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MAY 15
16 Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband,
and come here.”
The woman answered and said, “I have no
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4:10 living water. The Old Testament is the husband.”
background for this term,which has important Jesus said to her, “You have well said, ‘I
metaphorical significance. In Jeremiah 2:13, have no husband,’ for you have had five hus-
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Yahweh decries the disobedient Jews for bands, and the one whom you now have is not
rejecting Him, the “fountain of living waters.” your husband; in that you spoke truly.”
The Old Testament prophets looked forward 19 The woman said to Him, “Sir, I perceive that
to a time when “living waters shall flow from You are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on
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Jerusalem” (Zech. 14:8; Ezek. 47:9). The Old this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusa-
Testament metaphor spoke of the knowledge lem is the place where one ought to worship.”
of God and His grace which provides cleansing, 21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, the
spiritual life, and the transforming power of hour is coming when you will neither on this
the Holy Spirit (Is. 1:16–18; 12:3; 44:3; Ezek. mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the
36:25–27). John applies these themes to Jesus Father. You worship what you do not know;
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Christ as the living water which is symbolic of we know what we worship, for salvation is of
eternal life mediated by the Holy Spirit from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now is,
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Him (v. 14; 6:35; 7:37–39). Jesus used the
woman’s need for physical water to sustain life when the true worshipers will worship the
in this arid region in order to serve as an object Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is
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lesson for her need for spiritual transformation. seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit,
and those who worship Him must worship in
spirit and truth.”
The woman said to Him, “I know that Mes-
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Where then do You get that living water? Are siah is coming” (who is called Christ). “When
You greater than our father Jacob, who gave He comes, He will tell us all things.”
us the well, and drank from it himself, as well 26 Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am
as his sons and his livestock?” He.”
13 27 And at this point His disciples came, and
Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever
drinks of this water will thirst again, but who- they marveled that He talked with a woman;
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ever drinks of the water that I shall give him will yet no one said, “What do You seek?” or, “Why
never thirst. But the water that I shall give him are You talking with her?”
will become in him a fountain of water springing 28 The woman then left her waterpot, went
up into everlasting life.” her way into the city, and said to the men,
15 The woman said to Him, “Sir, give me this 29 “Come, see a Man who told me all things that
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water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to I ever did. Could this be the Christ?” Then
draw.” they went out of the city and came to Him.
DAY 15:What aspect of worship toward God is absolutely essential?
In His conversation with the Samaritan woman in John 4:24, Jesus reminded her that “God is
Spirit.” This verse represents the classical statement on the nature of God as Spirit. The phrase
means that God is invisible (Col. 1:15; 1 Tim. 1:17; Heb. 11:27) as opposed to the physical or material
nature of man (1:18; 3:6).The word order of this phrase puts an emphasis on “Spirit,”and the state-
ment is essentially emphatic. Man could never comprehend the invisible God unless He revealed
Himself, as He did in Scripture and the Incarnation.
“Must worship.” Jesus is not speaking of a desirable element in worship but that which is
absolutely necessary.“In spirit and truth.”The word “spirit” does not refer to the Holy Spirit but to
the human spirit. Jesus’point here is that a person must worship not simply by external conformity
to religious rituals and places (outwardly) but inwardly (“in spirit”) with the proper heart attitude.The
reference to “truth”refers to worship of God consistent with the revealed Scripture and centered on
the “Word made flesh”who ultimately revealed His Father (14:6).
The Samaritans also anticipated Messiah’s coming.The Samaritan woman responded,pushing
toward the future.“I who speak to you am He”—Jesus forthrightly declared Himself to be Messiah,
though His habit was to avoid such declarations to His own Jewish people, who had such crassly
political and militaristic views regarding Messiah (10:24;Mark 9:41).The “He”in this translation is not
in the original Greek for Jesus literally said “I who speak to you am.”The usage of “I am”is reminiscent
of 8:58. This claim constitutes the main point of the story regarding the Samaritan woman, upon
which all worship is centered.

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