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 how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John,

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

He left Judaea, and departed again into Galilee.

Jesus Must Go Through Samaria

¶ And he must needs go through Samaria.

Then cometh he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.

Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and 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 unto the city to buy meat.)

Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the 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: from whence then hast thou that living water?

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

Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever 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 be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

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

Jesus Reveals Her Past

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

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

For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou 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 ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.

Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.

But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.

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

The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell 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 marvelled that he talked with the woman: yet no man said, What seekest thou? or, Why talkest thou with her?

The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men,

Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?

Then they went out of the city, and came unto him.

In the mean while his disciples prayed him, saying, Master, eat.

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

Therefore said the disciples one to another, Hath any man brought him ought to eat?

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

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

And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together.

And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth.

I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours.

Many Samaritans Believe

And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him for the saying of the woman, which testified, He told me all that ever I did.

So when the Samaritans were come unto him, they besought him that he would tarry with them: and he abode there two days.

And many more believed because of his own word;

And said unto the woman, Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world.

Jesus Returns to Galilee

¶ Now after two days he departed thence, and went into Galilee.

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

Then when he was come into Galilee, the Galilaeans received him, having seen all the things that he did at Jerusalem at the feast: for they also went unto the feast.

Healing the Nobleman’s Son

So Jesus came again into 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 Judaea 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.

Then said Jesus unto him, Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe.

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

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

And as he was now going down, his servants met him, and told him, saying, Thy son liveth.

Then enquired he of them the hour when he began to amend. And they said unto him, Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.

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

This is again the second miracle that Jesus did, when he was come out of Judaea 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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