The Gospel of John 4:1-25 (Jesus’s compassion for the outcast). – Angelic Wars

The Gospel of John 4:1-25 (Jesus’s compassion for the outcast).



 

We now move on to John 4:1-25 where Jesus reveals himself as the Messiah to 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.[a])

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?”

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.”

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

Questions for discussion:

  1. Was the woman an outcast in her village?  If so, how do we know and what does it mean for our relationship with Jesus?
  2. What did Jesus mean about, “the gift of God?”
  3. What did Jesus mean by, “Whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst.”
  4. What also did he mean by: “Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
  5. Do some people treat you as an outcast because you follow Jesus?



Leave a Comment:

3 comments
Rick says July 14, 2023

1. Was the woman an outcast in her village? If so, how do we know and what does it mean for our relationship with Jesus?

The woman was an outcast and could not go to the well in the morning like the other women. She had to go during the hottest part—midday. She also was an outcast for having five husbands and living with a man who is not her husband. Just as she was separated from her community due to her lifestyle, we become separated from God because of our sinful nature. “But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you so that he will not hear. (Isaiah 59:2)

2. What did Jesus mean about, “the gift of God?”

Jesus, God’s Son, is the gift that God has given us. Eternal life is our benefit. (John 3:16) For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:23).

3. What did Jesus mean by, “Whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst.”

Jesus uses a metaphor of water for life. God refers to Himself as the “Spring of Living Water.” (Jerimiah 17:13). Humankind thirsts for Truth, even if the person is an atheist. People need to recognize that they are spiritually thirsty. Jesus tells us, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” (John 7:38)

4. What also did he mean by: “Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

When we learn of Jesus, the Holy Spirit fills us, and our life changes where we can then spread the Gospel to others.

5. Do some people treat you as an outcast because you follow Jesus?

People criticized me in the distant past for being a Christian. Since then, I have refined my evangelism, building relationships before evangelism.

Reply
    van says July 15, 2023

    I like the comment, “building relationships before evangelism.” There are many unbelievers where this is a very worthy approach and it works. Where is does not work in my experience is with many people who claim to be saved already. For these types of people, you can only build a relationship with them if you believe and accept THEIR version of biblical and theological understanding. For example, an ex baptist pastor who writes books now who says that there is one God, and his version of one God, manifests himself in 3 different people, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. In his world, the Son is not the only begotten son, he is a different manifestation of the one god. And I can point out many examples of “churched” people who have some really bizarre positions. The key is ALL of these people is that if you do not agree with THEIR position, they refuse to talk to you…

    Reply
      Rick says July 16, 2023

      Hi Van,

      I try to stay out of the politics of other Christians and find common ground. Different dogmas separate the church, e.g., Catholics and Protestants. However, there is a lot of common ground. Thanks for writing!

      Reply
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