“Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.” John 4:13-14 (Read John 4:1-14)

Though the Jews usually had no dealings with Samaritans because they were a mixed people and had corrupted the Old Testament Scriptures to justify their erring religious beliefs, Jesus showed compassion on this immoral Samaritan woman and offered her living water — water that gives spiritual and eternal life.

He offered her life-giving water, but she didn’t understand. She thought only of water to quench her earthly thirst and wondered how Jesus could give her such water since He had nothing with which to draw water from Jacob’s well.

Jesus told her that anyone drinking from the well of Jacob would thirst again. This water could only temporarily quench one’s thirst and need for water. But the water Jesus offered and desired to give her was different. It was a water that would satisfy her spiritual thirst — forever! The water Jesus offered and still gives would become “a well of water springing up into everlasting life.”

What Jesus was offering this woman, and what He offers to us as well, is Himself, the Messiah and Savior of the world, and eternal salvation through faith in Him and His atoning sacrifice on the cross for the sins of the world (cf. Isaiah 12).

Jesus said in John 6:35: “I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.”

In John 7:37-39, Jesus said: “If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.” And John explained: “But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive.”

Water is, of course, necessary to sustain life, and the people living in the arid parts of Israel knew what it was to thirst.

Jesus and the forgiveness and life He won for all by His innocent sufferings and death on the cross are needed by all of us as well so that we might have eternal life.

He desires to give everyone this living water that springs up into everlasting life, for He wants no one to perish and be lost forever. He wants to quench our ongoing need for forgiveness of sins and for life in fellowship with God our Maker. He wants us to partake of Him and His sacrifice on the cross for the sins of the world by faith and live!

It is the Holy Spirit who opens our eyes to see Jesus for who He really is: the Son of God and our Savior. It is the Spirit, working through God’s Word, who assures us that God is gracious to us and offers us forgiveness for our sins for the sake of Jesus’ holy life and innocent sufferings and death in our stead. It is the Holy Spirit who brings us to trust in Jesus for forgiveness and life, and He strengthens us through the promises of His Word and keeps us trusting in Jesus.

God’s Spirit also moves and enables us to share our faith and tell others about Jesus and what He has done for us. He moves and enables us to share the water of life we have received with others so that their spiritual thirst, too, might be quenched forever!

All who come to know and trust in Jesus as Savior have the gift of God’s indwelling Spirit, who not only brings them to such faith and conviction but also keeps them trusting in Jesus and moves them to share their faith with others who thirst spiritually

The life-giving water that Jesus gives is, in all believers, a well of water springing up and quenching our spiritual thirst and giving us everlasting life. It satisfies us for eternity and continues to well up within us so that we might share it with others so that they, too, might have everlasting life through faith in Jesus!

O dearest Jesus, grant us Your Spirit and the forgiveness and life You have won for us by Your holy life and innocent sufferings and death on the cross in our stead. Preserve and keep us in the true and saving faith unto life everlasting and enable us to share this water of life with other thirsty souls. Amen.

[Scripture is quoted from the King James Version of the Bible.]

“Then said Jesus again unto them, I go my way, and ye shall seek me, and shall die in your sins: whither I go, ye cannot come. Then said the Jews, Will he kill himself? because he saith, Whither I go, ye cannot come. And he said unto them, Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I am not of this world. I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.” John 8:21-24

What a terrible thing to die in your sins — to die and stand before the holy Judge of all still bearing the uncleanness and guilt of your sins! Yet, this is what was soon to happen to a great many of the Jews in Jesus’ day. Jesus warned them, “I go my way, and ye shall seek me, and shall die in your sins: whither I go, ye cannot come” (John 8:21).

Because so many of His Jewish hearers saw no need to repent of their sins and trust in Jesus as their Messiah and Savior, they would die in their sins and face the eternal wrath and condemnation of God. Where Jesus was going — to the right hand of God the Father in heaven (cf. John 14:1ff.; Eph. 2:20f.) — they would not be able to come! Instead, they faced a Christless eternity and the everlasting torments of hell!

Again, Jesus warned them, “I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins” (John 8:24).

Jesus’ words still ring out today! Many are headed to an eternity of everlasting punishment for their sins. Unless people repent and turn to God’s Son, Jesus Christ, who was lifted up on the cross to suffer and die there for us and bear the full punishment for our sins and the sins of the whole world, they will die in their sins and face the holy God in their own uncleanness and guilt!

What about you? Will you die in the guilt of your sins and face the eternal wrath of an angry God? Or will you, by the grace of God, turn to Jesus and receive His full and complete pardon and forgiveness for your sins and enjoy the everlasting blessings of life in heaven with Him?

The Bible tells us: “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: so Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation” (Hebrews 9:27-28).

Jesus has already died and paid in full for your sins. His resurrection on the third day is proof that God accepted His death as full payment for the sins of the world (cf. 1 Cor. 15:3,4; Rom. 4:23-25)! Why die in your sins and be condemned by God? Turn in faith to Jesus and His shed blood and be forgiven and saved (Cf. 2 Cor. 5:19-6:2)!

O dearest Jesus, have mercy upon our wayward hearts and draw us to You so that we might not enter eternity bearing the guilt and condemnation for our sins but have, instead, the assurance of forgiveness and life everlasting for the sake of Your holy and precious blood, shed for us upon the cross. Amen.

[Scripture is quoted from the King James Version of the Bible.]

“22 After these things came Jesus and his disciples into the land of Judaea; and there he tarried with them, and baptized. 23 And John also was baptizing in Aenon near to Salim, because there was much water there: and they came, and were baptized. 24 For John was not yet cast into prison. 25 Then there arose a question between some of John’s disciples and the Jews about purifying. 26 And they came unto John, and said unto him, Rabbi, he that was with thee beyond Jordan, to whom thou barest witness, behold, the same baptizeth, and all men come to him. 27 John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven. 28 Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him. 29 He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled. 30 He must increase, but I must decrease. 31 He that cometh from above is above all: he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth: he that cometh from heaven is above all. 32 And what he hath seen and heard, that he testifieth; and no man receiveth his testimony. 33 He that hath received his testimony hath set to his seal that God is true. 34 For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him. 35 The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand. 36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.” John 3:22-36

While there is much to be learned from this text, I draw your attention especially to two points. The first relates to our place as ministers of the Gospel, and the second to the importance of placing our faith and hope in Christ Jesus and His ministry of Word and Sacrament.

It is often our inclination, because of our sinful flesh, to focus on ourselves and our work. Pastors come out of the seminary with hopes and dreams of great success in their ministries (often measured with human standards — greater numbers and followers), and we even become somewhat jealous of the successes of others in the ministry. We might even count ourselves more diligent and wonder why people are not flocking to hear the words of our sermons or coming to us to be baptized.

I think we see this in the opening verses of our text. Disciples of John the Baptist voiced concern that Jesus and His disciples were also baptizing, and more people were going to Jesus for baptism than those coming to John.

John’s answer provides a true lesson for us: “A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven” (v. 27).

Not only are our ministries given and entrusted to us from heaven, but the fruits of our ministries — our successes — are God’s working and His blessing upon our humble labors as ministers of the Gospel.

Instead of being upset or even jealous because of his decreasing ministry and the fact that the people were following Jesus and going to Him to hear His Word and to be baptized for the remission of their sins, John rejoiced and said these astounding words: “He must increase, but I must decrease (v. 30).”

Is that how we conduct our ministries? Do we rejoice when our hearers no longer follow us because of who we are and what we do and say but follow Jesus and cling to His Word because of who He is and what He teaches and reveals to us?

Jesus is from above. He is the very Son of God who came into this world to save us. He bears witness to the truth and speaks the very words of God because He came from God, and the Spirit was given to Him without limit or restriction.

Certainly, we want our hearers to follow Jesus, not because of us and who we are but because of Jesus, who He is, and what He has done for us.

And this brings me to the second point — a point I so appreciate — the simplicity of the Gospel.

“The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand. He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him” (v. 35-36).

You can’t get much more straightforward and clear than that! Jesus is the Christ. He is our Messiah and Savior. God the Father committed our salvation into His hand, and He went to the cross and paid the price — He made full atonement for your sins, my sins, and the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:1-2; John 1:29). In Him is “plenteous redemption” (Ps. 130:7).

The one who believes in the Son — who looks to Jesus the Messiah and His cross in faith — has eternal life. The one who doesn’t look to the Son in faith “shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him” (v. 36).

This, of course, echos the words of our Lord Jesus earlier in John 3, when Jesus, while speaking to Nicodemus, said: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God” (v. 16-18).

Both John the Baptist and our Lord Jesus called upon all to repent of their sinful ways and look to Jesus in faith. They both clearly taught that we are justified by faith alone in Jesus Christ and that, apart from such faith, we are not justified but remain under the wrath of God and stand condemned.

It is as the apostle John writes in His first Epistle, chapter 5: “And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life” (v. 11-12). Or, as we read in the ending of Mark’s Gospel (16:16): “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.”

That is certainly reason to point our hearers not to ourselves but to Jesus and His life-giving Word. Only in Him is life!

O dearest Jesus, grant that we place our faith and hope in You alone and follow after You and hear Your life-giving words. And grant that we rejoice that others, too, hear the truth of Your Word and come to You for forgiveness and life! Amen.

[Scripture is quoted from the King James Version of the Bible.]

“Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the Light of the world: he that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” John 8:12

Have you ever tried to walk someplace in total darkness? Perhaps in a cave or on a moonless night? What happened? Without any light, we lose our way and begin to trip and stumble over everything. But what if a friend has a flashlight? If we walk with him, we can see and find our way. But if we do not follow closely, we again begin to stumble and grope in the darkness.

We live in a world full of darkness when it comes to knowledge of the truth. People don’t know or understand who they are, how they got here, why they are here, or how to live. People do not know God, their Maker, or how to walk in fellowship with Him. Instead, people deny the existence of God and believe they are freak accidents of time, chance, and evolution. They have no idea of their purpose here in this world — if they even have one — or what will happen to them after they die.

To the people of this dark and sinful world who are groping about in spiritual darkness, trying this and that to find happiness and fulfillment, Jesus says, “I am the Light of the world: he that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.”

Jesus truly is the light of the world. He speaks the truth about our utter sinfulness before God and the condemnation we deserve, and He speaks the truth when He calls upon lost sinners to repent and trust in Him for forgiveness and life everlasting (cf. John 8:23-24; 8:44; 8:34-36; 8:51; 3:3-6,14-21).

Jesus, the very Son of God, took on human flesh and blood and came into this world to save sinners like you and me. He lived a holy life under God’s law and then suffered and died on the cross to bear the full and just punishment for our sins. Jesus’ resurrection is proof that God accepted His sacrifice for sin and that we can be pardoned, forgiven and justified before God through faith in Jesus and His cross (Rom. 4:23-25). Jesus is “the Light of Life.” In Him alone can we sinners have life in fellowship with God our Maker, both now and forever!

What shall we do? Shall we continue to grope around in the darkness, trying to find our own way? Or shall we follow Jesus, the Light of the world?

Like the person walking next to one with a flashlight, if we walk with Jesus by trusting in Him as our Savior and being led and guided continually by His Word, we will “not walk in darkness” but “have the light of life.” We will not be condemned on account of our sins but be comforted with the knowledge and assurance of forgiveness for our sins and life everlasting through faith in His name! And we will be led and guided in the right way through life by the Holy Spirit’s teaching through the Word.

On the other hand, if we wander off and do not follow closely after the Lord Jesus, we will quickly find ourselves groping and stumbling through the darkness of sin and death, not knowing the way to God or how to live for Him.

Dearest Jesus, “In Thy light shall we see light” (Ps. 36:9). Graciously shine upon our hearts, revealing our sin but comforting us with mercy and forgiveness through faith in You and Your atoning sacrifice for our sins; and lead us safely through this life to Yourself in heaven. Amen.

[Scripture is quoted from the King James Version of the Bible.]

“When Jesus had lifted up Himself, and saw none but the woman, He said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee? She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.” John 8:10-11 (Read John 8:1-11)

The Biblical account of the woman who was caught in the act of committing adultery is an amazing portion of God’s Word to consider. The scribes and Pharisees were attempting to find grounds to accuse Jesus. So, they brought this woman to Jesus as He was teaching in the temple, saying that they had caught her in the very act of committing adultery and asking Jesus whether or not they should stone her to death as Moses commanded in the law (cf. Deut. 5:18; 22:22; Lev. 20:10).

Now the Law required that both the man who took another’s wife and the consenting woman be put to death. This raises the question as to why only the woman was brought in this particular case. Of course, the purpose of the scribes and Pharisees was to test Jesus. And Jesus’ response teaches us two important lessons.

Jesus wrote on the ground and told them, “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her” (v. 7), and then He again stooped down and wrote in the dirt. Verse 9 tells us that they went out of the temple one by one, starting with the oldest, being convicted by their own conscience, until, finally, Jesus was left alone with this woman. What Jesus wrote in the dirt, whether it be the commandments, the sins of this woman’s accusers, or something else, we don’t know; but all were convicted of their own sins and could no longer condemn this woman without condemning themselves (cf. Rom. 2:1ff.).

What can we learn from this? As sinners, none of us can judge and condemn another without also condemning ourselves (cf. Matt. 18:21ff.). Rather, we ought to be “kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you” (Eph. 4:32). None of us are without sin, and all of us depend entirely upon God’s grace and mercy to us for the sake of Jesus Christ and His blood shed for us upon the cross. When we admonish sinners and preach against sin, our goal is not to condemn but urge sinners to join us in repentance and receiving God’s mercy in Christ Jesus!

We remember that “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. … God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved” (John 3:16-17).

Secondly, you and I can find great comfort in the fact that Jesus told this woman caught in adultery: “Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.” If anyone could have condemned this woman, it was Jesus, the holy and righteous Son of God; but Jesus forgave her sin and told her to go and sin no more.

We can find comfort in this because we see that, no matter how great our sin, in Jesus we can find mercy and forgiveness; for He came into the world to fulfill the righteous demands of the law for us and to suffer upon the cross the just punishment demanded by God’s law for our sins. The Bible tells us: “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 3:23-24). Through faith in Jesus’ shed blood, sinners like you and me can find forgiveness from God and not be condemned (cf. John 5:24; Rom. 8:1).

Now, this does not mean that we can go on and sin freely since there is forgiveness in Christ, for Jesus says: “Go, and sin no more” (cf. Rom. 6:1ff.). As those who have been freely forgiven by Christ, we now want to serve Him and do His will. In this life, we will not be perfect — we will fail — but we continue to turn to Jesus for forgiveness and His help and strength to amend our sinful lives and live for Him (cf. 1 John 1:7—2:2).

O Dearest Jesus, we thank You for showing mercy to us sinners and pardoning our offenses for the sake of Your innocent sufferings and death on the cross. Grant that we not judge and condemn other sinners but share Your mercy and forgiveness with them so that we may join together in living our lives for You. Amen.

[Scripture is quoted from the King James Version of the Bible.]