Yes, it’s true. Jesus did indeed come first...to His own people, to those whom were descendants of Abraham and heirs to the promise, God’s ‘chosen people’.

But they rejected Him and ‘did not receive Him’. (John 1:11)

And yet...’to as many as did receive Him...to them He gave the right, [the power or capacity] to become...children of God’. (John 1:12)

Right off the bat, you know what that tells us? That contrary to popular opinion, we are not ‘all children of God’. And guess who Jesus bluntly informed to their faces that they were actually ‘children of the devil’?

The very ones who were well versed in the law, and had all the scriptures of old along with the writings of the prophets... who foretold that God was going to send One to deliver them. (John 8:44). The very ones who should have known and recognized the ‘Word who became flesh’ (John 1:1,14), the promised Messiah whom God’s people had been longing to see bring them freedom, missed it. They flat out rejected the One who came to set them free (Luke 4:18)

The world stage had been set, the prophecies of old were clear...and the long awaited arrival of the Messiah was here; and so many of them missed it. How...could this have happened? And even worse to imagine, could it possibly happen again...to ‘God’s people’?

Do you recall the parable I mentioned not long ago found in Matt. 22 where Jesus likened the kingdom of heaven to a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son? And when he sent out servants to call for those whom had been invited, do you remember what their responses were? They made light of it and ‘went their own way’ (1-5). You might want to read on there to see how the king responded to their calloused indifference in vs. 7.

Now this did not halt the king’s plans for the wedding, because that was going to happen. But there was a ‘shift’ in direction and to whom the invitations were now being sent out to, and it was the most unlikely of people (8-10). Luke’s account of this describes them as the ‘poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind’; you know...all those ‘undesirables’. (Luke 14:21-22)

So now let me ask you this- to whom did Jesus make His first public admission to... that He was indeed the Chosen One, the promised ‘Messiah’? It sure was not the religious ‘elite’ of the day, those scholars and well indoctrinated religious leaders who thought they had it all figured out. It was a woman; and not a woman of ‘stature’ or highly looked upon or well respected, either.

It was a Samaritan woman whose story we are allowed to witness as it unfolds before us in John 4. She was the one who was so broken and shamed, that she chose to come to the well for water alone, during the hotter time of the day, to avoid the scorn and whispers that she knew followed her. It was bad enough to be a Samaritan during that time period, but she had also been married and divorced five times, and was currently living with a man, so who knows what kind of heartache came with that.

She was the one whom Jesus went out of His way to meet her in person and to let her know that she was loved and valued by God. And He had an offer for her if she was willing to take Him up on it. Jesus offered her ‘living water’ (10)...and if she were to drink of it, she (or anyone else who drank of this well) would ‘never thirst again’ (14).

The conversation turned to spiritual things, like ‘worship’ and ‘salvation’ and how God is Spirit’. Her guard must have started to come down as she opened up to Jesus and admitted that she knew ...the “Messiah was coming” (25). We call that ‘hope’, which we cling to believing that ‘someday’...things can change for the better. And that is when Jesus announced to her that He was indeed...’The One’. (26).

He knew her heart, her pain, and her needs. And He chose to reveal Himself to her in that hour and in that moment...offering her something no previous man had been able to provide for her. It was the same thing all broken people need and long for – healing and to be made whole again; and this only can come about through a transformation...call it a ‘rebirth’ if you will. (John 3:3-7). And let’s not forget...it is not the ‘whole/healthy’ who need a physician, it’s the sick, the broken, the hopeless. Those are the ones whom Jesus came for (Mark 2:17)

If you are not careful though, you’ll miss an important part of this story and it has to do with this 'well of living water' Jesus spoke of, which He described as a ‘fountain of water springing up from within... into everlasting life’ (14). Would you now turn to John 7 and take in the words Jesus spoke in vs. 37-39.

“If anyone thirsts...let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said...out of his innermost being (his heart)...will flow rivers of living water.”

Now please pay close attention to this next part: “But this...He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would later receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.” (39). This would be the same ‘Spirit’ that Jesus promised would come, referring to it also as a ‘helper, a comforter, and advocate’, the ‘Spirit of Truth’ that would lead and guide and...’teach you all things’ (John 14:16-17,26; 16:13). Jesus never expected us to walk in this new life...alone...without Him! (John 14:18)

Now, here is the ‘$64,000 question’ that each and every one of us who claims to be a follower of Jesus can ...and should be...asked: “Have you received the Holy Spirit... since you believed?” (Acts 19:2). Meet me back here tomorrow?