk away when she comes face to face with this stranger who seems to know her deeply, and she doesn’t turn from the pursuit of truth. She has faith that she will come to an understanding. She has faith that a Messiah will come. The Samaritan woman believes, even when it would be easier to not. Maybe it is faith that is the living water that sustains us.

Read More: John 4:4-42, John 9

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