The Gospel According to
John 4
54 verses≈ 8 min3 peopleBSB
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In this chapter
Jesus and the Samaritan Woman
When Jesus realized that the Pharisees were aware He was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John (although it was not Jesus who baptized, but His disciples), He left Judea and returned to Galilee.
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Stylised map · locations approximate
Where it happened
Through Samaria
From Judea to Galilee the shortest road ran north along the hill country of Samaria, past Sychar and the old well of Jacob. Some travelers went the long way around. John says Jesus “had to pass through Samaria.”
Now He had to pass through Samaria. So He came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph.
Since Jacob’s well was there, Jesus, weary from His journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour.
When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.”
(His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.)
The Samaritan woman
“You are a Jew,” said the woman. “How can You ask for a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)
Jesus
Jesus answered, “If you knew the gift of God and who is asking you for a drink, you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”
The Samaritan woman
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
Jesus told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.”
The Samaritan woman
“I have no husband,” the woman replied.
Jesus
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.”
“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 Samaritan woman
The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When He comes, He will explain everything to us.”
I who speak to you am He.
John 4:26
Reflect
A thirst that comes back
Jesus told her, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again.” She knew that well: she came to the well every day. What do you keep going back to, hoping it will satisfy you this time? Write it down, and then ask Jesus for the water He gives.
The Disciples Return and Marvel
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.
The disciples
Meanwhile the disciples urged Him, “Rabbi, eat something.”
Jesus
But He told them, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.”
The disciples
So the disciples asked one another, “Could someone have brought Him food?”
Jesus
Jesus explained, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to finish His work.
Many Samaritans Believe
Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in Jesus because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.”
So when the Samaritans came to Him, they asked Him to stay with them, and He stayed two days.
And many more believed because of His message. They said to the woman, “We now believe not only because of your words; we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man truly is the Savior of the world.”
0:22
Narrated by Bob Souer · BSB audio, public domain
we know that this man truly is the Savior of the world
John 4:42
Question
Quick question
She had come to the well in the heat of the day to draw water. Then she ran back to town.
What did the Samaritan woman leave behind at the well?
Who is this man?
Whiteboard
Step by step she sees more. A thirsty Jewish stranger becomes a prophet, then perhaps the Christ. By the end her whole town is saying it for themselves: He is “the Savior of the world.”
Jesus Heals the Official’s Son
After two days, Jesus left for Galilee. Now He Himself had testified that a prophet has no honor in his own hometown. Yet when He arrived, the Galileans welcomed Him. They had seen all the great things He had done in Jerusalem at the feast, for they had gone there as well.
Stylised map · locations approximate
Where it happened
From Cana to Capernaum
Jesus was back at Cana in the hills. The official’s son lay sick at Capernaum, down by the Sea of Galilee, a long day’s walk away. Jesus never went. He spoke a word, and the boy lived.
So once again He came to Cana in Galilee, where He had turned the water into wine. And there was a royal official whose son lay sick at Capernaum. When he heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went and begged Him to come down and heal his son, who was about to die.
Jesus
Jesus said to him, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will never believe.”
The royal official
“Sir,” the official said, “come down before my child dies.”
Jesus
“Go,” said Jesus. “Your son will live.”
The man took Jesus at His word and departed.
And while he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was alive.
His servants
So he inquired as to the hour when his son had recovered, and they told him, “The fever left him yesterday at the seventh hour.”
Then the father realized that this was the very hour in which Jesus had told him, “Your son will live.” And he and all his household believed.
This was now the second sign that Jesus performed after coming from Judea into Galilee.
John 4:54
Pray
At His word
The official “took Jesus at His word and departed,” with nothing in his hands but a promise: “Your son will live.” Bring Jesus the person you are most worried about today. Ask Him for the faith to walk home trusting His word before you see the answer.
You’ve experienced
John 4
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A verse to carry with you
We now believe not only because of your words; we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man truly is the Savior of the world.
John 4:42
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