Jesus replied, “If you only knew the gift God has for you and who I am, you would ask me, and I would give you
living water.” “But sir, you don’t have a
rope
or a bucket,” she said, “and this is a very deep well. Where would you get this living water? And besides, are you greater than our ancestor Jacob who gave us this well? How can you offer better water than he and his sons and his cattle enjoyed?”
Jesus replied,
“People soon become thirsty again after drinking this water. But the water I give them takes away thirst altogether. It becomes a perpetual spring within them, giving them eternal life.”
(John
4:10-14 TB)
On the last day, the climax of the festival, Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds,
“If you are thirsty, come to me! If you believe in me, come and drink! For the Scriptures declare that rivers of
living water will flow out from within.” (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.)
(John
7:37-39 TB)
[ A Fountain of
Cleansing ] “On that day a fountain will be opened for the
dynasty of David and for the people of Jerusalem, a fountain to cleanse
them from all their sins
and impurity. (Zechariah
13:1)
Like a bird that hatches eggs she has not laid, so are those who get their wealth by unjust means.
Sooner or later they will lose their riches and, at the end of their lives, will become poor old fools.
But we worship at your throne—eternal, high, and glorious! O LORD, the hope of
Israel,
all who turn away from you will be disgraced and shamed.
They will be buried in a dry and dusty grave, for they have forsaken the LORD,
the fountain of living water.
(Jeremiah
17:11-13 TB)
But let us
not be deceived. Real and true recovery is extremely painful, to the
human ego. The spirit that we are awakened into, where the living water
is available, is a spirit that we become familiar with, as well as experience,
embrace, and come to love and understand. That spirit is explained in
the following verses:
Who has believed our message? To whom will the LORD reveal his saving power? My servant grew up in the LORD’s presence like a tender green shoot, sprouting from a root in dry and sterile ground. There was nothing beautiful or majestic about his appearance, nothing to attract us to him. He was despised and rejected—a man of sorrows, acquainted with bitterest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way when he went by. He was despised, and we did not care.
Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God for his own sins!
But he was wounded and crushed for our sins. He was beaten that we might have peace. He was whipped, and we were healed! All of us have strayed away like sheep. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the LORD laid on him the guilt and sins of us all.
He was oppressed and treated harshly, yet he never said a word. He was led as a lamb to the slaughter. And as a sheep is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth.
From prison and trial they led him away to his death. But who among the people realized that he was dying for their sins—that he was suffering their punishment? He had done no wrong, and he never deceived anyone. But he was buried like a criminal; he was put in a rich man’s grave.
But it was the LORD’s good plan to crush him and fill him with grief. Yet when his life is made an offering for sin, he will have a multitude of children, many heirs. He will enjoy a long life, and the LORD’s plan will prosper in his hands. When he sees all that is accomplished by his anguish, he will be satisfied. And because of what he has experienced, my righteous servant will make it possible for many to be counted righteous, for he will bear all their sins. I will give him the honors of one who is mighty and great, because he exposed himself to death. He was counted among those who were sinners. He bore the sins of many and interceded for sinners.
(Isaiah 53:1-12 TB)
