Bible Reading
Hebrews 11:24-26 “By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward.”
[00:54]John 4:1-42 “Now when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John (although Jesus himself did not baptize, but only his disciples), he left Judea and departed again for Galilee. And he had to pass through Samaria. So he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob's well was there; so Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well. It was about the sixth hour. A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, 'Give me a drink.' (For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, 'How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?' (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) 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.' The woman said to him, 'Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.' Jesus said to her, 'Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.' The woman said to him, 'Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.' Jesus said to her, 'Go, call your husband, and come here.' The woman answered him, 'I have no husband.' Jesus said to her, 'You are right in saying, 'I have no husband'; for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.' The woman said to him, 'Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.' Jesus said to her, 'Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.' The woman said to him, 'I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things.' Jesus said to her, 'I who speak to you am he.' Just then his disciples came back. They marveled that he was talking with a woman, but no one said, 'What do you seek?' or, 'Why are you talking with her?' So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people, 'Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?' They went out of the town and were coming to him. Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, saying, 'Rabbi, eat.' But he said to them, 'I have food to eat that you do not know about.' So the disciples said to one another, 'Has anyone brought him something to eat?' Jesus said to them, 'My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. Do you not say, 'There are yet four months, then comes the harvest'? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest. Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. For here the saying holds true, 'One sows and another reaps.' I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.' Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony, 'He told me all that I ever did.' So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. And many more believed because of his word. 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 indeed the Savior of the world.”
[14:01]John 4:35 “Do you not say, 'There are yet four months, then comes the harvest'? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest.”
[22:18]Observation questions
- In Hebrews 11:24–26, what did Moses refuse, what did he choose, and what future reality shaped his choice? [01:20]
- In John 4, what details show that the woman came to the well carrying social shame or isolation?
- How did Jesus speak to the woman about both her deepest need and the truth about her life? [17:37]
- After Jesus revealed Himself as the Messiah, what did the woman do with her water jar, and how did the people of her village respond? [20:33]
Interpretation questions
- Moses considered reproach with God’s people greater wealth than Egypt’s treasures. What does this reveal about how faith changes a person’s definition of what is valuable?
- The woman at the well tried to move the conversation toward religious questions after Jesus addressed her life. Why might people use religious discussion to avoid dealing honestly with Jesus?
- Jesus says the fields are ready for harvest while the Samaritan villagers are coming toward Him. What does this suggest about the people believers may overlook because of assumptions, fear, or discomfort? [22:18]
- The villagers first came because of the woman’s testimony, but then believed because they heard Jesus themselves. What does this show about the purpose and limits of personal witness? [24:14]
Application questions
- Is there an area where God has been calling you to obey, but you have been waiting for the money, timing, confidence, or circumstances to improve first? What would a faithful next step look like? [04:13]
- God’s call often exposes the gap between what He wants to do and what a person can do alone. Where do you currently feel that gap, and how might that be an invitation to depend on God rather than a reason to step back? [11:07]
- What fear most often keeps you from speaking about Jesus with a neighbor, coworker, friend, or family member? What is one simple “come and see” kind of invitation or conversation you could begin this week? [20:58]
- The woman left behind the water jar that had brought her to the well because she had met Jesus and had news to share. What “water jar”—a comfort, routine, distraction, or lesser priority—might you need to set aside to respond to God’s invitation? [26:17]
- Jesus met the woman with truth, but His truth led her toward life rather than shame-driven hiding. When God exposes sin or a hard truth in your life, do you tend to hide, argue, or receive it? What would honest repentance look like in that area? [23:16]
- Who are the people already passing through your life who may be more open to Jesus than you assume? How can you “lift up your eyes” and take intentional notice of them this week? [28:05]
- Faith is meant to move beyond Sunday morning into ordinary places and relationships. What specific opportunity this week would help you be the hands and feet of Jesus on Monday through Saturday? [31:07]
