John 4:1-42 on February 1st, 2026
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So, in a lot of ways, our story for today is the opposite of what we heard last week. Last Sunday we were in John 3, but because of the celebratory nature of the dedication, we didn't really dig into the story too much itself. We centered on John 3, 16, and we gave thanks for what God is doing among us. But John places these two stories side by side for a reason.
In chapter 3, we met Nicodemus, a respected religious leader. He comes to Jesus at night, and Jesus speaks to him about being born from above, born of water and spirit. But then Nicodemus leaves. He is still unsure about who Jesus is. In chapter 4, everything shifts. Now Jesus is at a well in the middle of the day, and the person at the center of the story is this unnamed Samaritan woman. Everything about this conversation breaks expectations as John goes out of his way to tell us. Jews and Samaritans do not associate. Men and women, they keep their distance, and yet Jesus speaks with her. Yet their responses to Jesus cannot be more different. Nicodemus still leaves in the dark about who Jesus is. For this woman, however, the light comes on, and she clearly sees Jesus for who he truly is.
Her revelation all starts when Jesus asks for a drink of water. And this woman is surprised for all the reasons that I mentioned earlier, yet Jesus converses and he offers living water. After more conversation, she says, I see that you are a prophet. In John's Gospel, seeing is often connected to believing. It's hard to see at night when Nicodemus still leaves unsure, but in the brightness of the day, this woman sees clearly. And why? What made her see? What made her believe? Well, Jesus has seen her. He's recognized her for who she is, where she is. He is spoken to her with her. He's offered her something of tremendous worth, acceptance of who she is, past and all.
Jesus sees you. Jesus sees you. He sees where you've been, where you've known heartache, where things have gone your way. He sees where you've messed up, where you wish things would have gone differently, where you are running on empty. He sees you. Jesus sees all of you. We spend so much of our lives returning to the wells of this world, hoping to be filled. We look for satisfaction and control and success and possessions, and the next thing that promises to make us whole again. But it never lasts. We always find ourselves coming back thirsty again. And that's where Jesus meets us. Jesus meets us at the well and offers us something that the world never can. Jesus offers you living water. He offers you life. He offers you life that does not fade, does not run dry, does not depend on how well we are doing. Amin.