Tag Archives: living water

12 BY THE WAY…WHAT DID JESUS WRITE?

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There’s a story in John’s gospel that doesn’t appear in the original text…but perfectly fits the context. It’s a story about Jesus and the Pharisees…and a woman who, seemingly by chance, got caught in the act of adultery. 

If we ignore the context, we come out with a mysterious situation…and one full of conjectures and a variety of interpretations. Why did the Pharisees happen to discover this sordid situation…obviously taking place behind closed doors? Why were they so keen to drag the guilty woman before Jesus but leave the equally guilty man behind! Of course, it takes two to tango!

What was their motive for setting this up, if it was a setup? Was this about the woman and her guilt…the rightness of punishing her according the law of Moses…or about something more sinister? 

In the background, another Jewish festival was in progress…the Feast of Tabernacles, the last feast of the Jewish calendar year. Jesus arrived late for the feast after a tangle with His brothers… but just in time for the closing ceremony. The high priest was pouring out a jug of water on the ground. What did this mean?

“Pouring water during the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) was a symbolic prayer and ritual asking God for rain and celebrating His spiritual and physical provision.” (Google AI)

For Jesus, water had a far greater significance. It symbolised the life  of God, in the person of His Spirit, available and given to anyone who was thirsty. So, He called out in a loud voice and made the offer to anyone who would come to Him. 

“On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.””

‭‭John‬ ‭7‬:‭37‬-‭38‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Jesus’ invitation was the culmination of centuries of Israel’s defiance. In the words of Jeremiah…

“This is what the Lord says: “What fault did your ancestors find in me, that they strayed so far from me? They followed worthless idols and became worthless themselves… “My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.”

‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭2‬:‭5‬, ‭13‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“In John 7:37, the “water” or “living water” that Jesus offers symbolizes the Holy Spirit, who brings spiritual life and eternal satisfaction to believers.”

(Google AI)

Let’s watch how this scene played  out. 

Not only did the Pharisees reject Jesus’ offer of ”living water” but they also planned to arrest Him for blasphemy.  They sent the temple guards to do the job…but the guards returned empty handed. They were mesmerised by Jesus’ words. 

“Finally the temple guards went back to the chief priests and the Pharisees, who asked them, “Why didn’t you bring him in?” “No one ever spoke the way this man does,” the guards replied.”

‭‭John‬ ‭7‬:‭45‬-‭46‬ ‭NIV‬‬

So, against this backdrop, the Pharisees devised a plan. 

They happened, conveniently, to find and, consequently, dragged an adulterous woman before Jesus for His verdict. Would He forgive her and in doing so, violate the law of Moses or…would He condemn her and go against His own nature?

Jesus did something else…He said nothing. Instead, He bent down and wrote on the ground.  Now, here’s the puzzle. Why did He write, with His finger, on the ground? What did He write? 

There have been many guesses at what He wrote! Amazingly enough…the Bible itself gives us the answer…and in context! Jesus knew the Word…and so did the Pharisees! After all, He is the Word! 

What Jesus wrote in the dust shocked the Pharisees so much that they quietly slunk away and left the woman at Jesus’ feet. 

“The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? …Lord, you are the hope of Israel; all who forsake you will be put to shame. Those who turn away from you will be written in the dust because they have forsaken the Lord, the spring of living water.”

‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭17‬:‭9‬, ‭13‬ ‭NIV‬‬

There it is…as clear as daylight! What did Jesus write? The names of every Pharisee involved in the scam! What was Jesus saying…without saying a word?

“i know you. I know your hearts. I  know your guilt…and I know your names!”

Jesus knew that these men had rejected His offer of living water. They were bent on trapping Him…in the end, to kill Him. He knew their plot and the setup they had created…and the names of every one of them. 

So He wrote their names in the dust…as a warning…a verdict…and a sentence! 

The perpetrators were shocked…guilty, and terrified…so they quietly disappeared!

There was another spinoff of Jesus’ action. An indictment and a guilty verdict needed at least two witnesses according to Mosaic law…so He made the witnesses go away!

The witnesses gone, Jesus was exonerated. He could apply His mercy, forgive the guilty woman, and set her free. 

JESUS SAID – 3

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John 4:5-7 NLT
[5] Eventually he came to the Samaritan village of Sychar, near the field that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. [6] Jacob’s well was there; and Jesus, tired from the long walk, sat wearily beside the well about noontime. [7] Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Please give me a drink.”

Have you ever considered the impact Jesus’ words had on this Samaritan woman?

Let’s follow the thread of their conversation.

John 4:7 NLT
[7] “Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Please give me a drink.”

Jesus asked for ordinary water to quench His thirst…

John 4:9 NLT
[9]”The woman was surprised, for Jews refuse to have anything to do with Samaritans. She said to Jesus, “You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. Why are you asking me for a drink?”

The woman objects, on the basis of longstanding animosity between Jew and Samaritan as well as on cultural grounds, a man and a woman, strangers, don’t talk.

John 4:10 NLT
[10] “Jesus replied, “If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water.”

Jesus introduces a contrast. Well water versus living water…which one does the job? The woman is inquisitive. What does He mean?

John 4:13-14 NLT
[13] “Jesus replied, “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. [14] But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.”

The woman is surprised, confused…

John 4:11 NLT
[11] “But sir, you don’t have a rope or a bucket,” she said, “and this well is very deep. Where would you get this living water?”

Jesus’ answer is even more puzzling. She is interested.

John 4:13-14 NLT
[13] Jesus replied, “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. [14] But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.”

“My water doesn’t need a bucket.” A bold claim! “My water does much more than your water!” What kind of water is this? It’s still about water but a shift from literal to spiritual. She wants this water but she is confused. Can His water relieve her of the drudgery of lugging water from the well every day?

John 4:15 NLT
[15] “Please, sir,” the woman said, “give me this water! Then I’ll never be thirsty again, and I won’t have to come here to get water.”

Jesus goes for the throat.

John 4:16 NLT
[16] “Go and get your husband,” Jesus told her.”

His instruction catches her by surprise. She instinctively dodges the implication. If Jesus is about to disclose an important truth, she must respond under her submission to her husband BUT, she doesn’t have a husband, only a “partner”! She blurts out,

John 4:17 NLT
[17] “I don’t have a husband,” the woman replied.

Jesus said, “You’re right! You don’t have a husband—… “

Jesus responds with “a word of knowledge”, a truth about the woman that He could never know without divine revelation.

John 4:18 NLT
[18]… “for you have had five husbands, and you aren’t even married to the man you’re living with now. You certainly spoke the truth!”

For the woman, this disclosure was the turning point, hit her between the eyes, and moved her in a new direction. She tried to dodge the issue by becoming “religious”. She shifts her ficus from “a man” to “a prophet”.

John 4:19-20 NLT
[19] “Sir,” the woman said, “you must be a prophet. [20] So tell me, why is it that you Jews insist that Jerusalem is the only place of worship, while we Samaritans claim it is here at Mount Gerizim, where our ancestors worshiped?”

Jesus pulls her back to His intention…it’s about God and her!

John 4:21-24 NLT
[21] Jesus replied, “Believe me, dear woman, the time is coming when it will no longer matter whether you worship the Father on this mountain or in Jerusalem. [22] You Samaritans know very little about the one you worship, while we Jews know all about him, for salvation comes through the Jews. [23] But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way. [24] For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.”

She continues her religious pose…

John 4:25 NLT
[25] “The woman said, “I know the Messiah is coming—the one who is called Christ. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”

… until…

John 4:26 NLT
[26]” Then Jesus told her, “I Am the Messiah!”

Was she convinced? Watch her response.

John 4:28-29 NLT
[28]”The woman left her water jar beside the well and ran back to the village, telling everyone, [29] “Come and see a man who told me everything I ever did! Could he possibly be the Messiah?”

A radical transformation! She is no ashamed, afraid, longer avoiding the people, drawing water at midday when she didn’t have to face the silent accusations of her fellow-villagers. What was it that convinced her, changed her, set her free ….instantaneously?

“I know you!” What a relief! No accusation, judgement, condemnation…only reassurance. Jesus knew her but she was comfortable with that!

What did this conversation reveal?

“You crave real love but you are drinking at the wrong fountain!” Five husbands didn’t satisfy her. “Shacking up” with another man was equally disappointing. There is only one source of real, infallible, satisfying love that quenches thirst and never ends, the Spirit of God who is love.

Romans 5:5 NLT
[5] “And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.”

John 7:37-38 NLT
[37] On the last day, the climax of the festival, Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, “Anyone who is thirsty may come to me! [38] Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’”

How many in this world seek this love but try to find it by drinking at the wrong fountain.

Jeremiah 2:13 NLT
[13] “For my people have done two evil things: They have abandoned me— the fountain of living water. And they have dug for themselves cracked cisterns that can hold no water at all!”

Jesus called her, calls us, back to Himself as the only one who can quench our thirst for real, lasting, and satisfying love.

JESUS SAID-2

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Jesus said…nothing, but what He did not say spoke volumes. Sometimes Jesus didn’t need to say anything. He allowed His actions to speak for Him.

Here is an excellent example.

John 8:3-6 NIV
[3] “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group [4] and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. [5] In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” [6] They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him. But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger.”

Why did Jesus let His finger speak for Him?

Many are the interpretations of His action, most speculation but few with understanding.

Jesus knew that His audience of religious leaders would recognise, immediately, what He meant because, as men thoroughly familiar with every word of the Tanach which they could recite by heart, they knew that He was quoting from Jeremiah 17:13.

Jeremiah 17:13 NIV
[13] “Lord, you are the hope of Israel; all who forsake you will be put to shame. Those who turn away from you will be written in the dust because they have forsaken the Lord, the spring of living water.”

Jesus had just offered His people the “living water” of the Spirit to which the high priest’s action pointed. To complete the Festival of Tabernacles, the high priest performed the ritual of pouring water on the ground. Jesus cried out, in response,

John 7:37-39 NIV
[37] “On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. [38] Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” [39] By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.”

The “water” He offered would not disappear into the dry ground as did the water poured out by the high priest. Instead, the “water” He offered would continue to flow and quench the thirst of anyone who drank it.

The Pharisees has so repudiated His words that they had sent soldiers to arrest Him. The soldiers returned empty-handed, to the wrath of the religious leaders.

John 7:45-48 NIV
[45] “Finally the temple guards went back to the chief priests and the Pharisees, who asked them, “Why didn’t you bring him in?” [46] “No one ever spoke the way this man does,” the guards replied. [47] “You mean he has deceived you also?” the Pharisees retorted. [48] “Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed in him?”

On the strength of the rejection of the religious leaders, Jesus wrote His indictment in the dust. What did He write? He wrote their names! His prophetic action meant that, since they had rejected Yahweh, the fountain of living water, they would be obliterated from the earth, like their names written in the dust.

His second indictment! How did He know their names? Only He, the Son of God, could know their names without ever being introduced!

Isaiah 43:1 NLT
[1]”But now, O Jacob, listen to the Lord who created you. O Israel, the one who formed you says, “Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are mine.”

Jesus knew much more than Jack, John, or James. He knew them, deep in their wicked hearts. So convicted were they when they realised what He was doing that they slunk away in disgrace without another word.

John 8:7-9 NLT
[7]” They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up again and said, “All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!” [8] Then he stooped down again and wrote in the dust. [9] When the accusers heard this, they slipped away one by one, beginning with the oldest, until only Jesus was left in the middle of the crowd with the woman.”

Case dismissed! Not only had Jesus exposed their hypocrisy once again but He had also driven away the woman’s accusers. He was free to forgive, to show mercy, and to send her away a new person.

SOME PUZZLES OF SCRIPTURE

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What did Jesus write in the dust?

Another intriguing story appears in John 7 and 8.

During the Festival of Shelters, after an altercation with His brothers, Jesus went from Galilee to the festival in Jerusalem but secretly, at first.

‭John 7:14-15, 31-32, 45-48 NLT‬
[14] “Then, midway through the festival, Jesus went up to the Temple and began to teach. [15] The people were surprised when they heard him. “How does he know so much when he hasn’t been trained?” they asked.

[31]Many among the crowds at the Temple believed in him. “After all,” they said, “would you expect the Messiah to do more miraculous signs than this man has done?” [32] When the Pharisees heard that the crowds were whispering such things, they and the leading priests sent Temple guards to arrest Jesus… “

… but the Temple guards returned empty-handed.

[45]”When the Temple guards returned without having arrested Jesus, the leading priests and Pharisees demanded, “Why didn’t you bring him in?” [46] “We have never heard anyone speak like this!” the guards responded. [47] “Have you been led astray, too?” the Pharisees mocked. [48] “Is there a single one of us rulers or Pharisees who believes in him? [49] This foolish crowd follows him, but they are ignorant of the law. God’s curse is on them!”

The members of the Sanhedrin revealed their contempt for Jesus and His teaching, rejecting His offer of the ‘living water’ He came to provide for His spiritually thirsty people.

The high priest, carrying out the water ritual at the end of the Festival, poured a jar of water onto the ground, water that would do no more than drain away into the soil. In response, Jesus stood up and loudly offered ‘living water’ to those who were thirsty. (John interpreted Jesus’ invitation to refer to the Holy Spirit who would be ‘poured out’ after His death).

The sequel to the story is recorded in John 8. Although this story has been omitted from some early manuscripts, it fits perfectly into the context of John 7.

The Pharisees hated Jesus so much that they set a trap for Him. Knowing His passion to show mercy, they wanted to catch Him out for not upholding the Law.

Probably using one of their own as a volunteer, or perhaps trailing a known ‘sinful woman’ until they could catch her out, they grabbed her in the act of adultery and threw her down in front of Jesus.

The Pharisees had failed to learn not to challenge Jesus. He was too smart for them. They arrogantly demanded a response from Him. “She was caught in the act. The Law says to stone her. What do you say?”

Without a word, Jesus bent down and began to write in the sand. Impatiently, they pressed Him for a response. Eventually, He stood up with a challenge, “Anyone who is innocent can throw the first stone.” Then he bent down and continued writing.

There are many speculations about what He wrote. To me, the most plausible one, that got the exact response He wanted, was like this.

Jesus knew the Scriptures (He authored the Bible)! So did the Pharisees. So, He knew the hearts of these Pharisees and responded exactly according to Jeremiah’s words…

‭Jeremiah 2:13 NIV‬
[13] “My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.”

…and God’s judgment on them.

‭Jeremiah 17:13 NIV‬
[13] “Lord, you are the hope of Israel; all who forsake you will be put to shame. Those who turn away from you will be written in the dust because they have forsaken the Lord, the spring of living water.”

What did Jesus write in the dust? He wrote the names of the Pharisees as an act of judgment against them. What did they understand that scared them off? They realised the frightening reality that JESUS KNEW THEIR HEARTS.

David expressed the same sentiment about his enemies and what he would do to them with the Lord’s help.

‭Psalms 18:39-42 NLT‬
[39] “You have armed me with strength for the battle; you have subdued my enemies under my feet. [40] You placed my foot on their necks. I have destroyed all who hated me. [41] They called for help, but no one came to their rescue. They even cried to the Lord, but he refused to answer. [42] I ground them AS FINE AS DUST in the wind. I swept them into the gutter like dirt.”

The sequel is well known. Jesus could show the woman mercy despite the law because there were no witnesses against her. Instead of judging her, He forgave her and sent her on her way to live a new life.

There may be more in the details of the story that are yet to be discovered, but what we have learned indicates that Jesus was much more than a good man. He was God, clothed in human flesh, and revealing the all-knowing nature of God to those who were willing to examine the evidence. Despite His revelation to these Pharisees, they never did recognise the truth or believe in Him.

Another story reveals Jesus’ supernatural knowledge that startled and transformed a loose woman. When Jesus told the Samaritan woman of her sordid history without knowing her, she was not ashamed but elated. His intimate knowledge of her life, WITHOUT JUDGING HER, drew her like a magnet to everything He had told her, and she was changed.

Faith comes to the one who takes an honest look at the evidence and, on the strength of that, believes!

To be continued…

THIRST? – 8

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John 4:13-14 NLT‬
[13] “Jesus replied, “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. [14] But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.”

God had a quarrel with His people. Despite His goodness to them and His many instructions and warnings about idolatry, the Israelites were bent on worshipping the idols and following the evil practices of the wicked nations around them.

‭Jeremiah 2:4-7, 11-13 NLT‬
[4] “Listen to the word of the Lord, people of Jacob—all you families of Israel! [5] This is what the Lord says: “What did your ancestors find wrong with me that led them to stray so far from me? They worshiped worthless idols, only to become worthless themselves. [6] They did not ask, ‘Where is the Lord who brought us safely out of Egypt and led us through the barren wilderness— a land of deserts and pits, a land of drought and death, where no one lives or even travels?’ “
[7] “And when I brought you into a fruitful land to enjoy its bounty and goodness, you defiled my land and corrupted the possession I had promised you….
[11]” Has any nation ever traded its gods for new ones, even though they are not gods at all? Yet my people have exchanged their glorious God for worthless idols! [12] The heavens are shocked at such a thing and shrink back in horror and dismay,” says the Lord.

His diagnosis was simple.

[13] “For my people have done two evil things: They have abandoned me— the fountain of living water. And they have dug for themselves cracked cisterns that can hold no water at all!”

In their thirst for a life-giving faith, God’s people looked everywhere else but to the Lord, indulging every fleshly lust that their idols could offer them. The outcome was wicked behaviour in the extreme. They were often led by their kings and priests who should have been the custodians of righteousness and truth.

Jesus came to bring us the water of the Spirit who would quench our spiritual thirst with the truth that satisfies forever.

‭‭John 7:37-39 NLT‬
[37] On the last day, the climax of the festival, Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, “Anyone who is thirsty may come to me! [38] Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’”
[39] (When he said “living water,” he was speaking of the Spirit, who would be given to everyone believing in him. But the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not yet entered into his glory.)

The life Jesus promised is often pictured as a spring of fresh, crystal-clear water bubbling up from underground. How different from the pools of stagnant water or the muddied streams from which His people drank.

Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well outside Sychar is a poignant reminder of the consequences of drinking at the wrong fountain.

She was a sinful woman, an outcast, full of fear, guilt, and shame. She came alone at midday to fetch water, not with the women of the town. She tried to hide behind religion, but Jesus knew her life and He knew her heart.

‭John 4:16-18 NLT‬
‭
[16] “Go and get your husband,” Jesus told her.
[17] “I don’t have a husband,” the woman replied. Jesus said, “You’re right! You don’t have a husband—
[18] for you have had five husbands, and you aren’t even married to the man you’re living with now. You certainly spoke the truth!”

Imagine her shock at Jesus’ disclosure! His words hit her right between the eyes.

‭John 4:28-29 NLT‬
[28] “The woman left her water jar beside the well and ran back to the village, telling everyone, [29] “Come and see a man who told me everything I ever did! Could he possibly be the Messiah?”

What did this encounter with Jesus mean to this woman? She came face to face with the truth about her life. For all her years of shame, she was trying to slake her thirst at the wrong fountain! The so-called “love” of a man, especially not a husband, was nothing more than lust, cheap pleasure at her expense.

Her longing for real love was never satisfied, and never would be if her source was a polluted fountain.

‭Proverbs 5:21-23 NLT‬
[21] “For the Lord sees clearly what a man does, examining every path he takes. [22] An evil man is held captive by his own sins; they are ropes that catch and hold him. [23] He will die for lack of self-control; he will be lost because of his great foolishness.”

In Jesus’ promise, she discovered truth that would change her heart and satisfy her thirsty soul forever.

‭John 4:13-14 NLT‬
[13]” Jesus replied, “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. [14] But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.”

The same prophet who diagnosed Israel’s disease, prescribed God’s cure.

‭Jeremiah 31:3 NLT‬
[3] “Long ago the Lord said to Israel: “I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love. With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself.”

How must we respond to a love like this?

‭John 4:39-42 NLT‬
[39] “Many Samaritans from the village believed in Jesus because the woman had said, “He told me everything I ever did!”
[40] When they came out to see him, they begged him to stay in their village. So he stayed for two days, [41] long enough for many more to hear his message and believe.
[42] Then they said to the woman, “Now we believe, not just because of what you told us, but because we have heard him ourselves. Now we know that he is indeed the Savior of the world.”

Faith in the one who made the promise opens the heart to truth, love, peace, and security that wells up into eternal life.

Try it! I have!