Lesson for April 27, 2025

The Book of John

Lesson 12

The Woman at the Well – Part 2

Chapter 4:27-45

Verses 27-30

^“And at this point His disciples came, and they were amazed that He had been speaking with a woman, yet no one said, ‘What are You seeking?’ or ‘Why are You speaking with her?’ So, the woman left her waterpot and went into the city, and said to the people, ‘Come, see a Man who told me all the things that I have done; this is not the Christ, is He?’ They left the city and were coming to Him.^”

The story of the woman at the well has a number of applications for us today. Remember, this was an immoral woman who had been ostracized from her community, and a Samaritan as well. This woman had everything going against her and yet Jesus saw the opportunity to reach a lost soul.

Despite her spiritual condition, the woman had heard about the promised Messiah. Her excitement, after speaking with Jesus, caused her to set aside the fact that she was an unpopular person in her city. She had good news, and she wanted to share it with others! (Application One)

Verses 31-35

“Meanwhile the disciples were urging Him, saying, ‘Rabbi, eat something.’ But He said to them, ‘I have food to eat that you do not know about.’ So, the disciples were saying to one another, ‘No one brought Him anything to eat, did he?’ Jesus said to them, ‘My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to accomplish His work. Do you not say, ‘There are still four months, and then comes the harvest?’ Behold, I tell you, raise your eyes and observe the fields, that they are white for harvest.’”

When the disciples returned, their main concern seemed to be that Jesus hadn’t eaten, missing the reason Jesus had stopped. This Samaritan woman had found Who she believed to be the Messiah. When asked by His disciples to eat something, Jesus’ reply was a lesson in obeying the will of God. The analogy Jesus used is a lesson for us all with regard to our responsibility to spread the good news of the Gospel to the world.

Our responsibility is to “sow the seed” of the Gospel whenever and wherever we can. Occasionally, we will have the privilege of being the one who “harvests” the soul of an unbeliever (see them come to know Christ as their Savior). But whether we are the one who “sows” or the one who “reaps,” we rejoice together that a soul has been won to Christ. (Application Two)

Verses 36-38

^“Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and is gathering fruit for eternal life, so that the one who sows and the one who reaps may rejoice together. For in this case the saying is true; One sows and another reaps.’ I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored, and you have come into their labor.”

The disciples came from an agricultural culture. They understood that a farmer first sows and the crop is ready to be harvested some months after the sowing. There is a period of patience between sowing and reaping in farming. And the one who sows the seed does not always harvest the crop. (Application Three)

Jesus was challenging His disciples to reach those who were lost. They were about to see the result of how God can use one person to impact an entire town for Christ. Verse 39 tells us that many of the Samaritans believed in Jesus. Verses 40- 42 say many more believed after the initial group because Jesus remained in Samaria for two days at the request of the people of Sychar.

Verses 39-42

^“Now from 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.’ So, when the Samaritans came to Jesus, they were asking Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days. Many more believed because of His word; and 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 truly is the Savior of the world.’”

In the case of the Samaritans in Sychar, the sowing of the seed was done by this immoral woman, and the harvest didn’t take long. If God could use an immoral, ostracized person to spread the good news, He can use us, as well. God’s timing is always perfect, and we need to be sowing the seed of the Gospel until Jesus returns for His Church at the Rapture. (Application Four)

Verses 43-45

^“And after the two days, He departed from there for Galilee. For Jesus Himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country. So, when He came to Galilee, the Galileans received Him, only because they had seen all the things that He did in Jerusalem at the feast; for they themselves also went to the feast.”

After the two days in Sychar, Jesus travelled to Galilee, the region where His hometown was located. In Galilee, He received a superficial reception based on His miracles and His fame, rather than on His teaching. So, Jesus went back to Cana, the place of His first miracle.

Wherever Jesus travelled, He was always faithful to communicate the Gospel to everyone, just as we should be. If we are living our spiritual lives, we will desire that others come to know Christ. This means we must set aside our fear and intimidation to share the Gospel with others. You might be surprised by the reception you receive, when you boldly and lovingly share this good news.

The question of the need to witness for Christ should be obvious to any Christian. There are people without Christ who we can introduce to the Gospel. It is true that God is not limited by our lack of faithfulness to share the Gospel. However, in order for us to be obedient, we need to witness for Christ. And it is always a great joy to see a person trust Christ as Savior as a result of our witness. (Luke 16:23-26; John 3:18; II Corinthians 5:11)

The most important reason to share the Gospel is that God has commanded us to do so. We are ambassadors for Christ. As His representatives, we have been entrusted with the Gospel message. We should all agree that we do not want to fail, as Israel did in their responsibility to the unsaved. (Mark 16:15; II Timothy 4:1-2; I Corinthians 9:16; II Corinthians 5:20)

The final reason for sharing the Gospel is that it is our privilege, as believers. God could have chosen angels to carry the message of salvation, but He didn’t. God gave us that privilege. If God loved us so much to send Christ to die for us, it only makes sense that we would want to share this information with others. (I Thessalonians 2:4,19; II Corinthians 5:19; Acts 1:8; Romans 1:16; John 15:8)

Jesus Heals the Official’s Son

Chapter 4:46-54

Verses 46-48

^“Therefore, He came again to Cana of Galilee, where He had made the water into wine. And there was a royal official whose son was sick at Capernaum. When he heard that Jesus had come from Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and began asking Him to come down and heal his son; for he was at the point of death. Then Jesus said to him, ‘Unless you people see signs and wonders, you simply will not believe.’”

We once again have great application for us today. Having heard of the first miracle at Cana, a man of royalty approached Jesus on behalf of his son, who was dying. From the statement of Jesus, we can surmise that the man believed Jesus had some sort of “supernatural power” to perform miracles.

Jesus addressed the true motivation of people, in their desire to see a healing. They were motivated by the performance, not the Person Who performed the miracle or His message of salvation. We see from this story that miracles were performed by Jesus so that people would realize Who He was, and to authenticate His message.

Then Jesus said to him, ‘Unless you people see signs and wonders, you simply will not believe.’ This was a rebuke to the man of royalty, but Jesus was also addressing all the people around him (you people). Jesus performed miracles to bring attention to His message. Signs and wonders were performed throughout the Bible at various times and for various reasons. But they were never performed for entertainment or for personal gain.

Verses 49-54

^“The royal official said to Him, ‘Sir, come down before my child dies.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Go; your son is alive.’ The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went home. And as he was now going down, his slaves met him, saying that his son was alive. So, 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.’ So, the father knew that it was at that hour in which Jesus said to him, ‘Your son is alive’; and he himself believed, and his entire household. This is again a second sign that Jesus performed when He had come from Judea into Galilee.”

The man expressed a genuine concern regarding the healing of his son, who was at the point of death. However, he did not understand Jesus’ statement about a “superficial faith,” which would change shortly into a genuine faith. Jesus of course did not need the son to be present to heal him. Jesus simply said, “Go; your son alive.” The son was healed the moment Jesus made this statement.

We have two areas of belief in these verses. First, the man of royalty believed Jesus when He said that the man’s son was healed. However, this was not faith in Christ as the Savior. Second, the man of royalty believed in Christ for salvation after he had spoken to his servants and realized his son was healed at the exact moment Jesus had spoken the words, ‘Go; your son is alive.’ And, when the man’s household heard the news, they believed in Christ for salvation, as well!

This is again a second sign that Jesus performed when He had come from Judea into Galilee.” The words “second sign” simply means this was the second miracle He performed in Cana. Jesus had manifested His glory as the Messiah by turning water into wine and by healing the official’s son. Signs and wonders authenticated Christ’s message of salvation. (John 2:11)