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?” Then they went out of the city and came to Him…And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, “He told me all that I ever did.” John 4:28-30, 39
If you are unfamiliar with the sin of the desert, you are not alone. The story is not in the Bible, but it illustrates a powerful biblical point. The sin of the desert comes from a story of a Bedouin shepherd who responded to a Christian man persistently telling him about Jesus. He said to the man, “I understand why you are persistent. You do not want to commit the sin of the desert.” Not understanding what the statement meant, the man sought clarification. The Bedouin explained that, “The sin of the desert is knowing where there is water but refusing to tell others.” This is a very fitting description of knowing Jesus and not telling others about He who brought the living water (John 4:10).
A quick look at the context of John 4 will help illustrate the point of this discussion. Having determined to go through Samaria on their way to Galilee from Judea, Jesus’ disciples went into the city to buy food (vs. 8). While they were gone, Jesus asked a Samaritan woman for a drink from the well. Because of the strife between Jews and Samaritans, His request quickly grabbed her attention (vv. 7-9). After asking her for a drink of water, Jesus offered her a drink of a vastly different kind of water (vs. 10). He claimed this water would permanently quench one’s thirst and well up into eternal life (vv. 13-14). This led to a conversation wherein He told her everything she ever did, convincing her He was the long-awaited Messiah (vv. 15-30).
Having found this well of water for the soul in the desert of sin, this Samaritan woman was so eager to share it with her people that she forgot her earthenware water pot (vs. 28). Because of this woman’s unwillingness to commit the sin of the desert, “…many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, ‘He told me all that I ever did…And many more believed because of His own word” vv. 39, 41).
In the physical realm, it is easy to see why a desert traveler might be tempted to keep the knowledge of an oasis to himself or herself. If everyone comes to drink from that small supply of water, you might soon be thirsty again. However, the living water that Jesus brought is sufficient to quench the thirst of as great a number as will come and drink from it; note the phrase “…whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him…” in verse 14. Other passages demonstrate this principle as well, though in different terms (John 1:10-13; 3:16; 1 Timothy 2:4-5; 2 Peter 3:9; 1 John 2:1-2, et. al.).
If we look more closely at verse 14, we see that when we go on drinking of Jesus’ living water, it becomes in us a “…fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” The word translated fountain denotes a spring of running water that can continuously quench our soul’s thirst, thereby sustaining us all the way into eternal life. As Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be satisfied” (Matthew 5:6- ESV). Is your soul thirsty? The only solution is to come drink of the living water Jesus alone possesses. Has your thirst been quenched? The only thing to do now is go share this oasis with other thirsty souls. There is water aplenty, so may we never commit the sin of the desert.