SUMMARY OF JOHN 4:1-9
Jesus left Judea and went back to Galilee, as the Pharisees were learning of his growing influence and he wanted to avoid a confrontation. He went through Samaria and stopped in the town of Sychar. The disciples were in town to buy food. A woman stopped by the well, and Jesus asked her to draw water for him.
She asked why Jesus, a Jew, would ask her, a Samaritan, since the Jews did not like the Samaritans.
BSF Study Questions John’s Gospel: The Truth Lesson 5, Day 2: John 4:1-9
3) The Samaritans did not believe in God. They worshipped other gods. They neither worship the Lord nor adhere to the decrees and regulations, the laws and commands that the Lord gave. Ezra says that the Samaritans tried to discourage the building of the temple.
4) Nicodemus sought Jesus out. Here, the woman does not know who Jesus is. Nicodemus is well born, wealthy, and learned. This woman is uneducated and poor. Nicodemus is interested in knowing if Jesus is who he says he is. The woman is merely going about her daily life. Both became a witness for Jesus. The man is named; the woman is not.
5a) Jesus begins the conversation very pleasantly, asking a simple question. We can do this as well.
b) She needed to drink from the cup of life that Jesus offered her. She needed living water that only Jesus gives.
c) Hard question. Many times in the course of my life.
Conclusions BSF Study Questions John’s Gospel: The Truth Lesson 5, Day 2: John 4:1-9
Such a simple scene where Jesus makes a powerful impact on a woman’s life. Jesus continues to do this every day with us as well.
End Notes BSF Study Questions John’s Gospel: The Truth Lesson 5, Day 2: John 4:1-9
John tells us that Jesus baptized people in John 3:22 The disciples did the baptizing to prepare them for when Jesus was gone.
Most Jews walked around Samaria on their way to Galilee. To see Jesus must have been a shock for the Samaritan woman.
Jesus needed to go through Samaria to reach the people there.
The city of Sychar was ancient Shechem and was the capital city of the Samaritans. Sychar or ancient Shechem is mentioned a lot in Genesis. It’s where Abraham first arrived in the Promised Land and where Joseph was buried.
Bible scholars wonder why the woman came around noon to the well by herself. This was an unusual time to draw water. They speculate that she may have been a social outcast or she had an immediate need.
No Jew would ask a Samaritan for anything. So, Jesus’ presence and request was extremely unusual.
Here, we see Jesus’ love and compassion for all!
Fun fact: Jesus’ conversation with the Samaritan woman is the longest recorded conversation Jesus had.
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