Gospel of John

John’s Love Letter to God

Title: Listen & Believe

Location: HCSB John 5:24-30

?The discourse that began in verse 19 continues as Jesus links His Word to the Father of life, who has granted to Him both life and right to pass judgment.

John 5:24, “I assure you: Anyone who hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life and will not come under judgment but has passed from death to life. Amen to you! One hearing My message (logos) and believes He that sent Me possesses eternal life, and not enters into judgment therefore departs from death into life.

Believing in the logos, or message from God through Christ recognizes the right that Christ Jesus, the Son has received from the Father: On one hand the gift of eternal life and on the other lies the judgment that leads to death. If we believe that the judgment we deserve rests upon the Son, then we will have no fear of being judged and receiving the death sentence we deserve. Believing this truth is the hinge pin of our faith that offers salvation.

John 5:25, “I assure you: An hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. Amen to you! A time comes, and is now, when the dead will hear what the Son of God is saying, and the ones who hear will come to life.

26-27 For just as the Father has life in Himself, so also He has granted to the Son to have life in Himself. And He has granted Him the right to pass judgment, because He is the Son of Man. Therefore, as the Father possesses life in Himself, in like manner, then the Son is granted to possess life in Himself, and authority to execute judgment is granted to Him, since He is (the) Son of Man.

There is the authority that Jesus has received from the Father that includes offering life and executing judgment. Why, because as Son of Man, Jesus earned the right to relate to mankind because He was man, yet also from God the Father.

John 5:28-29, Do not be amazed at this, because a time is coming when all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come out —those who have done good things, to the resurrection of life, but those who have done wicked things, to the resurrection of judgment. Never wonder about this, since an hour approaches that everyone who are in the tombs will leave when His voice is heard — the ones producing good into a resurrected life, but the ones practicing evil (wickedness) judgment at that resurrection.

Simply put, there is a message that everyone will face a resurrection experience: eternal life for the good, judgment with condemnation for the evil or wicked.

John 5:30, “I can do nothing on My own. I judge only as I hear, and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.” I cannot do anything from myself. I judge (decide) just as I hear, and My judgment is just and holy (righteous), because I do not desire My own will, but the will of the one who sent me.

Truth: What makes His judgment just and holy, or righteous? His judgments are not arbitrary or self-serving, they are founded upon pleasing the Father who sent Him and who granted Him the authority over life and death. Likewise, it must be clear, no one misses out on the resurrection from the dead. We all will be resurrected into eternal life or face judgment for the evil of our lives.

So if, elsewhere in the Bible, it is declared repeatedly that all are not righteous, none are good, and then is it a fact that we all will face judgment, because we all are evil?

No! Jesus does declare that His life, death, and resurrection came with a purpose: to face the judgment we deserve in this life. That is the foundational truth that we must accept by faith so that at the resurrection we may enjoy eternal life, not facing the judgment for our life. But, we also cannot claim to believe this truth, if we make no change in our life that would reflect the new life Christ desires for us.

Application: At this early stage of Jesus’ ministry, He is plainly declaring that He and the Father of heaven and Creation are One, and that His words and deeds are according to the will and purpose of God, not man. He also declared that right believing leads to eternal living, and right living reveals eternal believing.

Are you walking with Jesus as the Lord and Savior of your life? Clearly, it has always been God the Father’s will that Jesus was His anointed Son to reveal God’s plan to man. This plan or message (logos) offers our hope through our Restoration, Redemption and Resurrection, returning our life back to the life that God had intended for us from the beginning, but it requires a life of faith in the life, death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ. Surely, those dead to God will have a clear choice to make: Believe in the Savior, the Son of God or believe in our “self”, which leaves us exposed on our own to the threats of this world under Satan’s control. One choice leads to life eternal under the loving care of God in Christ, and the other leads to the judgment which leads ultimately to condemnation and eternal separation from God. Which have you chosen to believe?

If Jesus proclaimed that He could do absolutely nothing on His own, and He was directed by faith to serve the will of the Father, what hope can we have in living on our own power and for our own purposes?

HCSB John 5:16-23

In follow up to Jesus’ obvious healing on a Sabbath, the Jews were more focused on the rituals and rules and clearly missed the reality of who Jesus was and the power and message He was sharing to them. So what was the result?

John 5:16, Therefore, the Jews began persecuting Jesus because He was doing these things on the Sabbath. For the reason that the Jews were more focused on their religious rituals and rules, the Jews who had witnessed and questioned the healed man began to press toward Jesus, not to praise but to persecute Him for the timing of His act of mercy.

John 5:17, But Jesus responded to them, “My Father is still working, and I am working also.” However Jesus answered their accusations saying, “My Father works, I also work.”

John 5:18, This is why the Jews began trying all the more to kill Him: Not only was He breaking the Sabbath, but He was even calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God. This is why the Jews plotted increasingly more to destroy Him: Not only for undoing the Sabbath (religious rules & rituals), but also He was setting forth God as His Father, making Himself as an equal of God.

John 5:19-23, Then Jesus replied, “I assure you: The Son is not able to do anything on His own, but only what He sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, the Son also does these things in the same way. For the Father loves the Son and shows Him everything He is doing, and He will show Him greater works than these so that you will be amazed. And just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so the Son also gives life to anyone He wants to. The Father, in fact, judges no one but has given all judgment to the Son, so that all people will honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Anyone who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him. Therefore Jesus responded, “I assure you (stated as an amen to their accusation): The Son is without power to execute anything from His own (power), except what He sees the Father doing. For this reason, whatever He (the Father) does, the Son also does these things likewise (in the same way). Likewise, the Father loves (as in a special friendship – phileo – relationship) the Son and shows Him all things He is to do, and shows Him even greater works concerning these things, so that you (plural) will be amazed (as in reverent admiration). Therefore, exactly like the Father raises (wakens or rouses) the dead and gives life (revitalizes), in this way the Son delights to also give life. The Father, for this reason, judges not even one thing (or person) nevertheless (to the contrary) grants the Son all judgment, in order that all (people) revere (honor) the Son as much the Father is revered (honored). Those not revering (honoring) the Son never honored (revered) the Father who sent Him. 

Truth: Jesus placed an emphatic “amen” on the accusations that the pious Jews were placing against Him. He truly desires to delight His Father who empowers Him and directs Him in all things. Jesus says without the Father, He would have no power. Yet, the power that Jesus, the Son, has is for the sole purpose of delighting the Father (His will and purposes, His ways). In fact, Jesus says that God the Father has placed judgment in His hands, so we should offer Him the same reverence as God the Father.

Application: Since the passage reads that the Father judges no one, but rather has given judgment to the Son, is it more powerful to say that Jesus has taken upon Himself the judgment of God the Father that we deserve? What more powerful image of grace than for Jesus to bear the burden of judgment, so that each of us need to honor and revere Him just as we honor and revere God the Father. 

When we walk in the blindness of our religious beliefs, rules and traditions, we often offer a form of “worship” that suits our needs, defined by our history and limited understanding. That form of so-called worship does not truly honor or revere God, thus we would certainly pay less homage and reverence to Jesus, the Son. However, if we recognize the true mission of Jesus in our lives, to assume the judgment of God on our behalf, then we would clearly recognize Jesus for who He is, the Son of God. As Jesus stated in the end of the passage, if we do not recognize Jesus as the Son of God, how could you honor the Father who sent Him and empowered Him to reveal God’s love and mercy to us?

This is all about FAITH about God’s provision for our lives. The reference about waking us, or raising us from death, where we all are destined, unless God gives us life, or revitalizes us with new life, is key to understanding God’s love for us. It links quickly back to John 3. Jesus delights in doing what the Father desires, and He desires us to live life as God had intended, rightly honoring and living for God’s pleasure, not our own.

God’s “Dear John” Love Letter

The Gospel of John

Healing Power is in Faith, not the Water

After spending some time in Galilee, John picks up his account when Jesus journeys back to Jerusalem again to participate in another key festival. Jesus was a devout Jewish man and as John writes attends the various religious festivals as was the custom then.

John 5:1, After this, a Jewish festival took place, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Following the events recorded, John emphasizes that Jesus traveled back from the lowlands of Galilee to city of Jerusalem which is located up in the hill country of the region. Note, it appears only Jesus made this journey.

John 5:2-4, By the Sheep Gate in Jerusalem there is a pool, called Bethesda in Hebrew, which has five colonnades. Within these lay a large number of the sick —blind, lame, and paralyzed [—waiting for the moving of the water, because an angel would go down into the pool from time to time and stir up the water. Then the first one who got in after the water was stirred up recovered from whatever ailment he had]. Jerusalem, like many large walled cities of the era had several key entry gates to the city. The “Sheep Gate” was one of those entry points to the city. A bathing pool was accessible through the gate, named Bethseda – “house of kindness or mercy”. It had five large porch levels surrounding the pool. On these porch levels or colonnades many seriously sick and disabled people were positioned to bathe in the pool at the designated time. It was the belief that when the water began to stir or move, it was a sign that an angel was stirring up the water. At that time, it was believed the first in the water after the water stirred would be healed from their illness.

John 5:5-6, One man was there who had been sick for 38 years. When Jesus saw him lying there and knew he had already been there a long time, He said to him, “Do you want to get well?” Why this man is not made known, other than the man had been sick for most of his life (38 years) and was not able to get to the water in time to be healed. So Jesus asks him plainly, “Do you want to get well?”

This is a simple question that Jesus asks all of us at one time or another. Do we want to be healed from the condition we are in? Do we make excuses why we cannot be healed?

It appears in this setting Jesus is telling the man his cure is within himself – He needs to quit feeling sorry for himself. Jesus makes it a point of faith in action. Our will must seek God’s will and change or healing occurs within us, and not before that.

John 5:7, “Sir,” the sick man answered, “I don’t have a man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, but while I’m coming, someone goes down ahead of me.” The man’s response literally says, “Master, I have no person to cast me into the pool when the water is disturbed, so as I am coming, another descends before me.” In essence he is making an excuse for why he has not been healed. He is casting blame on others not being there for him.

John 5:8, “Get up,” Jesus told him, “pick up your mat and walk!” Jesus responded, “Arise, take your mat away and walk!” Figuratively, to walk is to live.

The miracle here is one founded upon faith, not upon an action. Jesus gave the man an option: stay in your invalid condition and seek pity, or cast your bed away and walk in the newness of life. This is the same choice we all get to make somewhere in our lives as we place our faith in Jesus as well.

John 5:9, Instantly the man got well, picked up his mat, and started to walk. Now

that day was the Sabbath, At the same moment, the man became healthy, took up his bed, and walked. However, the day this happened was the Sabbath… (The Sabbath was the day every devout Jew devoted to the Lord and no physical work was to be performed.)

John 5:10, so the Jews said to the man who had been healed, “This is the Sabbath! It’s illegal for you to pick up your mat.” Therefore, the Jews (as opposed to Gentiles) who witnessed the man rising up and walking with his bed spoke up and declared, “This is the holy day (Sabbath) to be set aside for the Lord God! You are not to remove your bed.”

Christians today likewise are quick to point out when others are not observing Sunday as they were raised to observe Sunday as a special day for the Lord. In fact, many eat out after church so they do not have to work in the kitchen, however that requires others to work to serve them.

John 5:11, He replied, “The man who made me well told me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’” Once again, the man continues in his blame game. His reply to those who challenged him was – “The one who made me well commanded me to take up my bed and walk.” He takes no responsibility for his actions, nor shows any response to the fact he is now well and walking – quite a change from his status just a short while before this.

John 5:12, “Who is this man who told you, ‘Pick up your mat and walk ’?” they asked. Now the attention of the crowd shifted from the man with the bed walking to the one who commanded him to get up and remove the bed and walk. Their question simply put, “Who commanded you to do unholy act?”

John 5:13, But the man who was cured did not know who it was, because Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was there. However, in all the excitement and with a focus upon himself, the man never took real notice of Jesus, who had slipped away as the crowd of inquisitive Jews congregated around the man. He never thanked Jesus or paid any attention to who made him well.

In life, do we often focus upon ourselves when miracles are happening around us? Are we so caught up in the benefit to us we forget who made it possible in the first place?

John 5:14, After this, Jesus found him in the temple complex and said to him, “See, you are well. Do not sin anymore, so that something worse doesn’t happen to you.” Later that day, Jesus found the man while in the temple area and approached him. Jesus shared, “Take notice! (Pay attention!) Realize the fact that you are healthy now. Sin no more. Otherwise, some evil things may take place to you.”

Often, in our sharing of the good news, do we often forget what our state was before we received the new life in Christ?

John 5:15, The man went and reported to the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well. So what does the man do? He “walked” back and shared with all the Jews who he spoke with earlier in the day that it was Jesus who made him well.

What was the response? As verse 16 will reveal, persecution would follow because the Jews were so focused upon their laws they could not recognize the “lawgiver.” They found fault rather than offer praise for the healing and offer of mercy that was provided.

Truth: Conversion is the first step of salvation, the gift of love from God. It begins with us being delivered from our “broken, unhealthy” state by an act of faith that God rewards with a miracle of healing within us by His Spirit. However, conversion is an ongoing process throughout our life as the natural man in us is brought under the spiritual man that God desires us to become. This ongoing conversion is called sanctification – the conversion process of becoming more like God’s Son, Jesus Christ each day. What this man failed to do is to give credit where credit was due. He was responsible for his own life choices, and Jesus was the one who deserved praise not persecution for what happened to him that day.

Application: What is the focus for healing? Are we focused upon our physical handicaps or our spiritual needs? Just like taking a good bath, we are cleansed on the outside, but there remains the need to regularly take additional baths as we face the daily filth that clings to us, which is a part of daily living. Thus, if we have our focus on the water, we will never solve the source of the problem.

The real problem we face is the internal condition of your heart. No water cleaning can change the filth surrounding our heart. However, by faith, we can seek the cleansing that only God can deliver us that can remove sin from our life.

Even in this passage, Jesus made sure the real source of this man’s ailment was the sin in his life – his unwillingness to give praise to God and not take any responsibility for his condition. When Jesus tells him to sin no more, there is a warning: “otherwise, something worse may happen to you.” What could be worse than being unable to live our life physically as we should? Would our spiritual condition which offers eternal life be of more value than our physical life in this temporal world?

Jesus certainly saw the bigger picture from God’s perspective, yet the man and the other Jews around him saw only the limited legal, temporal viewpoint. Religion always gets in the way of getting rightly related to the Son of God. The man feared the religious rules and traditions more than the Son of the living God, the lawgiver, who healed him.

How about us? Are we too often focused upon our temporal issues, concerns and relationships, and thus distracted from the real value of our eternal relationships? Are we too concerned about our outward appearance and ignore the significance of our inward appearance before God? Which leads to the “sin” Jesus warned the man in this passage about?

God’s “Dear John” Love Letter

The Gospel of John

Why did they need more Miracles and Signs?

Jesus leaves behind a changed Samaritan countryside and returns to the region of Galilee, only to reveal the contrast between despised people of Samaria and the supposedly anointed people who should have known Jesus the best. Consider the relevance about this passage, contrasting today’s world.

John 4:43-44, After two days He left there for Galilee. Jesus Himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country. Two greatly productive days in Samaria were followed by a journey back to Galilee, the home base for Jesus and His disciples.

However, Jesus was well aware that home is not everything it should be. Among the friends and family there, “honor, respect and recognition” is a challenge, if not impossible. Being a home-grown son returning as a prophet, priest or teacher is always filled with resistance. Why is it we will always listen to strangers before valuing the advice or instruction from family or friends?

John 4:45, When they entered Galilee, the Galileans welcomed Him because they had seen everything He did in Jerusalem during the festival. For they also had gone to the festival. However, what Jesus and the disciples did discover is that their old friends and family members did want to experience for themselves the rewards of Jesus’ special gifts and talents. Many had seen for themselves the signs and miracles that Jesus performed when they were in Jerusalem for the Passover festival. They figured they had an “in” with the miracle worker, and they would selfishly benefit by His presence back home. But, what was their real motive? Were they acknowledging Jesus for who He really was, or were they seeking a personal benefit from Jesus?

John 4:46-47, Then He went again to Cana of Galilee, where He had turned the water into wine. There was a certain royal official whose son was ill at Capernaum. When this man heard that Jesus had come from Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and pleaded with Him to come down and heal his son, for he was about to die. Jesus’ journey to Galilee once again brought Him through Cana, the same place where He turned water to wine at the wedding.

A nobleman from Capernaum heard a report that Jesus was back in Galilee at Cana. His son was very weak from some form of disease so the nobleman departed to find Jesus so that his son might benefit from Jesus’ power to heal. When he found Jesus he pleaded (literally begged) for Jesus to journey with him back down to Capernaum from Cana, because he feared his son would likely die.

John 4:48, Jesus told him, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will not believe.” Jesus saw through the heart of the nobleman and shared that the nobleman’s request for assistance had little to do with belief in who He was, but simply what He could do for him, or in this case, his son. (Do we often offer prayer requests only because we want God to use His power to change the circumstances in our life, just because it serves our interests?)

Jesus, likely speaking out for others to hear as well, stated, “People will not believe in His power and acknowledge Him unless He continues to prove His power through more miracles and signs.” (As Jesus will reveal, who has the greater faith – the one who believes without firsthand witness of His power, or the one who has personally experienced His power and then believed?)

John 4:49, “Sir,” the official said to Him, “come down before my boy dies!” The pleading led to actually seeking to use a guilt trip on Jesus as a motive to justify Jesus following him home. This clearly points to the fact that the nobleman really does not know who Jesus really is, just what He can seemingly do for him.

John 4:50-54, “Go,” Jesus told him, “your son will live.” The man believed what Jesus said to him and departed. While he was still going down, his slaves met him saying that his boy was alive. He asked them at what time he got better. “Yesterday at seven in the morning the fever left him,” they answered. The father realized this was the very hour at which Jesus had told him, “Your son will live.” Then he himself believed, along with his whole household. This, therefore, was the second sign Jesus performed after He came from Judea to Galilee. Jesus responded out of compassion and tells the nobleman to journey back home because his son would live. Because Jesus said this, the nobleman believed what Jesus said and he headed back to Capernaum. On the way home several of his bondservants found him on the road home and announced that his son was now better. The nobleman was curious enough to ask when it appeared that his son had gotten better. Their response coincided with the time Jesus had spoken to the nobleman. Therefore, he testified to his family and bondservants what Jesus had said and the results, thus inspiring them all to believe in the power of Jesus. (Did they believe in Jesus’ miracle power alone or did they stop to hear and believe His message, as well?)

This journey from Judea was His second return to Galilee in which there was a reported miracle or sign performed. John builds his gospel account around the miracles that Jesus performed during His ministry.

Truth: Sometimes our faith is challenged by the daily familiarity. We can grow skeptical, even cynical of those who we have know for all of our lives who experience a life changing event in their life. Even Jesus faced friends and family members who were amazed by His teaching and preaching. Many even would consider Him to be a fanatic.

However, what happens to the skepticism and cynicism when faith-centered fanaticism is founded in the Word and Power of God?

Reflection: What does it take for us to believe in the Son of God? Genuine faith is rewarded when we initiate our belief without the reality of proof preceding our claim of faith. Our faith in the Son of God begins by accepting Him for who He is in our life, and trusting Him, His Word, and believing that His love for us is already in our heart. Then our faith is rewarded!

Why did Jesus comment about the Galileans welcoming Him because of the signs and wonders He performed, and then told the official that he was merely acting like all the others, needing a sign to believe? Did the official accept by faith that Jesus was the Messiah, the living Son of God, or simply sought Jesus to heal his son? Did Jesus honor the official’s request to demonstrate the kind of faith He was looking for? When did the official believe in Jesus; was it when he first came to ask on the behalf of his son’s life, or after he realized his son was healed as Jesus said? The Scripture is clear; not only did he believe, but also his entire family after the boy was restored to health.

Jesus is at work daily in our lives, revealing His love for us, seeking to draw us to Him, so that we will seek Him by faith. It is clear in the Gospel accounts that Jesus used His ministry work (miracles and signs) among people to draw them to Him and to hear and accept His Message. Those who only seek Him for what benefit He can do for them have not genuinely accepted Him by faith, but merely seek Him for selfish reasons that He most certainly recognizes. Which are you? Is He the Son of God that you love, honor and praise by obeying Him daily; or, is He the miracle worker you seek like a genie in a bottle to serve your personal needs?  Which will reveal genuine faith when life presents trials, tribulations and times of testing? Which reveals the relationship that is anchored in the love of God and His love for you? Whose “will” is your faith relationship anchored – your own or God’s?

God’s “Dear John” Love Letter

The Gospel of John

The Harvest is Ready

This setting continues with the Samaritan woman at the well, but now Jesus is about to reveal His purpose for this rest stop. It reveals what our priority should be as a follower of Christ. God always reveals to us that the mission field is bigger and riper than we first believe.

John 4:27, Just then His disciples arrived, and they were amazed that He was talking with a woman. Yet no one said, “What do You want?” or “Why are You talking with her?” The time arrived when the disciples returned from getting some food for them to share. The message literally translates they were caught off guard by what they saw – Jesus was having a conversation exchange with a woman. (In those days, it was improper for a woman, married or single to mingle and have conversation with a man in public; and equally improper for the man to engage in a conversation with a woman. A woman was not seen as an equal to man.) However, or better translated, “nonetheless” none of the disciples would dare questions Jesus about his actions or motives for breaking this social taboo.

John 4:28-30, Then the woman left her water jar, went into town, and told the men, “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did! Could this be the Messiah?” They left the town and made their way to Him. It was as the disciples arrived that the conversation with the woman ceased and she responded by dropping what she came to do at the well – get water for her daily needs – and went back into the town to address the men in the town as a witness about what Jesus told her. Breaking the social taboo again, she boldly needed to share the “good news”! “Follow me; decide for yourself if this man who knew everything about my life is the Messiah (Christ)?” She must have convinced them because they left town and followed her to meet Jesus.

What a role model for us. He broke the social mores of the age she lived, and found it more important to testify to what she experienced with Jesus than to abide by the proper social rules of her society. What was the result, she brought Jesus something better than what the disciples brought to Him. She accomplished what Jesus was teaching the disciples to do – witness and lead others to Him.

John 4:31, In the meantime the disciples kept urging Him, “Rabbi, eat something.” While the woman had departed and before the crowd returned, the disciples were focused on feeding Jesus what they had brought for Him to eat.

John 4:32, But He said, “I have food to eat that you don’t know about.” Yet, as stated above, Jesus was satisfied greater with the results of the woman’s witness to the town’s people, and was going to use this as a lesson to His disciples.

John 4:33, The disciples said to one another, “Could someone have brought Him something to eat? ” However, the disciples were blinded to Jesus’ meaning. They had accomplished what they were asked to do, but was it for naught?

John 4:34 “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to finish His work,” Jesus told them. Jesus responded, “I am nourished by accomplishing the purpose or mission given to me by the One who commissioned me, and to complete the tasks He has given to me to do.”

John 4:35-38, “Don’t you say, ‘There are still four more months, then comes the harvest ’? Listen to what I’m telling you: Open your eyes and look at the fields, for they are ready for harvest. The reaper is already receiving pay and gathering fruit for eternal life, so the sower and reaper can rejoice together. For in this case the saying is true: ‘One sows and another reaps.’ I sent you to reap what you didn’t labor for; others have labored, and you have benefited from their labor.” Jesus continued by sharing, “Don’t you yourselves share that it requires four months before the harvest can be reaped from the fields? Take note to what I am about to tell you: Lift up your eyes and see for yourself the land or countryside is for harvest.” In fact, Jesus continues, “the one who reaps is already receiving reward and assembling fruit for eternal life, so that the one who scattered (as in the seed planter) and the one who reaps (harvester of the fruit) rejoice together.” Jesus uses the great eternal teamwork phrase – “one sows the seeds and another reaps the fruit.” Jesus concludes by sharing to all disciples, “I have sent you out to reap what you did not labor to make grow; others have accomplished that task, and you benefit from their labor.”

John 4:39, Now many Samaritans from that town believed in Him because of what the woman said when she testified, “He told me everything I ever did.” Plainly, John testifies through what he experienced being there that day: An abundant amount of those people who came from the town to see Jesus believed His message to be true, because the woman did not speak anything more than what she understood as her personal experience with Him.

John 4:40-41, Therefore, when the Samaritans came to Him, they asked Him to stay with them, and He stayed there two days. Many more believed because of what He said. Many more came to believe after Jesus accepted their invitation to stay with them for a couple of days. Their decisions were because of what Jesus said directly to them. Many were likely skeptics, who followed the woman in the beginning, but Jesus reached their hearts with His Word and the Spirit did the rest. Note: the harvest took more than an afternoon of evangelism, but a couple of days of sharing and teaching by Jesus.

John 4:42, And they told the woman, “We no longer believe because of what you said, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this really is the Savior of the world.” I am sure the woman from the well was well-pleased out the outcome of her boldness, but some of the believers (those referenced in verses 40-41) went from curiosity to belief because of Jesus, not her testimony alone. However, the woman likely was pleased to know they finally came to believe Jesus to be the promised Savior of the world.

Truth: In the end it is not who led us to faith, but who our faith is based upon!

Evangelism, or the sharing of the “Good News” about Jesus, is a team effort, and is to be conducted by faith. There are many who play a role in reaching those we might be asked to harvest for Jesus, but remember we cannot take the credit. In God’s outreach plan there are seed planters, cultivators, and harvesters –and none of the fruit grows without God’s provision of the “living water” and “light of truth”. Most harvesters are not even aware of the seeds that were planted months before they enter the fields to reap the fruit of the harvest, so on what merit can they rejoice? The same is true in the mission field. We all have a part to play and in the end, we all can rejoice that we have labored as we could for God’s glory and purpose. Some of us prepare the soil, some plant the seed, some watch over the field while it grows, some keep the weeds from choking the new growth, and some reap the harvest at the proper time. It is truly a team effort for God’s glory that new lives join in the process to grow the Kingdom of God daily.

Application:  The message is clear and simple: We are to grow as disciples engaged in the disciple-making process of others as Christ leads. Why is this important? It is God’s will, and God the Father sent Jesus out into the world to fulfill the work He had begun, and Jesus sends us out likewise (see Great Commission, Matt. 28:18-20; Acts 1:8).

Our eyes and hearts must remain open to what Christ is doing, preparing hearts for harvest. Our job is to walk along side of Him and share with those who are to be harvested what Jesus has already revealed to us in our hearts. Salvation begins and proceeds through the gift of God’s grace, and the work of Christ Jesus and the Holy Spirit, but God’s plan is that He has designed the growth to come through men and women reaching out to other men and women to build up His kingdom on earth.

We all need fellowship with brothers and sisters in Christ to come along side of us as co-workers in the faith, as educators, enablers, encouragers, and equippers. We all have a role to play with others as they play a role with us so we all may grow to maturity, ripe for the harvest. Likewise, we must accept our responsibility to walk beside each other, especially new Christians. The New Testament is full of “one another” statements and commands that reflect the fact we are to be connected to one another socially and spiritually for the purposes of support, encouragement, accountability, and to exalt (lift up) each other every day. The Christian life is not intended to be a lonely journey through life – in fact, it is to prepare us for the ultimate social event in heaven when we all come together to worship and praise God Almighty on His throne.

Are you looking and seeking to take part in the harvesting of souls for Christ? Are you ready to do your part, giving all credit to Christ, the Lord of the harvest?

Remember, based upon the example of this story, it does not matter whether we are man or woman, sinner or saint, in the church or out in the community; whether we are religious or not, Jesus uses us all to accomplish His harvest plans. Some He uses as sowers and some as reapers, but by faith all who hear and obey will see the reward of the harvest – just as they ourselves were part of the harvest in this lifetime.

God’s “Dear John” Love Letter

The Gospel of John

The Messiah Revealed in Spirit and Truth

From imagery and parallels about water and thirst, Jesus turns the conversation upon her need to recognize Him for who He is:

John 4:16, “Go call your husband,” He told her, “and come back here.” Jesus shifts the attention of the meeting by instructing the woman to depart now and summon her husband and then return with him to the well. (Do you think Jesus felt uncomfortable talking to the woman without her husband being present, or did Jesus want to make a point to the woman about His knowledge of her spiritual need?)

John 4:17-18, “I don’t have a husband,” she answered.“You have correctly said, ‘I don’t have a husband,’” Jesus said. “For you’ve had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.” Her response was an admission that she has no husband. This admission is acknowledged by Jesus as a fact that He already knew about her. He continues to share that He is aware that she has had five men or husbands. Further He shares that He knows the man she is with currently is not her husband. Therefore, not only has she spoken truthfully, though embarrassed about the admission, Jesus reveals intimate knowledge about her life that certainly has surprised her; possibly made her feel uneasy.

John 4:19-20,  “Sir,” the woman replied, “I see that You are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, yet you Jews say that the place to worship is in Jerusalem.” Her response to Jesus was – “Master (or lord), I perceive plainly you are a foreteller (prophet).” This was a lead into a divine revelation by the woman as she realizes His gift as a foreteller or prophet most assuredly is a gift from God. She thus shifts the conversation to a religious inquiry (possibly a diversion away from her life situation).

When she points out the Samaritan fathers worshiped on this mountain, she was likely pointing to the nearby Mount Gerizim, where the Moses commanded an altar to be built and shared with the prople of Israel about the blessings of keeping the covenant (Dt. 11:29; 27:12; 27:4-6). Abraham and Jacob built altars to God in this region as well. This point is relevant in that the Samaritans could not worship in Jerusalem, thus created their own tradition for worshiping God that further caused a divide between them and the Jews. Her comparison between the worship of the Samaritans and the Jews was likely a test of Jesus. His response was instrumental to winning the trust of the woman. (This is a key point for us to remember when we are approaching others with different backgrounds than us…)

John 4:21, Jesus told her, “Believe Me, woman, an hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. Jesus responds as we should learn to respond under similar circumstances: “Have faith in what I say to you, a time is coming soon when you will bow before the Father in worship but it will not be where anyone expects it to happen.” The words believe and faith is synonymous, and they are the keys to worshiping God, not the location. Our attitudes are the key to worship, not the altitude!

John 4:22, You Samaritans worship what you do not know. We worship what we do know, because salvation is from the Jews. Literally, Jesus stated to the Samaritan woman, “Yourselves (speaking of her being a Samaritan) worship or offer reverence to what you do not fully comprehend or understand. We ourselves (speaking of the Jews) offer reverence or worship to a fuller understanding regarding what salvation is all about, and it springs forth from the Jews relationship and experience.”

It is the Jews who should recognize and understand what salvation means. The Samaritans did not have the same history and personal experience as the Jews, thus salvation would not have the same meaning. The Jews had a history of deliverance and exile, whereby the Samaritans did not directly understand that relationship with God. It was long after the exile period of the Jews did the Samaritans develop their unique eclectic culture that the Jews saw as corrupt and impure.

John 4:23, But an hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth. Yes, the Father wants such people to worship Him. Jesus continued saying literally, “However, a time in history is arriving, in fact has now come when real (true) worshipers worship (offer genuine reverence and adoration) the Father (God of Creation and Salvation) through spirit and knowledge of the truth. (In fact) The Father is seeking this kind of worship to be lifted to Him.

What a joy it is for us today that we can look back in history to better understand why God sent His Son, Jesus, to reveal to us our need for genuine, true worship; not self-righteous, self-serving rituals and traditions like the Jews at that time, nor the ignorant and naive, lacking efforts of the Samaritans who resented the Jews and thought they had a real relationship with God. God is always looking for genuine worship, or adoration and reverence that is based upon “spirit and truth” that He alone expects from His people.

John 4:24, God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” (Why is that important to understand?) God is Himself spirit, and when our hearts are in tune with Him, our spirit (His gift to us) is then able to honor Him as the source of our spirit, the key to life itself. If we desire to genuinely and truthfully worship God we must do so in that same “spirit and truth” that God expects – not what we think is right for us.

John 4:25, The woman said to Him, “I know that the Messiah is coming,” (who is called Christ). “When He comes, He will explain everything to us.” Most likely somewhat confused by the depth of Jesus’ comments, she offers this hope that is the core of her faith: “I believe in fact that the Anointed One that God promised, the Messiah, is coming to us, and whenever He arrives, He will reveal all these things to us.”

Are there times when we are reading God’s Word that we find some things hard to understand and to apply to our own lives? However, as we pray and ponder the reality and truth we have read, God’s Spirit in fact unveils understanding and application to our hearts. The choice is believing what God says to us, or continuing to walk in the darkness of our partial understanding or naiveté.

John 4:26, “I am He,” Jesus told her, “the One speaking to you.” Just like in our own lives, Jesus makes Himself revealed to us. In this setting He reassures the Samaritan woman that her belief in the Messiah has been rewarded: Jesus plainly states, “I am He who is speaking to you.”

Truth: At some point in our life there comes a point when our hope and faith is rewarded. Christ reveals Himself to our heart and His spirit and truth takes up residence within us. The decision then is one of acceptance or denial. Is there a time in your life when you have prayed to God to reveal Himself to you and He has responded by revealing His Son as the Savior – the source of salvation? Has Christ’s spirit opened up your spirit to acknowledging the truth about the relationship that God wants with you?

Relevance: There comes a point in the life of every believer when there is a clear understanding of who Christ is and that His Word is truth, and that truth reveals genuinely how God has given to each believer the Holy Spirit, so that they can worship Him in “spirit and truth.”

As one recognizes and worships God the Father, He reveals the truth or genuineness of His Son, Jesus and what He did to make possible the relationship God desires for each of us. It is then God’s gift of His Holy Spirit within each believer that allows each of us to experience the right, renewed relationship that is founded upon the faith of the believer connecting with the spirit and truth of God’s presence in our life, eternally linking us with Him.

What could we possibly try to hide from God? We are to willingly open our hearts in truth and spirit, offering not only our heart but also our mind and soul to Him. Then we will see how to truly worship Him in what Jesus says is in “spirit and truth.” When we are in that relationship of genuineness and openness before God, He reveals His Son Jesus to us, and we are able to recognize His Spirit stirring within us to begin to experience real worship and praise with God, wherever and whenever we need Him.

Our life should become ongoing worship and praise time, and not be limited to an hour or so in a manmade sanctuary. God wants our sanctuary to be within our hearts, not the pews of a church.

How about you, do you feel that You can only worship God when in church? Or does your life with God through Christ identify a daily worship experience founded in spirit and truth? Does your personal quiet time with Him speak to you in spirit and truth? Do your prayer times offer opportunities to connect to God in spirit and truth? Does your daily walk and talk before others in your life reveal God’s spirit and truth working their way out before them? If the answer is yes about your life, you are worshiping God in spirit and truth!