27At this point His disciples came, and they were amazed that He had been speaking with a woman, yet no one said, “What do You seek?” or, “Why do You speak with her?” 28So the woman left her waterpot, and went into the city and said to the men, 29“Come, see a man who told me all the things that I have done; this is not the Christ, is it?” 30They went out of the city, and were coming to Him.
31Meanwhile the disciples were urging Him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.” 32But He said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” 33So the disciples were saying to one another, “No one brought Him anything to eat, did he?” 34Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work. 35“Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest. 36“Already he who reaps is receiving wages and is gathering fruit for life eternal; so that he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. 37“For in this case the saying is true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ 38“I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored and you have entered into their labor.”
39From that city many of the Samaritans believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, “He told me all the things that I have done.” 40So when the Samaritans came to Jesus, they were asking Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days. 41Many more believed because of His word; 42and they were saying to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this One is indeed the Savior of the world.”
43After the two days He went forth from there into Galilee. 44For Jesus Himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country. 45So when He came to Galilee, the Galileans received Him, having seen all the things that He did in Jerusalem at the feast; for they themselves also went to the feast.
46Therefore He came again to Cana of Galilee where He had made the water wine. And there was a royal official whose son was sick at Capernaum. 47When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and was imploring Him to come down and heal his son; for he was at the point of death. 48So Jesus said to him, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you simply will not believe.” 49The royal official said to Him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” 50Jesus said to him, “Go; your son lives.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and started off. 51As he was now going down, his slaves met him, saying that his son was living. 52So he inquired of them the hour when he began to get better. Then they said to him, “Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.” 53So the father knew that it was at that hour in which Jesus said to him, “Your son lives”; and he himself believed and his whole household. 54This is again a second sign that Jesus performed when He had come out of Judea into Galilee.
Interesting Words
come
deute – come! come hither, come follow, an exclamatory word.
• Luke 5:27; Matt 11:28;
• Matt 25:34; Isa 1:18 (LXX)
food
brósis – eating, food, a meal, rust.
• John 6:27;
• 2Cor 9:10;
work
ergon – work, task, employment; a deed, action; that which is wrought or made, a work.
• John 3:20-21; 2Tim 4:5;
• John 9:3-4; John 17:4; Phil 1:6;
harvest
therismos – (noun) reaping, harvest; the harvest, crop.
• Luke 10:2; Mark 4:29;
• Matt 9:37-38; Matt 13:30;
reap
therizó – (verb) reap, gather, harvest.
• Gal 6:7-8, 9; 2 Cor 9:6;
• Prov 22:8; Rev 14:15, 16;
believe
pisteuó – believe, have faith in, trust in; pass: I am entrusted with.
• Matt 8:13; Acts 4:4;
• Rom 3:22-23; Rom 10:10-11;
• John 5:24; Heb 11:1;
Cross References
• John 4:24
• 1Thes 1:3
• Titus 2:14
• Ps 69:9
• Isa 37:32
Discussion Questions
- What does the first part of this section tell you about the disciples? What did they learn?
• They were surprised that Jesus wasn’t following the norms of the current culture and religion.
• They learned that God sometimes moves in new and unexpected ways.
• They thought they were talking about food issues (as the woman thought the same)
• The disciples were not bold enough to actually ask Jesus a question about His motives.
• They learned that there are more important things than our own personal needs and desires. Things like the Kingdom (Matt 6:33-34) being more important than food.
• They learned to look deeper into Jesus statements than just the physical side of things. - How did the woman describe her encounter with Jesus to the men of her city?
• She left her water pot; so, her return to the town had an urgent feel to it, that must have come across in her statements.
• The urgency also came across in her use of the word “come” with an exclamatory tone.
• She attributed to Jesus the ability to recount all events in her life.
• She suggested that this was the expected one, the Christ.
• She convinced them all to come out and see who she was talking about.
• She pushed them to answer her simple question… is this the Christ? - What would you say is the work of God from this context?
• To worship God in the Spirit and call other people to become worshipers of God also in the Spirit.
• To bring people to Jesus so that they may experience His Spiritual food, doing the will of God… Heb 11:6; I Cor 3: Apolos vs. Paul.
• To bring people to be able to accomplish God’s work as well.
• To bring workers into the field to help with the harvest (Luke 10:2), workers like this woman.
• This woman was doing God’s work, introducing others to the truth of God, and ther by bringing glory to His Name.
• He endured the agony of the cross Heb 12 … this is the joy set before him from enduring the cross. - How is this different from the works of the Law?
• ulfilled the whole law. He is the only one.
• They are generated from our human hearts and influenced by and tainted with our sinful nature, our corrupt hearts (Jer 17:9; Rom 3:10-12). We cannot convict of sin, only the Holy Spirit can do this.
• God’s works are generated by God, and are certified as having come from Him by His light that reveals the source of the works, (John 3:21… wrought in God).
• God’s works accomplish God’s will. Our works, fulfilling God’s law may do that as well, but there is a hugh opportunity for it to be colored by our flesh. Be careful. - How does the will of God (John 4:34) fit into this?
• There certainly is a difference between my will in the flesh and my will as a man. These are completely different from God’s will.
• The will of the flesh is finding some sordid purpose in what we think we need and projecting that upon God, or seeking to fulfill that end.
• The will of man could be the above or completely indistinguishable from it (making the two wills one and the same); however, the will of man could be man’s understanding of what God says in His word or what seems to be divinely acceptable. If we make that our goal, it is the same as the fleshly desire and should not be confused with God’s will is.
• God’s will includes His actual wants and desires. What He wants for us His creatures. What He wants is to do.
▪︎ It is generated within the mind of the trinity
▪︎ It is passed on to us via the Holy Spirit or through the mind of Christ (1Cor 2:16, Phil 2:5)
▪︎ It should be or become the driving force of our lives. - What does this section tell you about how far off the mark Israel was in finding the Messiah?
• God’s plan was for the leadership of Israel (Phariseess, scribes, lawyers) to check out claimed candidate Messiahs as they showed up and affirm them to the people.
• They were to compare their works and miracles to the prophetic word and give an unbiased assessment.
• The Samaritans that women brought to Jesus did just that… They came, evaluated the claims of the woman, they asked Jesus extensive questions and determined that He truly was the Messiah, the Christ… John 4:42.
• The Jewish leaders were caught up in their our existential rule . They worried about their income (sordid gain), John 2:15-16. Many Jews themselves believed in him (John 2:23) but the leadership sought to kill Jesus (John 5:18). - Describe the results of the witness of the woman at the well to her fellow Samaritans?
• She motivated the men of the city to come and see if Jesus was the Messiah.
• Since she had relations with several men of the city, this may have been quite convicting for those men.
• This was a pure testimony of a true sinner, probably know to be that by everyone in the city.
• The spiritual leaders in the town no doubt were aware of and influenced by her statements and checkered past.
• They were open to her claims and willing to research it further, but when they heard from Jesus directly, they were convinced that Jesus was the Savior of the world.
• Their statement changed from the woman’s questioning (babble, chattering) about the Christ (John 4:29, the expected Messiah) to a belief the He was Savior of the world (John 4:42, savior, deliverer, preserver). - What does this and the last section tell you about how to be successful at doing God’s works?
• Jesus had many opportunities that were constantly presenting themselves to Him.
• He did not let evil deter Him. His own country did not honor Him but He kept at it, moving His ministry into Galilean.
• He did not let poor response to His message stop Him …He kept going with those that did respond. We on the other hand get discouraged with slow or contrary response.
• He looked at tragic events as an opportunity for God to display His glory. We look at them as just that, tragic.
• Once God displays His glory, it begins to multiply… His whole household believed.
• This was another private miracle, but Jesus counted it as His second, after turning water into wine. Jesus was not flashy, but did count the things that matter.