John4

Jesus, departing Judaea for Galilee, passed through Samaria where he met a woman at Jacob's well. He offered her "living water," revealed her past, and declared himself the Messiah, leading her and many Samaritans to believe. Subsequently, he healed a nobleman's son in Galilee from a distance, demonstrating his authority and eliciting faith from the nobleman and his household.

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Jesus Departs for Galilee

When therefore the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John

(although Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples),

he left Judæa, and departed again into Galilee.

Jesus Must Go Through Samaria

And he must needs pass through Samaria.

So he cometh to a city of Samaria, called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph:

and Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour.

The Encounter with the Samaritan Woman

There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink.

For his disciples were gone away into the city to buy food.

The Samaritan woman therefore saith unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, who am a Samaritan woman? (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.)

Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.

The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: whence then hast thou that living water?

Art thou greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his sons, and his cattle?

Jesus answered and said unto her, Every one that drinketh of this water shall thirst again:

but whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall become in him a well of water springing up unto eternal life.

The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come all the way hither to draw.

Jesus Reveals Her Past

Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither.

The woman answered and said unto him, I have no husband. Jesus saith unto her, Thou saidst well, I have no husband:

for thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: this hast thou said truly.

The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet.

Worship in Spirit and Truth

Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.

Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when neither in this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, shall ye worship the Father.

Ye worship that which ye know not: we worship that which we know; for salvation is from the Jews.

But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth: for such doth the Father seek to be his worshippers.

God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship in spirit and truth.

The woman saith unto him, I know that Messiah cometh (he that is called Christ): when he is come, he will declare unto us all things.

Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he.

The Urgent Call to Harvest

And upon this came his disciples; and they marvelled that he was speaking with a woman; yet no man said, What seekest thou? or, Why speakest thou with her?

So the woman left her waterpot, and went away into the city, and saith to the people,

Come, see a man, who told me all things that ever I did: can this be the Christ?

They went out of the city, and were coming to him.

In the mean while the disciples prayed him, saying, Rabbi, eat.

But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not.

The disciples therefore said one to another, Hath any man brought him aught to eat?

Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to accomplish his work.

Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh the harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields, that they are white already unto harvest.

He that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal; that he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together.

For herein is the saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth.

I sent you to reap that whereon ye have not labored: others have labored, and ye are entered into their labor.

Many Samaritans Believe

And from that city many of the Samaritans believed on him because of the word of the woman, who testified, He told me all things thateverI did.

So when the Samaritans came unto him, they besought him to abide with them: and he abode there two days.

And many more believed because of his word;

and they said to the woman, Now we believe, not because of thy speaking: for we have heard for ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Saviour of the world.

Jesus Returns to Galilee

And after the two days he went forth from thence into Galilee.

For Jesus himself testified, that a prophet hath no honor in his own country.

So when he came into Galilee, the Galilæans received him, having seen all the things that he did in Jerusalem at the feast: for they also went unto the feast.

Healing the Nobleman’s Son

He came therefore again unto Cana of Galilee, where he made the water wine. And there was a certain nobleman, whose son was sick at Capernaum.

When he heard that Jesus was come out of Judæa into Galilee, he went unto him, and besought him that he would come down, and heal his son; for he was at the point of death.

Jesus therefore said unto him, Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will in no wise believe.

The nobleman saith unto him, Sir, come down ere my child die.

Jesus saith unto him, Go thy way; thy son liveth. The man believed the word that Jesus spake unto him, and he went his way.

And as he was now going down, his servants met him, saying, that his son lived.

So he inquired of them the hour when he began to amend. They said therefore unto him, Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.

So the father knew that it was at that hour in which Jesus said unto him, Thy son liveth: and himself believed, and his whole house.

This is again the second sign that Jesus did, having come out of Judæa into Galilee.

Study Notes for John 4

Verse 1

Jesus withdraws from Judea to avoid escalating conflict with the Pharisees, who were monitoring his growing popularity relative to John the Baptist.

Verse 2

This parenthetical note clarifies that Jesus oversaw the baptism ministry but his disciples performed the physical act, perhaps emphasizing his unique role or avoiding ritual entanglement.

Verse 4

The phrase 'must needs go through Samaria' suggests a divinely appointed necessity, not just geographical convenience. Jews usually took a longer route to avoid Samaritan territory due to deep ethnic and religious hostility.

Verse 5

Sychar was near Shechem, a location highly significant to Samaritan identity, containing Jacob's well and Mount Gerizim.

Verse 6

The 'sixth hour' (about noon) was the hottest part of the day, explaining why Jesus was weary; it was also an unusual time for a woman to be drawing water, suggesting she may have been avoiding others.

Verse 7

Jesus initiates contact, breaking three major social conventions simultaneously: conversing with a Samaritan, speaking alone with a woman, and asking her to handle a Jewish vessel.

Verse 9

The woman highlights the profound hostility: Jews viewed Samaritans as ritually impure half-breeds; asking for a drink involved sharing vessels, which was strictly forbidden.

Verse 10

Jesus shifts the conversation from physical water to 'the gift of God' (salvation) and introduces the metaphor of 'living water,' which signifies the Holy Spirit and eternal life (cf. John 7:37-39).

Verse 14

This verse defines the spiritual nature of the water Jesus offers: it permanently satisfies the soul's deepest needs and culminates in eternal life.

Verse 16

Jesus abruptly changes the subject, using his omniscience to confront her moral status and move her beyond physical curiosity to spiritual need.

Verse 18

The precise knowledge Jesus displays serves as a sign, confirming his prophetic authority and exposing the woman's broken relational history, which often characterized social outcasts.

Verse 19

Recognizing Jesus as a prophet, the woman immediately introduces the most sensitive religious dispute between Samaritans and Jews: the correct place of worship.

Verse 20

Samaritans worshipped on Mount Gerizim, believing it was the original holy mountain designated by Moses, while Jews insisted on Jerusalem (Mount Zion).

Verse 22

While Jesus affirms that geographical worship is ending, he stresses that salvation history is rooted in the Jewish covenant and prophetic tradition, establishing the theological lineage of Christianity.

Verse 23

The 'true worshippers' inaugurated by Christ will focus on the authenticity of their inner relationship with God, rather than external location or ritual observance.

Verse 24

Because God is immaterial Spirit, human worship must be genuine (truth) and driven by the Spirit, transcending physical temples and cultural boundaries.

Verse 26

This is one of the clearest and most direct Messianic claims Jesus makes in the Gospels, revealing his identity to a Samaritan woman—a social and religious outcast.

Verse 27

The disciples were astonished not only that Jesus was speaking to a woman, but specifically to a Samaritan woman, violating deep-seated Jewish custom.

Verse 32

Jesus uses the disciples’ concern for his physical hunger to introduce a higher, spiritual sustenance—doing God's will.

Verse 34

Jesus defines his central purpose: complete obedience to the Father's mission, which is more satisfying and essential than physical food.

Verse 35

Jesus contrasts the four-month agricultural cycle with the immediate readiness of the spiritual harvest (the Samaritans coming from the city), urging immediate evangelistic action.

Verse 38

Jesus explains the continuity of mission: the disciples are reaping the harvest resulting from the labors of others, including the prophets, John the Baptist, and Jesus himself.

Verse 42

The Samaritans progress from believing based on the woman's testimony (secondary witness) to believing based on Jesus's own word (primary faith), recognizing him as the universal Savior.

Verse 43

Jesus continues his journey north, having successfully established a mission field among the historically neglected Samaritans.

Verse 44

This verse likely explains why Jesus did not stay in Judea (his 'own country' in a broader sense) where opposition was fierce, but sought acceptance in Galilee.

Verse 46

Returning to Cana, the site of his first sign (John 2:1-11), Jesus is approached by a royal official (likely an employee of Herod Antipas) seeking a miracle.

Verse 48

Jesus critiques the popular demand for miraculous signs as a prerequisite for belief, challenging the nobleman to move toward genuine, sign-independent faith.

Verse 50

This healing is performed remotely (a 'distance healing'), emphasizing that the power lies entirely in Jesus’s authoritative word, demanding faith before the physical evidence is observed.

Verse 53

The precise timing of the healing confirms the truth of Jesus’s word, leading to belief not just by the official but by his entire household, demonstrating the scope of the miracle.

Verse 54

John marks this as the ‘second sign’ in Galilee, signaling the beginning of Jesus’s public ministry in that region and confirming his Messianic credentials.

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