The Life of Jesus

But whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a fount of water springing up to eternal life.”

The woman said to Him, “Sir, give me this water so that I will not get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.”

Jesus told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.”

“I have no husband,” the woman replied. Jesus said to her, “You are correct to say that you have no husband.

In fact, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. You have spoken truthfully.”

“Sir,” the woman said, “I see that You are a prophet.

Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews say that the place where one must worship is in Jerusalem.”

“Believe Me, woman,” Jesus replied, “a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.

You worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews.

But a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for the Father is seeking such as these to worship Him.

God is Spirit, and His worshipers must worship Him in spirit and in truth.”

The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When He comes, He will explain everything to us.”

Jesus answered, “I who speak to you am He.”

Just then His disciples returned and were surprised that He was speaking with a woman. But no one asked Him, “What do You want from her?” or “Why are You talking with her?”

Then the woman left her water jar, went back into the town, and said to the people,

“Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?”

So they left the town and made their way toward Jesus.

Meanwhile the disciples urged Him, “Rabbi, eat something.”

But He told them, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.”

So the disciples asked one another, “Could someone have brought Him food?”

Jesus explained, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to finish His work.

Do you not say, ‘There are still four months until the harvest’? I tell you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are ripe for harvest.

Already the reaper draws his wages and gathers a crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may rejoice together.

For in this case the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true.

I sent you to reap what you have not worked for; others have done the hard work, and now you have taken up their labor.”