Rome, Italy’s freely flowing fountains offer a refreshing illustration of the gift of living water.
In Rome, fresh spring water flows constantly from fountains throughout the city, providing thirsty residents and visitors with water at no cost. Approximately 2,500 nasoni (nicknamed “big nose”) or fontanelle (“little fountains”) stand in the city’s squares and streets.
The city began installing nasoni in the 1870s, continuing the ancient system that first brought water to the city through Roman engineering. This water system also fed homes and provided a safe water supply.
The nasone’s nozzle has one hole (sometimes two) on its top. By covering the bottom of the nozzle with your fingers, you can redirect the water to shoot out from the hole on the neck. So, with this technique, you don’t need to bend under the nozzle to drink. The water then gushes upward. How refreshing and delicious the water must taste to sightseers, especially in the summer months when the temperatures often reach scorching highs.
As we marvel at water’s simple pleasure and necessity in daily life, we can see how this theme carries profound meaning in other contexts as well. Let’s consider the theme of living water, the special water offered by Jesus to all.
In John 4, the Bible relates an encounter involving water. While traveling to Galilee, Jesus stopped at a well in Samaria. A woman came to draw water, and Jesus asked her for a drink. During their conversation, the woman questioned why Jesus, a Jew, was speaking to her, a Samaritan woman.
The Living Water
Jesus’ answer is recorded in John 4:10: “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.” (NKJV)
She then questioned Him about His offer of living water.
John 4:13 says “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” (NKJV)
Three Lessons in Jesus’ Love
As their conversation continued, Jesus gently guided her to understand His identity and her need of the living water that only He could provide. From the encounter, we learn three lessons about Jesus’ love toward humanity:
- Jesus mades a deliberate detour to reach her. Jews avoided traveling through Samaria. Not only did Jesus choose a route to meet this unnamed woman, but He also surprised her by His presence at the well at the height of the day, long after other women had fetched water for their households. Jesus also meets us at inopportune times and in unexpected places.
- Jesus crossed cultural barriers to bring her the message of grace and salvation. The Jews and Samaritans did not mingle, but Jesus’ love crossed the barriers that societies created. In Jesus, we are one body, one family.
- Jesus offers hope for the future. Accepting the water Jesus offers does far more than quench thirst. The Holy Spirit’s indwelling brings the hope of eternal life.
Come, Drink Freely
Jesus came to seek and save the lost, and at the cross, He moved heaven and earth to do it. Just as water in Rome runs freely, salvation is free, and God’s grace quenches the thirst of all who drink freely. Jesus is the Living Water; we need never thirst again.