John 4 Bible Study

John chapter 4 commentary Bible study

JOHN 4 Bible Study

John 4:7-19 Samaritan Woman
John 4:20-22 Place of Worship
John 4:23-24 Worship in Spirit and Truth
John 4:25-26 Messiah
John 4:27-30 Come, See a Man
John 4:31-35 God’s Work
John 4:36-42 Sow and Reap
John 4:43-45 A Prophet Has No Honor
John 4:46-54 Capernaum
John 4 Bible Study Questions (Handout)

JOHN 4:1-3 1 Therefore, when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John 2 (though Jesus Himself was not baptizing, but His disciples), 3 He left Judea and departed again for Galilee.

Why did Jesus leave “Judea” (John 4:3)?
Because His ministry was surpassing John's ministry, He knew that the Pharisees would soon be after Him.

Why would the “Pharisees” (John 4:1) be after Jesus?
See Pharisees.

Was Jesus scared of the Pharisees?
No, and He would eventually leverage the Pharisees' hatred of Him to bring about His own crucifixion. But the timing of that had to be precise and this wasn't the moment, hence His departure.

JOHN 4:4-5 4 And He needed to go through Samaria. 5 So He came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph.

Where are “Samaria” and “Sychar” (John 4:5)?
Samaria was the region in the middle of Israel, between Judea to the south and Galilee to the north, and Sychar was a town in Samaria about 30 miles (48 kilometers) north of Jerusalem.

Who are “Jacob” and “Joseph” (John 4:5)?
Jacob is the grandson and Joseph is the great-grandson of Abraham, whom God had chosen from Ur, a city in what is Iraq today to found the Hebrew nation. Genesis chapters 12 to 25 (including chapters 14 and 15) describe what God did with Abraham, and chapters 25 to the end of Genesis describe what He did with Jacob and Joseph.

What “plot of ground” (John 4:5) had Jacob given to Joseph?
See Shechem.

JOHN 4:6 6 Now Jacob’s well was there, so Jesus, being tired from the journey, was sitting thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour.

How old was “Jacob's well” (John 4:6)?
About 1,900 years old, and apparently still in use.

Why was Jesus “tired” (John 4:6)?
It was about “the sixth hour” (John 4:6), meaning six hours from sunrise at 6 AM, hence noon. He probably had been walking all morning and the sun was hot at its zenith. The fact that Jesus got tired attests to Him having been fully man, as well as fully God, when He was on the earth.

Why was Jesus sitting by the well, and where were His disciples?
See the next page.