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NOTES for Joh 4:14

Printable version
14 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.
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The need for water is one of the most basic needs for the functioning of the human body. People who live in hot and dry places like Israel know this especially well. There, for example, in our day it is part of police officers' duties to check whether tourists visiting local sights have a supply of drinking water with them. And today we read how Jesus appears to promise to solve this problem once and for all: the water He can give is able to multiply in a person, like the loaves that fed thousands of people. More than that, this water turns human life into eternal life. The Samaritan woman who heard this promise of Jesus takes it completely literally and asks for such water (later Jesus will address similar words to the Israelites, and their reaction will be somewhat different - John 7:37-43).

But is Jesus speaking about water? In the seventh chapter John explains: "He said this about the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive," because it is precisely the Spirit who creates genuine life and joins it to eternity. Do we understand what we truly need for our life, and not merely for the "functioning of the body"? Do we seek this, do we ask for it?

Other notes

 
For Joh 4:14
14 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.
Hide
Water need - one of the most basic needs for human organism's vital activities. It is well known especially by people living in warm and dry places as Israel. For example, nowadays in Israel one of the duties of the policemen is to verify if the tourists visiting...  Read more

Water need - one of the most basic needs for human organism's vital activities. It is well known especially by people living in warm and dry places as Israel. For example, nowadays in Israel one of the duties of the policemen is to verify if the tourists visiting the local sights, have with them stock of drinking water. And we read here today, how Jesus promises in to solve this problem once for all: this water, which He can give, is capable to multiply itself in man, quite as the breads that fed thousands of people. Besides, this water converts human life into eternal life. The Samaritan woman, who heard this promise of Jesus, perceives it completely literally and asks for such water (Jesus will address a bit later these same words to the Israelis, and their reaction will be quite different - see Jn 7:37-43). But is Jesus talking about water? In the chapter 7 John elucidates: "But this spake He of the Spirit, which they that believe on Him should receive", - Because it is indeed the Spirit that forms a genuine life and connects it to eternity. Do we understand what we really need for our life, and not for "the vital activities of the body "? Are we looking for it, are we asking of it?

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For Joh 4:5-42
5 Then cometh he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.
6 Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour.
7 There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink.
8 (For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.)
9 Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.
10 Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.
11 The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water?
12 Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle?
13 Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again:
14 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.
15 The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.
16 Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither.
17 The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband:
18 For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly.
19 The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet.
20 Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.
21 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.
22 Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.
23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
25 The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things.
26 Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he.
27 And upon this came his disciples, and marvelled that he talked with the woman: yet no man said, What seekest thou? or, Why talkest thou with her?
28 The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men,
29 Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?
30 Then they went out of the city, and came unto him.
31 In the mean while his disciples prayed him, saying, Master, eat.
32 But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of.
33 Therefore said the disciples one to another, Hath any man brought him ought to eat?
34 Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.
35 Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.
36 And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together.
37 And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth.
38 I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours.
39 And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him for the saying of the woman, which testified, He told me all that ever I did.
40 So when the Samaritans were come unto him, they besought him that he would tarry with them: and he abode there two days.
41 And many more believed because of his own word;
42 And said unto the woman, Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world.
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What do the Savior's words about worshiping "in spirit and truth" mean? His words are often understood as a kind of...  Read more

What do the Savior's words about worshiping "in spirit and truth" mean? His words are often understood as a kind of return to antiquity, to that ancient time when there was not yet either the Tabernacle or the Temple, when there were many altars, including altars to the One God, and each person chose his own place of worship. They could be understood that way if Jesus had said that there was no difference between "this mountain" and Jerusalem. The mountain in question is Mount Gerizim, where in the Gospel era there were the ruins of a temple once built by the Samaritans.

But He said nothing of the kind. On the contrary, He said quite clearly that "salvation is from the Jews," so no return backward is in view. And if that is so, then all that remains is to move forward. But where?

From the meaning of everything the Savior said during His earthly ministry, it becomes clear: into the Kingdom, of which He Himself said that it had "drawn near." Worship anywhere "in spirit and truth" is possible only in the Kingdom. The Kingdom is entirely permeated by this "spirit," the breath of God that fills it and allows everyone who enters it to share in the fullness of life and in the fullness of communion with God. Here, faithfulness to God and to Christ, what the Synodal translation calls "truth," is truly enough to receive this fullness of communion with God.

But outside the Kingdom everything remains as before: the Temple, the altar, the sacrifices, "salvation is from the Jews." And then each person chooses for himself how he will live from then on: in the old way or in the new.

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For Joh 4:5-42
5 Then cometh he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.
6 Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour.
7 There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink.
8 (For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.)
9 Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.
10 Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.
11 The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water?
12 Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle?
13 Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again:
14 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.
15 The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.
16 Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither.
17 The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband:
18 For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly.
19 The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet.
20 Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.
21 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.
22 Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.
23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
25 The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things.
26 Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he.
27 And upon this came his disciples, and marvelled that he talked with the woman: yet no man said, What seekest thou? or, Why talkest thou with her?
28 The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men,
29 Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?
30 Then they went out of the city, and came unto him.
31 In the mean while his disciples prayed him, saying, Master, eat.
32 But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of.
33 Therefore said the disciples one to another, Hath any man brought him ought to eat?
34 Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.
35 Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.
36 And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together.
37 And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth.
38 I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours.
39 And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him for the saying of the woman, which testified, He told me all that ever I did.
40 So when the Samaritans were come unto him, they besought him that he would tarry with them: and he abode there two days.
41 And many more believed because of his own word;
42 And said unto the woman, Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world.
Hide
John the evangelist's account of the real meeting and conversation of the Lord Jesus Christ with the Samaritan woman near Sychar also turns out for the reader to be a parable full of deep meaning, in which, as in a drop of water, some important things related...  Read more

John the evangelist's account of the real meeting and conversation of the Lord Jesus Christ with the Samaritan woman near Sychar also turns out for the reader to be a parable full of deep meaning, in which, as in a drop of water, some important things related to any person's meeting with Christ can be seen.

In folklore, "living water" usually means a kind of magical remedy that prolongs or restores life. The Gospel, however, speaks to us about something entirely different. The point is that the quality of water in wells and springs can vary greatly, and in the everyday speech of the ancient Near East there were different terms for water more or less fit to drink. The purest and best of it was called living water. This concept is closer not to folkloric living water, but to what we call life-giving moisture. At hot noon, when all respectable women (not women married five times) had long since stocked up on water, such water was, of course, greatly desired by the Samaritan woman.

But for us, the point is still not this. We cannot fail to notice that in the Bible there is a long-standing tradition of comparing pure water with faith and personal communion (or, if you like, "personal acquaintance") with God. The Lord speaks to the Samaritan woman about water that will become in a person a spring flowing into eternal life. The apostle James writes in the General Epistle that bitter and sweet water cannot flow from one spring, comparing the flow of water with the flow of truth. At the end of Revelation the evangelist John quotes the Lord's words: "To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment." This image was known already to the prophets: Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Joel all use it.

Therefore Christ's words about living water can be applied to the gift of faith that He gives us. The water of Christ's teaching is called living by Him, that is, clean and unclouded - unlike water from other sources, not dangerous for a person's spiritual health. On the contrary, this water becomes a source of life in the person himself. Only Christ can give it to us, and if we were able to understand this (if we knew the gift of God), we would ask for this water as the most important thing.

And, of course, we cannot help thinking that in the barren desert that human spiritual life becomes without this gift of God, Christ's word is truly like a drink of clean cold water on a hot day.

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For Joh 4:1-42
1 When therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John,
2 (Though Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples,)
3 He left Judaea, and departed again into Galilee.
4 And he must needs go through Samaria.
5 Then cometh he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.
6 Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour.
7 There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink.
8 (For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.)
9 Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.
10 Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.
11 The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water?
12 Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle?
13 Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again:
14 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.
15 The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.
16 Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither.
17 The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband:
18 For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly.
19 The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet.
20 Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.
21 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.
22 Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.
23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
25 The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things.
26 Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he.
27 And upon this came his disciples, and marvelled that he talked with the woman: yet no man said, What seekest thou? or, Why talkest thou with her?
28 The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men,
29 Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?
30 Then they went out of the city, and came unto him.
31 In the mean while his disciples prayed him, saying, Master, eat.
32 But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of.
33 Therefore said the disciples one to another, Hath any man brought him ought to eat?
34 Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.
35 Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.
36 And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together.
37 And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth.
38 I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours.
39 And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him for the saying of the woman, which testified, He told me all that ever I did.
40 So when the Samaritans were come unto him, they besought him that he would tarry with them: and he abode there two days.
41 And many more believed because of his own word;
42 And said unto the woman, Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world.
Hide
The chain of themes through which the Lord persistently leads the Samaritan woman has been and remains for many an image of how a person seeks the most important thing in life, and at the same time of how God seeks the human soul. The Lord takes the first step...  Read more

The chain of themes through which the Lord persistently leads the Samaritan woman has been and remains for many an image of how a person seeks the most important thing in life, and at the same time of how God seeks the human soul. The Lord takes the first step by asking for a drink, thereby prompting the woman to take a responding step that requires some effort from her: out of mercy toward a weary traveler she has to step over the religious ban on communication with Jews. The following steps also require ever greater openness from the woman and trust in the Man at the well. She has to admit to Him that everything in her life is very complicated, but after trusting Jesus she asks Him about what seems to her the most basic question in life: where to worship, how to believe? Then she opens to Him her deepest hope: even if life is not coming together and religious disagreements have reached a dead end, there is One who, when He comes, will be able to set everything in order, explain everything, and answer the most hidden questions and desires: the Messiah.

As a result she is the first, even before the disciples, to learn of Christ's coming into the world. She turns out to be the most suitable person for this, because the desire to know Him overcame in her both distrust and shame and despair.

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For Joh 4:1-26
1 When therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John,
2 (Though Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples,)
3 He left Judaea, and departed again into Galilee.
4 And he must needs go through Samaria.
5 Then cometh he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.
6 Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour.
7 There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink.
8 (For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.)
9 Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.
10 Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.
11 The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water?
12 Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle?
13 Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again:
14 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.
15 The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.
16 Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither.
17 The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband:
18 For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly.
19 The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet.
20 Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.
21 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.
22 Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.
23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
25 The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things.
26 Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he.
Hide
Jesus' conversation with the Samaritan woman is about the main thing. About the Kingdom. About that new life which He, the Savior of the world, brought into this world that He is saving. About the Source of truly living water. About true worship. About the breath of the Kingdom, which from now on itself marks the place of worship...  Read more

Jesus' conversation with the Samaritan woman is about the main thing. About the Kingdom. About that new life which He, the Savior of the world, brought into this world that He is saving. About the Source of truly living water. About true worship. About the breath of the Kingdom, which from now on itself marks the place of worship. In short, about that new spiritual life and life in general which is, properly speaking, the Kingdom. The Kingdom is life as such. Not some specific "spiritual" life in the sense in which spirituality is often understood today, reducing it to some special altered states of consciousness, but the most ordinary, everyday life acquiring a new quality.

For to worship in spirit and truth means not to follow some new "spiritual" truths which the Savior reveals to the world, but to commune with His heavenly Father and with Him Himself, abiding in the fullness of the life of the Kingdom. Here there is no new religion or new "spirituality," but a new quality of life, a quality of being.

A new existence, to speak in modern language. Not only human, but including in itself both the breath of the Kingdom and the life of Christ Himself. He speaks of living water for a reason. In Hebrew and Aramaic, water that flows constantly, as happens with springs and sources, was called living water. This water is constantly different, constantly new. Jesus too speaks of living water, but of course not physical water. He speaks of that life of the Kingdom whose fullness He bears in Himself.

Of the fullness in which He can give a share to everyone seeking and thirsting, if only the seeker and thirsting person trusts Him. And then the same source that is present in His heart will open in the heart of the one who has shared in the life of the Kingdom through Him. Not in such fullness, of course, as in Him, but in the fullness possible for an ordinary person. Then for such a person the new life, the life of the Kingdom, will truly begin. As a life not only external to him, but also internal. And therefore his own as well. Then all questions about places of worship will depart, having lost their meaning, because the Kingdom will accompany the person everywhere. And therefore one will be able to worship God anywhere. In spirit and truth.

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