John 4:26-54: “The People Of Sychar
Come And Hear Jesus’ Word And Believe In Him / Jesus Heals A Nobleman’s Son In
Cana”
By
1.
INTRO:
1.1.
In our last study we looked at verses 1-25 of John chapter 4.
1.1.1. In that story we saw that as
Jesus decided that it would be best for Him to take His disciples and relocate
to Galilee that He decided also that they must go through Samaria, the land of
that half-breed of Jews who were compromised in all areas of their worship, and
He did this so that He might reach a woman and a city with the
life-transforming and saving message of the gospel.
1.1.2. We saw that the story of the
woman of
1.1.3. We saw how that Jesus, the
Master evangelist, used every day situations to share the gospel with those who
are lost, and did so in the most natural way.
1.1.4. Jesus asked the woman of
Samaria to give Him a drink of water, then when she asked Him why He a Jew
would ask a Samaritan for a drink of water, since Jews have no dealings with
Samaritans, Jesus told her that if she knew who He was and the gift of God that
she would ask Him for living water.
After more dialog Jesus told the woman that whoever drank of the water
that she had to offer would thirst again, but whoever drank of the living water
that He offered would never thirst again for that water would spring up to
everlasting life.
1.1.5. At this point the woman
asked Him for this water that He had, however she was thinking of physical
water and of never having to come again to draw water to drink, for she was
slow to catch on to spiritual truth. She
was however beginning to understand that there was something very different
about Jesus and that He was more than a mere man. She wasn’t yet ready to receive Him as her
Lord and Savior however for she needed first to become convicted of her sins
and see herself under God’s condemnation for her sins. So, Jesus asked the woman to go and to call
her husband and bring him. The woman
answers that she has no husband. Jesus
reveals His omnipotence to the woman by telling her that she has spoken
correctly for she has had five husbands and the man she is currently living
with is not her husband. This reply by
Jesus brings the woman to the utmost awareness of her sins and sinful state
before a holy God, and it also makes her realize that Jesus is a prophet.
1.1.6. The woman of
1.1.7. Though this theological
question from the woman was sort of a smoke screen to draw attention away from
the real issue of her sins and need of a Savior, Jesus answers her question
saying to her, “Woman,
believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem
will you worship the Father. 22 “You worship
what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews.
23 “But an hour is coming, and now is, when
the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such
people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. 24 “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in
spirit and truth.” We saw that
Jesus telling the woman in His answer that in the future people will worship
the Lord, however they will do so neither at Mt. Gerizim in Samaria nor at the
temple in Jerusalem, was prophetic for in the future God would be worshipped
all over the world and neither temple would one day be standing.
1.1.8. In our last
study, I brought out that that the worshipping of God ‘in spirit’ that
Jesus spoke of involved being born again and having the Spirit of God dwell
within you, bringing you into fellowship with God, and that worshipping God ‘in
truth’ involved being obedient to the truth of God that you have received
and understand. However, I would like
for us to take this discussion up a little further and look a little bit closer
at what Jesus is saying here about the worship of God that is ‘in spirit and
truth’ :
1.1.8.1.Notice first of all here
that in verse 24 that Jesus tells us that if you are going to worship the Lord
in the manner in which He desires and requires that you worship Him that you ‘must’
worship Him ‘in spirit and truth.’
There is no other kind of worship that is or will ever be acceptable to
the Lord, there is only one option for acceptable worship. We Christians must be careful to take note of
words that we find in the scripture such as this word ‘must.’
1.1.8.1.1.The previous two times in
this book that Jesus used the word ‘must’ is when in chapter 3 He told
Nicodemus that you ‘must’ be born again to see the kingdom of heaven,
and when He told him also that the son of man ‘must be lifted up.’
1.1.8.2.To worship in ‘spirit’
necessitates:
1.1.8.2.1.Mere external worship and
performance of rites and rituals will not suffice.
1.1.8.2.2.True worship must be ‘from
the heart’ or be ‘heartfelt.’
1.1.8.2.3.True worship involves divine
activity, within and without of a person.
It involves a two-way exchange between God and a person.
1.1.8.3.To worship in ‘truth’
necessitates:
1.1.8.3.1.Worshipping the Lord in the
light of the truth that He has laid out concerning Himself.
1.1.8.3.2.It is worship in the manner
that He has told us that we must worship Him, that which the word of God
reveals to us. Any old way to worship
the Lord will not be accepted.
1.1.8.3.3.Reality. There is no hiding from God, no pretending,
and no hypocrisy that can exist in true worship of the Lord.
1.1.8.4.In our worship team at the
church here, we attempt every time we lead in worship not to bring attention to
ourselves but lead all attention towards the Lord. We try to remove distractions that keep us as
a body from focusing upon the Lord. We
also don’t just play pretty music for the sake of playing pretty music, have a
professional sound for the sake of sounding professional, etc. Sometimes those things detract from true
worship of the Lord. Today, it is
sometimes the case that people in churches worship the worship rather than
worship the Lord, but we do not want to do that sort of thing. We try to sing songs that bring honor to the
Lord and focus upon Him, and we try to remove ourselves from the spotlight of
attention as we do so.
1.1.9. Finally, when the woman of
Samaria told Jesus that the Samaritans believed that a prophet was coming who
would tell them all things, Jesus told her that He who was speaking to her was
that man.
1.2.
In our study today, we are going to look at verses 26-54.
1.2.1. The disciples will return from
buying food in town and marvel that Jesus is speaking with this woman.
1.2.2. The disciples had left Jesus
hungry and tired and now that they have returned with food, they try to get
Jesus to eat, however He is no longer hungry and tells them that He has food
that they do not know of, a statement that they did not understand. We will discuss the food of satisfaction in
doing God’s will and calling which Jesus mentions here.
1.2.3. The woman of
1.2.4. Jesus ends up staying in
1.2.5. Jesus will then leave
2.
VS 4:26-27 - “And at this point His disciples came,
and they marveled that He had been speaking with a woman; yet no one said, ‘What did You seek?’ or,
‘Why do You speak with her?’” – John
tells us that Jesus’ disciples show up at the end of His conversation with the
woman of
2.1.
The disciples marveled that Jesus had been speaking
with a woman. Religious leaders would
have no conversations with women, but this was not the case with Jesus. He didn’t follow the customs of men because
He cared about all men and women and reached out to meet the needs of all who
came to Him.
2.2.
To God there are no distinctions of nationality or
status of men, nor is there a superiority of men to women, or visa versa. The offer of salvation is made to all for
Jesus died for the sins of the whole world.
2.3.
Perhaps it was out of fear of rebuke by Jesus that the
disciples didn’t question Jesus as to why He was speaking with the woman. They just observed what had happened and kept
quiet.
3.
VS
4:28-29 - “So the woman left her waterpot, and went
into the city, and said to the men, ‘Come, see a man who told me all the things
that I have done; this is not the
Christ, is it?’” - The woman of
3.1.
The woman of
3.2.
Spurgeon pointed out that the water pot was very large
and had to be carried on the head or shoulders, and thus he thought it unlikely
that she simply forgot the pot. Rather,
he says he thinks she left without the pot so that she could hurry to the city
to tell everyone of the Messiah whom she met, and whom was soon to leave the
area. Considering the emotion and zeal
with which she witnessed to the people of the city, this interpretation may be
accurate.
3.3.
Jesus may have told the woman of Samaria more than is
recorded in this record, however in any case, her conviction of guilt produced
by Jesus had been so thorough that she told everyone that He had told her ‘all’
the things that she had ever done in her life.
Surely, this woman realizes now that Jesus has forgiven her sins.
3.4.
The woman’s message is more effective because of her
wording in asking the question to those around of whether or not Jesus is the
Christ or not. She could have boldly
declared that He was the Messiah.
3.5.
We Christians who have been redeemed by Christ ought
to have the same zeal of this woman of
4.
VS
4:30-34 - “They went out of the city, and were
coming to Him. In the meanwhile the
disciples were requesting Him, saying, ‘Rabbi, eat’. But He said to them, ‘I have food to eat that
you do not know about’. The disciples
therefore 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’.” - The men of
the city of
4.1.
While the men of this city were coming to hear Jesus
because they had heard the word of the woman, Jesus made the best use of His
time in teaching His disciples. Jesus
teaches His disciples that doing the Father’s will and reaching souls with the
gospel is of such great importance that trivial earthly endeavors (such as
eating) do not compare at all in value.
4.2.
We see here that the disciples are amazed that Jesus
doesn’t even look hungry or weary, even as He did when they had left Him to go
into town to buy food. So, they are
asking each other if someone had given Him some food to eat while they were
gone?
4.3.
Reaching people with the gospel is to bring sustenance
and nurturing that is so great it cannot be compared to eating a physical
meal. It is the fulfilling the will of
the One who sent Him that brings satisfaction and nourishment to Jesus and is
in fact “His bread.” Jesus is so
fully focused upon His witnessing to this woman that He has simply forgotten
that He was hungry.
4.3.1. Have you O
Christian learned to find great satisfaction, sustenance, and nurture in
fulfilling the Lord’s calling in your life?
4.3.2. Do you get
so absorbed in the Lord’s work that sometimes you forget some of the daily
entanglements of this world?
4.3.3. What does
your meat consist of? Is your real joy
and nourishment found in doing God’s will and pointing people to Christ?
4.3.4. As Jesus did
on this occasion, we Christians need to redeem our time while on earth for the
purpose of sowing and reaping of things that have eternal value.
4.4.
In the gospel we see that Jesus teaches us what the
heart of the Lord is for the lost, for instance:
4.4.1. He told the
Jews in
4.4.2. He taught
that the shepherd leaves the 99 sheep in order to go and to look for the 1 lost
sheep, and He taught the same truth in the parable about the lost coin.
4.4.3. He taught
the parable of the Prodigal Son, where the Father is looking and waiting for
the return of the lost son, and then when he sees him coming he immediately
throws a robe on him, puts a ring on his finger, and throws a party for rejoicing.
4.4.4. Jesus taught
that all the angels in heaven rejoice when a sinner repents.
4.5.
If we Christians had the heart that the Lord has for
the lost, then our meat would also be to do the Lord’s will and we would take
every opportunity to share the gospel to the unbelievers in our life.
5.
VS
4:35 - “‘Do you not say, ‘’There are yet four months, and then comes the
harvest?’’ Behold, I say to you, lift up
your eyes, and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest’.”
- Jesus tells His disciples that the
fields are white for the harvest
5.1.
When corn is ready to be harvested it turns a white
color as the kernels begin to pop out of the sheafs and therefore the farmer
knows that his field must be harvested right away, or it will be lost. I imagine that Jesus might at this point have
been looking around at rows of corn fields as He was saying this to His
disciples.
5.2.
The harvest a farmer makes upon the earth occurs only
once during the season, and the rest of the year the soil is being prepared,
the seed sown, and the field irrigated.
However, in this verse Jesus teaches that God and His servants have
always gone before us, and therefore it is always harvest time for the
5.3.
These
words to His disciples are actually a rebuke by Jesus. Here within
5.4.
We Christians need to remember that it is always the
case that the field of souls around us as always ‘white’ (or ready) for
the harvesting. As the farmer at harvest
time, we need to always see the urgency of harvesting during our windows of
opportunity, and, there are always people all around us who have not heard the
gospel. People are more willing to hear
the gospel message than we are willing to go and share it with them.
5.5.
If the ears of corn in a field are not picked after
the corn ripens then it begins to rot on the stem and be eaten by vermin. Likewise, if we Christians do not go and
share the gospel with those whose hearts are ready to hear then they too will
lose the capability to hear and respond.
If you do not reach a soul with the gospel when the time is right, they
may rot and not enter into the
5.6.
Jesus is always telling us to ‘look on the fields.’ We are to be His ‘watchman,’ praying over all the ones He has brought into our
life, and asking God to open a door for the gospel to the unbelievers He has
placed in our life.
6.
VS
4:36-38 - “‘Already he who reaps is receiving
wages, and is gathering fruit for life eternal;
that he who sows and he 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 entered into their labor’.”
- Jesus tells His disciples that people
are already receiving wages for their labor of souls
6.1.
The ‘wages’ received from reaping souls for
Christ could be the joy that we receive, or it could also be the eternal gems
that will go into our crowns for our faithful witness.
6.2.
Jesus tells the disciples that there are sowers and
reapers, and that they will rejoice when a soul is reaped for Him, and that
they should rejoice together since they need each other in order for the
reaping to occur.
6.3.
We never bring God to people, He is already there
before we go to them... God had gone
before Jesus’ disciples and many had already sown seed before they lead others
to salvation. We can never take the
credit for souls won, nor should we ever think that people will not be
receptive to the gospel, because God goes before us wherever we go.
6.4.
We can be encouraged to witness since we will receive
the wages of ‘joy’ for that work, and because God goes before us
preparing the souls of men for reaping into Christ’s kingdom!
6.5.
The scripture tells us it is wise to win souls to the
Lord: Proverbs 11:30, “30 The
fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, And he who is wise wins souls.” Daniel 12:3, “3 “Those who have
insight will shine brightly like the brightness of the expanse of heaven, and
those who lead the many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.”
7.
VS
4:39 - “And 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’.” - John tells us that because of the word of the
woman of
7.1.
Many of the Samaritans believed that Jesus was the
Messiah because of the testimony of the woman at the well, however we wonder if
for the most their faith was not really a ‘saving faith’ at this point.
8.
VS
4:40 - “So when the Samaritans came to Him, they were asking Him to stay
with them; and He stayed there two days.”
- The Samaritans asked Jesus to stay
with them so He stayed there with them for two days
8.1.
Jesus never turned down those who came to Him for
help.
8.2.
Jesus obliged those who were desiring to know Him
sincerely, and He stayed with these Samaritans for two days so that they might
be brought to a saving faith in Him, for after all that is why He came, ‘to
seek and save the lost.’
9.
VS
4:41-42 - “And 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 is indeed the Savior of the world’.”
- John tells us that many more even
believed in Him because of His word, not because of what the woman of
9.1.
In Judea, the people were asking Jesus for signs in
order that they might believe in Him, and He performed many miracles, yet the
faith that they had was only surfacey and He did not entrust Himself to
them. However, Jesus performed no
miracles for this Samaritan city, and many believed in Him merely because of
the hearing of His word. They initially
believed He was the Messiah because of the woman, but they were brought to
personal belief unto salvation after hearing His word.
9.2.
We can see the truth of Romans 10:17 in action here, ‘Faith
comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.’ The faith of these Samaritans was superior to
the faith of the Judeans, and to them Jesus revealed more of Himself than to
another city.
9.3.
Do you believe Jesus because of His word? If our faith is struggling, it is probably
that you have not been spending time in His word, for as was stated, ‘faith
comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.’
9.4.
Also, do you want to see signs in order that you may
believe God’s word, or do you believe His word before you can see what the
outcome will be? How pure and untainted
is your faith?
9.5.
As a corollary to this story, the planted by Jesus and
His disciples on this day are later harvested for in the eighth chapter of the
book of Acts after a great persecution of the church in Jerusalem has occurred
disciples are scattered all over the world fleeing for their lives, and they
begin to preach the gospel and Philip (one of the first deacons) goes to
Samaria and preaches the gospel and a huge number of people come to salvation
in Christ. This is an illustration of
this very concept of sowing and reaping.
10.
VS
4:43 - “And after the two days He went forth from there into
10.1. The other three gospels discuss much that happened
during Jesus’ ministry to the people in
10.2. So, because
a prophet is not without honor in his own home town Jesus did not set up His
ministry base in
11.
VS 4:45 - “So
when He came to Galilee, the Galileans received Him, having seen the things
that He did in Jerusalem at the feast;
for they themselves also went to the feast.” -
Jesus went to
11.1. Now we see
that the Galileans received Jesus warmly not because of His having been raised
in
11.2. Jesus had to
leave home, become famous in the big city, and then return to Galilee, the
place of his home, in order for the people to warmly receive Him. How typical this is. Many a person unknown in his own community
returns after becoming famous only to find how many friends and family now
claim him.
12.
VS 4:46-47 - “He
came therefore again to Cana of
12.1. After two
days teaching the Samaritans the word of God, which they gladly received, on
the third day Jesus finally made it to
12.2. This
Nobleman does not come to Jesus because he wants to be a follower of Jesus or
because He wants to hear Jesus’ teaching, he just wants to see his child get
healed. This man has very little faith
in Jesus however it is his great need that causes him to come to Jesus. Sometimes it is great need that brings a
person to Christ. When Christ fills
their need they become Christians for they end up trusting also in Jesus for
salvation.
13.
VS 4:48 - “Jesus
therefore said to him, ‘Unless you people
see signs and wonders, you simply will not believe’. The royal official said to Him, ‘Sir, come
down before my child dies’.” - Jesus tells
the Nobleman that the Galileans will not believe unless they see signs
13.1. Jesus
rebukes this Nobleman as a type of all the people of Galilee, saying to him
that his faith was precipitated upon his seeing ‘signs and wonders.’ Though this man is not seeking to know who
Jesus really is and be his follower, none the less, Jesus will bring him to
Himself through His word and the miraculous healing of his son.
13.2. A great need
has brought this man to Jesus, and even though Jesus rebukes him for his lack
of faith and desire to know Him, the man’s need causes Him to humble himself
and continue to implore Jesus to come and heal his son.
13.3. Notice here
that the man does not have the faith to believe that Jesus can heal his son by
speaking the word not being present where his son is. He thinks Jesus must come to his son’s side
in order to heal the boy.
13.4. As Jesus did
in this section of scripture, when people come to us with needs we need to not only
help them, but also lead them to the salvation that Jesus wants to give them.
14.
VS
4:50 - “Jesus said to him, ‘Go your way;
your son lives’. The man believed
the word that Jesus spoke to him, and he started off.”
- Jesus tells the Nobleman to go his way
and that his son lives, and the man believed and started off towards home
14.1. Jesus tells this man to go his way and not to worry
for He has healed his son, and the man takes Jesus at His word and starts off.
14.2. Arthur Pink states that the three or four Gentiles who
were healed by Jesus in the gospels were all healed from a distance by Him, as
was this Nobleman’s son. This is because
salvation was initially to come to the Jews first.
14.3. Jesus gives
the man the opportunity to simply believe His word that His son will be
healed. After spending time with Jesus
and hearing Him speak, the man now has the faith to believe Jesus’ word that
his son will be healed. When we bring
our needs to Jesus with what little faith we have, Jesus will increase our
faith just as He did with this Nobleman.
15.
VS 4:51-53 - “And
as he was now going down, his slaves met him, saying that his son was
living. So he inquired of them the hour
when he began to get better. They said
therefore 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 lives’;
and he himself believed, and his whole household. This is again a second sign that Jesus
performed, when He had come out of Judea into
15.1. I want you to notice that it was on the previous day
at the seventh hour, a little after midday, when Jesus had spoken with this
Nobleman and told him to go his way and that his son would be OK. Capernaum was only four hours away from Cana,
and the man had time to leave Jesus on the previous day and go check on his
son. However, he has so much faith his
son will be healed because Jesus has told him that his son is healed, that he
stays in Cana for the rest of the day before going on to his home in
15.2. When the Nobleman asks his slaves at what hour his son
had been healed he does not do this in order to decide whether to believe but
rather only to set his mind upon the great things that the Lord had done on his
behalf. It is very important for us as
Christians to often remember exactly what God has said and done in our lives,
and thus learn God’s lessons of faith from our previous experiences.
15.3. This man’s
faith in Jesus’ word caused him and his whole household to come to saving faith
in Christ as Savior. God allowed a great
need to open the door for a great work in an entire family’s life. Jesus could just have healed the son, but
because He gave the man the chance to believe His word, the man was on that
account brought to salvation and great faith in Jesus. Now, the man’s entire family has come to
salvation.
15.4. In Luke
11:27, it is written, ‘And it came to pass, as he spake these things, a
certain woman of the company lifted up her voice, and said unto him, Blessed is the womb that bare thee, and the paps
which thou hast sucked. But he said, Yea rather,
blessed are they that hear the word
of God, and keep it.’ In this verse,
Jesus tells us that we are even more blessed than the Virgin Mary if we obey
His word when we hear it. And in John
20:29 it is written, ‘Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen
me, thou hast believed: blessed are they
that have not seen, and yet have
believed.’ In this verse, Jesus
tells us that there is a greater blessing in our lives if we simply believe His
word without seeing signs and wonders.
God wants us to take Him at His word, and not to wait to see how things
are going to turn out before we trust and believe Him.
16.
CONCLUSIONS:
16.1. As we consider this study and how to apply it to our
lives, I would ask you a few questions:
16.1.1.Is your meat to do the will of your Father in heaven
and fulfill the calling and work that He has for your life each and every day?
16.1.2.Do you recognize that the fields are white unto
harvest and that people are more willing to hear the gospel than you are to
share it?
16.1.3.Are you sowing the word of God and thus gathering
wages for eternal life?
16.1.4.Do you believe God’s word just by hearing and reading
it without having to see signs and wonders first? Is it enough for you that Jesus said it, and therefore
you believe it?