Responding to John 4:1-26
Jesus. why are you so tired?
Why are you so fatigued that you can’t go with your disciples into town to get some food.
How could a strong carpenter, a man who can preach to thousands all day, traversing much of Palestine on foot, be so utterly depleted of strength?
And yet here you are, sitting at the well, worn out and thirsty.
Is it because, as John the Baptist said, you are the Lamb of God who, even now, is carrying the sin of the world? (John 1:19) Has the awful weight of our rebellion, lawlessness, and disobedience already begun to be too much to bear?
Maybe you feel the ancient animosity between Jews and Samaritans and grieve for such alienation. Or perhaps you remember how the ten tribes of Israel deserted their God for spiritual harlotry, worshiping calves and sacrificing to idols. Does your mind go back to the ways that the southern tribes also turned away? Do you weep with Jeremiah at the destruction of the city that resulted from the sins of its kings and people – knowing that the rebuilt city would soon be sacked and burned by Rome?
Since you think that you “must” go through Samaria, with your prophetic knowledge and divine omniscience, you must be aware that you would soon encounter a woman who embodies all the futility and pain of worshiping anyone or anything but God. Does her status as a moral and social outcast, caused by a passion to love and be loved, drain away your vitality?
Here she is now. Look at her. Once beautiful, she still possesses enough attractive power to have acquired yet another man in her search for satisfaction. But you see beneath all that to her thirsty heart, lost in ignorance of how to worship God truly and where to find real refreshment and life.
Your eyes look on her with compassion. Your request for a drink, though spoken as an imperative, springs from deep wells of kindness and pity. Her sins are not hidden from you; nor is the God-implanted longing for someone whom she can love and adore with all her being.
You long to give her the living waters of the Spirit – your Spirit, the Spirit of the Father, the Spirit of love between you and the Father – who alone can slake her thirst and fill her heart to overflowing.
But what will it cost to grant her this free gift? It will not be free to you! You must face the scorn and derision of people who think that they are more righteous than you are and who consider you despised and forsaken by God as well. You will know ostracism, and loneliness such as no man ever suffered, as you labor to give water to the ones who have rejected you.
You will ache with weariness from a night without sleep, mock trials, endless interrogations, slapping, beating, a howling mob, total injustice administered by those who should be the guardians of the weak, poor, and hated. Then the nearly fatal scourging, the terrible load of the cross, under which you stagger and fall.
The excruciating agony of having your hands and feet pierced by thick, sharp nails. Hour upon hour of struggling for breath as your arms try to keep you from suffocating.
And thirst. A terrible thirst. Lips parched, tongue sticking to the roof of your mouth. Desperate, insane thirst for something wet to soothe the pain.
“I thirst’ (John 20:28).
Beyond all that will be the indescribable terror of bearing not only the guilt, but the penalty, for not just this lost and lonely woman, but for the sins of the whole world. Your Father’s wrath will crush your body, mind, and soul; the sun will hide its face; the daylight will become dark. Such horror as no one has ever known will consume your entire being.
“Woman give me a drink,” you ask. Are you already thinking of an hour when no one will offer you even a cup of cold water?
Yes, the gift you desire to give her – and others who believe in you – will cost you everything.
“Christ … loved us and gave himself for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God . . . Christ also loved the church and gave himself for her” (Ephesians 5:2, 25).
“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we behold His glory, the glory as of the Only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).
Truly, you are all glorious, as the song says. I Desire Jesus - Hillsong Worship - Bing video.
I Desire Jesus
Release Date
July 3, 2012
11
[Verse 1]
I desire Jesus
Precious Lamb who ransomed me
Upon the cross He took my sin
And by His blood has set me free
[Verse 2]
I desire Jesus
Oh His Name my soul esteem
For upon His thorn-scarred brow
Is the crown of victory
[Chorus 1]
He is worthy of all honor
All glory to His Name
He alone deserves our highest praise
And forever He will reign
[Verse 3]
I desire Jesus
Triumphant One the earth awaits
For on that day the earth will shine
With the glory of Your Name
[Chorus 2]
You are worthy of all honor
All glory to Your Name
You alone deserve our highest praise
And forever You will reign
[Bridge] 3x
You are all glorious
You are all glorious
My heart leans in
My soul must sing
You are all glorious
[Chorus 2]
[Bridge] 2x
[Verse 4]
I desire Jesus
Precious Lamb who ransomed me
Unto You an offering
Will my life forever be