The Gospels John

Son of God

Discover Jesus as: Son of God John 4 Read on Bible Gateway (HCSB)

Day 182 of 730
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INTRO

At the end of the Gospel of Luke, Jesus engaged people right where they were. John saw Jesus perform many miracles, but the ones he recorded, including the one in John 4, were written so that “you may believe Jesus is the Messiah” (John 20:31). Jesus modeled a four-word approach to evangelism in John 4: Love, Listen, Discern, and Respond.

TEACHING

John 4:1–4: Religious Jews would never travel through Samaria. Even though it was easier to travel to Galilee from Judea through Samaria, Jews avoided the route because they looked down on Samaritans. Jews looked down on Samaritans because the Samaritans’ worship practices were thought to be impure and imperfect. But Jesus said He had to travel through Samaria because He had a love for people (John 3:16).

John 4:5–6: Jesus was thirsty, but He set His needs aside to minister.

John 4:7–8: As the Samaritan woman approached the well, Jesus asked her for a drink of water. Here we see the humanity and dependence of Jesus. This was the hottest part of the day in Samaria. Jesus was exhausted and He was thirsty. He had no way to draw water, so He asked the Samaritan woman for a drink. It may have seemed to the Samaritan woman that Jesus was being forward, first because they were alone, and second because He was a Jew. But neither culture, nor tradition, or anything else, will stop Jesus from ministering to the people He loves.

John 4:9–15: As the Samaritan woman responded to Jesus with questions, He listened intently to her. Stephen Covey said, “most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply.”1But Jesus listened to the Samaritan woman to understand her. If you love someone, you will listen to them. Jesus spoke about living water, but the Samaritan woman heard Him with a natural understanding (1 Corinthians 2:14). Her response in verse 15 was probably still natural. The Samaritan woman still didn’t understand about the living water that Jesus was offering. Living water was a theme of Jesus’ teaching. In John 7, Jesus stood up in the synagogue and proclaimed, “If anyone is thirsty, he should come to Me and drink! The one who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, will have streams of living water flow from deep within him” (John 7:37–38).

John 4:16–20: As you listen to a person’s question, you have to listen to their story. The woman recognized Jesus as a prophet, so she asked Him about one of the biggest differences between Jews and Samaritans.

John 4:21–22: After Jesus began to show love to the Samaritan woman by listening to her, He then stated the obvious. We can also learn to let the Holy Spirit lead us to do the same thing. This isn’t someone else’s responsibility. It’s ours!

John 4:23–24: When we come to the table to worship Jesus, we have to come based on the Word of God (truth). At the same time, we have to come to the table in dependence of the Holy Spirit. We can’t come just with knowledge and ignore the Spirit, nor can we come by the Spirit and ignore the truth.

John 4:25–26: Jesus loved the Samaritan woman, He listened to her, He discerned what she was saying, then He responded. The Samaritan woman was just avoiding life, and if we’re not careful, we can fall into that same trap like others in the Bible:

  • Exodus 14:13: As the Israelites left Egypt, Pharaoh decided to come after Israel. The Israelites were trapped between Pharaoh’s army and the Red Sea. God showed up.
  • Genesis 41:14–15: Joseph had been sitting in prison for years when he was brought to interpret Pharaoh’s dream. God showed up.

If you are like the Samaritan woman and just need Jesus to get you out of a situation, do this:

Hold on to the promises (Isaiah 40:8; Matthew 5:17-18).

Keep your eyes on Jesus (Psalm 25:15; Hebrews 12:2).

CLOSING

It doesn’t matter if you’re following Jesus or if you are the Samaritan woman. Don’t be like the disciples in John 4:27 who were amazed that Jesus was interacting with the Samaritan. We all need to be interacting with the Samaritans. The end of the story is that everyone in the town came to know about Jesus through the Samaritan woman’s interaction with Jesus.

  1. Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lesson in Personal Change, (New York: Free Press, 2004)), p. 239.

Questions

  1. What is the fountain of “living water” in verse 10? (Isaiah 55:1; Jeremiah 2:13; 17:13). How do you get it? (Romans 10:9–10).
  2. In your opinion, what does it mean to worship the Father in Spirit and in Truth? (1 Samuel 16:7; Luke 18:9–14; Romans 12:1). What do you think that looks like?
  3. In John 4:26, Jesus plainly told the Samaritan woman that He was the Messiah. Why do you think He told her flat out when He did not tell Nicodemus in John 3?
  4. Jesus spoke on sowing and reaping in John 4:35-38. What are the differences between the two? Have you sown or reaped? Have you reaped where you didn’t sow? Have you sown and not reaped?
  5. When the official asked Jesus to heal his son in John 4:47, Jesus referenced not believing unless signs and wonders are seen (John 4:48). His son was healed and his whole family believed that very hour. Did it take signs and wonders for you to believe? Why or why not?
  6. What did the Holy Spirit highlight to you in John 4 through the reading or the teaching?

Next: the Daily Word →

Daily Word

Laura Martin John 4:6–8 ESV

“Jacob’s well was there; so Jesus, wearied as he was from His journey, was sitting beside the well. It was about the sixth hour. A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, ‘Give Me a drink.’ (For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.)”

FURTHER SCRIPTURE

  • Isaiah 40:8 – “The grass withers, the flowers fade, but the word of our God remains forever.”
  • Isaiah 40:31 – “But those who trust in the Lord will renew their strength; they will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not faint.”
  • 2 Corinthians 2:14 – “But thanks be to God, who always puts us on display in Christ and through us spreads the aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place.”