Finding water on cattle drives was an absolute necessity for both cattle and drovers. Most trails like the Good Night Loving Trail, the Great Western Trail and the Chisholm Trail over which cattle were pushed to rail heads in the north had well marked watering places. These watering places whether it was a muddy pond or a fast-moving river were often called ‘watering holes’ by the cowboys.
Watering holes for travelers in the days of Jesus were just as necessary and sought after as those of the wild west. One such watering hole is that
described in the 4th chapter of John. It was an ancient well dug by Jacob. It was located at a historical and spiritually significant parcel of land located
between the twin mountains of Mt. Ebal and Mt. Gerizim. At the time of the writing of John’s Gospel it was still in use and provided life-giving water to the residents of the little Samaritan village of Sychar.
It is at this well, an old watering hole where a very famous and life-changing meeting will take place. It is a meeting between Jesus, the Son of God and a woman of Samaria, an outcast of Sychar.
Meeting at an Old Watering Hole
John 4:3-14
- It was a Planned Meeting—Verse 4 “And He (Jesus) had to pass through Samaria.” Why? Well, one reason, perhaps the most important was that Jesus had a divine appointment with the woman of Samaria at this old watering hole.
There was a time that Jesus had an appointment with us, too. It may have come through a friend, a sermon, a song, or maybe even a chance meeting with a stranger. But however that meeting happened, Jesus arranged a divine appointment so that you could hear the gospel just like this woman at the well. For her, it was a life-changing meeting. A meeting with Jesus will change your life, too.
II. It was a Private Meeting—Verses 7 & 27 “There came a woman of Samaria to draw water. Jesus said to her, ‘Give Me a drink” . . . “At this point His disciples came, and they were amazed that He had been speaking with a woman, yet no one said, ‘what do You seek?’ or, ‘Why do You speak with her?'” Only the woman was there! No one else was invited to the meeting. Even Jesus’ disciples were gone; not even one stayed behind. It was at an hour, at noon when the woman came by herself to draw water; none other came. It was a one-on-one meeting between Jesus and the woman.
That’s how it always is when Jesus approaches us. He always speaks to us individually, privately even if we are in a crowd. His meeting with us always is in the private recesses of our heart.
III. It was a Personal Meeting—Verses 16-18 “He said to her, ‘Go call your husband and come here.’ The woman answered and said, ‘I have no husband.’ Jesus said to her, ‘you have correctly said, ‘I have no husband’; for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; this you have said truly.'” Jesus knew this woman. Even though they had never met, He know all about her.
The same is true of us. Jesus knows us. He knows all about us. He knows our thoughts, our motives and our plans whether good or bad. He knows the deep thoughts and secrets of our heart. He knows all that we have ever done and in His foreknowledge what we are going to do (see Psalm 139). But the incredible thing is that even though He knows us, He still loves us and longs to meet with us.
IV. It was a Meeting with a Divine Purpose—Verses 13-14 “Jesus . . . said to her, ‘Everyone who drinks of this water (physical water – that water from Jacob’s well) will thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.'”
Physical water can satisfy our physical thirst, but only the water that Jesus gives can satisfy the thirst of the soul.
John 7:37-38–“on the last day, the great day of the feast (feast of booths) Jesus stood and cried out, saying, ‘If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water'”.