Who Did Jesus Address?
While Jesus walked on this earth, He sought to teach and instruct all men and to show God’s love and compassion. The gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John include more than 40 meetings between Jesus and various individuals. He connected with people’s thoughts and feelings and spoke to them to answer questions or to point them to the path of God which they should be following.
Some of the individuals came to Him with questions; Nicodemus and the rich young ruler are two examples. Some conversations were initiated by Jesus Himself as is the case of the woman of Samaria and the crippled beggar.
There are many lessons we can learn from Jesus’ conversations and sermons recorded for us. One such recorded conversation was with the woman at the well, the Samaritan woman, recorded in John 4. This was an extraordinary woman. Not only was she a Samaritan, a race of people that the Jews utterly despised as having no claim on their God, she was an outcast and looked down on by her own people. This is evidenced by the fact that she came alone to draw water from the community well when, during biblical times, drawing water and chatting at the well was the social highpoint of a woman’s day. However, this woman was ostracized and marked as immoral, an unmarried woman living openly with the sixth in a series of men.
Yet Jesus chose to speak to her – this woman of low standing – her gender, her race, her marital status were all against this happening. Jesus shows His love for the world in conversing with her. This is the first lesson we can learn from this story. The two spoke together almost as equal conversational partners. This shows Jesus’ heart for all people, not just some, and, despite our bankrupt lives, He cares for us as no one else can.
Secondly, we are reminded that only Jesus can offer salvation. He offers the Samaritan woman living water – eternal life: “Jesus answered, ‘Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life’” (John 4:13-14). Peter says that salvation is found in no other (Acts 4:12). It is up to us to accept this offer of salvation. He will not force us to come to Him and drink of this water. How we deprive ourselves of such joy by dismissing Jesus and His teachings.
Third, the story underscores how Jesus is the Messiah. In the most direct way, Jesus tells her exactly who He is. She says to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming (who is called Christ). When He comes, He will tell us all things.” Jesus’ response was, “I who speak to you am He” (John 4:25-26). We cannot escape the import of these words. He declared Himself to be the Savior of the world, the Messiah, the Christ. One cannot ignore this statement. Either Jesus is who He claims to be, or He is a liar and fraud. The Samaritan woman believed Him and ran to tell the townspeople, who also came to Him and believed (John 4:28-30; 39-41). Just as she did not fully understand who Jesus was at first, we also need to open our eyes to the reality of who Jesus is (Psalm 146:8, Ephesians 4:18). It is only in Jesus that we will be saved from our sins and made new in Christ (Titus 3:5; Galatians 2:20).
Our lives should overflow with gratitude for what He gives us when we recognize our desperate need for the spiritual life He offers. Jesus should be Lord of our lives. In a world obsessed with the next best thing, we often seek fulfillment in material possessions, relationships, and personal achievements. Our souls are restless, yearning for deeper satisfaction that only Jesus affords, the Living Water. The story of the Samaritan woman illustrates this truth: we remain blind to our needs until Jesus opens our eyes (Acts 26:16-18).
He revealed Himself to this woman as the Living Water, a Prophet, and ultimately the Messiah. He showed that only He can fill the void in our heart. Jesus invites us to find comfort and peace in Him, offering us a wellspring of life that never runs dry. He seeks to save us from our sins and reconcile us to God, offering us forgiveness and new life (2 Corinthians 5:17). If we embrace Jesus as our Messiah, our lives will overflow with gratitude and a desire to exalt His name. Let us rest in the knowledge that in Christ we have everything we need, and His living water satisfies our deepest longings, empowering us to live a life of purpose and joy. Salvation, joy, peace, comfort and fulfillment can only be found in Jesus, the Living Water (Ephesians 1:3-8; John 7:37-38). In Matthew 11:28, Jesus tells the multitude, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Jesus has revealed Himself; will you accept Him or reject Him?