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Texts -- John 4:17-54 (NET)

Context
4:17 The woman replied , “I have no husband .” Jesus said to her , “Right you are when you said , ‘I have no husband ,’ 4:18 for you have had five husbands , and the man you are living with now is not your husband . This you said truthfully !” 4:19 The woman said to him , “Sir , I see that you are a prophet . 4:20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain , and you people say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem .” 4:21 Jesus said to her , “Believe me , woman , a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem . 4:22 You people worship what you do not know . We worship what we know , because salvation is from the Jews . 4:23 But a time is coming – and now is here– when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth , for the Father seeks such people to be his worshipers . 4:24 God is spirit , and the people who worship him must worship in spirit and truth .” 4:25 The woman said to him , “I know that Messiah is coming ” (the one called Christ ); “whenever he comes , he will tell us everything .” 4:26 Jesus said to her , “I , the one speaking to you , am he.”
The Disciples Return
4:27 Now at that very moment his disciples came back . They were shocked because he was speaking with a woman . However , no one said , “What do you want ?” or “Why are you speaking with her ?” 4:28 Then the woman left her water jar , went off into the town and said to the people , 4:29 “Come , see a man who told me everything I ever did . Surely he can’t be the Messiah , can he ?” 4:30 So they left the town and began coming to him .
Workers for the Harvest
4:31 Meanwhile the disciples were urging him , “Rabbi , eat something.” 4:32 But he said to them , “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.” 4:33 So the disciples began to say to one another , “No one brought him anything to eat , did they?” 4:34 Jesus said to them , “My food is to do the will of the one who sent me and to complete his work . 4:35 Don’t you say , ‘There are four more months and then comes the harvest ?’ I tell you , look up and see that the fields are already white for harvest ! 4:36 The one who reaps receives pay and gathers fruit for eternal life , so that the one who sows and the one who reaps can rejoice together . 4:37 For in this instance the saying is true , ‘One sows and another reaps .’ 4:38 I sent you to reap what you did not work for ; others have labored and you have entered into their labor .”
The Samaritans Respond
4:39 Now many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the report of the woman who testified , “He told me everything I ever did .” 4:40 So when the Samaritans came to him , they began asking him to stay with them . He stayed there two days , 4:41 and because of his word many more believed . 4:42 They said to the woman , “No longer do we believe because of your words , for we have heard for ourselves , and we know that this one really is the Savior of the world .”
Onward to Galilee
4:43 After the two days he departed from there to Galilee . 4:44 (For Jesus himself had testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country .) 4:45 So when he came to Galilee , the Galileans welcomed him because they had seen all the things he had done in Jerusalem at the feast (for they themselves had gone to the feast ).
Healing the Royal Official’s Son
4:46 Now he came again to Cana in Galilee where he had made the water wine . In Capernaum there was a certain royal official whose son was sick . 4:47 When he heard that Jesus had come back from Judea to Galilee , he went to him and begged him to come down and heal his son , who was about to die . 4:48 So Jesus said to him , “Unless you people see signs and wonders you will never believe !” 4:49 “Sir ,” the official said to him , “come down before my child dies .” 4:50 Jesus told him , “Go home ; your son will live .” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him , and set off for home . 4:51 While he was on his way down , his slaves met him and told him that his son was going to live . 4:52 So he asked them the time when his condition began to improve , and they told him , “Yesterday at one o’clock in the afternoon the fever left him .” 4:53 Then the father realized that it was the very time Jesus had said to him , “Your son will live ,” and he himself believed along with his entire household . 4:54 Jesus did this as his second miraculous sign when he returned from Judea to Galilee .

Pericope

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  • BagiMu Tuhan, Nyanyianku [KJ.8]
  • Firman Allah Jayalah [KJ.49]
  • Inilah Hari Kelima Puluh [KJ.241]
  • Lihatlah Sekelilingmu [KJ.428]
  • Tuhan Allah Hadir [KJ.17]
  • [Joh 4:23] O Thou To Whom, In Ancient Time
  • [Joh 4:23] Thou Son Of God, Whose Flaming Eyes
  • [Joh 4:24] Behold Us, Lord, A Little Space
  • [Joh 4:24] God The Spirit, We Adore Thee
  • [Joh 4:24] Holy Spirit, Truth Divine
  • [Joh 4:24] Lord Of Spirits, I Surrender
  • [Joh 4:35] Harvest Bells
  • [Joh 4:35] Harvest Time
  • [Joh 4:35] Reapers Are Needed
  • [Joh 4:37] Songs Of The Reaper

Questions

Sermon Illustrations

What Is Your Style of Evangelism?; How Jesus Interacted With People; Tips for Sharing Your Faith With Your Family; Who Does What Quiz; A Definition; Salvation Is the Deliverance from Sin; Who Is Jesus Christ?; Four Harvests; Soul and Spirit; Mountains, and prayer; Compare with Dichotomy; Our Goal

Resources/Books

Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • 1:24-25 "Cattle"probably refers to animals that man could tame and "beasts"to wild animals.What happened to the dinosaurs? Conservative Bible interpreters generally believe they existed but became extinct before the Flood or ...
  • This piece of furniture stood on the north side of the holy place, the right side as the priest entered from the courtyard. The priests placed twelve loaves (large pieces) of unleavened bread in two rows or piles on this tabl...
  • The Israelites were not to investigate the pagan religious practices of the Canaanites with a view to worshipping their gods or following their example in the worship of Yahweh (v. 30; cf. Rom. 16:19; Eph. 5:12). Moses develo...
  • The context of this section is significant as usual. Verses 1-8 deal with people who ministered to Yahweh in various ways for the people, and verses 15-22 concern the delivery of God's revelations to His people. Verses 9-14 c...
  • Four Interpretive Problems in Deuteronomy 24:1-4370Deuteronomy 24:1-4 is a passage that is very important in the biblical teaching on divorce and remarriage. There are four problems that need solving for us to determine the c...
  • The main reason God did not allow David to proceed with his plans to build Him a house (temple) was that God, not David, was sovereign. A secondary reason was that David was a man of war (22:8; 28:3). God reserved the right t...
  • Like the third "woe"(ch. 30), this fourth one deals with the folly of trusting in Egypt for security rather than the Lord. It applies particularly the principles set forth in the first part of the second "woe"(29:1-14), as is...
  • "Jehoiakim was condemned by Jeremiah more severely than any other king. He seems to have been a typical Oriental despot who rejected Josiah's reforms."30722:13-14 Jeremiah called down woe on the person who advanced his own in...
  • 34:11-12 The Lord further promised to search for His wandering sheep Himself, to care for them, and to deliver them from the places where they had scattered in the gloomy days of their national distress (cf. Jer. 30:4-7; Luke...
  • Jesus' genealogy and virgin birth prove His legal human qualification as Israel's King. His baptism was the occasion of His divine approval. His temptation demonstrated His moral fitness to reign. The natural question a thoug...
  • Comparison of John's Gospel and Matthew's shows that Jesus ministered for about a year before John the Baptist's arrest. John had criticized Herod Antipas for having an adulterous relationship with his brother Philip's wife (...
  • 8:5 Centurions were Roman military officers each of whom controlled 100 men, therefore the name "centurion."They were the military backbone of the Roman Empire. Interestingly every reference to a centurion in the New Testamen...
  • Peter and his family were evidently living in Capernaum when Jesus performed this miracle (4:13). People considered fever a disease in Jesus' day rather than a symptom of a disease (cf. John 4:52; Acts 28:8). Jesus healed Pet...
  • Jesus first explained the sphere and nature of the apostles' temporary ministry to Israel.10:5-6 The apostles were to limit their ministry to the Jews living in Galilee. They were not to go north or east into Gentile territor...
  • Mark omitted Jesus' year of early Judean ministry (John 1:15-4:42), as did the other Synoptic evangelists. He began his account of Jesus' ministry of service in Galilee, northern Israel (1:14-6:6a). Because of increasing oppo...
  • The healing of the deaf man with the speech impediment resulted in a confession of Jesus' greatness that fell short of identifying Him as God (7:37). The healing of the blind man was the incident that God used to open the dis...
  • This incident shows Jesus extending grace to a Gentile. It would have helped Luke's original Gentile readers to appreciate that Jesus' mission included them as well as the Jews. It is another case in which Jesus commended the...
  • Luke's account stresses that concern for the multitudes motivated Jesus' mission. Mark, on the other hand, presented opposition from the Jewish religious leaders as a reason for His activities. Matthew stressed Jesus' desire ...
  • The first verse (9:51) sets the agenda for all that follows until Jesus' Triumphal Entry. It was now time for Jesus to begin moving toward Jerusalem and the Cross. As He did so, He immediately encountered opposition (cf. Acts...
  • John's presentation of Jesus in his Gospel has been a problem to many modern students of the New Testament. Some regard it as the greatest problem in current New Testament studies.15Compared to the Synoptics that present Jesu...
  • In one sense the Gospel of John is more profound than the Synoptics. It is the most difficult Gospel for most expositors to preach and to teach for reasons that will become evident as we study it. In another sense, however, t...
  • I. Prologue 1:1-18A. The preincarnate Word 1:1-5B. The witness of John the Baptist 1:6-8C. The appearance of the Light 1:9-13D. The incarnation of the Word 1:14-18II. Jesus' public ministry 1:19-12:50A. The prelude to Jesus' ...
  • John the Apostle introduced John the Baptist because John the Baptist bore witness to the light, namely Jesus. John the Baptist was both a model evangelist pointing those in darkness to the light and a model witness providing...
  • The first section of the prologue (vv. 1-5) presents the preincarnate Word. The second section (vv. 6-8) identifies the forerunner of the Word's earthly ministry. This third section introduces the ministry of the Incarnate Wo...
  • The first part of the body of John's Gospel records Jesus' public ministry to the multitudes in Palestine who were primarily Jewish. Some writers have called this section of the Gospel "the book of signs"because it features s...
  • The writer recorded John the Baptist's witness to Jesus' identity as preparation for his narration of Jesus' public ministry. He was the first of the Apostle John's witnesses to the Incarnation.Previously the writer had menti...
  • The writer now turned his attention from John the Baptist's witness to Jesus to record the reactions of some men to Jesus' witness. Two of John the Baptist's disciples left him to follow Jesus when they heard John's testimony...
  • The Synoptics record Jesus' cleansing of the temple after His triumphal entry (Matt. 21:12-13; Mark 11:15-16; Luke 19:45-46). Only John noted this cleansing of the temple at the beginning of Jesus' ministry. The differences b...
  • John included another summary of Jesus' activities (cf. v. 12). It enables the reader to gain a more balanced picture of popular reaction to Jesus than the preceding incident might suggest.2:23 Jesus did many signs (significa...
  • John now presented evidence that Jesus knew people as no others did and that many believed in His name (2:23). This constitutes further witness that He is the Son of God. John summarized several conversations that Jesus had w...
  • The writer next noted the parallel ministries of John the Baptist and Jesus in Judea. John the Baptist readily confessed Jesus' superiority to him even though they were both doing the same things. This was further testimony t...
  • This pericope explains why Jesus must become greater. It also unites several themes that appear through chapter 3. John the Apostle or John the Baptist may be the speaker. This is not entirely clear.3:31-32 The incarnate Son ...
  • There are several connections between this section and the preceding ones that provide continuity. One is the continuation of water as a symbol (cf. 2:6; 3:5; 4:10-15). Another is the continuation of conversation in which Jes...
  • Jesus had modeled evangelistic effectiveness for His disciples, though ironically they were absent for most of the lesson. Now he explained the rewards, urgency, and partnership of evangelism.4:27 When Jesus' disciples return...
  • The response of the Samaritans to Jesus was considerably more positive than the response of the Jews had been (1:11; 2:23-25). This would prove true as Jesus' ministry continued to progress.4:39 Harvesting followed the arriva...
  • John again bridged the gap between important events in his narrative with a transitional explanation of how Jesus moved from one site to another (cf. 2:12; 4:1-3). John typically focused on clusters of events in Jesus' minist...
  • This incident completes a cycle in John's Gospel. Jesus performed His first sign in Cana (2:1), and now He returned and did another miracle there (v. 46). There is even a second reference to Capernaum (2:12; 4:46). John's acc...
  • "In chapters 1-4 the subject is described from the standpoint of a spectator, ab extra, and we are thus enabled to see something of the impression created on others by our Lord as He deals with individuals in Jerusalem, Samar...
  • The preceding controversy resulted in Jesus clarifying His relationship to His Father further. Jesus proceeded to reply to His enemies' charge that He was not equal with God the Father. This is the most thoroughgoing statemen...
  • 7:25-26 Though many of the Jewish pilgrims in the temple courtyard did not realize how antagonistic the religious leaders were to Jesus (v. 20), some of the locals did. They marvelled that Jesus was speaking out publicly and ...
  • The textual authenticity of this pericope is highly questionable. Most ancient Greek manuscripts dating before the sixth century do not contain it. However, over 900 ancient manuscripts do contain it including the important e...
  • "John is interested in the way the coming of Jesus divides people."3479:35 The healed man had responded positively and courageously to the light that he had so far, but he did not have much light. Therefore Jesus took the ini...
  • 10:22-23 "At that time"(NASB) is a general reference to the proximity of the feast of Dedication and the events narrated in the previous pericope. It does not mean that the events in the preceding section occurred exactly bef...
  • 10:40 John presented Jesus' departure from Jerusalem as the result of official rejection of Him. The event had symbolic significance that the evangelist probably intended. Jesus withdrew the opportunity for salvation from the...
  • The scene now shifts from the region near Bethany of Perea (1:28; 10:40) to the Bethany in Judea. Both towns became sites where people believed on Jesus.11:17 There is some evidence that the later Jewish rabbis believed that ...
  • The raising of Lazarus convinced Israel's leaders that they had to take more drastic action against Jesus. John recorded this decision as the high point of Israel's official rejection of God's Son so far. This decision led di...
  • In contrast to the hatred that the religious leaders manifested stands the love that Mary demonstrated toward the One she had come to believe in. Her act of sacrificial devotion is a model for all true disciples. This is the ...
  • 12:20 The New Testament writers frequently referred to any Gentiles who came from the Greek-speaking world as Greeks (cf. 7:35; et al.). We do not know where the Gentiles in this incident came from. They could have lived in o...
  • At the end of His answer to Peter's question (13:36), Jesus moved the conversation back to the general theme of preparation for His departure (v. 4). He did the same thing after answering Philip's question (v. 8). Obedience t...
  • Jesus realized that the Eleven did not fully understand what He had just revealed. He therefore encouraged them with a promise that they would understand His words later.14:25-26 Jesus had made these revelations to His discip...
  • Jesus proceeded to expound further on some of the themes that He had introduced in His teaching on the vine and the branches (vv. 1-8). The subject moves generally from the believing disciple's relationship with God to his or...
  • Jesus next turned the disciples' attention from the Spirit's future ministries to His own reappearance.16:16 As the following verses show, Jesus was referring here to His imminent departure in death and His return to the disc...
  • 17:24 Here Jesus' request clearly included the Eleven with all the elect. He wanted them all to observe (Gr. theorosin) the glory that the Father would restore to the Son following His ascension (v. 5; cf. 1 John 3:2). This a...
  • John reported much more about Jesus' trial before Pilate than did any of the other Gospel writers. He omitted referring to Jesus' appearance before Herod Antipas, which only Luke recorded (Luke 23:6-12). He stressed Jesus' au...
  • This pericope contains another post-resurrection appearance of Jesus that bolstered the disciples' faith. It also contains John's account of the Great Commission.20:19 John moved his readers directly from the events of Easter...
  • John did not mention when this conversation happened. It could have taken place anytime between Easter evening and the following Sunday. None of the evangelists recorded post-resurrection appearances between these two Sundays...
  • John followed the climactic proof that Jesus is God's Son with an explanation of his purpose for writing this narrative of Jesus' ministry. This explanation constitutes a preliminary conclusion to the book.20:30 "Therefore"ti...
  • Allen, Ronald B. "Affirming Right-of-Way on Ancient Paths."Bibliotheca Sacra153:609 (January-March 1996):3-11.Ante-Nicene Christian Library: Translations of the Writings of the Fathers. Edited by Alexander Roberts and James D...
  • Luke introduced the beginning of Jesus' earthly ministry with His baptism with the Spirit (Luke 3:21-22). He paralleled this with the beginning of Jesus' heavenly ministry with the Spirit baptism of His disciples (Acts 2:1-4)...
  • Luke had just referred to the apostles' teaching, to the awe that many of the Jews felt, to the apostles doing signs and wonders, and to the Christians meeting in the temple (2:43-44, 46). Now he narrated a specific incident ...
  • 8:4 Whereas persecution resulted in the death of some believers it also dispersed the disciples over a wider area. Luke described what they did as scattered believers as "preaching the word"(Gr. euaggelizomenoi ton logon, lit...
  • Paul introduced the first of the two subjects he dealt with in this chapter, the Corinthian women's participation in church worship, with praise. He did not introduce the second subject this way (vv. 17, 22). As with the othe...
  • Paul proceeded to deal with a significant group of antagonists that the Philippians faced.3:2 Jesus and other prophets used the term "dogs"to refer to opponents of God's truth (Matt. 7:6; cf. Deut. 23:18; 1 Sam. 17:43; 24:14;...
  • A. A loyal group of women accompanied Jesus and served Him on His ministry tours (Luke 8:1-3; Matt. 27:55; Mark 15:41).B. In contrast to normal custom and rabbinic standards, Jesus spoke with a Samaritan woman and revealed to...
  • 4:7 Love, as well as faith (i.e., acknowledging the true doctrine of Christ, vv. 1-6), is a product of God's Spirit. The believer (one "born of God") who also "knows"God (i.e., has intimate fellowship with Him) loves (cf. 2:3...
  • This pericope furnishes the plot for the drama that unfolds in the rest of the chapter.12:1 John saw a "sign,"something that signified or represented something else (cf. v. 3; 13:13-14; 15:1; 16:14; 19:29). Usually John used ...
  • This pericope has strong ties to what precedes (16:17-18:24). It is the concluding revelation concerning the fall of Babylon, the latter-day Egypt and Tyre, and Antichrist, the ultimate Pharaoh of the Exodus and King of Tyre....

Expositions Of Holy Scripture (Maclaren)

  • This is again the second miracle that Jesus did, when He was come out of Judaea into Galilee.'--John 4:54.THE Evangelist evidently intends us to connect together the two miracles in Cana. His object may, possibly, be mainly c...
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