The woman then left her waterpot, went her way into the city, and said to the men, “Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?” John 4:28-29
The woman being referred to in our verses had just met Jesus for the first time. Jesus, as always, was about His Father’s business. He was on the way to Galilee and knew that He was supposed to go through Samaria that particular day. Normally, Jews would go around Samaria when traveling from Judea to Galilee as they had no dealings with Samaritans.
A woman of Samaria comes to Jacob’s well to draw water and there is Jesus sitting by the well resting from His journey. This, of course turns out to be a divine appointment as we see Jesus talking to the woman about living water, about being thirsty, about worshipping God and about the Messiah who was to come.
Jesus finally declares to the woman that He is indeed the Messiah, the Savior of the world (this is a rather rare instance for Jesus to declare to this woman outright that He is the Messiah). Now that she has met Jesus, it’s time for her to come face to face with the condition of her life without Christ. “Go, call your husband.” Jesus says to her, already knowing that she had five previous husbands and was currently with a sixth man to whom she was not married. Needless to say, she had made some bad choices in her life, but now she had the chance of a lifetime — to become a follower of Jesus the Messiah.
The next verse paints a picture of her choice to follow Jesus; she left her waterpot. If you have ever been in a situation where the water you drink to survive comes from a common well, this phrase would stand out as being significant. Her waterpot would have been a very important possession. When she went to tell others about Jesus and bring them to meet Him, she had, for the first time in her life, put Jesus above and in front of everything and everyone else.
What is your waterpot? Maybe you have something that is as dear to you and even vital for life as this waterpot was for the Samaritan woman. Something that you have always thought that you could not live without. Like this woman, it is not a matter of abandoning this thing forever (she surely would have continued to draw water as long as she lived), but there may be an opportunity to re-prioritize and see for yourself in your own life what is the most important thing.
What a blessing to live life with Jesus as the number one pursuit. It does not mean that you will no longer drink water or eat or do the things that are required to live in this world. On the contrary, the Lord will provide for you abundantly as you choose to follow Jesus and walk in His ways. He is able to provide for you the things necessary for life much better than you ever could provide for yourself.
What then, is the lesson to be learned from this divine encounter between the Samaritan woman and the Messiah? Jesus knows who you are and where you are and what you need to let go of to follow Him. For this woman on this day, it was her waterpot!
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