The Gospel of John
Sisters in Christ
The Moody Church
Lesson 10
as presented by Mary Whelchel
John 4:19 – 26
19The woman said to him, "Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. 20Our fathers worshiped on
this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship." 21Jesus
said to her, "Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in
Jerusalem will you worship the Father. 22You worship what you do not know; we worship what
we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the
true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to
worship him. 24God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth."
25The woman said to him, "I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he
comes, he will tell us all things." 26Jesus said to her, "I who speak to you am he."
After Jesus confronts her with her immoral lifestyle, she ventures into theological territory. Is
she trying to change the subject? Is she trying to impress Jesus with her biblical expertise?
Whatever, Jesus stays on topic, and informs her that the Samaritans are wrong in where they
worship, but that whole issue is going to go away soon. Under the new covenant the place of
worship will not be an issue, but rather the nature of worship.
True worshipers will worship in spirit and in truth. What does this mean? Spirit does not refer
here to the Holy Spirit, but to the human spirit. Worship has to be more than external
ceremonies and rituals. It has to be from the heart. And it must be totally in line with the Truth
of God’s word. At this time neither the Samaritans nor the Jews worshiped in spirit and in truth.
The Jews had more truth, but they had no spirit. It was all formal ritual. The Samaritans had no
truth, their theology was wrong.
Both groups focused on external factors. But now, with the arrival of the Messiah, they must
worship acceptably, for God is seeking those who will worship in spirit and in truth.
Philippians 3:3: For we are the real circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and
glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh.
Hebrews 12:28-29: Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be
shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our
God is a consuming fire.
This woman knows that a Messiah is coming, and she now brings up this reference. Was she
beginning to get it? Has Jesus so impressed her that now she’s thinking, “Could this be the
One?”
And wonder of wonders, Jesus confirms that she is talking to the Messiah. Can you put yourself
in her shoes? Can you even begin to imagine how this one statement changes her life?
Jesus had avoided telling the Pharisees and the Jews that he is the looked-for Messiah. They
were expecting the Messiah to be a political figure who would deliver them from Rome. This
woman knows nothing about Jesus until he meets her at the well. She has not seen him do one
miracle, nor has she even heard about all he has done. All she has is this one conversation with
this incredible Man, and now she is face-to-face with Messiah.
The original translation is “I who speak to you am.” There is no “he” in the original. So, Jesus
connects himself with the great I am’s of Scripture, with Jehovah. John repeatedly refers to
Jesus as I am:
John 6:35: Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. . .”
John 8:12: I am the light of the world
John 10:7, 9: I am the door of the sheep
John 11:25: I am the resurrection and the life
John 14:6: I am the way, and the truth, and the life.
John 15:1, 5: I am the true vine
Twenty-three times in this Gospel Jesus says, “I am.”
You cannot simply believe Jesus was a good man, a prophet, a teacher. He either is who he said
he was, or he is a deceiver, a liar, or a lunatic. He made no bones about who he was. The
question is, Have you received him?
John 4:27 - 45
27Just then his disciples came back. They marveled that he was talking with a woman, but no one
said, "What do you seek?" or, "Why are you talking with her?" 28So the woman left her water jar
and went away into town and said to the people, 29"Come, see a man who told me all that I ever
did. Can this be the Christ?" 30They went out of the town 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 said to one another, "Has anyone
brought him something to eat?" 34Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of him who sent
me and to accomplish his work. 35Do you not say, 'There are yet four months, then comes the
harvest'? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest.
36Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower
and(reaper may rejoice together. 37For here the saying holds true, 'One sows and another reaps.'
38I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered
into their labor."
39Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, "He told
me all that I ever did." 40So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them,
and he stayed there two days. 41And many more believed because of his word. 42They said to
the woman, "It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for
ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world."
43After the two days he departed for Galilee. 44(For Jesus himself had testified that a prophet
2
has no honor in his own hometown.) 45So when he came to Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him,
having seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the feast. For they too had gone to the feast.
This is the first recorded instance of
Testament.
cross-cultural evangelism
in the New
Romans 3:29: Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes,
of Gentiles also.
Isaiah 45:22: Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and
there is no other.
Notice verse 27: “Just then” – just then the disciples returned. God’s timing was perfect!
How many times in your life has God’s timing been just that perfect?
Can you imagine how revolutionary this was for the disciples, to realize that Jesus was
witnessing to a non-Jew, a Samaritan even? They have to learn that the gospel was not just for
the Jews.
Can you think of a person in the Old Testament who had difficulty taking God’s truth to another
culture?
Now, the Samaritan woman becomes an
evangelist
. Interesting to note:

She left her pot. Why?

She was not shy about telling the people in the town, both men and women, about her
encounter with Jesus. Her desire to tell others overcame her
feelings of shame.

Even though she is a woman of ill repute, they believe her. Your personal
story is always powerful.

Note how she approaches them: “Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can
this be the Christ?” Suppose she had said, “Hey, I’ve just met the Messiah. He’s at
Jacob’s well. He’s the real Messiah.” How do you think they might have reacted then?
Jesus uses this occasion to teach his disciples an important truth:
“My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.”
Throughout his ministry on earth, Jesus proclaimed again and again that he came
3
.
Why do we try to get God to bless our will instead of saying, “Not my will, but thine be done”?
Ephesians 2:10:
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good
works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
What can you and I do to develop this attitude in us that was in Jesus, so that doing the will of
God is more important to us than anything else?
Verses 35 – 38: Jesus is saying: “If you sow seed, you must wait for at least four months before
you can hope to begin to reap the harvest. But look see that the fields for the harvest of souls are
white for harvest.”
Usually the one who sows the seed is the one who reaps the harvest. But in the spiritual realm, it
is often quite the opposite. “One sows and another reaps.”
1 Corinthians 3:6:
I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.
Jesus is teaching them that in the spiritual harvest, the sower and the reaper rejoice at the same
time. Typically the rejoicing comes only at reaping. Sowing is hard work.
Psalm 126:5-6:
Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy! He who
goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy,
bringing his sheaves with him.
Verses 39 – 45: “Many Samaritans believed in him.” These Samaritans were open to the truth of
who Jesus was. Compare their reaction to Jesus to the reaction he has received from the
religious leaders.
“Through his conversation with a non-Jewish woman, Jesus gave an entire non-Jewish village
the opportunity to receive salvation.”
4