By Ben Quine

**This article is the beginning of a series helping us navigate this issue of racism in our world from a Biblical perspective. To read all of Ben’s articles on this subject - click on his name above by the date published and it will sort all of this articles in one place.

Case Study - John 4

Imagine you’re in a desert and you have water. A stranger is sitting before you. He’s tired, thirsty, and in great need of water, as he’s clearly come a long distance. He asks you for some of your water.

Should you:

• A. Give him a drink of life-saving water

• B. Ignore him, because you don’t know him

• C. Start arguing about why he would ask you for a drink, and explain to him that society tells you you can’t help him

Water is life-giving. Water itself is a breathtaking miracle. All humans need water, just to survive. So Jesus, dehydrated and in need of its life-giving properties, asked the woman for water.

Jesus, wearied as He was from His journey… said to her, “Give Me a drink.” (John 4:6-7)

Think how crazy the situation was! She didn’t say, “Of course!” or, “Here you go!” like she should have. Even though He was obviously tired and thirsty, she instead demanded to know why He asked her for a drink.

The Samaritan woman said to Him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?” (verse 9)

On our multiple-choice test above, did you choose answer C?

This woman did.

She did it because sin makes us crazy. Sin makes us stupid. Sin tells us we have to follow our culture’s rules, even though those rules are often illogical or blatantly opposed to God’s principles.

The woman’s response was even more shocking since Jews and Samaritans were technically family.

“Are you greater than our father Jacob?” (verse 12).

Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, 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.” (verse 10)

Jesus came intentionally to meet with this woman because her life was upside-down. As we said in the previous article, Jesus came to bring healing in the midst of extreme social division and hurt. He was acutely aware of the fact that, while He was physically thirsty and in danger of death, this woman was desperately thirsty spiritually, and in danger of spiritual death. And Christ knew that He Himself was the only possible solution to her problem.

The woman said to Him, “Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.” Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” The woman said to Him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.” (verses 11-15)

Jesus made an outrageous statement (which was a habit of His!), that His water was better than Father Jacob’s. To the woman it sounded too good to be true. Jesus was also referencing the prophet Jeremiah’s statement:

O LORD, the hope of Israel, all who forsake you shall be put to shame; those who turn away from You shall be written in the earth, for they have forsaken the LORD, the fountain of living water. (Jeremiah 17:13)

Jesus was directly referencing the Holy Spirit, who would come after Christ’s glorification – His death, resurrection, and ascension.

On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’”

The Holy Spirit came upon the apostles at Pentecost, and their lives were totally revolutionized. Instead of hiding in locked rooms, they went out to boldly preach in the Temple. Instead of running away from arrest, they embraced martyrdom. Instead of shunning those that culture told them to avoid, they went to rescue the Samaritans by preaching the Good News of Jesus to them (Acts 8).

How was this transformation possible?

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Acts 1:8

The indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit births power. The power for new life. The power to do what is right. The supernatural power to be God’s ambassadors to a lost and broken world. The power for reconciliation and forgiveness.

This life-giving power doesn’t come from human wisdom, human plans, or human programs. It doesn’t come from human effort or will power. It doesn’t come from manipulation or coercion or force.  It can only come from God’s very presence living in His children.

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Romans 12:2

Most people are conformed to this world. This world says, “you can’t talk with that person. You can’t associate with that kind of person. You must hate that group of people.” The pattern of this world brings death.

Christ is the only one who can break down these divisions. But the wonderful news of the Gospel is that we, God’s children, by the indwelling Holy Spirit, have access to that same divine power today! If we allow the Holy Spirit to have full authority in our lives, the fountain of living water in all its divine power can flow through us to heal our thirsty, dying world.

Water heals physical ailments. Living water heals spiritual ailments. Living water is life-giving. Living water itself is a breathtaking miracle. All humans need living water, just to survive.

Right now our culture is in travail. It is in sorrow and groaning. There is great division and pain and hurt. There’s so much racial tension and distrust. But Jesus is ready to bring restoration and healing to our land like He did to the town of Sychar all those years ago. Jesus is the gift of God — we need to ask Him for living water, the power of the Holy Spirit, and He will bring healing.

Reconciliation and the rebuilding of relationships is not an automatic occurrence. Physical healing always takes time and mindfulness of the principles at play. So too with spiritual healing, there are specific things we need to do, and specific principles we need to follow. But with the presence of the Holy Spirit, we now have the power to carry them out.

We will be discussing the Biblical principles at play and the practical steps we can take now, while “the fields are white for harvest” (verse 35), to allow God to gather a great harvest of restoration and reconciliation in our land.

Join us Monday evenings starting February 21 for a look at what God’s Word says about Racism, and His plan for reconciliation, as we work through the Answers for Difficult Days Bible study series by Ben Quine.

Check out our Christians Engaged Store to purchase all 4 of the books - Answers for Difficult Days. (4-Book Bundle $40 , shipping not included)..

ABOUT BEN

Connect with him at Cornerstone Curriculum

Ben Quine, the second son of David and Shirley Quine, was blessed to grow up with a Charlotte Mason/Dr. Schaeffer/Biblical Worldview education -- a tremendous gift! Through the years, Ben has served as a Cornerstone consultant, assistant, and co-author. He has written several Bible studies for the Answers for Difficult Days series, which equips churches to address the issues our culture is wrestling with today, from the foundation of Scripture. Ben is also the editor of The Worldview Library, editions of classical literature with student helps that afford the reader a deeper understanding of the concepts presented in each work.

Trained as a classical pianist and instructor, Ben is committed to inspiring his students with the love of great music and equipping them with the tools to perform at the highest level. This training has resulted in his students' successful performances from local festivals and competitions to Carnegie Hall.

Ben loves Shakespeare, Dickens, photography, listening to recordings of "the great pianists", running, biking, and spending time with his wife Julie and their three sons.