This issue of "thirsting again" when drinking "this water" ("water" of this world) is directly tied in with the woman's past marital failures. Can you see the connection? Jesus did not randomly switch subjects when speaking with this woman. He did not arbitrarily go from discussing water to relationships. He is making a connection between the two for this woman and us.
The Samaritan woman was thirsty and not just physically. She was thirsty spiritually but attempting to quench her thirst, that is, satisfy her longing, in physical relationships. Over the years, she had undoubtedly discovered that as she continued to "drink" of one relationship after another, she was never fully satisfied, that is, her thirst was never really quenched. "Whoever drinks this water will be thirsty again."
In this woman's life story, we see the biblical terminology for "addiction." The biblical phrase that describes "addiction" is to be "thirsty again." The person who turns to alcohol, cigarettes, pornography, food, sinful relationships, money, man's approval, etc. to fill a void within them, soon discovers that once is not enough. They must have another "drink" and another. They must search for more pornography with which to gratify the lusts of their flesh. They must have another cigarette, another donut, another dollar because there is never total satisfaction within their soul. Sin is dehydrating to the soul, leaving one's soul a barren desert.
Pastor Richard Blanchard summed up this relentless thirsting of our flesh well when he wrote the hymn, Fill My Cup, Lord. The first lines of the song are: “Like the woman at the well, I was seeking, For things that could not satisfy...” And it is this very thirst in the soul that Jesus entered into on the cross. He was not merely physically thirsty, but when He "became sin for us," He came into the painful human condition of "thirsting."
But unlike our thirst, Jesus' suffering in thirst was purposeful and powerful. Jesus thirsted on the cross that we might become satisfied in Him. He became parched that we might become quenched. What a Savior!
Think of it: the Maker of Heaven and earth with parched lips, the Lord of glory in need of a drink. Jesus offered up His soul to become a barren desert, as He poured out His life unto death so that our souls might become like the Jordan valley "well-watered everywhere, like the Lord's garden" (Genesis 13:10)!
Because of Jesus, there is an answer to the human condition of "thirsting" and a solution for our endless "drinking" that never satisfies. Jesus said to the woman at the well, "He who drinks the water I give him will never thirst." Ahh, here is the cure for "addiction," biblically known as "thirsting." The cure for addiction is not merely stopping the troublesome behavior, but instead, it is to drink the "water" Jesus gives so that our thirst might be quenched.
As Pastor Blanchard wrote, “And then I heard my Savior speaking; Draw from My well that never shall run dry,"
By the end of her time with Jesus, the Samaritan woman at the well understood the analogy. She got the word-picture. How do we know this? Look at this:
“So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people, 29 “Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?” John 4:28-29
Question 5. What did the woman at the well do with her water jar?
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Question 6. When she went into the town of Samaria, what message did she have to share with others?
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The woman left her water jar with Jesus. Why? Well, we can certainly imagine that she was in a hurry to tell others about Jesus. After all, He promised to quench her thirst, that is, satisfy the longings in her soul. But I don't think it is a stretch of the imagination to say that this woman had begun drinking the excellent life-giving water of Jesus already. As she understood that Jesus used "this water" as a symbol of her attempts to quench her thirst in sinful ways, she now repented and left her waterpot behind.
My friend, I wonder, is there any of "this water" in your life right now? Are you thirsting after something, pursuing someone or something that does not truly quench your thirst? If so, isn't it time to "leave your water pot" with Jesus?
So, brother, if the things this world gave you,
Leave hungers that won't pass away;
My blessed Lord will come and save you;
If you kneel to Him and humbly pray.
https://www.hymnal.net/en/hymn/ns/340
As we consider these words Jesus cried out in His final moments on the cross, we learn much from these two words, “I thirst.” We discover His humanity evidenced in His physical thirst, the intensity of His sufferings, His fulfillment of the prophetic Scriptures, and His full submission to the Father's will. And more intimately, we understand how Christ, who knew no sin, can sympathize with our sufferings with sin because, on the cross, He entered into our "thirst." We are born "thirsters," and until our thirst is quenched in Jesus, we will continue searching for satisfaction in sinful relationships, alcohol, work, or any other false water fountains.
Question 7. How is it with you today? Do you recognize that Jesus thirsted on the cross to quench your own thirst? Are you drinking (receiving grace and finding satisfaction) from Jesus?
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Candy writes, "Yes, I see how Jesus thirsted so that I would no longer be thirsty. Because of His grace, I can say that Jesus is quenching that thirst I once had. I have come so far since starting these lessons on the Cross. I have struggled with my walk with the Lord for a long time. But even though at times, I felt close to the Lord, I have never known what I know about Jesus today. I am so grateful for these lessons and how the Lord is opening my mind and heart to receive His Word. The last few weeks of doing these lessons have been the most satisfying in my life. Now I can honestly say that I do not thirst as I once did."
Miles writes, "Yes!! I have been thirsty my whole life and only now begin to understand why I have been so thirsty. My thirst would not only leave me thirsty still but thirsty for more. As God and Jesus awaken my spirit and show me my need for living water I can still be thirsty for the water that has left me thirsting again. But the Living water of Jesus Christ is welling up in me as I go to wash at the cross daily I beg Him to fill me so I wont thirst again!"
Wendy writes, "Jesus truly brings satisfaction like nothing else! Oh how glad I am that I can enjoy this satisfaction! For so much of my life I have been a Christian but always feeling like there's got to be more, as if there was a thirst in me that never really got satisfied. But through taking courses here at Setting Captives Free I have been looking to the cross and found a satisfaction I really never knew so deeply and lasting. I'm just simply amazed at my Jesus!"
If you are still thirsting, may God open your eyes to the fountain of living water that is just a prayer away. If you are quenching your thirst in Jesus, then your future is described in these verses from Revelation:
“Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” Revelation 7:15-17