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In this message we come to the case of the Samaritan woman in John 4. This case is the second of the nine cases. There is a great contrast between this case and that of Nicodemus in chapter three. Nicodemus was a moral, high-class man; the Samaritan woman was an immoral, low-class woman. The first case sets forth a man with superior attainments while the second sets forth a woman with dishonorable behavior. The man was a Jew whereas the woman was a Samaritan. The Jewish religion was very sound, proper, real, and genuine, but the Samaritan’s religion was false and very decadent. It is also interesting to note that the Lord talked with the man at night, but that He talked with the woman at midday. In the nighttime the man came to the Lord; in the daytime the Lord came to the woman. The place where the Lord talked with the man was in a house or a building, but He talked with the woman in the open air.
In the case of Nicodemus the first need of mankind is covered. According to spiritual experience, mankind’s first need is regeneration. In God’s economy man’s first need is regeneration. God’s economy is that man have His divine life and be one with Him in life and nature for the fulfillment and accomplishment of His eternal purpose. God’s eternal purpose is to have a group of people who have been regenerated by His divine life and who are the same as He is in both life and nature, that they might become His corporate expression for eternity. This is God’s eternal purpose and this is God’s economy. In order to fulfill this purpose, we must be regenerated that we may have His divine life.
The kingdom of God is entered only by birth, never by works. For example, a bird is in the bird kingdom only by birth; a fish can never enter the bird kingdom by any kind of work. The only possible way for you to enter any kind of kingdom is by having a particular kind of birth. Therefore, the first aspect of the Lord becoming our life is that He gives us divine life by means of a divine birth, which is the only way to share the things of the kingdom of God.
What is man’s second need? What is his need following regeneration? The second need is satisfaction. In chapter three the problem is that man is void of the divine life. Regardless of how good or superior you may be, it means nothing as far as God’s eternal purpose is concerned. As long as you have not been regenerated, you are void of the divine life. You only have human life. The human life is simply a vessel to contain the divine life. If you do not have the divine life, you are void. You are just an empty vessel. Although your human life may be wonderful, you do not have the divine life. The divine life is God Himself. You need this divine life to fill you up as your content. Your human life is a container to contain this divine life. When this divine life is within you, it becomes your content. As your content, it will also be your satisfaction. Before we were saved, we all had the experience of being empty. Regardless of our success or attainments, there was a continual emptiness within, the sensation of having no satisfaction. Whether we were good or bad, we were empty. Although we had the container, the vessel, we did not have the content. We were empty. Young and old, rich and poor, high and low — all are empty. One day we received the Lord Jesus. We not only obtained God’s salvation, but we also received the divine life, which immediately became our content. Now we have satisfaction. Therefore, following the case showing the need of regeneration, we have a case showing genuine satisfaction. Nothing can satisfy man except Christ Himself. As long as Christ is not the satisfaction of our human life, nothing can satisfy us. There is no satisfaction apart from Christ. As human beings, we always feel thirsty; only Christ can quench our thirst.
The case of the Samaritan woman reveals that Christ is real satisfaction. While Nicodemus was a pure-blooded Jew, the Samaritan woman was of mixed blood. Everything related to her was a ruin; nothing was pure or good. The Samaritans claimed to be the descendants of Jacob. At most, they were his descendants by mixed blood. While the name of Nicodemus is given, no one knows the name of the Samaritan woman. Because she was mean and low, the Bible does not divulge her name. She was altogether a mixture. She was an extraordinary case among all of the cases. If you read the Bible carefully, you will find that everything about her was extraordinary. Even her coming out to the well to draw water was extraordinary. According to the custom in the Middle East, the women come to draw water in the late afternoon, not at noontime. When the sun is going down, the women come to draw water in companies. However, this Samaritan woman came to draw water at noontime by herself. Why did she do this? Because she had a bad name, and no one would keep company with her. She was afraid of being talked about, of being criticized, and she did not dare come in the late afternoon when so many other people would be there. She came at noon when the sun was blazing and when no one else would come out of the house. This woman was poor and immoral. She had had five husbands and was living with one that was not her husband. No one cared for her. She knew this and came to draw water at such a lonely time, expecting that no one would see her.
In the case of the Samaritan woman there are many signs. The case itself is a sign, but within this sign, there are many signs. The case itself signifies that Christ is our satisfaction, but one of the signs within the case is the woman.
According to the types and figures in the Scriptures, what does a woman signify? Firstly, a woman signifies that humanity needs to rely upon God. Man can never stand alone; he must rely upon God, who is both his Maker and Husband (Isa. 54:5). Brothers, allow me to ask you this question: Is your standing before God that of a male or a female? If you were to ask me, I would tell you that although I am a man of over sixty years of age, I do realize that my standing before God is that of a female. My position before God is not that of a man, but of a woman, because I can never stand alone. I need God to rely upon. A woman signifies a person who cannot stand alone. This is both your position and mine. In figure, we are either males or females, but in reality we are all females. None of us can stand by himself. Man can never be independent. Nowadays people proclaim independence, but I must tell you that you can never be independent. You were created to be dependent upon God. Whenever anyone tries to be independent, he will be dissatisfied, because God created man inherently dependent.
A woman also signifies weakness (1 Pet. 3:7). We human beings must realize that we are weak. We are all weak because we are all human. Do not think that your wife is a weak vessel and that you are a strong one. Although this may be true figuratively, in fact both men and women are weak. In some cases, as far as spiritual things are concerned, the brothers are weaker than the sisters. When the Lord Jesus was about to be betrayed and put to death, the sisters in the New Testament were stronger than the brothers. The sisters were much stronger at the time of the Lord’s death, resurrection, and ascension. Even in loving the Lord, Mary was the strongest. So, brothers, do not proudly think that you are the strongest. We are all human and we were all made weak and dependent so that we would have to rely upon the Lord.
The significance of a woman also includes an inner longing and thirst, which were created by God. Of course, a man has the need for a wife as a helpmate, but a woman needs a husband much more. A woman always has the longing and desire to have satisfaction. In the human nature of both man and woman, there is always the inner thirst for satisfaction. The Lord created that thirst so that we might seek Him. You always feel thirsty and you always feel an inner lack. These are the signs that you are a woman. Your need to rely on others and your sense of dependence, weakness, and thirst for satisfaction all indicate that you are a woman.
We need to pay close attention to 4:4. “And He had to pass through Samaria.” The key word in this verse is “had.” Undoubtedly, this Samaritan woman had been foreknown and predestinated by God the Father in eternity past (Rom. 8:29). Certainly she had been given by the Father to the Lord Jesus (6:39). Such a low, mean, and immoral Samaritan woman was given to the Lord by the Father. Therefore, the Lord was burdened and went to Samaria to do the will of the Father. Later, He told His disciples, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work” (4:34). The Lord went to Samaria to do the will of God, which was to find that immoral Samaritan woman. He was seeking her that she might become a worshipper of the Father. That one soul was worth the Lord’s going there purposely. According to history, no Jew would ever pass through Samaria. Samaria was the leading region of the northern kingdom of Israel and the place where its capital was (1 Kings 16:24, 29). Before 700 B.C., the Assyrians captured Samaria and brought people from Babylon and other heathen countries to the cities of Samaria (2 Kings 17:6, 24). From that time, the Samaritans became a people of mixed blood, heathen mixed with Jew. History tells us that they had the Pentateuch (the five books of Moses) and worshipped God according to that part of the Old Testament, but they were never recognized by the Jews as being a part of the Jewish people.
Although the Jews would never pass through Samaria, the Lord Jesus felt burdened to do so. He had to go there, not because it was necessary geographically, but because of the will of the Father. Because of the Father’s will, He had to go through that region. The Lord knew that at noontime an immoral woman would be at the well.
Let us read verses 5 and 6. “So He came to a city of Samaria called Sychar, near the land that Jacob gave to his son Joseph; and Jacob’s well was there. Jesus, therefore, being wearied from the journey, sat thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour.” Tell me, who was the first to come to Jacob’s well, the sinner or the Savior? How marvelous it is that the Savior came there first! When I read this chapter in the early years, I became very excited with many of the points. Later, in my gospel preaching, I gave a long message about the Samaritan woman, including all the details. At that time I saw that the Lord Jesus had to go to the well ahead of that fallen, immoral Samaritan woman. He went to the well and waited for her.
The Lord was sovereign and wise. Before the woman came, He found a good excuse to send all of His disciples away. If any of the disciples had been there, it would not have been so good. It would not have been as convenient for the Lord to talk to that immoral woman about her husbands. So the Lord, in His sovereignty and wisdom, sent His disciples away to the city to buy food. Perhaps the Lord was thinking, “Please leave Me alone. I’m waiting for that immoral woman. Because she is so immoral, she doesn’t want to see anyone or talk to anyone. But I am going to touch her conscience with the history of all her husbands. You disciples must leave.” Without the excuse of buying food, how could the Lord have sent the disciples away? While the disciples went away to purchase the food, the woman came. When I saw the picture as a young man, I worshipped the Lord. Suppose the Lord was in a house at midnight and this woman came to speak to Him during the night, and the disciples saw it. They probably would have said, “What are You doing here, Jesus? You are a man a little over thirty years of age and she is such a woman. What is going on here?” In His sovereignty and wisdom, the Lord waited for the woman to come under the bright sunshine and in the open air. Even under the open air, there was no one present to listen to the conversation. When the Lord and the Samaritan woman had finished their talk, the disciples returned and saw them, but they had nothing to say. That conversation did not transpire in a private room; it was in the open air. How wise was the Lord Jesus!
The point here is this: the Savior knows where the sinner is. He knows the sinner’s true situation. The Lord Jesus went to the well, sent all of His disciples away, and sat by the well, waiting until the woman came. If you look back into your salvation, you will realize that, to some extent at least, the same principle was operating. You did not go to heaven — the Lord came to you. He came down to the very place where you were. I was born in China, but the Lord Jesus went there. One day He was waiting for me at a certain place, and I was caught by Him. What about you? You did not go to meet the Savior, did you? The Savior came to you. Some have been saved as a result of an automobile accident. Nevertheless, they must realize that before the accident occurred, the Lord Jesus was already waiting to meet them. We all were saved in this way. This is marvelous.
While the Lord Jesus was waiting for the sinner to come, He was thirsty. Thus, in this second of the cases, we see a thirsty Savior and a thirsty sinner. You may think that you are thirsty, but your thirst is a sign that the Savior is thirsty. The Savior is thirsty for us, for, to Him, we are the thirst-quenching water. Do you realize that you are the thirst-quenching water to the Savior? It seems that the Savior is saying, “Nothing can satisfy Me except you. I have millions of angels in the heavens, but none of them can satisfy Me. I have come to the earth to seek the thirst-quenching water. You are the water.” You may be quite humble and say, “No, He is my living water. How can I be His thirst-quenching water?” Nevertheless, the Lord needs you, for without you He can never be satisfied.
At first, both the Savior and the sinner were thirsty, and the Savior was hungry. The sinner was thirsty and came to draw water in order to satisfy her thirst. The Savior was hungry and thirsty. He sent the disciples away to buy food that He might eat and He asked the sinner for a drink of water. Eventually, neither the Savior nor the sinner drank or ate anything, yet both were satisfied. This is wonderful! The sinner drank of the Savior, the Savior drank of the sinner, and both of them were satisfied. The disciples were surprised. When they returned with the food, they urged Him to eat, but He said, “I have food to eat of which you have no knowledge” (4:32). The sinner was satisfied with the Savior’s living water, and the Savior was satisfied with God’s will in satisfying the sinner. To do the will of God to satisfy the sinner is the Savior’s food. Oh, the Lord as the Savior was thirsty for you and me! One day He got us and was satisfied.
The sinner came to her religious inheritance to draw water for her satisfaction. While she was going to draw water, the Savior asked her to give Him water for His satisfaction. Whenever the Lord asks you for something, that is an indication that He needs it and that you need it also. When you are thirsty, the Lord also is thirsty. When the Lord asks you for something, you also are in need of that very thing. This is very meaningful. When you are homeless, He is homeless, and when He is homeless, you are homeless.
In verses 9 through 14 we see the contrast between the emptiness of religion’s tradition and the fullness of life’s living water. The Samaritan woman asked the Lord Jesus, “Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank of it himself, and his sons, and his cattle?” (4:12). We see by this question that religion’s father is considered to be the greatest. The Samaritans thought of Jacob as the greatest. They took him as their grandfather, thinking him to be the greatest.
The Samaritan woman also considered that Jacob’s well was the best. This signifies that religion’s inheritance is always considered as the best.
The Samaritan woman said to the Lord, “You have no bucket...where then do you get the living water?” (v. 11). This signifies that religion’s way is considered as the most prevailing. Although religion considers its way to be the most prevailing, yet religion’s “water” never quenches the thirst of religious people. This is proved by the Lord’s reply in verse 13. “Everyone who drinks of this water shall thirst again.”
Christ is greater than religion’s father. “Jesus answered and said to her, If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that says to you, Give Me a drink, you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water” (4:10). If you preach the gospel in China, people will talk to you about Confucius. Every race and tribe claims to have someone great, but none is greater than Christ. Christ is greater than Jacob, Confucius, Plato, and every other kind of grandfather.
Furthermore, God’s gift is greater than religion’s inheritance. Would you like to have Jacob’s well or God’s gift? What is God’s gift? If you say that God’s gift is Christ, that answer is not totally accurate. The divine life is God’s gift, for Romans 6:23 says that the free gift of God is eternal life. This divine life shall become in us a spring of water welling up into eternal life (v. 14). This divine life is much better than Jacob’s well. If you visit Jacob’s well in Palestine today, you will find it under the control of an Armenian monk. When I visited there, everyone who wanted a cup of water from Jacob’s well had to pay two dollars. However, all of that is tradition and means nothing. The water in that well is the same as any other.
To “ask” is more prevailing than religion’s way. The living water of God quenches our thirst and becomes a spring of water welling up into eternal life. Death’s thirst is quenched by life. In principle, this also is to change death into life.
The Lord Jesus said to the Samaritan woman, “Everyone who drinks of this water shall thirst again” (4:13). This statement is simple but its meaning is profound. The “water” here signifies the enjoyment of material things and the amusement of worldly entertainment. None of these can quench the thirst deep within man. However much he drinks of this material and worldly “water,” he shall thirst again. The more he drinks of these “waters,” the more his thirst is increased. For example, in education people like to have higher and higher degrees. After receiving a bachelor’s degree, they want a master’s, and after that, a doctorate. Others may desire to accumulate ten thousand dollars in a savings account, but after that, they want to have a hundred thousand, and after a hundred thousand, a million. The more you drink of the water of this earth, the more thirsty you become. Never try to quench your thirst with any kind of worldly water. Although the Samaritan woman had had five husbands and was living with a man who was not her husband, she still was not satisfied. Nothing could quench her thirst. Some sisters love clothing. However, no woman can be satisfied with any type of garment. After you purchase one, you will want a second and a third. If you have ten pairs of shoes, you will want to have fifteen pairs. Some women who have more than fifteen pairs of shoes still are not satisfied. This kind of “water” will never satisfy people. There is only one “water” that satisfies people for eternity — Jesus Christ. Christ satisfies today, tomorrow, and for eternity. He is ever new, ever fresh. He always satisfies. So, the Lord could tell the Samaritan woman that whoever drinks of the water that He gives will not thirst, for that water will become in him a spring welling up into eternal life.
