John Bible Study - Lesson 10

John Bible Study - Lesson 10

Read the passage below using the 2 different Bible translations:

John 4:1-26 New International Version (NIV)

Jesus Talks With a Samaritan Woman

Now Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that he was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John— ² although in fact it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples. ³ So he left Judea and went back once more to Galilee.

⁴ Now he had to go through Samaria. ⁵ So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph.⁶ Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon.

⁷ When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” ⁸ (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.)

⁹ The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)

¹⁰ Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”

¹¹ “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? ¹² Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?”

¹³ Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again,¹⁴ but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

¹⁵ The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.”

¹⁶ He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.”

¹⁷ “I have no husband,” she replied.

Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband.¹⁸ The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.”

¹⁹ “Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. ²⁰ Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.”

²¹ “Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. ²² You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. ²³ Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. ²⁴ God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”

²⁵ The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”

²⁶ Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.”

John 4:1-26 New Living Translation (NLT)

Jesus and the Samaritan Woman

Jesus knew the Pharisees had heard that he was baptizing and making more disciples than John ² (though Jesus himself didn’t baptize them—his disciples did). ³ So he left Judea and returned to Galilee.

⁴ He had to go through Samaria on the way. ⁵ Eventually he came to the Samaritan village of Sychar, near the field that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. ⁶ Jacob’s well was there; and Jesus, tired from the long walk, sat wearily beside the well about noontime. ⁷ Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Please give me a drink.”⁸ He was alone at the time because his disciples had gone into the village to buy some food.

⁹ The woman was surprised, for Jews refuse to have anything to do with Samaritans. She said to Jesus, “You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. Why are you asking me for a drink?”

¹⁰ Jesus replied, “If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water.”

¹¹ “But sir, you don’t have a rope or a bucket,” she said, “and this well is very deep. Where would you get this living water? ¹² And besides, do you think you’re greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us this well? How can you offer better water than he and his sons and his animals enjoyed?”

¹³ Jesus replied, “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. ¹⁴ But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.”

¹⁵ “Please, sir,” the woman said, “give me this water! Then I’ll never be thirsty again, and I won’t have to come here to get water.”

¹⁶ “Go and get your husband,” Jesus told her.

¹⁷ “I don’t have a husband,” the woman replied.

Jesus said, “You’re right! You don’t have a husband— ¹⁸ for you have had five husbands, and you aren’t even married to the man you’re living with now. You certainly spoke the truth!”

¹⁹ “Sir,” the woman said, “you must be a prophet. ²⁰ So 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 Jesus replied, “Believe me, dear woman, the time is coming when it will no longer matter whether you worship the Father on this mountain or in Jerusalem. ²² You Samaritans know very little about the one you worship, while we Jews know all about him, for salvation comes through the Jews. ²³ But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way. ²⁴ For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.”

²⁵ The woman said, “I know the Messiah is coming—the one who is called Christ. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”

²⁶ Then Jesus told her, “I am the Messiah!”

Note:

Here are the 3 questions for you to answer. I have given some basic answers below the questions to help you understand the passage. Answer the questions first yourself before you look at my answers. Take a moment before you begin and ask God to help you understand what you are reading.

3 questions to answer:

1.    Content: What is this passage about?

2.    Lesson: What do I learn from this passage?

3.    Application: How can I apply what I have learned to my life?

Answers to the questions above and some background:

Content: What is this passage about?

·        Jesus leaves Judea and heads back to Galilee

·        Jesus decides to go through Samaria on His way to Galilee

·        Jesus came to the Samaritan village of Sychar, where Jacob’s well was.

Note:

The significance of Jacob’s well is that it provided an opportunity for Jesus to present Himself as the life-giving Messiah to a Samaritan woman and, later, to her whole village. The woman had asked, “Are you greater than our father Jacob?” The answer is a resounding “yes.” Jacob may have provided his children with physical water in an arid land, but Jesus provides His children with “living water” in a spiritual wasteland. The life Jesus gives satisfies all our needs and springs up to eternal life (John 4:14). (Got Questions.Org)

·        Jesus, was tired from the long walk, so he rested beside the well  

·        A Samaritan woman came to draw water.

·        Jesus said to her, “Please give me a drink.”

·        Jesus was alone at the time because his disciples had gone into the village to buy some food.

·        Jesus ask the Samaritan woman for a drink

·        The Samaritan woman was surprised Jesus spoke with her because He was a Jew and Jews customarily did not associate with Samaritans

Note:

The Samaritans were people who lived in what had been the Northern Kingdom of Israel. Samaria, the name of that kingdom's capital, was located between Galilee in the north and Judea in the south. The Samaritans were a racially mixed society with Jewish and pagan ancestry. Although they worshiped Yahweh as did the Jews, their religion was not mainstream Judaism. They accepted only the first five books of the Bible as canonical, and their temple was on Mount Gerazim instead of on Mount Zion in Jerusalem (John 4:20).

Because of their imperfect adherence to Judaism and their partly pagan ancestry, the Samaritans were despised by ordinary Jews. Rather than contaminate themselves by passing through Samaritan territory, Jews who were traveling from Judea to Galilee or vice versa would cross over the river Jordan, bypass Samaria by going through Transjordan, and cross over the river again as they neared their destination. The Samaritans also harbored antipathy toward the Jews 

·        The Samaritan woman questions Jesus on why he would ask her for a drink.

          Jesus replies with a spiritual answer, “If you only knew the gift God has for

          you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you

          living water.”

·        The Samaritan woman does not understand what Jesus is talking about.

·        Jesus tells the woman about her sin

·        The Samaritan woman realizes Jesus must be a prophet

·        She then asks Jesus ^“So 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?”

·        Jesus replied, “Believe me, dear woman, the time is coming when it will no longer matter whether you worship the Father on this mountain or in Jerusalem. You Samaritans know very little about the one you worship, while we Jews know all about him, for salvation comes through the Jews

·        Jesus tells her that “true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way. For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.”

·        The woman said, “I know the Messiah is coming—the one who is called Christ. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”

·        Jesus replied, “I am the Messiah!”

Lesson: What do I learn from this passage?

·        Jesus deliberately takes a route through Samaria to get back to Galilee

·        “He had to go through Samaria on the way” means that Jesus knew He had to do something there

·        Jesus takes the initiative to speak to the woman at the well knowing that culturally she was not supposed to speak with Him

·        As followers of Jesus we should be willing to speak to others and take interest in their spiritual need.

·        Jesus knew this woman has a wounded heart and spiritual need.

·        Jesus looked deep into her heart and knew the unsatisfied thirst of her soul

·        By speaking to her and asking for a drink, Jesus opened the door to a spiritual conversation

·        Jesus was able to break down the barriers of culture and religion and softened the woman’s heart

·        Jesus has the supernaturally ability to break through our barriers of disbelief.

·        Jesus tells her 4 spiritual truths about His offer of “Living Water”:

·        It is God’s gift

·        Jesus the Messiah is offering the gift

·        The gift is available to those who ask

·        Jesus will give her the gift gladly

·        Jesus alone has the power to give God’s gift of “Living Water”

·        “Living Water” is eternal life and the inner spring of joy that continually renews and satisfies the heart of a true believer.

·        “Living Water” is the gift of the Holy Spirit. When one receives Jesus as Lord and Savior we also receive the indwelling of the Holy Spirit

·        Christians can know and have a personal relationship with the God they worship. Other religions or belief systems don’t claim you can know God.

How distinct are these major religions?

In looking at these major belief systems and their views of God, we find tremendous diversity:

·        Hindus acknowledge multitudes of gods and goddesses.

·        Buddhists say there is no deity.

·        New Age followers believe they are God.

·        Muslims believe in a powerful but unknowable God.

·        Christians believe in a God who is loving and approachable.

·        True worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way. For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.”

·        To worship God in spirit and truth necessarily involves loving Him with heart, soul, mind and strength. This is what Jesus said id the greatest commandment.

Matthew 22:36-38 New Living Translation (NLT)

 “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?”

 Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.

·        True worship must be “in spirit,” that is, engaging the whole heart. Unless there’s a real passion for God, there is no worship in spirit. At the same time, worship must be “in truth,” that is, properly informed about God’s Word... Unless we have knowledge of the God we worship, there is no worship in truth.

·        The truth is Jesus is the Messiah.

·        We can know the one we worship.

·        Jesus tells the woman, who is expecting the Messiah, the Christ, that He is the Messiah. 

Application: How can I apply what I have learned to my life?

·        Get to know who God really is by reading and studying the Bible

·        When it comes to spiritual truth, always make sure that you evaluate what you hear by what God’s Word really says.

·        Receive the gift of Living Water from Jesus

·        Because Jesus knows what is in your heart, He can relate to your situation and provide exactly what you need, but you must ask and believe that He can and will provide

Matthew 7:7-8 New Living Translation (NLT)

Effective Prayer

 “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.

Don’t forget:

John’s main purpose in writing this Gospel:

·        To tell the world that Jesus is the Messiah for the Jews and Gentiles

·        The events were recorded so that we might believe and have eternal life

John 20:30-31 New International Version (NIV)

The Purpose of John’s Gospel

³⁰ Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. ³¹ But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

Questions to ponder:

·        What satisfies you?

·        Do you desire what Jesus is offering?  

·        Have you received Jesus’ Living Water, and if not, why not?

·        Do you believe Jesus has the power to change your life?

·        Do you desire to live a spirit filled abundant life?

Have a great week…………….Dave