Paul Wooderson

3:22 – Jesus went out into the rural area of Judea. He stayed there with them and baptized them. It can be easily assumed that Jesus was the One who baptized them.ButJohn 4:2 says, (although Jesus himself didn’t baptize, but his disciples). There is no mention of Jesus baptizing in the Synoptic Gospels which are Matthew, Mark, and Luke.   

3:24 – For John was not yet thrown into prison. The Apostle John “fills in the gap between Jesus’s baptism and temptation and the Baptist’s imprisonment” (John MacArthur). A unique characteristic in the Gospel of John is that there is additional information than there is in the Synoptic Gospels (“synoptic” meaning “to explain something from the same point of view”).  The Gospel of John gives information that helps us have a better understanding of the events that are recorded in the Synoptic Gospels. The Gospel of John is more theological (for instance, the study of God and the relations between God, mankind, and the universe).

3:25-26 – Purification… ceremonial washing, and ritual washing was considered important. “The New Testament also emphasized the need for purity but gives a greater emphasis upon inner purity, purity of thought and motive” (Young’s Bible Dictionary) For example, read 1 Corinthians 6:17-20).  …Rabbi(John the Baptist), he who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you testified… the same baptizes, and everyone is coming to him. His disciples resented Jesus because thought Jesus was baptizing more people than the Baptist.       

3:27 – …A man can receive nothing unless it has been given him from heaven. The Lord has a purpose and plan for your life.  His plan for your life may not be the same as yours. For example, when I was a young teenager, I had already decided what I was going to do with my life. I was determined that I would become a concert pianist. However, on a given day, the Lord made it known He had other plans for my life. Suddenly, I felt like my world had fallen apart. I told the Lord, “I am a musician, not a preacher.” It wasn’t until I submitted to God’s will that I had the peace which passes all human understanding. When God calls you to do something you may feel like you can’t do it, but with His help, you can.

3:29 …the friend of the bridegroom …  John the Baptist was the friend. Without any bitterness, he reminded his friends He (Jesus) must increase, but I (John the Baptist) must decrease. It was time for Jesus to be in the limelight and time for John the Baptist to fade into the background.   

-All the Scripture passages are taken from the World English Bible (WEB)-

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THERE ARE FIVE REASONS WHY JESUS WAS SUPERIOR TO JOHN THE BAPTIST.

1. Jesus comes “from above” (heaven). 2. In heaven, Jesus had first-hand experience learning from His Father. 3. Jesus’ testimony is always in harmony with God the Father. 4. God the Father gives His Son the Spirit without measure. 5. Jesus is superior because God the Father “has given all things into his hand”.

3:31 – He who comes from above is above all. The Greek term ‘above all’ suggests what is written in John 3:3. To be “born from above” is to have faith in Jesus.” He who is from the earth belongs to the earth and speaks of the earth… “The man whose insights are conditioned merely by his nature ‘in the flesh’ cannot (understand) the meaning of that which originates in the realm of the Spirit” (The Interpreter’s Bible). [Read 1 Corinthians 2:9-12 & 1 John 5:10].

3:32 – What he has seen and heard, of that He testifies; and no one receives His witness. It’s likely the author was thinking of the Jewish nation. Many of the Jews rejected Jesus as the promised Messiah.  

3:33 – He who has received His witness has set his seal to this… His seal that God is true- “feeling that he (Jesus) whose word is the truth is absolutely dependable, and will stand to his promises, however impossible they sound; and testifying… that God means what he says and does it” (The Interpreter’s Bible).  

3:34 – For he whom God has sent speaks the words of God; for God gives the Spirit without measure (without limit). “The fullness of the Spirit marked the Lord’s ministry on earth, whereas the prophets of the Old Testament we’re given the Spirit by measure.

3:35 – The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand (Jesus). This is about the delivery of authority by the Father toward the Son (Read John 5:26-27; 17:2).   

3:36 – (he) who believes in the Son has eternal life… (he) who disobeys the Son won’t see life, but the wrath of God remains on him… We have two alternatives: genuine faith or defiant disobedience. The ultimate consequence of failure to believe is “the wrath of God” (John MacArthur).

-All of the Scripture passages are taken from the World English Bible-

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The background for the story of the Samaritan woman. 

In about 722 B.C. the Assyrians invaded and conquered the northern kingdom of Israel. Many of the Israelites were deported, but some of the Israelites remained in the land. The northern kingdom of Israel became known as Samaria. Gradually the king of Assyria brought foreigners into the land. In time, some of the Jews and non-Jews (Gentiles) intermarried. Samaria became a mixed race. The Jews thought they had committed an unforgivable crime. A hatred developed between them. The Jews and the Samaritans tried to avoid each other as much as possible.

For example, from Judea, some Jews crossed over the Jordan River on the east side of Samaria to travel to Galilee. When they traveled north far enough, they crossed the Jordan River again to enter Galilee. Under normal circumstances, it would have made better sense to travel to Galilee through Samaria. It was the shortest route.

He (Jesus) left Judea and departed into Galilee. He needed to pass through Samaria

(John 4:3-4). Because of the tension that existed between the Jews and the Samaritans, why did Jesus feel like He needed to go through Samaria? The text doesn’t give us an answer. Could it be He felt like He had a mission to fulfill? Why did Jesus ask the Samaritan woman to Give me a drink (John 4:7)?“For a Jewish man to speak to a woman in public, let alone to ask from her, a Samaritan, a drink, was a definite breach of rigid social custom… (John Mac Arthur).

The story of the Samaritan woman will continue next week.

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The Story of the Samaritan Woman 

4:6 – Jacob’s well was there. It was located on land Jacob had given to Joseph. The word “well” here means “a running spring.” In John 4:11-12 the word for “well” suggests “it was dug out and fed by an underground spring.

 Jesus, therefore, being tired from his journey, sat down by the well. These words remind us that Jesus was also a human being. He got tired like we get tired. When He lived on the face of this earth, He had some physical limitations.

 4:6-7 – It was about the sixth hour. A woman of Samaria came to draw water. The Jewish day began at 6:00 A.M., so she came to the well at noon. Why did she come to the well to draw water in the hotter part of the day? The other women came to the well to draw water in the evening when the weather was not as hot.    

 4:9 – … How is it that you, (Jesus) being a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a Samaritan woman? She was shocked when Jesus asked her for a drink. She knew the Jews despised the Samaritans. The Jews who had intermarried with Gentiles (non-Jews) formed a mixed-race. They were known as Samaritans. Devout Jews believed the Jews who had intermarried non-Jews had committed an unforgivable crime. They had lost their racial purity. The Samaritan woman knew … if “a Jewish man spoke to a woman in public,” (and especially if he asked a Samaritan woman for a drink it) “was a definite breach (violation) of rigid (unbreakable) social custom…” (John MacArthur)   

4:10 – … Jesus answered her, If you knew… who it is who says to you ‘give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” The words living waterhave an important symbolical significance in the Old Testament. For example, the prophet said my people have… forsaken me (God), the spring of living waters… (Jeremiah 2:13). Zechariah said, it will happen in that day, that living waters will go out from Jerusalem… (Zechariah 14:8).John takes themes like these and relates them “to Jesus Christ as the living water which is symbolic of the eternal life (which is) mediated by the Holy Spirit from Him” (John MacArthur). 

The Samaritan woman’s misunderstanding of Jesus’ words about living water is similar to Nicodemus’misunderstanding of Jesus’ words about the new birth (read John 3:4). It’s important that we remember the best the world can offer us is temporary. It is wonderful to live a life in Christ. A life that is supreme in quality and is eternal.

                            -All Scripture passages are taken from the World English Bible (WEB)- 

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The Story of the Samaritan Woman 

In the Old Testament, the word “water” is a symbol that represents the satisfaction of mankind’s greatest need. The Psalmist says He (God) leads me beside still waters (Psalm 23:2b). The emphasis is on the      peacefulness of these waters. Isaiah says, “Therefore, with joy, you will draw water out of the wells of    salvation” (Isaiah 12:3).                                                                                                                               

When Jesus met the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well, He talked to her about the “living water.”             However, she thought only of her physical thirst and the water which was in Jacob’s well.                     

4:14 – (Jesus said) …whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never thirst again; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life. Jesus said, …He who believes in me, as the Scripture has said, from within him will flow rivers of living water…  he said this about the Spirit, which those believing in him were to receive… (John 7:38-39). 

4:15 – The woman said to him, Sir, give me this water, so that I don’t get thirsty, neither come all the way here to draw (John 4:15). It is obvious the Samaritan woman didn’t understand the hidden meaning of Jesus’s words. 

In the Bible, “living water” is comparable to “living bread.” Jesus says I am the living bread which came down out of heaven. If anyone eats this bread, he will live forever. Yes, the bread which I will give for the life of the world is my flesh (John 6:51). 

The gift of God is Jesus Christ. This spiritual gift, like real bread (John 6:32), brings eternal satisfaction. Merrill F. Unger says, “the believer may claim rest and refreshment” (Merrill F. Unger). The Holy Spirit is the other “counselor” who dwells within the life of the believer (read John 14:16-17).

-All the Scripture passages are taken from the World English Version (WEB)-

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4: 16 – Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband…”  4:17 –The Samaritan woman answered, “I have no husband…” 4:18 – Jesus said, “… you have had five husbands, and he whom you now have is not your husband …” Once again, the Bible reminds us of Jesus’ supernatural ability. Even though the Samaritan woman didn’t realize it, Jesus already knew the kind of life she was living. He focused on her spiritual condition.

4:20 – Our fathers worshiped in this mountain (Mt. Gerizim), and you Jews say that Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship When Jesus confronted her with the facts of her life, she tried to change the subject by having a discussion about religion. There was a long-standing quarrel between the Jews and the Samaritans about the divinely appointed place to worship and to offer sacrifices to God. Newman maintains that it is quite a common thing for people to use their religion as a shield between them and God. 

4:21 –Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour (His death) comes, when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem, will you worship the Father. “There was no reason to debate locations since both places would be obsolete soon and neither would have any role to play in the lives of those who genuinely worship God” (John Mac Arthur).

4:22 – You worship that which you don’t know. We worship that which we know; for salvation is from the Jews. The Samaritans only accepted the Pentateuch (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy). The Jews accepted all of the Old Testament. From them, God’s good news was to be shared with all the world.

4:24 – God is Spirit, and those who worship him must worship him in spirit and truth.  The words, God is Spirit is a testimony of His divine nature.  We would not be able to understand the invisible God unless God had revealed Himself through His Son, Jesus Christ. We must worship Him in spirit and truth. The word “spirit” refers to the human spirit. We must worship God with a proper attitude. The word “truth” is a reference to worship. The kind of worship   that is consistent with the message of the Bible, God’s Holy Word

-All Scripture passages are taken from the World English Bible (WEB)-

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v.25 – “I know that Messiah comes; he is called Christ. When he has come, he will declare to us all things. The Jews, as well as the Samaritans, looked forward to the Messiah’s coming.

v. 26 – “I am he, the one who speaks to you.” Jesus was careful about declaring Himself as the Messiah to the Jewish people. Regarding the Messiah, they had a grossly ignorant political and militaristic view. The Jews had this view in mind when they came around him and said to him (Jesus), “How long will you hold us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly (John 10:24).

v. 29 – “Come, see a man who told me everything I did. Can this be the Christ?”  

The impact Jesus had on the Samaritan woman was astounding. She was excited about her life-changing experience with Christ. The Samaritan woman was so eager to return home that she forgot her waterpot. She could hardly wait to tell the very people she had avoided because of her reputation. The Samaritan woman could not keep the Good News to herself.  

F. F. Bruce says, “the waterpot is a parable (moral story) of the renunciation (rejection) of the old ceremonial, practiced by Jews and Samaritans alike, on the part of those who through faith in Christ has received the divine gift of eternal life.”

v. 30 – They went out of the city and came to him. The Samaritan woman’s testimony greatly impacted the townspeople. They wanted to see Jesus.

I remember a woman who wanted me to pray for her husband because he was not a Christian. She told me that for twenty-one years, she had prayed for him. It seemed unlikely her husband would ever become a Christian. On my first visit to their home, I sensed he was not comfortable with me present. We became good friends. Eventually, the time came when I could talk to him about spiritual things. In a revival meeting, he accepted Jesus as His Lord and Savior. He became born again.

My friend’s born-again experience and the Samaritan woman’s born-again experience are a reminder that no one is beyond the hope of salvation. 

-All of the Scripture passages are based on the World English Bible (WEB)-

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When she was two years old our daughter had a high fever, and her back was arched backward. I was afraid she might have spinal meningitis and her life could have been in danger. We rushed her to the local hospital. My wife and I prayed that our daughter would be made well. We desperately hoped the doctor could make her well.

The nobleman had a son who was deathly sick. When he heard Jesus was in Cana in Galilee, he went to Cana to seek Jesus’s help. It was unlikely a high-ranking official in Herod’s court would go to a village carpenter to beg for his son’s life. To do that the nobleman had to swallow his pride. He was so desperate he didn’t care what others thought. The nobleman was more concerned about his son’s health.

When the nobleman saw Jesus, he begged Him that He would come down and heal his son(4:47). The Lord’s first response was harsh. He said, “Unless you see signs and wonders, you will in no way believe” (4:48). That did not deter the nobleman.He said, … Sir, come down before my son dies (4:49).He refused to be discouraged and hoped Jesus would heal his son.

4:50 – Jesus said to him, “Go your way. Your son lives.” The man believed the word Jesus spoke to him, and he went his way. It must have been difficult for him to go back home and feel confident that his son would be healed. As he was now going down, his servants met him and reported, saying “Your child lives” (4:51). Then the nobleman asked his servants the hour when his son began to get better. It was at the same hour Jesus told him, “Your son lives.”

Jesus has a way of testing us to find out if we are sincere in our requests. Do you remember the story of the Canaanite Woman in Matthew 15:21-28? Behold, a Canaanite woman … cried, saying, “Have mercy on me, Lord. … My daughter is severely possessed by a demon!” The Lord didn’t answer her. But she came and worshiped him, saying,” Lord, help me.” After a brief conversation, Jesus said to her, “Woman, great is your faith! Be it done to you even as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that hour.

We can learn a lesson from the story of the nobleman and the Canaanite woman. If we want Christ to help us, we must be humble enough to swallow our pride. To ask Him for the things He knows we need, and to believe Jesus Christ will help us.   

What is real, genuine faith? Hebrews 11:1 tells us what real, genuine faith is. It is the assurance(or substance) of things hoped for, (the) proof(or the evidence) of things not seen.

-All Scripture passages are based on the World English Bible (WEB)-

Email address: walnutave1234@comcast.net 

When he was 21 years old, a friend of mine was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. When he received the bad news, he was devastated. Instead of seeking help to cope with the disease, he gave up. As a result, he died at a young age.   

5:2-3 … in Jerusalem… there (was) a pool, which (was) called in Hebrew, “Bethesda.” (In that place many) … were sick, blind, lame, or paralyzed, waiting for the movement of the water.  William Barclay says, “Beneath the pool, there was a subterranean (underground) stream, and every now and again the stream bubbled up and disturbed the waters of the pool.”

5:4 – for an angel went down at certain times into the pool and stirred up the water. The people believed it was an angel who stirred up the water. They believed the first person who got into the pool after the water was stirred up would be healed. It was a kind of superstition that was common in the ancient world.

5:6 – Jesus asked the sick (lame man) “Do you want to be made well?” After being sick for thirty-eight years the man could have given up hope. He could have become content being an invalid.

“The first essential towards receiving the power of Jesus is the intense desire for it” (William Barclay). If we are living sin-filled lives, do we really want Him to change us? Jesus can change the life of the greatest of sinners and make him or them a new person. One who lives a godly life. Saul was a persecutor of Christians, but on the road to Damascus, his life was drastically changed. His name was changed to Paul. He became the first great missionary to the Gentile world. Our bodies are not designed to last forever, but Jesus has the power to heal us physically. Even when we suffer, the presence of His Holy Spirit within can give us the strength to face any circumstances.

5:8    Jesus said to him, “Arise take up your mat, and walk.” Jesus asked the man to do something that seemed impossible. Nevertheless, the sick (lame) man’s response was immediate.

5:9a – Immediately, the man was made well. He got up and walked. No person can reasonably expect a miracle to happen if he or she does nothing. “We must realize our own helplessness (but), in a very real sense, it is true that a miracle happens when our will and God’s power co-operate to make it happen” (William Barclay).

JESUS SAYS TO US TO GET UP AND WALK

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The (members of the religious establishment determined there were) thirty-nine categories of work that might not be undertaken on the Sabbath; the thirty-ninth of these was the carrying of a load from one dwelling to another. By this standard, the man’s action in carrying his pallet home was a violation of the Sabbath law (F. F. Bruce).

vv. 9b-10 – … “It is the Sabbath. It is not lawful for you to carry the mat.”  By the time Jesus came to earth, Judaism had degenerated into a religious devotion. The hypocrisy enraged   Jesus. The Jews in authority reminded the man who was healed that he was breaking the law. The Old Testament does forbid work on the Sabbath (Read Exodus 20:8-11; Nehemiah 13:15; Jeremiah 17:21).However, the law the Jews in authority were referring to,was in the oraltradition, which was a man-made law.

Jesus ignored the Rabbi’s oral tradition.He intentionally healed on the Sabbath Day to get people to listen to Him. Jesus confronted the Jewish hyper-legalism and their need to repent.

v. 11 – … “He who made me well, the same said to me, ‘Take up your mat and walk’.” The lifting of his mat (pallet) was a condition for his cure. You would think the healing of the lame man would have been a time of rejoicing. In Jesus’ eyes, the Sabbath was given to be a blessing and not a burden to human beings.  However, the Jews in authority were more concerned about their man-made rules and regulations. “Jesus “regarded acts of healing … as deeds that should be done on that day” (F. F. Bruce). -Read Mark 2:10-12-                     

John 5:16 says the Jews persecuted Jesus and sought to kill him because he did these things (acts of healing) on the Sabbath. The Jews repeatedly persecuted Jesus because of their hatred toward him (read Mark 3:1-6).

 5:14 – Afterward, Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, “Behold, you are made well. Sin no more, so that nothing worse happens to you.”  F. F. Bruce says, “Jesus knew what caused his infirmity. He told the man not to continue in sin because something worse could happen.”

Galatians 6:7-8 says, Don’t be deceived. God is not mocked, for whatever a man sows (morally and spiritually), that he will also reap (receive). For he who sows to his own flesh (evil desires) will from the flesh reap corruption. It is important that we remember sin has its unavoidable consequences. 

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