What Jesus Did

Then Jesus explained: "My nourishment comes from doing the will of God, who sent me, and from finishing his work."

—John 4:34 NLT

Key Thought


Where do you find the strength to continue your service to the Father? Clearly, some things in which we invest our time prove futile. Still, others are worse than futile; they are depleting as well as useless. However, consciously doing what we do to honor the Father, to follow his will, enables us to experience his empowering...

 

Meanwhile, the disciples were urging Jesus, "Rabbi, eat something." But Jesus replied, "I have a kind of food you know nothing about." "Did someone bring him food while we were gone?" the disciples asked each other.

—John 4:31-33 NLT

Key Thought


Jesus had real food, food that sustained his soul rather than his body. While physical food was greatly valued by Jesus and his disciples (John 4:8; 6:1-14), we must always remember that Jesus was trying to open our eyes so we...

 

The woman left her water jar beside the well and ran back to the village, telling everyone, "Come and see a man who told me everything I ever did! Could he possibly be the Messiah?" So the people came streaming from the village to see him.

—John 4:28-30 NLT

Key Thought


How does a spurned woman who came to Jacob's well in isolation and shame lead a whole village of people to come and discover their Messiah? The answer is simple: Jesus has the power to change people. That...

 

The woman [at Jacob's well] left her water jar beside the well and ran back to the village, telling everyone, "Come and see a man who told me everything I ever did! Could he possibly be the Messiah?"

—John 4:28-29 NLT

Key Thought


Can you imagine coming to the village well by yourself in shame and returning to the village, leaving your water jar behind, proclaiming the gospel to the people who rejected you? This woman had found it! She had had a drink of living...

 

Just then [Jesus'] disciples came back [from the village]. They were shocked to find him talking to a woman, but none of them had the nerve to ask, "What do you want with her?" or "Why are you talking to her?"

—John 4:27 NLT

Key Thought


The disciples return and find themselves confused and astonished. Jesus was doing the unthinkable — he is visiting with a woman from Samaria. During their journey with Jesus through his years of ministry, they will find...

 

Then Jesus told [the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well], "I am the Messiah!"

—John 4:26 NLT

Key Thought


Jesus is the Messiah! Jesus is the Christ of God! Jesus is the long-awaited Savior of the world (John 3:16-17). He was promised to Israel, and in this woman's case, to the Samaritans who also awaited the Messiah like unto Moses. Jesus came in fulfillment of all that God promised Abraham and David. He came as the fulfillment of all the prophecies. He is God's...

 

The woman said, "I know the Messiah is coming — the one who is called Christ. When he comes, he will explain everything to us."

—John 4:25 NLT

Key Thought


For the second time in the Gospel of John, a woman seeking to meet an everyday problem tells us the truth about Jesus and his relationship to us. The first was Jesus' mother at the wedding celebration: "Do whatever he tells you!" (John 2:5) This time, it is the woman at the well: "Christ ... will explain...

 

[Jesus said,] "For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth."

—John 4:24 NLT

Key Thought


One of the truly remarkable truths that Jesus teaches us is that worship is spirit to Spirit. God is Spirit, and we are given his Spirit when we are born from above (see Titus 3:3-7). We worship spirit to Spirit — our spirit, sanctified by the Holy Spirit within us, to God who is Spirit. We have access to God through the Holy Spirit. As we...

 

[Jesus said,] "But the time is coming — indeed it's here now — when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way."

—John 4:23 NLT

Key Thought


Remember playing hide and seek as a child? Part of the fun in playing was being found. Today, Jesus reminds us that the Father is seeking us as we worship him. In the previous verse, Jesus tells us that the heart of worship is honoring our...

 

Jesus replied, "Believe me, dear woman, the time is coming when it will no longer matter whether you worship the Father on this mountain or in Jerusalem. You Samaritans know very little about the one you worship, while we Jews know all about him, for salvation comes through the Jews."

—John 4:21-22 NLT

Key Thought


True worship is not centered on a place, but upon God — Father, Son, and Spirit. In this passage, Jesus addresses worshipping the Father, who has been...