No Longer Thirsty

Introduction

Each year the best golfers from America go up against the best golfers from Europe in the Ryder Cup, a prestigious tournament where the winner claims bragging rights for having the best golfers in the world. This year’s Ryder Cup has just completed, with the European golfers absolutely making the American golfers look bad. The European team has won 4 out of the 5 last matches, but the real story came from a golfer named Darren Clarke. Clarke had played in the last four Ryder Cup events but was out of contention for this year’s event.

Clarke’s wife, Heather, had been diagnosed with breast cancer two days after the Ryder Cup in 2005. Clarke had continued to play golf but a little over two months ago had stopped playing in order to be with his wife. Heather Clarke died on August 13, 2006. Clarke had not swung a club since July 21 and with the Ryder Cup approaching was not in contention as one of the participants. But then an interesting twist occurred. The captain of the European team was Ian Woosnam. As captain, Woosnam is allowed to pick two additional players to the ten who are chosen based on their performance during the past year. Woosnam chose Darren Clarke and one of Clarke’s closest friends, Lee Westwood, to complete the team.

Clarke and Westwood were unbeatable, as were most of the European contingent. Clarke was undefeated and Westwood collected four points in the tournament. The Ryder Cup was retained by the Europeans with an 18½ to 9½ point victory. We like these kind of stories because they inspire us. We like them because we like to see people whose lives have been damaged in some way come back and bring victory. The story in John 4 is such a story. But it is more than just a story about a woman searching for direction and understanding. It is our story as well. It describes our desire to understand and find direction and meaning. As John does throughout his writing he gives us an opportunity to see Jesus for who he is and who he claims to be. May we see ourselves this morning.

Story

John tells us that things are heating up in Jerusalem. Jesus’ ministry is taking off and he attracts the attention of the religious leaders. So in one of those statements that is filled with a lot of meaning, verse 4 tells us that Jesus had to go through Samaria on his way back to Galilee. There were two routes from Jerusalem to Galilee. The direct route was through Samaria. The indirect route was to cross the Jordan River and travel around Samaria. Devout Jews saw the Samaritans as outsiders and unclean. Devout Jews avoided Samaria and the Samaritans whenever possible. Jesus chose the direct route.

About noon, Jesus and his disciples arrive at Sychar tired and thirsty. The disciples leave Jesus beside the well there and venture into town looking for food. A woman comes to the well to draw water and Jesus simply asks her for a drink of water. Whether her response is one of sarcasm or humor, the point isn’t missed. She knows the rules and surely Jesus knows the rules as well—Jews don’t have anything to do with Gentiles. Jesus only wanted a drink, but now it is a broader conversation.

Jesus tells the woman that if she had any idea who she was talking to, she would be asking him for water. The woman only hears and sees the physical. There is no spiritual discernment yet. Jesus has no pitcher with which to draw water. What kind of water exists that forever quenches thirst? She wants the kind of water that only needs to be drawn once. Jesus recognizes that the woman is not thinking on a spiritual level so he takes a different approach. It was customary that significant conversations took place between men, so Jesus tells her to go and bring her husband. A sore subject indeed. The woman tries to end that line of thinking with an emphatic “I have no husband.” Jesus knows her sin, but he also knows her heart. There is still hope here. She doesn’t know it, but Jesus sees it.

Personal items are often deflected by changing the subject. What better subject than to inquire about one of the more divisive issues between Jews and Samaritans—the place of worship. The Jews had destroyed the Samaritan temple about a century before this encounter but the Samaritans continued to assemble around Mount Gerizim. This mountain would have been in clear view when Jesus and this woman spoke. Jesus defines worship as God intended—it is about place. It is spiritual. It is about the heart. It is about focus.

Claims

There are a number of legitimate ways to deal with this text. I have heard lessons which focus on ways to speak to someone about Jesus. I have heard lessons which focused on worship. I have heard lessons which focused on Jesus reaching out to the outcasts of society. But what is John trying to do with this story? John’s objective is to convince us that Jesus is the Son of God. Each story is a piece of evidence designed to persuade us that Jesus is who John claims him to be. This story is no different. It is in this story that Jesus makes three claims about himself in this episode.

In verse 10, Jesus claims to be able to give living water. What does Jesus have in mind? The Samaritans only accepted the first five books of the Old Testament as valid. In Numbers 20:8-11, the story of water gushing out of the rock provides needed refreshment for the community. But numerous other texts link gushing water with the gift of God. Passages such as Isaiah 12:3, Isaiah 49:10, and Isaiah 55:1, and Jeremiah 2:13 in which God calls himself the spring of living water. The point—Jesus claims to be God.

In verse 12, Jesus claims to have greater authority than Jacob who was credited with digging this well.

In verse 26 he claims to be the Messiah. Only the Messiah could speak with such authority about worship.

The point is what do you do with the claims of Jesus? This story makes sense when we take on the role of the Samaritan woman. We look at life from the point of view of what will make better and more comfortable. Only Jesus promises permanent satisfaction and it isn’t found in this world but in relationship with him. Darren Clarke played in the Ryder Cup. Accompanied by his friend Lee Westwood, Darren Clarke went to the first tee. There he met his American opponents, Phil Mickelson and Chris DeMarco. An announcer introduced Clarke to the gallery and for just a moment the entire tournament came to a standstill. The crowd applauded, Mickelson and DeMarco hugged Clarke and Darren Clarke knew that his opponents and the gallery were there to support him in his loss. With tears in his eyes and the sun streaming down, Clarke hit his drive 305 yards on his way to a birdie on the first hole. It was a fitting beginning for a man who was missing his wife.

Clarke said after that round of golf that he would never forget what he experienced on that first tee. But what he experienced did not take away his pain nor bring back his wife. Darren Clarke would have exchanged a perfect drive, a Ryder Cup win, and the hugs of fellow golfers for his wife. The victory was hollow when compared to the loss he had experienced. The Samaritan woman lived her life going from man to man looking for ways to find meaning and purpose. Her life was like the water she drew out of the well—stagnant, going nowhere. What she needed was living, gushing, life-giving water. Only Jesus could give that to her. Like the Samaritan woman you want purpose, direction, and life. You have searched for such things through things and people. And only Jesus can give you what you truly want.

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