“If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” (John 4:10)
The conversation between Jesus and the Samaritan Woman began with a simple request. Our Lord wanted to drink some water. If there had not been any cultural tensions between the Jews and Samaritans, she probably would have complied immediately, hospitality being an important part of the ancient way of life (Genesis 24:10-33). Even today, most citizens we meet are helpful with our simple requests, when we ask for directions, when we ask to borrow a telephone, or when we need a glass of water or some small favour from a neighbour or friend. We think nothing of asking, and hopefully we think little of granting these requests made of us. Common courtesy is expected in the Bible to such an extent that Jesus warns us not think of good deeds as being merely a matter of manners: “For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:46-48). As Christians, we have learned that granting requests is an important part of our walk of faith. Or have we? We are good at granting human requests, it seems, but what about the requests of our Lord?
The disciples, who became the Lord’s apostles, were only too happy to do as their Master bid them, whether it was finding the donkey for the triumphal entry (Mark 11:2-6) or making preparations for the Last Supper (Mark 14:13-16). If they were willing to follow Him in such little things, how much more were they willing to obey when it came to deep spiritual matters (Luke 9:17)! And yet, today, there are many who find a commanding Jesus offensive to their taste, impossible to reconcile to their preconceived image of a suffering servant (Isaiah 53). This is nonsense! Jesus clearly suffered and came as a lowly servant for our sake—but that does not mean He invites us to be His master! On the contrary, He invites us to be servants, too, to follow His example. How can a servant learn to serve without following the commands of the Master? We are willing in our daily lives to comply with so many requests from the world, can we not also comply with the commands of our loving Saviour? Jesus makes this request to us every day: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15). And His commandments are not burdensome (1 John 5:3). This is not law—this grace! It is through his commandments that we know Him more and experience His freedom more each day.
To understand the request Jesus makes to the Samaritan woman, we need to read the text more closely. Jesus says, “If you knew the gift of God...you would have asked him”. Our loving Jesus is the gift of God, and when we do not wish to respond to Him, whether it be in prayer, in service, or in keeping his commands, then we show that we do not know Him, or do not understand His gift. Since He is the gift, His requests and commands are also gifts by which we drink more deeply of the living water. He commands in order that we may have life and light. He requests in order that we may drink and be refreshed: “Whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty forever. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:14).
The conversation between Jesus and the Samaritan Woman began with a simple request. Our Lord wanted to drink some water. If there had not been any cultural tensions between the Jews and Samaritans, she probably would have complied immediately, hospitality being an important part of the ancient way of life (Genesis 24:10-33). Even today, most citizens we meet are helpful with our simple requests, when we ask for directions, when we ask to borrow a telephone, or when we need a glass of water or some small favour from a neighbour or friend. We think nothing of asking, and hopefully we think little of granting these requests made of us. Common courtesy is expected in the Bible to such an extent that Jesus warns us not think of good deeds as being merely a matter of manners: “For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:46-48). As Christians, we have learned that granting requests is an important part of our walk of faith. Or have we? We are good at granting human requests, it seems, but what about the requests of our Lord?
The disciples, who became the Lord’s apostles, were only too happy to do as their Master bid them, whether it was finding the donkey for the triumphal entry (Mark 11:2-6) or making preparations for the Last Supper (Mark 14:13-16). If they were willing to follow Him in such little things, how much more were they willing to obey when it came to deep spiritual matters (Luke 9:17)! And yet, today, there are many who find a commanding Jesus offensive to their taste, impossible to reconcile to their preconceived image of a suffering servant (Isaiah 53). This is nonsense! Jesus clearly suffered and came as a lowly servant for our sake—but that does not mean He invites us to be His master! On the contrary, He invites us to be servants, too, to follow His example. How can a servant learn to serve without following the commands of the Master? We are willing in our daily lives to comply with so many requests from the world, can we not also comply with the commands of our loving Saviour? Jesus makes this request to us every day: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15). And His commandments are not burdensome (1 John 5:3). This is not law—this grace! It is through his commandments that we know Him more and experience His freedom more each day.
To understand the request Jesus makes to the Samaritan woman, we need to read the text more closely. Jesus says, “If you knew the gift of God...you would have asked him”. Our loving Jesus is the gift of God, and when we do not wish to respond to Him, whether it be in prayer, in service, or in keeping his commands, then we show that we do not know Him, or do not understand His gift. Since He is the gift, His requests and commands are also gifts by which we drink more deeply of the living water. He commands in order that we may have life and light. He requests in order that we may drink and be refreshed: “Whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty forever. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:14).
0 comments:
Post a Comment