John 4

Chapter 4

Jesus and the Samaritan Woman

1 Jesust knew the Pharisees had heard that he was baptizing and making more disciples than John2 (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.t 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,t 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!”t
27 Just then his disciples came back. They were shocked to find him talking to a woman, but none of them had the nerve to ask, “What do you want with her?” or “Why are you talking to her?”28 The woman left her water jar beside the well and ran back to the village, telling everyone,29 “Come and see a man who told me everything I ever did! Could he possibly be the Messiah?”

30 So the people came streaming from the village to see him.

31 Meanwhile, the disciples were urging Jesus, “Rabbi, eat something.”

32 But Jesus replied, “I have a kind of food you know nothing about.”

33 “Did someone bring him food while we were gone?” 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 You know the saying, ‘Four months between planting and harvest.’ But I say, wake up and look around. The fields are already ripet for harvest.36 The harvesters are paid good wages, and the fruit they harvest is people brought to eternal life. What joy awaits both the planter and the harvester alike!37 You know the saying, ‘One plants and another harvests.’ And it’s true.

38 I sent you to harvest where you didn’t plant; others had already done the work, and now you will get to gather the harvest.”

Many Samaritans Believe

39 Many Samaritans from the village believed in Jesus because the woman had said, “He told me everything I ever did!”40 When they came out to see him, they begged him to stay in their village. So he stayed for two days,41 long enough for many more to hear his message and believe.

42 Then they said to the woman, “Now we believe, not just because of what you told us, but because we have heard him ourselves. Now we know that he is indeed the Savior of the world.”

Jesus Heals an Official’s Son

43 At the end of the two days, Jesus went on to Galilee.44 He himself had said that a prophet is not honored in his own hometown.

45 Yet the Galileans welcomed him, for they had been in Jerusalem at the Passover celebration and had seen everything he did there.
46 As he traveled through Galilee, he came to Cana, where he had turned the water into wine. There was a government official in nearby Capernaum whose son was very sick.

47 When he heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went and begged Jesus to come to Capernaum to heal his son, who was about to die.

48 Jesus asked, “Will you never believe in me unless you see miraculous signs and wonders?”

49 The official pleaded, “Lord, please come now before my little boy dies.”

50 Then Jesus told him, “Go back home. Your son will live!” And the man believed what Jesus said and started home.
51 While the man was on his way, some of his servants met him with the news that his son was alive and well.52 He asked them when the boy had begun to get better, and they replied, “Yesterday afternoon at one o’clock his fever suddenly disappeared!”53 Then the father realized that that was the very time Jesus had told him, “Your son will live.” And he and his entire household believed in Jesus.

54 This was the second miraculous sign Jesus did in Galilee after coming from Judea.

JOHN 4

1 Jesus knew that the Pharisees had heard that he was winning and baptizing more followers than John was.

2 But Jesus' disciples were really the ones doing the baptizing, and not Jesus himself.

Jesus //and the Samaritan Woman

6-8 The well that Jacob had dug was still there, and Jesus sat down beside it because he was tired from traveling. It was noon, and after Jesus' disciples had gone into town to buy some food, a Samaritan woman came to draw water from the well.
Jesus asked her, “Would you please give me a drink of water?”

9  t “You are a Jew,” she replied, “and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink of water when Jews and Samaritans won't have anything to do with each other?”t

10 Jesus answered, “You don't know what God wants to give you, and you don't know who is asking you for a drink. If you did, you would ask me for the water that gives life.”
11 “Sir,” the woman said, “you don't even have a bucket, and the well is deep. Where are you going to get this life-giving water?

12 Our ancestor Jacob dug this well for us, and his family and animals got water from it. Are you greater than Jacob?”
13 Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will get thirsty again.

14 But no one who drinks the water I give will ever be thirsty again. The water I give will become in that person a flowing fountain that gives eternal life.”

15 The woman replied, “Sir, please give me a drink of that water! Then I won't get thirsty and have to come to this well again.”

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

17-18 The woman answered, “I don't have a husband.”
“That's right,” Jesus replied, “you're telling the truth. You don't have a husband. You have already been married five times, and the man you are now living with isn't your husband.”
19 The woman said, “Sir, I can see that you are a prophet.

20 My ancestors worshiped on this mountain, t but you Jews say Jerusalem is the only place to worship.”

21 Jesus said to her:
Believe me, the time is coming when you won't worship the Father either on this mountain or in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans don't really know the one you worship. But we Jews do know the God we worship, and by using us, God will save the world. 23 But a time is coming, and it is already here! Even now the true worshipers are being led by the Spirit to worship the Father according to the truth. These are the ones the Father is seeking to worship him.

24 God is Spirit, and those who worship God must be led by the Spirit to worship him according to the truth.

25 The woman said, “I know that the Messiah will come. He is the one we call Christ. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”

26 “I am that one,” Jesus told her, “and I am speaking to you now.”

27 The disciples returned about this time and were surprised to find Jesus talking with a woman. But none of them asked him what he wanted or why he was talking with her.
28 The woman left her water jar and ran back into town, where she said to the people, 29 “Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done! Could he be the Messiah?”

30 Everyone in town went out to see Jesus.

31 While this was happening, Jesus' disciples were saying to him, “Teacher, please eat something.”

32 But Jesus told them, “I have food you don't know anything about.”

33 His disciples started asking each other, “Has someone brought him something to eat?”

34 Jesus said:
My food is to do what God wants! He is the one who sent me, and I must finish the work that he gave me to do.

35 You may say there are still four months until harvest time. But I tell you to look, and you will see that the fields are ripe and ready to harvest.
36 Even now the harvest workers are receiving their reward by gathering a harvest that brings eternal life. Then everyone who planted the seed and everyone who harvests the crop will celebrate together. 37 So the saying proves true, “Some plant the seed, and others harvest the crop.”

38 I am sending you to harvest crops in fields where others have done all the hard work.
39 A lot of Samaritans in that town put their faith in Jesus because the woman had said, “This man told me everything I have ever done.”

40 They came and asked him to stay in their town, and he stayed on for two days.
41 Many more Samaritans put their faith in Jesus because of what they heard him say.

42 They told the woman, “We no longer have faith in Jesus just because of what you told us. We have heard him ourselves, and we are certain that he is the Savior of the world!”

Jesus Heals an Official's Son

(Matthew 8.5-13; Luke 7.1-10)

45 t and went to Galilee. The people there welcomed him, because they had gone to the festival in Jerusalem and had seen everything he had done.
46  t While Jesus was in Galilee, he returned to the village of Cana, where he had turned the water into wine. There was an official in Capernaum whose son was sick.

47 And when the man heard that Jesus had come from Judea, he went and begged him to keep his son from dying.

48 Jesus told the official, “You won't have faith unless you see miracles and wonders!”

49 The man replied, “Lord, please come before my son dies!”

50 Jesus then said, “Your son will live. Go on home to him.” The man believed Jesus and started back home.
51 Some of the official's servants met him along the road and told him, “Your son is better!”

52 He asked them when the boy got better, and they answered, “The fever left him yesterday at one o'clock.”

53 The boy's father realized that at one o'clock the day before, Jesus had told him, “Your son will live!” So the man and everyone in his family put their faith in Jesus.
54 This was the second miraclet that Jesus worked after he left Judea and went to Galilee.