God Speaks
1-2 When the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard about the greater crowds coming to him than to John to be baptized and to become his disciples—(though Jesus himself didn’t baptize them, but his disciples did)— 3 he left Judea and returned to the province of Galilee.
4 He had to go through Samaria on the way, 5-6 and around noon as he approached the village of Sychar, he came to Jacob’s Well, located on the parcel of ground Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Jesus was tired from the long walk in the hot sun and sat wearily beside the well.
7 Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus asked her for a drink. 8 He was alone at the time as his disciples had gone into the village to buy some food. 9 The woman was surprised that a Jew would ask a “despised Samaritan” for anything—usually they wouldn’t even speak to them!—and she remarked about this to Jesus.
10 He replied, “If you only knew what a wonderful gift God has for you, and who I am, you would ask me for some living water!”
11 “But you don’t have a rope or a bucket,” she said, “and this is a very deep well! Where would you get this living water? 12 And besides, are you greater than our ancestor Jacob? How can you offer better water than this which he and his sons and cattle enjoyed?”
13 Jesus replied that people soon became thirsty again after drinking this water. 14 “But the water I give them,” he said, “becomes a perpetual spring within them, watering them forever with eternal life.”
15 “Please, sir,” the woman said, “give me some of that water! Then I’ll never be thirsty again and won’t have to make this long trip out here every day.”
16 “Go and get your husband,” Jesus told her.
17-18 “But I’m not married,” the woman replied.
“All too true!” Jesus said. “For you have had five husbands, and you aren’t even married to the man you’re living with now.”
19 “Sir,” the woman said, “you must be a prophet. 20 But say, tell me, why is it that you Jews insist that Jerusalem is the only place of worship, while we Samaritans claim it is here at Mount Gerizim, where our ancestors worshiped?”
21-24 Jesus replied, “The time is coming, ma’am, when we will no longer be concerned about whether to worship the Father here or in Jerusalem. For it’s not where we worship that counts, but how we worship—is our worship spiritual and real? Do we have the Holy Spirit’s help? For God is Spirit, and we must have his help to worship as we should. The Father wants this kind of worship from us. But you Samaritans know so little about him, worshiping blindly, while we Jews know all about him, for salvation comes to the world through the Jews.”
25 The woman said, “Well, at least I know that the Messiah will come—the one they call Christ—and when he does, he will explain everything to us.”
26 Then Jesus told her, “I am the Messiah!”
27 Just then his disciples arrived. They were surprised to find him talking to a woman, but none of them asked him why, or what they had been discussing.
28-29 Then the woman left her waterpot beside the well and went back to the village and told everyone, “Come and meet a man who told me everything I ever did! Can this be the Messiah?” 30 So the people came streaming from the village to see him.
31 Meanwhile, the disciples were urging Jesus to eat. 32 “No,” he said, “I have some food you don’t know about.”
33 “Who brought it to him?” the disciples asked each other.
34 Then Jesus explained: “My nourishment comes from doing the will of God who sent me, and from finishing his work. 35 Do you think the work of harvesting will not begin until the summer ends four months from now? Look around you! Vast fields of human souls are ripening all around us, and are ready now for reaping. 36 The reapers will be paid good wages and will be gathering eternal souls into the granaries of heaven! What joys await the sower and the reaper, both together! 37 For it is true that one sows and someone else reaps. 38 I sent you to reap where you didn’t sow; others did the work, and you received the harvest.”
39 Many from the Samaritan village believed he was the Messiah because of the woman’s report: “He told me everything I ever did!” 40-41 When they came out to see him at the well, they begged him to stay at their village; and he did, for two days, long enough for many of them to believe in him after hearing him. 42 Then they said to the woman, “Now we believe because we have heard him ourselves, not just because of what you told us. He is indeed the Savior of the world.”
43-44 At the end of the two days’ stay he went on into Galilee. Jesus used to say, “A prophet is honored everywhere except in his own country!” 45 But the Galileans welcomed him with open arms, for they had been in Jerusalem at the Passover celebration and had seen some of his miracles.
46-47 In the course of his journey through Galilee he arrived at the town of Cana, where he had turned the water into wine. While he was there, a man in the city of Capernaum, a government official, whose son was very sick, heard that Jesus had come from Judea and was traveling in Galilee. This man went over to Cana, found Jesus, and begged him to come to Capernaum with him and heal his son, who was now at death’s door.
48 Jesus asked, “Won’t any of you believe in me unless I do more and more miracles?”
49 The official pled, “Sir, please come now before my child dies.”
50 Then Jesus told him, “Go back home. Your son is healed!” And the man believed Jesus and started home. 51 While he was on his way, some of his servants met him with the news that all was well—his son had recovered. 52 He asked them when the lad had begun to feel better, and they replied, “Yesterday afternoon at about one o’clock his fever suddenly disappeared!” 53 Then the father realized it was the same moment that Jesus had told him, “Your son is healed.” And the officer and his entire household believed that Jesus was the Messiah.
54 This was Jesus’ second miracle in Galilee after coming from Judea.
Source: The Living Bible: BibleGateway.com
We Respond
Reflection: Chapter four breaks down into two sections: the woman at the well and the healing of a government official’s son. In these two situations Jesus modeled personal evangelism and healing respectively. Jesus’s model for personal evangelism goes like this: vs1-2 Be aware of the spiritual climate around you. What may the opposition be planning? The Jewish leaders were comparing Jesus and John the Baptist. vs3-4 Go wherever God directs, even if it isn’t where others would go. The Jews normally avoided going through Samaria. vs4-5 Use the ordinary situations in life, even if you are hot, tired, hungry, or thirsty. Jesus was all of these. vs7-9 Engage with people by asking questions, even if it isn’t the cultural norm. Jesus, a Jewish man, asked a Samaritan woman unrelated to Him to do something only expected of a family member. vs10 Counter their earthly response with one leaning toward spiritual matters, using a word they say or something in the surroundings. Jesus hinted at Himself as living water. vs11-13 Listen carefully to their answer, even their confusion. Don’t let their answer in the physical realm deter you from a spiritual discussion. Jesus didn’t. vs13-15 Make them eager to hear more. Make spiritual discussion attractive. Jesus made her thirsty for living water. vs16 Ask them to do something. Check with the Lord (silently) to be sure it is what He wants them to do. The Holy Spirit had already shown Jesus her marital situation. vs17-18 Only at the Lord’s direction, confront their specific sin. This is a personal matter between the person and the Savior. Jesus could do so because He is God. vs19-24 Don’t be distracted by theological rabbit trails. Bring them back to a spiritual truth to which they can relate. That’s what Jesus did with her. vs25-26 Seal the deal by helping them acknowledge who Jesus really is. Jesus is the Messiah (Christ), the answer to their deepest need.Jesus said, “I am He.” vs27 Don’t let the questions of others discourage you, even other believers, close friends, or family members. With Jesus it was His own disciples. vs28-30 Encourage new believers to tell others to investigate their new-found faith. This will ground their faith in Christ. This woman was so eager to share her faith she forgot her water jar. vs31-38 Enlist others to help in the harvest of souls, even if they don’t understand at first. Jesus instructed the disciples about the harvest that was coming. vs39-42 Follow up on the contacts of the new believers. This may result in many more coming to believe that Jesus is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world. This what happened with the Samaritans. The rest of the chapter, verses 43-54, tells of how Jesus went back to Cana in Galilee. In modeling healing Jesus followed this procedure: vs46-47 He heard the father’s request and the seriousness of the situation. The nobleman came to Jesus and pleaded with Him to heal his son (humbling himself). vs48 Jesus challenged the man’s faith. In essence Jesus was stating that the man only had faith to believe after he saw. Jesus wanted him to believe and then see. vs49-50 The desperate father again respectfully asked on behalf of his dying son. Jesus said, “Go home. Your son lives.” The father believed Jesus and headed home. vs51-52 His servants met him on the road and confirmed the miracle. vs 53-54 This resulted in many others believing that Jesus is who He says He is, and He does what He says He will do.
Prayer: Dear Almighty God who loves all people, thank You for loving me. You are willing to save and direct all those who will, by faith, repent and receive all that Christ Jesus has done for them. Because You love and direct me, Lord, please show me what the opposition is planning. May I go wherever You say. May I engage with people by asking questions even when I am hot, tired, hungry, or thirsty. May I follow Your direction despite cultural norms. Don’t let me get distracted by answers in the physical realm when You want me to be discussing spiritual things. Help me whet people’s appetite for things of God. Give me the Spirit-enabled courage to ask the person to act on what we have discussed. May I address the issue of specific sins with bold sensitivity prompted only by the Holy Spirit. Please grant me the privilege of seeing someone acknowledge their new-found faith in Jesus as the Christ, Savior, and Lord of their life. Help me to faithfully follow up on new believers so that even more people may come to know Jesus as the Savior of the world as well as them personally. I long to see a worldwide revival and a great harvest of souls. Miracles and healings are parts of such a revival as well as much repentance and reconciliation. Please show people in mighty ways that You are who You say You are, and You do what You say You will do. Thank You in advance, Lord God. AMEN
Action: (Ask God, the Holy Spirit, which one of these He wants you to work on or something else more personal that He points out.)
- I will ask the Lord to help me be aware of the spiritual climate around me.
- I will use this pattern to have a spiritual conversation with someone with whom I have much in common.
- I will follow the Lord’s leading regarding having a cross-cultural, spiritual discussion.
- I will ask the Lord if He might use me to bring His healing to someone for His glory.
Share: I plan to share what I’ve learned with __________.