John 4 - Heartlight

          1When Jesus realized that the Pharisees were aware He was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John
          2(although it was not Jesus who baptized, but His disciples),
          3He left Judea and returned to Galilee.

          4Now He had to pass through Samaria.
          5So He came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph.
          6Since Jacob’s well was there, Jesus, weary from His journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour.

⁷When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.”

⁸(His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.)

⁹“You are a Jew,” said the woman. “How can You ask for a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)

¹⁰Jesus answered, “If you knew the gift of God and who is asking you for a drink, you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”

¹¹“Sir,” the woman replied, “You have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where then will You get this living water?

¹²Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us this well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock?”

¹³Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again.

¹⁴But whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a fount of water springing up to eternal life.”

¹⁵The woman said to Him, “Sir, give me this water so that I will not get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.”

¹⁶Jesus told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.”

¹⁷“I have no husband,” the woman replied. Jesus said to her, “You are correct to say that you have no husband.

¹⁸In fact, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. You have spoken truthfully.”

¹⁹“Sir,” the woman said, “I see that You are a prophet.

²⁰Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews say that the place where one must worship is in Jerusalem.”

          21“Believe Me, woman,” Jesus replied, “a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.
          22You worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews.
          23But a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for the Father is seeking such as these to worship Him.
          24God is Spirit, and His worshipers must worship Him in spirit and in truth.”

²⁵The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When He comes, He will explain everything to us.”

²⁶Jesus answered, “I who speak to you am He.”

²⁷Just then His disciples returned and were surprised that He was speaking with a woman. But no one asked Him, “What do You want from her?” or “Why are You talking with her?”

          28Then the woman left her water jar, went back into the town, and said to the people,
          29“Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?”
          30So they left the town and made their way toward Jesus.

³¹Meanwhile the disciples urged Him, “Rabbi, eat something.”

³²But He told them, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.”

³³So the disciples asked one another, “Could someone have brought Him food?”

³⁴Jesus explained, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to finish His work.

³⁵Do you not say, ‘There are still four months until the harvest’? I tell you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are ripe for harvest.

          36Already the reaper draws his wages and gathers a crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may rejoice together.
          37For in this case the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true.
          38I sent you to reap what you have not worked for; others have done the hard work, and now you have taken up their labor.”

³⁹Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in Jesus because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.”

⁴⁰So when the Samaritans came to Him, they asked Him to stay with them, and He stayed two days.

⁴¹And many more believed because of His message.

⁴²They said to the woman, “We now believe not only because of your words; we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man truly is the Savior of the world.”

          43After two days, Jesus left for Galilee.
          44Now He Himself had testified that a prophet has no honor in his own hometown.
          45Yet when He arrived, the Galileans welcomed Him. They had seen all the great things He had done in Jerusalem at the feast, for they had gone there as well.

⁴⁶So once again He came to Cana in Galilee, where He had turned the water into wine. And there was a royal official whose son lay sick at Capernaum.

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

⁴⁸Jesus said to him, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will never believe.”

⁴⁹“Sir,” the official said, “come down before my child dies.”

⁵⁰“Go,” said Jesus. “Your son will live.” The man took Jesus at His word and departed.

⁵¹And while he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was alive.

⁵²So he inquired as to the hour when his son had recovered, and they told him, “The fever left him yesterday at the seventh hour.”

⁵³Then the father realized that this was the very hour in which Jesus had told him, “Your son will live.” And he and all his household believed.

⁵⁴This was now the second sign that Jesus performed after coming from Judea into Galilee.

— John 4

(BSB)

Related Resources from Heartlight

There are 21 resources related to this passage:

A Barrier Breaker

Illustration of John 4:7-9 NLT

Illustration of John 4:7-9 NLT -- Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, "Please give me a drink." He was alone at the time because his disciples had gone into the village to buy some food. The woman was surprised, for Jews refuse to have anything to do with Samaritans.

A Weary Savior!

Illustration of John 4:4-6 NLT

Illustration of John 4:4-6 NLT -- [Jesus] had to go through Samaria on the way [to Galilee]. Eventually he came to the Samaritan village of Sychar, near the field that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Jacob's well was there; and Jesus, tired from the long walk, sat wearily beside the well about noontime.

Avoiding Conflict and Confusion

Illustration of John 4:1-3 NLT

Illustration of John 4:1-3 NLT -- Jesus knew the Pharisees had heard that he was baptizing and making more disciples than John (though Jesus himself didn't baptize them — his disciples did). So he left Judea and returned to Galilee.

God is spirit, and his worshipers must...

Illustration of John 4:23-24

Illustration of John 4:23-24 -- Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.

A Deeper Drink

Illustration of John 4:13-14 NLT

Illustration of John 4:13-14 NLT -- Jesus replied, "Anyone who drinks this water [from Jacob's well] will soon become thirsty again. 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."

Fountains of Endless Life

Illustration of John 4:13-14 MESSAGE

Illustration of John 4:13-14 MESSAGE -- Jesus said, "Everyone who drinks this water will get thirsty again and again. Anyone who drinks the water I give will never thirst — not ever. The water I give will be an artesian spring within, gushing fountains of endless life."

Must!

Illustration of John 4:23-24 NLT

Illustration of John 4:23-24 NLT -- [Jesus said,] "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. For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth."

The Kind of Worshipers the Father Seeks

Illustration of John 4:23-24 NIV

Illustration of John 4:23-24 NIV -- [Jesus said,] "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. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth."

The Time Has Come

Illustration of John 4:23-24 NIV

...but whoever drinks the water I give...

Illustration of John 4:14

Illustration of John 4:14 -- ...but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.

God Is Spirit!

Illustration of John 4:24 NLT

Illustration of John 4:24 NLT -- [Jesus concluded his response about worship,] "For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth."

God is spirit, and his worshipers must...

Illustration of John 4:24

Illustration of John 4:24 -- God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship him in spirit and in truth.

God is spirit, and his worshipers must...

Illustration of John 4:24

Illustration of John 4:24 -- God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.

Have You Asked?

Illustration of John 4:15 NLT

Illustration of John 4:15 NLT -- "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."

He Has Told Me Everything!

Illustration of John 4:39 NLT

Illustration of John 4:39 NLT -- Many Samaritans from the village believed in Jesus because the woman had said, "He told me everything I ever did!"

If You Only Knew

Illustration of John 4:10 NLT

Illustration of John 4:10 NLT -- Jesus replied [to the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well], "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."

In Spirit and Truth?

Illustration of John 4:24

Inspirational illustration of John 4:24 -- God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.

Quench Your Thirst.

Illustration of John 4:14

Inspirational illustration of John 4:14 -- ... but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.

The Giver

Illustration of John 4:10 NLT

The Surprise Harvest

Illustration of John 4:35 NLT

Illustration of John 4:35 NLT -- [Jesus said,] "You know the saying, 'Four months between planting and harvest.' But I say, wake up and look around. The fields are already ripe for harvest."

True Worshipers

Illustration of John 4:23 NIV

Illustration of John 4:23 NIV -- [Jesus said,] "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."

Cross References for John 4

Cross References Provided by Open Bible

The Berean Standard Bible

The Berean Standard Bible (BSB) is a modern, clear, and faithful translation based on the best available Greek and Hebrew manuscripts. Ideal for reading, study, and sharing, it entered the public domain in 2023. For more information, visit berean.bible.