Author: Rich Nelson

4²⁷ Just then his disciples came. They were astonished that he was speaking with a woman, but no one said, “What do you want?” or, “Why are you speaking with her?” ²⁸ Then the woman left her water jar and went back to the city. She said to the people, ²⁹ “Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done! He cannot be the Messiah, can he?” ³⁰ They left the city and were on their way to him.

³¹ Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, “Rabbi, eat something.” ³² But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” ³³ So the disciples said to one another, “Surely no one has brought him something to eat?” ³⁴ Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to complete his work. ³⁵ Do you not say, ‘Four months more, then comes the harvest’? But I tell you, look around you, and see how the fields are ripe for harvesting.
³⁶ The reaper is already receiving wages and is gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. ³⁷ For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ ³⁸ I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.”

³⁹ Many Samaritans from that city believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I have ever done.” ⁴⁰ So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them; and he stayed there two days. ⁴¹ And many more believed because of his word. ⁴² They 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 truly the Savior of the world.”

⁴³ When the two days were over, he went from that place to Galilee ⁴⁴ (for Jesus himself had testified that a prophet has no honor in the prophet’s own country). ⁴⁵ When he came to Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him, since they had seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the festival; for they too had gone to the festival.

⁴⁶ Then he came again to Cana in Galilee where he had changed the water into wine. Now there was a royal official whose son lay ill in Capernaum. ⁴⁷ When he heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went and begged him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. ⁴⁸ Then Jesus said to him, “Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.”
⁴⁹ The official said to him, Sir, come down before my little boy dies.” ⁵⁰ Jesus said to him, “Go; your son will live.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and started on his way. ⁵¹ As he was going down, his slaves met him and told him that his child was alive. ⁵² So he asked them the hour when he began to recover, and they said to him, “Yesterday at one in the afternoon the fever left him.” ⁵³ The father realized that this was the hour when Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” So he himself believed, along with his whole household. ⁵⁴ Now this was the second sign that Jesus did after coming from Judea to Galilee. NRSV

Get into the Word

1. What happens when the disciples return? What is foremost on their minds? Why do you think no one asked about the woman? 

2. What does she do? How can you tell she is excited? What effect does her message have on the people in the village?

3. What is your reaction to the conversation Jesus has with the disciples? What is similar about the dialogue with the woman? Why do you think people don’t understand what Jesus is talking about?

4. How do the Samaritans respond to Jesus? What does Jesus do in return? What is the key to their belief in Jesus?

5. Where does Jesus go next? How do the people there respond to Jesus? Why do you think they acted this way?

6. Who comes to Jesus in Cana? Why does he seek Jesus? How does Jesus respond to the man? How does the man react to this? What does Jesus do? What does the man do? What does he do when he gets home?

Get Personal

How are you like the woman? How are you like the disciples? How are you like the Samaritans? How does God help you become one who has “heard for ourselves?”

4:27. Astonished — Jewish men did not talk with women in public [see Note at 4:7].
4:28. Water jar — usually an important household possession, but the woman leaves it to share her news about Jesus.
4:29. Come and see a man — a woman’s testimony was considered inferior and often ignored, but this woman, like Philip [check 1:46] invites the people to see for themselves.
4:32. This conversation is practically an echo of the one Jesus just had with the woman. The disciples do not understand and try to “translate” his references to spiritual food into their world.
4:35. Harvest — the Old Testament uses harvest as a metaphor for God’s judgment [as in Jer 51:33; Joel 3:13], but Jesus uses it to talk about bringing people into God’s kingdom through the Gospel. The spiritual harvest is at hand and the disciples will “reap” the results of Jesus’ and the woman’s planting [v. 38].
4:41. He stayed — pious Jews did not even walk through Samaria, let alone eat and sleep there for two days; but, unlike many Jews, the Samaritans believed Jesus.
4:42. We believe — the Samaritans believe because they responded to the woman’s invitation and then they heard Jesus directly. It works the same way in our time: we invite people to meet Jesus and the Holy Spirit does the real work. (You can compare their reaction to that of Nathaniel in chapter 1.)
Savior of the world — the Samaritans “get it” – Jesus is more than a prophet

or the anointed one, he has a purpose in being here.
4:44. Own country — Jesus was born in Judea but grew up in Galilee, which allows scholars to argue about this verse [check Mark 6:4]. The Galileans welcomed him as a miracle worker (the events during Passover in Jerusalem [v. 2:23]), but they never accepted him as a prophet or Messiah.
4:46. Royal official — probably in the court of Herod Antipas, the ruler who killed John the Baptizer. 
4:49. Sir, come down — even though Jesus brusquely rejects the initial request, the man presses for a response, just as Mary did at the wedding in Cana [v. 2:5].
4:50. Go; your son will live — almost all miracles in Jewish history were accomplished in the presence of the prophet, not from a distance. Jesus does not need to be physically present, he only needs the seeker’s belief that he can accomplish the miracle [as in the Roman officer’s faith in Matthew 8:5-13 and Luke 7:2-10].
4:53. The hour — John underscores the point that belief is the critical factor, not where Jesus or the seeker are.
Whole household — Middle Eastern customs gave great authority to the male head of the household [check the reports of Cornelius and Lydia at Acts 10:1-3 and 16:14-15].
4:54. Second sign — for John miracles are important because they show Jesus as Messiah and savior, not just because water becomes wine or a child is healed.

4Now when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard, “Jesus is making and baptizing more disciples than John” ² —although it was not Jesus himself but his disciples who baptized— ³ he left Judea and started back to Galilee. ⁴ But he had to go through Samaria. ⁵ So he came to a Samaritan city called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph.
⁶ Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired out by his journey, was sitting by the well. It was about noon.

A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.”
⁸ (His disciples had gone to the city to buy food.) ⁹ The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?” (Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.) ¹⁰ Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” ¹¹ The woman said to him, “Sir, you have no bucket, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? ¹² Are you greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us the well, and with his sons and his flocks drank from it?” ¹³ Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, ¹⁴ but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.” ¹⁵ The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.”

Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come back.” ¹⁷ The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; ¹⁸ for you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true!” ¹⁹ The woman said to him, “Sir, I see that you are a prophet. ²⁰ Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem.” ²¹ Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. ²² You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. ²³ But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him. ²⁴ God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” ²⁵ The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). “When he comes, he will proclaim all things to us.” ²⁶ Jesus said to her, “I am he, the one who is speaking to you.”  NRSV

Get into the Word

1. What prompts Jesus to return to Galilee? Do you think he was concerned about the “competition” with John the Baptist?

2. What is unusual about Jesus’ ending up in Samaria [see notes]? How do you suppose the disciples felt about the trip at this point? How would you have felt?

3. What is the woman’s first reaction to Jesus? Why did she react this way? How do you think you would have reacted?

4. What is Jesus’ message to the woman? Why does she have such difficulty understanding what Jesus is talking about? Why do you think he talked about “living water” with a foreigner before a Jew?

5. What is Jesus’ response when the woman asks for “some of this water?” Why would he bring up her personal life at this point? How does the she respond?

6. What does Jesus say about the correct place to worship? How does the woman react?

Get Personal

How does your relationship with God affect how you worship?

4:4. Samaria — in Jesus’s time Israel was divided into three provinces: Judea, Samaria and Galilee. Samaria was between the other two, so it would be natural for any traveler to go through Samaria to get from Judea to Galilee. But Samaritans were Jews who had intermarried with pagans after the captivity and they were considered outcasts [the Jewish version of this history is in 2 Kings 17:24-31]. Devout Jews took the long way around to avoid even traveling in Samaria.
4:5. Sychar — [also Shechem] figures prominently in Israel’s history. God appeared to Abraham at Shechem on his journey to Canaan, and Abraham built his first altar to God here. Joshua also directed that an altar be built here after the Hebrew people conquered Canaan. Shechem is where Joshua told his fellow Israelites to “choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve . . . but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord,” [Josh. 24:15].
4:6. Jacob’s Well — although the field is mentioned in Genesis [33:17-19], this is the only Biblical reference to Jacob’s Well. Today it is the site of a Greek Christian church.
4:7. Samaritan woman — usually women would get their water later in the day when it was cooler, but this woman came at noon to avoid the other women of the village [check v. 18].
Give me a drink — Jesus breaks at least four Jewish taboos here: Jews did not talk with Samaritans, men did not talk to women they did not know in public, men did not talk with women known to be immoral, and Jews did not eat or drink with Gentiles (or even use their water bucket).
4:10. Living water — Isaiah uses water as a symbol of life: With joy you will draw

water from the wells of salvation, [12:3], he even links water to thirst spiritually as Jesus does: Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you that have no money, come, buy, and eat! [55:1].
4:11-12. You have no bucket — like Nicodemus in the previous chapter, the woman misses Jesus’ metaphor and responds literally, even thinking she would not have to make any more trips to the well [v. 15].
4:19. Prophet — the woman reflects the common belief that prophets could know about others’ lives. She then uses this belief to challenge Jesus about the “correct” place to worship [v. 20]. 
4:22. You worship what you do not know — Jesus confirms the superiority of Jewish teaching. Because the Samaritans used only the Torah (the first five books of the Old Testament) their knowledge of God and salvation was very limited.
4:24. Worship in spirit and in truth — Jesus says neither location is actually correct. The important thing is how we worship, not where. This should not be a new idea for Jews: Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit. [Psalm 32:2].
4:25. Messiah — Samaritans looked for the prophet God promised to Moses:  “I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their own people; I will put my words in the mouth of the prophet, who shall speak to them everything that I command, [Deut 18:17-18]. 
4:26. I am he — John is the only Gospel author who records Jesus’ declaration that he is the Messiah before his trial. Matthew even records Jesus efforts to prevent such an early disclosure: Then he warned his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Christ, [16:20].

3Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews.
² He came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.” ³ Jesus answered him, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.” ⁴ Nicodemus said to him, “How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?” ⁵ Jesus answered, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. ⁶ What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. ⁷ Do not be astonished that I said to you, ‘You must be born from above.’ ⁸ The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
⁹ Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” ¹⁰ Jesus answered him, “Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things?

¹¹ “Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen; yet you do not receive our testimony. ¹² If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? ¹³ No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.
¹⁴ And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, ¹⁵ that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

¹⁶ “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.

¹⁷ “Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

¹⁸ Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God. ¹⁹ And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. ²⁰ For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed.
²¹ But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God.”

²² After this Jesus and his disciples went into the Judean countryside, and he spent some time there with them and baptized. ²³ John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim because water was abundant there; and people kept coming and were being baptized ²⁴ —John, of course, had not yet been thrown into prison.

²⁵ Now a discussion about purification arose between John’s disciples and a Jew. ²⁶ They came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, the one who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you testified, here he is baptizing, and all are going to him.” ²⁷ John answered, “No one can receive anything except what has been given from heaven. ²⁸ You yourselves are my witnesses that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah, but I have been sent ahead of him.’ ²⁹ He who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. For this reason my joy has been fulfilled. ³⁰ He must increase, but I must decrease.”

³¹ The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks about earthly things. The one who comes from heaven is above all.
³² He testifies to what he has seen and heard, yet no one accepts his testimony.
³³ Whoever has accepted his testimony has certified this, that God is true. ³⁴ He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure. ³⁵ The Father loves the Son and has placed all things in his hands. ³⁶ Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever disobeys the Son will not see life, but must endure God’s wrath.  NRSV

Get into the Word

1. What is going on as this scene opens? What type of person was Nicodemus? What do you think he wanted from Jesus?

2. How does Jesus respond to Nicodemus’s opening statement? How do you think Nicodemus felt, since he had not asked a question yet? How would you have felt?

3. What point is Jesus trying to make with his references to “born again”? How is Nicode-mus following this? What is his major stumbling block to “getting” what Jesus is saying?

4. Why do you suppose Jesus includes the references to the wind [v. 8] and the snake [v. 14]. Did this help Nicodemus?

5. What is the primary image John uses for Jesus? Why do you think he chose this metaphor? Does it help your understanding?

6. What is the concern the disciples bring to John the Baptist? What started the debate? Why would they get into an argument over this type of thing?

7. What is John’s response to the disciples’ concern? How 

does he describe himself in relation to Jesus? Where is John’s focus in his answer? How do you think the disciples felt about John’s statements?

Get Personal

1. How is the “grey scale” in your life right now? Are you living in the light or are there some shadows in the corners? How can God help you illuminate all parts of your life?

2. How do you feel about John’s description of himself and Jesus? Does this fit how you see your current relationship with Jesus? How does God help you focus on him and not yourself?

3:1. Pharisee — the more conservative of the two prominent Jewish religious groups.The Sadducees, the other group, were the political as well as religious leaders of Israel. 
3:3.  Born again — the Greek adverb can mean “anew,” or “from the beginning,” but also “from above,” which a learned Jew would recognize as “from God,” which conveys more than just repeating the physical birth process. Nicodemus takes it literally even though Jesus is trying to help him understand the need for spiritual renewal.
3:5. Water and the Spirit — Nicodemus should know this phrase from Ezekiel, describing how God will change peoples’ hearts: I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. A new heart I will give  

you, and anew spirit I will put within you; and I will remove from your body the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh, [36:25-26].
3:10. Do not understand — Jesus makes the irony explicit –Nicodemus does not see the connection between passages he should know (for example, Psalm 103:19, Isaiah 9:6-7, Daniel 2:44-45, Jeremiah 31:33-34, or Joel 2:28-29) and God’s Kingdom. NOTE: this is a clear example of the difference between knowledge and understanding, agreement and belief. Nicodemus must have known all of these passages by heart; but he did not see how they related to the Messiah. In the same way, agreeing that something is true is not the same as living your life based on that truth.
3:13.  Son of Man — a term from Daniel [7:13] that Jesus applied to himself.

2On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. ² Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. ³ When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” ⁴ And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come.” ⁵ His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” ⁶ Now standing there were six stone water jars for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. ⁷ Jesus said to them, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. ⁸ He said to them, “Now draw some out, and take it to the chief steward.” So they took it. ⁹ When the steward tasted the water that had become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the steward called the bridegroom ¹⁰ and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk. But you have kept the good wine until now.” ¹¹ Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.

¹² After this he went down to Capernaum with his mother, his brothers, and his disciples; and they remained there a few days.

¹³ The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. ¹⁴ In the temple he found people selling cattle, sheep, and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables. ¹⁵ Making a whip of cords, he drove all of them out of the temple, both the sheep and the cattle. He also poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. ¹⁶ He told those who were selling the doves, “Take these things out of here! Stop making my Father’s house a marketplace!” ¹⁷ His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.” ¹⁸ The Jews then said to him, “What sign can you show us for doing this?” ¹⁹ Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”
²⁰ The Jews then said, “This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and will you raise it up in three days?” ²¹ But he was speaking of the temple of his body.
²² After he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this; and they believed the scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.

²³ When he was in Jerusalem during the Passover festival, many believed in his name because they saw the signs that he was doing. ²⁴ But Jesus on his part would not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people ²⁵ and needed no one to testify about anyone; for he himself knew what was in everyone.  NRSV

Get into the word

1. What is going on as this chapter opens? What role does Jesus have at the beginning of this story? Who else is involved?

2. What is Mary’s response to the problem with the wine? How does Jesus respond to her statement? Does this deter Mary? What happens next?

3. Why do you suppose John includes this incident in the Gospel? What does it tell us about Jesus? 

4. What is the next incident the John reports? What is happening in the temple? What does Jesus do in response to the situation? 

5. Why do you think Jesus reacted so strongly? What do the disciples do when they see Jesus’ actions?

6. Why do you think the Jews wanted a miraculous sign? Do you believe they really wanted Jesus to confirm who he was? What is Jesus’ answer?

7. What did the Jews do with Jesus response to their demand? How do the disciples react to this interchange? Did they “get it?”

Get Personal

What do Jesus’ actions in these two incidents tell you about his attitude toward daily life? Toward religion? How has God helped you see the path for your life? For your relationship with him?

2:3. Gave out — a Jewish wedding lasted seven days, so the host needed a good supply of wine to cover that period of time. Running out of wine (or food) was considered a major social error.
Jesus’ mother — the men and women guests usually stayed in separate quarters, with the women’s area closer to the work and storage spaces, so Mary would hear about the problem before the men.
2:4. What concern is that — the Greek is actually “what have I to do with you?” which is a fairly abrupt statement of distance or non-involvement.
My hour — this is the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, which will end at the cross. 
2:5. Do whatever he tells you — like many other people in the Bible, Mary basically ignores Jesus’ statement and expects that he will do something about the situation (think about Jacob, Moses, Ruth, the woman Elisha stays with [2 Kings4:14-28], or the Gentile woman with the sick child who confronts Jesus [Mark 7:24-30]).
2:7. Fill the jars with water — this is Jesus’ first public miracle and it shows the pattern for all the other miracles: first, Jesus works with what is at hand, he doesn’t create something out of thin air; second, he involves other people in the event; third, he demonstrates his authority over the natural world by changing the nature of the liquid in the jars; and he responds to a human need, just as God responds to our needs in this world.
2:11. Revealed his glory — miracles in the Old Testament showed God’s power and authority, his glory. Jesus has the same purpose.

2:12. Capernaum — Jesus used this city as his ministry base in Galilee, even though he did not have many followers there [check Matt 11:23 and Luke 10:15]. 
2:13. Passover — the annual celebration lasted a week – Passover the first day and the Feast of Unleavened Bread the other six days – and all Jewish males were expected to go to Jerusalem for the event [the requirement is at Deut 16:16].
2:14. Temple — the center of Jewish worship, the building Jesus knew was built in 515 BCE when the Jews returned from exile, and remodeled by Herod the Great (in fact the work was still going on during Jesus’ lifetime).
Merchants . . . dealers — Mosaic law required Jews to offer sacrifices from their own livestock when they went to the Temple, but by Jesus’ time most people bought a sacrificial animal after they arrived, and many needed to exchange their personal money for Jewish currency (at exorbitant exchange rates).
NOTE: The Synoptic Gospels place Jesus’ cleansing of the Temple during his final visit to Jerusalem (also during Passover) shortly before he was killed [compare Matt 21:12-17; Mark 11:15-19; Luke 19:45-46].
2:17. It was written — Psalm 69:9.
2:18. Miraculous sign — throughout their history the Jews demanded signs of God’s presence or power. Clearly they do not realize that Jesus is the sign God is giving them.
2:19. This temple — John clues in the reader in v. 21: Jesus means his own body. 

1²⁹ The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him and declared, “Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! ³⁰ This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks ahead of me because he was before me.’ ³¹ I myself did not know him; but I came baptizing with water for this reason, that he might be revealed to Israel.” ³² And John testified, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. ³³ I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ ³⁴ And I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God.”

³⁵ The next day John again was standing with two of his disciples, ³⁶ and as he watched Jesus walk by, he exclaimed, “Look, here is the Lamb of God!” ³⁷ The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. ³⁸ When Jesus turned and saw them following, he said to them, “What are you looking for?” They said to him, “Rabbi” (which translated means Teacher), “where are you staying?” ³⁹ He said to them, “Come and see.” They came and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him that day. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon. ⁴⁰ One of the two who heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. ⁴¹ He first found his brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated Anointed).
⁴² He brought Simon to Jesus, who looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You are to be called Cephas” (which is translated Peter).

⁴³ The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” ⁴⁴ Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.
⁴⁵ Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth.” ⁴⁶ Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” ⁴⁷ When Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him, he said of him, “Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!” ⁴⁸ Nathanael asked him, “Where did you get to know me?” Jesus answered, “I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you.”
⁴⁹ Nathanael replied, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” ⁵⁰ Jesus answered, “Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these.” ⁵¹ And he said to him, “Very truly, I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.”  NRSV

Get into the Word

1. Why does John call Jesus the “Lamb of God?” What aspects of salvation does it represent? What is significant about the dove [see Notes]?

2. What is most significant about the incident John describes in vv. 35-39? Why do you think the two disciples left John and followed Jesus?

3. What do you suppose Simon thought about Jesus when they first met? About having his name changed? How would you have felt?

4. How did Philip conclude that Jesus was “the one Moses wrote about in the Law?” How did Nathanael react to Philip’s claim? How might you have reacted?

5. What did Jesus say or do to cause Nathanael to call him “Son of God” and “King of Israel?” How does Jesus deal with Nathanael’s testimony?

6. What does Jesus reveal to the disciples? What image does he use? Why do you think he did this at this time?

Get Personal

How did you first “meet” Jesus? What were the circumstances? Who introduced you? What did the person say about Jesus? How did you respond to the introduction?

1:29. Lamb of God — John was echoing Isaiah’s description of the Messiah as a “suffering servant” who is sacrificed – Like the Passover lamb and temple lambs of John’s day – for sinners: like a lamb that is led to the slaughter. And as a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth, [Isaiah 53:7 and 12].
1:32. Spirit — John (the author) introduces the Trinity early in his Gospel. Jews of the time believed God’s Spirit had become inactive after the last Old Testament prophets died.
Dove — an ironic symbol for the Messiah: only doves and pigeons were acceptable sacrificial birds under Mosaic Law and, as the least expensive animals, were usually used by poor people; Jesus is the sacrifice we absolutely need and cannot afford. 
1:33. Descend and remain — Isaiah said of the Messiah: The Spirit of the Lord shall rest on him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord, [11:2, also check 61:1].
1:35. Disciples — John evidently had a group of followers himself, but sent them to Jesus as the greater teacher – a truly humble act.
1:38. Where are you staying — this type of indirectness is typical of the social conventions of John’s time (the disciples really want to go home with Jesus).
1:40. Andrew — according to John, Andrew became a disciple ahead of his brother, Simon. He also brings people to Jesus two other times [6:4-9 and 12:20-22]. This is still the model: get to know Jesus yourself, then introduce others to him, (check Phillip’s approach in verse 43).
1:42. Cephas — means “rock” in Aramaic; the Greek word is “Peter.” Jesus continues the Old 

Testament tradition of giving people new and meaningful names. Peter applies the same image to believers in his first letter: Come to him, a living stone, though rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in God’s sight, and like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ., [2:4-5].
1:43. Philip— another of the early disciples, Philip responded to Jesus’ direct invitation and then brought Nathanael into the group, as Andrew brought Peter.
Bethsaida — yes, Mark does say Capernaum was Andrew and Peter’s hometown. Both were on the shore of Galilee fairly close to each other.
1:45. Nathanael — also known as Bartholomew in the Synoptic Gospels.
Nazareth — was a small town, not mentioned in any Old Testament prophecy about the Messiah. Nathanael’s skepticism is not surprising, (notice that Phillip does not argue about it, just invites Nathanael to “come and see” for yourself).
1:47. Israelite — Jesus was probably making a wordplay: Jacob (or Israel) was a liar, hardly a “man of complete integrity.”
1:48. Under the fig tree — Jesus gives Nathanael a peek at his supernatural ability, which Nathanael acknowledges in the next verse.
1:51. Heaven opened — Ezekiel used the same phrase [1:1]. Jesus is promising a major revelation to the disciples.
Angels ascending and descending — this image is from Jacob’s dream [Genesis 28:12] of a ladder between heaven and earth. Jesus is describing himself as the new – and true – link between God and humans.

1 the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was in the beginning with God. ³ All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being ⁴ in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. ⁵ The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. ⁷ He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. ⁸ He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. ⁹ The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.

He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. ¹¹ He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him.
¹² But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, ¹³ who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.

¹⁴ And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth. ¹⁵ (John testified to him and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks ahead of me because he was before me.’”) ¹⁶ From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. ¹⁷ The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. ¹⁸ No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.

This is the testimony given by John when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?”
²⁰ He confessed and did not deny it, but confessed, “I am not the Messiah.” ²¹ And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the prophet?” He answered, “No.” ²² Then they said to him, “Who are you? Let us have an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” ²³ He said,

“I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness,
‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’” 
as the prophet Isaiah said.

Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. ²⁵ They asked him, “Why then are you baptizing if you are neither the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?” ²⁶ John answered them, “I baptize with water. Among you stands one whom you do not know, ²⁷ the one who is coming after me; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandal.” ²⁸ This took place in Bethany across the Jordan where John was baptizing.  NRSV

Get into the Word

1. What images does John use for Jesus in this passage? What mental pictures do you get from these images? Why do you think John chose these images for his opening?

2. What major concepts or understandings about Jesus is John trying to convey here? What distinctions does John make between Jesus and  all other humans? 

3. What does Jesus do? How do people react to this? What happens as a result? Who does this change?

4. Who does John introduce in this narrative? What is his message? Who does he say he is? What is his relation to Jesus?

5. What seems to be the main concern of the priests when they approach John? What do you think of John’s answer to their questions? Do you think he wanted to help them understand?

6. Why would the Jews be concerned about John’s baptizing? Why does John say he baptizes only with water?

Get Personal

How does God help you understand that Jesus is fully God and fully human? How does this understanding affect your life?

1:1. Beginning — Even though this phrase parallels Genesis 1:1, John makes it clear he is talking about things before the creation narrative.
Word — see the Note on page 2.
1:3. Came into being — John draws a clear distinction between the Word and all other creatures. In fact the Word created all things. Early in the church’s history, questions about Jesus’ divinity were creeping into Christian writings. Some could not understand how Jesus could be fully God and fully human at the same time, but John forcefully declares  that Jesus was God and shared all attributes, including the power to create “all things” with God the Father.
1:4-5. Light — Matthew refers to Isaiah to describe Jesus as light: The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned. From that time Jesus began to proclaim, “Repent for the kingdom of heaven has come near, [4:16-17].
Peter and Paul also use “light” to refer to Christ and Christians: God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light, [1 Pet 2:9]; and, [light] has shone in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ, [2 Cor 4:6].
1:10. World — the Greek word, “cosmos,” means primarily “order, arrangement.” The Bible uses it to refer to both the earth and humans, the “non-heaven” part of creation. Later in John Jesus says, You belong to the world here below but I come from above, [John 8:23]. 
1:12. Children — Paul expands on the idea that we can become “children of God” in Galatians: When the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, in order to  redeem those under law, so that

we might receive adoption as children. And because you are children, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba, Father.” So you are no longer a slave, but a child; and if a child, then also an heir, [4:4-7].
1:14. Glory . . . grace and truth — John is testifying of his own experience of God through his relation-ship with the human Jesus. This is his attempt to reconcile in language the fact that Jesus was fully divine and fully human. This is a personal, not an intellectual, statement about Jesus. 
1:15. Before — the Greek word refers only to place or position — “in front,” it does not mean first in time or occurrence. 
1:19. John the Baptist — was the final prophet, or “speaker of God’s word,” before Jesus – the full and complete “Word” – arrived. He stressed that people had to repent and prepare for Jesus’ arrival and he influenced many Jews. Evidently his influence continued after his death, because Paul discovered some of John’s disciples in Ephesus thirty years later, [Acts 19:1-7]. 
1:20. Messiah — literally “anointed one” – people thought the Messiah would come soon to perform signs [John 7:31] and to deliver His people, after which He would live and rule forever [John 12:34]. 
1:23. John is referring to Isaiah: A voice cries out: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. . . . Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all people will see it together,” [40:3, 5].
1:24. Baptize — the Jews did have a tradition of ritual cleansing before entering the temple or performing any priestly sacrificial duties; however, they did not associate such practices with spiritual renewal, regeneration or rebirth as Christians do.

More on the difference between John’s Gospel and the other three — often called the “synoptic” Gospels because they are a synopsis of Jesus’s life and ministry – more like a traditional biography. Mark is considered to be the first Gospel written down. It reads most like a newspaper account of Jesus. Matthew was written by a Jew who 

wanted to demonstrate to other Jews that Jesus does, in fact, fulfill the Old Testament prophesies. Luke was written by a Roman who traveled with the Apostle Paul. His Gospel puts Jesus and the early church (in Acts) in the context of the whole of history. John concentrates on Jesus as the key to our relationship with God.

19 ¹¹ Then I saw heaven opened, and there was a white horse! Its rider is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. ¹² His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems; and he has a name inscribed that no one knows but himself. ¹³ He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is called The Word of God. ¹⁴ And the armies of heaven, wearing fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. ¹⁵ From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron; he will tread the wine press of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. ¹⁶ On his robe and on his thigh he has a name inscribed, “King of kings and Lord of lords.” 

¹⁷ Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called to all the birds that fly in midheaven, “Come, gather for the great supper of God, ¹⁸ to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of the mighty, the flesh of horses and their riders—flesh of all, both free and slave, both small and great.” ¹⁹ Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against the rider on the horse and against his army. ²⁰ And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who had performed in its presence the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. ²¹ And the rest were killed by the sword of the rider on the horse, the sword that came from his mouth; and all the birds were gorged with their flesh. 

The New Jerusalem

21 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. ² And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 

⁹ Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.” ¹⁰ And in the spirit he carried me away to a great, high mountain and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God. ¹¹ It has the glory of God and a radiance like a very rare jewel, like jasper, clear as crystal. ¹² It has a great, high wall with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates are inscribed the names of the twelve tribes of the Israelites;
¹³ on the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates. ¹⁴ And the wall of the city has twelve foundations, and on them are the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. 

¹⁵ The angel who talked to me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city and its gates and walls. ¹⁶ The city lies foursquare, its length the same as its width; and he measured the city with his rod, fifteen hundred miles; its length and width and height are equal. ¹⁷ He also measured its wall, one hundred forty-four cubits by human measurement, which the angel was using.
¹⁸ The wall is built of jasper, while the city is pure gold, clear as glass. ¹⁹ The foundations of the wall of the city are adorned with every jewel; the first was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, ²⁰ the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst. ²¹ And the twelve gates are twelve pearls, each of the gates is a single pearl, and the street of the city is pure gold, transparent as glass. 

²² I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb.
²³ And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God is its light, and its lamp is the Lamb. ²⁴ The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. ²⁵ Its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. ²⁶ People will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. ²⁷ But nothing unclean will enter it, nor anyone who practices abomination or falsehood, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life. NRSV

Get into the Word

1. What does John see next? How does John describe the rider? Why do you think he chose these symbols? What are the rider’s names? What is their significance? Why is one name hidden?

2. How does the angel announce the next event? What is going to happen? How do you respond to this description? What is really happening? Who is involved? What do they intend to do? What ends up happening to each participant?

3. What does John see next? How does he describe this event? Who guides John’s vision? What does he show John next? What images does John use? What details does he give the reader? What is significant about the details?

4. How big is the city John sees? How tall is it? What other details does John give about the city? Why do you think he uses these gems?

5. What is missing from the city, according to John? Why are these attributes not needed in the city? Who will be in this city? How will they get in? What will they bring into the city? What determines who gets into the city?

Get Personal

God’s blessing is his presence in our lives – in what ways have you been aware of his presence in your life recently? What images do you use to describe his presence to other people? Do you use the same images for believers and those who don’t know Christ?

19:11-16. Called . . . title — names are extremely important in the Bible because they are always appropriate to the person. “Faithful and true,” “Lord of lords,” and “King of kings” are titles for God in the Old Testament. “Word” is logos in Greek, meaning “full expression” as in John 1:1. 
Name no one knew — check Rev 2:17.
19:13. Dipped in blood — could refer to the blood of martyrs, the blood of sinners in the coming battle, or Jesus’ blood of sacrifice on the cross.
19:14. Armies of heaven — some scholars believe this refers to angels (from Matt 24:30-31), while others interpret this as all Christians (relying on Rev 17:14).
19:15. Sharp sword — another image from Isaiah, [Isa 11:4, also check 49:2 and Hosea 6:5]. 

19:17. Great supper — an ironic image of the future of worldly power, [Ezek 39:20-21].
21:1. New Heaven and new earth — these two concepts run throughout Old Testament prophecy, [Check Isaiah 65:17-19 and  66:22-23, Lev 26:11, 7: Eek27, Jer 31:33, Hebrews 11:10 and 2 Peter 3:12-13].
21:10-21. Holy city — John borrows extensively from Isaiah in describing the Holy City, [Check chapters 54 and 60].
21:12. Twelve tribes — this concept is first presented in Ezekiel’s writings, [48:31].
21:16. 1,500 miles —John describes an area larger than the western half of the United States.
21:22. No temple — the temple will be unnecessary because God and Christ will be present. 

3¹⁴ “And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the origin of God’s creation: 

¹⁵ “I know your works; you are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were either cold or hot. ¹⁶ So, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I am about to spit you out of my mouth. ¹⁷ For you say, ‘I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing.’ You do not realize that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.

¹⁸ Therefore I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire so that you may be rich; and white robes to clothe you and to keep the shame of your nakedness from being seen; and salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see. ¹⁹ I reprove and discipline those whom I love. Be earnest, therefore, and repent. ²⁰ Listen! I am standing at the door, knocking; if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to you and eat with you, and you with me. ²¹ To the one who conquers I will give a place with me on my throne, just as I myself conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. ²² Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches.”

6Then I saw the Lamb open one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures call out, as with a voice of thunder, “Come!” ² I looked, and there was a white horse! Its rider had a bow; a crown was given to him, and he came out conquering and to conquer. 

³ When he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature call out, “Come!”
⁴ And out came another horse, bright red; its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people would slaughter one another; and he was given a great sword. 

⁵ When he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature call out, “Come!” I looked, and there was a black horse! Its rider held a pair of scales in his hand, ⁶ and I heard what seemed to be a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a day’s pay, and three quarts of barley for a day’s pay, but do not damage the olive oil and the wine!” 

⁷ When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature call out, “Come!” ⁸ I looked and there was a pale green horse! Its rider’s name was Death, and Hades followed with him; they were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, famine, and pestilence, and by the wild animals of the earth. 

⁹ When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slaughtered for the word of God and for the testimony they had given; ¹⁰ they cried out with a loud voice, “Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long will it be before you judge and avenge our blood on the inhabitants of the earth?” ¹¹ They were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number would be complete both of their fellow servants and of their brothers and sisters, who were soon to be killed as they themselves had been killed. 

¹² When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and there came a great earthquake; the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood, ¹³ and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree drops its winter fruit when shaken by a gale. ¹⁴ The sky vanished like a scroll rolling itself up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. ¹⁵ Then the kings of the earth and the magnates and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, ¹⁶ calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of the one seated on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb; ¹⁷ for the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?” NRSV

Get into the Word

1. What describes Christ in the message to Laodicea? How does it link to the message to this church? What is the complaint against this church? How does the message document the charge [see Notes]? What advice does Christ give the Laodiceans? What promise does he make to them if they change?

2. In chapter 6, who is the “Lamb”? What is he doing? What happens when the first seal is broken? What or who appears? What might these beings represent?

3. What does the second horse and rider represent. Why is its color appropriate. How about the third horse and rider? Why would this symbol be part of this group? 

4. What color is the fourth horse? Why would this be appropriate? What is the rider’s name? What does this horse and rider signify?

5. What happens when the fifth seal is broken? What does John see? What does he hear? How is God described? How does God’s respond to their complaint? What does John see when the sixth seal is opened? How do people react to these events? 

Get Personal

What concerns do you have about the future? How do they affect your walk with Christ? How does God free you from concern about judgment?

3:14. Laodicea ⎯ a wealthy city in Asia Minor.
3:15. Neither hot nor cold ⎯ the city did not have its own water supply, so the hot water from a hot spring and the cold water from the mountains were both lukewarm by the time it was piped six miles. Evidently the church was the same, without purity (cold, clear water) or energy (hot, cleansing water). Just as the people did with the water, Christ will spit the church out of his mouth. 
6:2. White horse — Zechariah describes a vision of riders on colored horses and is told “they are the ones the Lord has sent out to patrol the earth,” [Zech 1:8-11]. For other Old Testament references to these four seals or judgments, check out: Lev 26:21-26, Ezek 4:16-17, and Jer 15:2-4.
6:5. Pair of scales — the black horse and rider represent famine and scarcity; these amounts are more than ten times the usual costs, so that a day’s earnings would not buy enough to feed a family for that day.

6:9. Fifth seal — in a shift of vision, John sees the martyrs for the faith.
Souls — the Greek word means the person or his or her life, not the actual soul.
6:10. How long . . . — throughout history people have asked God this question [check Psalm 74:10, 94:3 or Habakkuk 1:2]. The martyrs’ cry for God to avenge is justified, [see Psalm 9:12, 13:2 or Deut 32:43]. 
6:12. Sixth seal — similar descriptions occur in Old Testament prophecy [check Isa 29:6-7, Ezek 32:7-8 and Joel 2:30-31.] Jesus also described similar events in Matthew 24. 
6:14. Rolled up — another echo from Isaiah: The heavens above will melt away and disappear like a rolled-up scroll, [34:4].
6:16. Fall on us — Hosea says, they will beg the mountains, “Bury us!” and plead with the hills, “Fall on us!” [10:8]. Check Joshua 10:16-27 to see how well this worked for some Canaanite kings Joshua defeated.