The Water of Life - Week 5

John 4:1-54


Note: The study related to these questions may be found at Catholic Exchange. Please go to their site for the complete material concerning this study. Unless otherwise noted, on scriptural references are from the Revised Standard Version (RSV). Below are my thoughts on the questions presented for the given study (Please see disclaimer at bottom).

Read John 4:1-54

1. Read verses 1-5. Why did Jesus decide to leave Judea?
(a) Because the Pharisees knew Jesus was making more disciples than John the Baptist.

2. Who were the Samaritans? (See 2 Kings 17:24-41 and also the Points to Ponder section of this lesson.)
(a) From the Book of Kings:

24: And the king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath, and Sephar-va'im, and placed them in the cities of Sama'ria instead of the people of Israel; and they took possession of Sama'ria, and dwelt in its cities. 25: And at the beginning of their dwelling there, they did not fear the LORD; therefore the LORD sent lions among them, which killed some of them. 26: So the king of Assyria was told, "The nations which you have carried away and placed in the cities of Sama'ria do not know the law of the god of the land; therefore he has sent lions among them, and behold, they are killing them, because they do not know the law of the god of the land." 27: Then the king of Assyria commanded, "Send there one of the priests whom you carried away thence; and let him go and dwell there, and teach them the law of the god of the land." 28: So one of the priests whom they had carried away from Sama'ria came and dwelt in Bethel, and taught them how they should fear the LORD. 29: But every nation still made gods of its own, and put them in the shrines of the high places which the Samaritans had made, every nation in the cities in which they dwelt; 30: the men of Babylon made Suc'coth-be'noth, the men of Cuth made Nergal, the men of Hamath made Ashi'ma, 31: and the Av'vites made Nibhaz and Tartak; and the Sephar'vites burned their children in the fire to Adram'melech and Anam'melech, the gods of Sephar-va'im. 32: They also feared the LORD, and appointed from among themselves all sorts of people as priests of the high places, who sacrificed for them in the shrines of the high places. 33: So they feared the LORD but also served their own gods, after the manner of the nations from among whom they had been carried away. 34: To this day they do according to the former manner. They do not fear the LORD, and they do not follow the statutes or the ordinances or the law or the commandment which the LORD commanded the children of Jacob, whom he named Israel. 35: The LORD made a covenant with them, and commanded them, "You shall not fear other gods or bow yourselves to them or serve them or sacrifice to them; 36: but you shall fear the LORD, who brought you out of the land of Egypt with great power and with an outstretched arm; you shall bow yourselves to him, and to him you shall sacrifice. 37: And the statutes and the ordinances and the law and the commandment which he wrote for you, you shall always be careful to do. You shall not fear other gods, 38: and you shall not forget the covenant that I have made with you. You shall not fear other gods, 39: but you shall fear the LORD your God, and he will deliver you out of the hand of all your enemies." 40: However they would not listen, but they did according to their former manner. 41: So these nations feared the LORD, and also served their graven images; their children likewise, and their children's children -- as their fathers did, so they do to this day. (2 Kings 17:24-41)
The Samaritans were the people who were placed in the land of Israel after the Assyriam exile of the Jews. They retained a corrupt worship of Yahweh, but continued to make idols and worship falls gods.

3. It was scandalous for a Jewish man to converse with a Samaritan woman. Why then did Jesus initiate a conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well?
(a) To ask her for a drink since His disciples had gone to the city to buy food.

4. What does Jesus mean by "living water" in verse 10? See Catechism of the Catholic Church (hereafter known as CCC)#2652. Who or what is "the gift of God"?
(a) From the Catechism of the Catholic Church:
The Holy Spirit is the living water "welling up to eternal life" in the heart that prays. It is he who teaches us to accept it at its source: Christ. Indeed in the Christian life there are several wellsprings where Christ awaits us to enable us to drink of the Holy Spirit. (CCC, 2652)
The "living water" to which Jesus refers is the Holy Spirit. (b) The "gift of God" is salvation as proclaimed by Christ. In other words, faith in Christ Jesus.

5. Why does Jesus instruct the woman to go and get her husband (vs. 16)? Read verses 17 & 18. Is the Samaritan woman beginning to understand more clearly what Jesus is saying to her?
(a) To illustrate to the Samaritan woman that He was the Messiah. This happened in a two-fold manner. First, he stated the obvious that she had five husbands. However, if we take this in light of what we know of the Samaritans, these husbands could also symbolize the five nations that became the Samaritans. These five nations, Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath, and Sephar-va'im, all brought their own gods, or in other words, their own husbands. Thus, when Jesus says that her current husband is not her real husband, in the fuller sense of the Samaritans, Jesus is saying that who they currently worship is not who they should worship. In other words, the Husband of Israel had finally arrived. (b) The Samaritan woman, given her responses in verses 19 and 20, is beginning to understand what Jesus is saying to her.

6. In verse 22 Jesus makes a comparison between the Jewish and Samaritan religious beliefs and practices when He says, "you worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews." What are some of the differences in the beliefs of the Jews and the Samaritans? (Again refer to 2 Kings 17:28-39)
(a) Some of the differences were that the Samaritans "burned their children in the fire to Adram'melech and Anam'melech, the gods of Sephar-va'im", "feared the LORD but also served their own gods, after the manner of the nations from among whom they had been carried away", "do not follow the statutes or the ordinances or the law or the commandment which the LORD commanded the children of Jacob, whom he named Israel", and they did not live up to the covenant they made with God to "not fear other gods".

7. Why does Jesus say that salvation is from the Jews in verse 22?
(a) Because it was the Jews who held the covenant with God.

8. In verse 23 Jesus states that "the hour is coming, and now is, when true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth". What does He mean? (See CCC 160)
(a) From the Catechism of the Catholic Church:
To be human, "man's response to God by faith must be free, and. . . therefore nobody is to be forced to embrace the faith against his will. The act of faith is of its very nature a free act." "God calls men to serve him in spirit and in truth. Consequently they are bound to him in conscience, but not coerced. . . This fact received its fullest manifestation in Christ Jesus." Indeed, Christ invited people to faith and conversion, but never coerced them. "For he bore witness to the truth but refused to use force to impose it on those who spoke against it. His kingdom. . . grows by the love with which Christ, lifted up on the cross, draws men to himself." (CCC, 160)
Jesus means that the "true worshippers" will freely choose to worship God and not be coerced into worshipping God.

9. What is the significance of the Samaritan woman leaving behind her water jar in verse 28?
(a) This signifies that she now has the "living water" and had no need of water from Jacob's well.

10. What is the food that Jesus is speaking of in verse 32?
(a) The food to which Jesus is referring is His flesh. This will be better explained in Chapter 6.

11. Read Matthew 9:35-39 and Luke 10:2. What is Jesus referring to in verse 35 of today's Scripture passage? What does He mean by these statements: "one sows and another reaps" and "others have labored, and you have entered into their labor"?
(a) From the Gospel of Matthew:
35. And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every infirmity. 36. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37. Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; 38. pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest." (Matt 9:35-38)
From the Gospel of Luke:
1. After this the Lord appointed seventy others, and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to come. 2. And he said to them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest." (Lk 10:1-2)
Jesus is referring to the need for people to proclaim the Good News of salvation through Him. (b) Jesus is referring to the Prophets of God who have come before the disciples.

12. Read Matthew 15:22-28. What similarities do you see between the Canaanite woman and this official in verses 46-54?
(a) From the Gospel of Matthew:
22. And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and cried, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely possessed by a demon." 23. But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, "Send her away, for she is crying after us." 24. He answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." 25. But she came and knelt before him, saying, "Lord, help me." 26. And he answered, "It is not fair to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs." 27. She said, "Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table." 28. Then Jesus answered her, "O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire." And her daughter was healed instantly. (Matt 15:22-28)
The similarities between the two events are:

13. At the conclusion of this chapter, Jesus had returned to where He had performed His first miracle. What is the significance of His healing the official's son while in Cana?
(a) This illustrates that the Gentiles are also welcome at the Wedding Feast of the Lamb.

Disclaimer: I do not wish to present myself as an expert in either theology, history, or scriptural interpretation. I am merely someone who is attempting to answer the call of Christ. The ultimate authority and interpreter of scripture is our Holy Catholic Church. If at any point I deviate from the teachings of the Church, please correct me, alfredo@nevarez.net, as this is my shortcoming and in no way meant to be an expression of my views superceding those of the Church founded by Jesus Christ.

San Jose Bible Study
 Alfredo Nevarez
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