The Good News of Easter

The scorching noon sun beat down on her back as she made the long walk from town to the well, her empty jar skillfully balanced on her back. No one would see her, and for a little while she wouldn’t have to fear being mocked or shamed. Beads of sweat trickled down her face, stinging her eyes, and dust caked her sandaled feet. Her throat was dry and sore from thirst. Just a few more steps and she was there.

 “Give me a drink.”

 Startled, she looked up. A man stood by the well. A Jewish man. Why hadn’t she noticed him before?

 “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?” Didn’t he know that Jews have nothing to do with Samaritans, especially Samaritan women?

 “If you knew the gift of God,” he replied, “and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” His words were strange, but he spoke with kindness and compassion.

 She begged him for this living water so she would never be thirsty again. Thirst was daily, weary torment. But instead of giving her this miraculous water, he asked her to bring her husband. Her heart stopped.

 “I…have no husband,” she haltingly replied.

 “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband.” Her mouth dropped. How could He know all this?

 Then He spoke of wonderous things. “But the hour is coming,” He said, “and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”

 She knew He was talking about the coming Messiah Who would tell them all things.

 His next words changed her life forever.

 “I who speak to you am he.”

 The story of Jesus and the Woman of Samaria (John 4:1-45) is a beautiful reminder that the gospel is a gift to both Jews and Gentiles. This is why we get to celebrate Easter; it is good news for all! Jesus knew the Samaritan woman’s sin and loved her, offering her something far more precious than the water she depended on to stay alive – He offered Himself! In her excitement, she left her jar and the water and ran into town so she could tell everyone about Jesus. Because of her testimony, many in that Samaritan town listened and believed in Him. 

 This Easter, we can rejoice that the gospel is His gift to the world, the good news we get to share with all who will hear. “This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.” Ephesians 3:6 (ESV)