Jesus sat wearily at Jacob's well. He had come in love to His own to save them from their sins, but they would not receive Him. His tender heart was weary as He sat at the well.
Soon a woman with her waterpot came to the well. She was one to whom the proud Pharisee would scorn to speak. She was a despised Samaritan, and that was not all. She was a poor, wretched person who was living in open sin. She little knew that she was about to meet the One who knew all about her.
She arrived at the well, and was astonished that Jesus, being a Jew, should ask her to give Him a drink. "Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give Me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of Him, and He would have given thee living water." John 4:1010Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. (John 4:10).
He did not say, "If thou wert not so great a sinner." He did not say, "If thou wilt reform and become a holy woman, then I will give thee living water." No! He let her know that He knew all that she had ever done.
But there was such a depth of pity, grace, and compassion in His wonderful face, such tender love to the sinner in those words, that it won her heart―she was converted. Christ was revealed to her.
Leaving her waterpot, she went to the city with her heart so full of Christ that, forgetting her own shame, she said, "Come, see a Man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?" John 4:2929Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ? (John 4:29).
Now, can you meet the eye of Him who knows every thought of your heart from childhood? And can you say that you are not a sinner? How was it, do you think, that Jesus was so attractive to this poor woman?
What can those words mean―"If thou knewest the gift of God"? It is the one great thing needed by every poor wretched sinner! Jesus Himself says it. You ask who, or what, is the gift of God? It is eternal life in Christ, the same One that met that poor Samaritan woman, Jesus, the Son of God.
You can only receive Jesus, and so salvation and life, as a GIFT. Oh, if only you would see this! You cannot buy it; you cannot earn it. He that knows every sin you ever committed―all that you are―sets before you Jesus, His Son. Do you know Him, the gift of all gifts?
You say, "But my sins are so many; they lie so heavily on me." That is because you do not know the gift of God. Yes, even though you had committed every sin that has ever been done in this dark world, when you receive Him as `your Savior, "The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin." 1 John 1:77But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. (1 John 1:7).
His business here was saving just such burdened, weary, heavy-hearted sinners as you are. The first thing is to KNOW the gift of God, Jesus; then a change of life will follow.