John 4: 1-15

Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard, "Jesus is baptizing and making more disciples than John"

2 (though Jesus himself didn't baptize them-his disciples did).

3 So he left Judea to return to Galilee.

4 He had to go through Samaria on the way.

5 Eventually he came to the Samaritan village of Sychar, near the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.

6 Jacob's well was there; and Jesus, tired from the long walk, sat wearily beside the well about noontime.

7 Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, "Please give me a drink."

8 He was alone at the time because his disciples had gone into the village to buy some food.

9 The woman was surprised, for Jews refuse to have anything to do with Samaritans. She said to Jesus, "You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. Why are you asking me for a drink?"

10 Jesus replied, "If you only knew the gift God has for you and who I am, you would ask me, and I would give you living water."

11 "But sir, you don't have a rope or a bucket," she said, "and this is a very deep well. Where would you get this living water?

12 And besides, are you greater than our ancestor Jacob who gave us this well? How can you offer better water than he and his sons and his cattle enjoyed?"

13 Jesus replied, "People soon become thirsty again after drinking this water.

14 But the water I give them takes away thirst altogether. It becomes a perpetual spring within them, giving them eternal life."

15 "Please, sir," the woman said, "give me some of that water! Then I'll never be thirsty again, and I won't have to come here to haul water."

Timing is everything. God's timing is perfect.

Was it an accident that Jesus was at the well when the Samaritan woman came? Was it a coincidence that the disciples had gone into town, leaving him alone?

Jesus did not have to go through Samaria. He could have gone around. Most Jews probably did. But he took the "shortcut" through Samaria. Time was of the essence. He had an appointment to keep.

How many times has God put us in the right place at the right time to tell someone about Jesus? How many of those times have we acted on it, or even recognized our opportunities?

It is easy to look back and see the times God has placed someone in our life at just the right time. We need to strive to recognize when WE are the right person in someone else's life and look for opportunities to share the Gospel.

John 3:31-36

31 "He has come from above and is greater than anyone else. I am of the earth, and my understanding is limited to the things of earth, but he has come from heaven.

32 He tells what he has seen and heard, but how few believe what he tells them!

33 Those who believe him discover that God is true.

34 For he is sent by God. He speaks God's words, for God's Spirit is upon him without measure or limit.

35 The Father loves his Son, and he has given him authority over everything.

36 And all who believe in God's Son have eternal life. Those who don't obey the Son will never experience eternal life, but the wrath of God remains upon them."



John the Baptist tells us that Jesus is greater than anyone here on earth. He was sent by God himself. He tells us about heavenly things -- things it is hard for us to understand. We only really know this physical world that we live in.

Even today, few people believe what Jesus tells them. They choose not to recognize the power of Jesus. They choose not to believe in Him. They choose to believe in what they see and hear in this world. They choose to wait until another day, or believe it doesn't matter, that if they live a good, moral life, they will be rewarded by Jesus whether they choose to follow him in this life or not. They miss the fact that we are told we must OBEY Jesus, not just believe in Him. The Devil believes...is he going to inherit Heaven?

John 3:22-30

22 Afterward Jesus and his disciples left Jerusalem, but they stayed in Judea for a while and baptized there.

23 At this time John the Baptist was baptizing at Aenon, near Salim, because there was plenty of water there and people kept coming to him for baptism.

24 This was before John was put into prison.

25 At that time a certain Jew began an argument with John's disciples over ceremonial cleansing.

26 John's disciples came to him and said, "Teacher, the man you met on the other side of the Jordan River, the one you said was the Messiah, is also baptizing people. And everybody is going over there instead of coming here to us."

27 John replied, "God in heaven appoints each person's work.

28 You yourselves know how plainly I told you that I am not the Messiah. I am here to prepare the way for him-that is all.

29 The bride will go where the bridegroom is. A bridegroom's friend rejoices with him. I am the bridegroom's friend, and I am filled with joy at his success.

30 He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less.



As I read this, the first thing that really jumped out at me was verse 27 -- "God in heaven appoints each person's work." Reading on, you see that John the Baptist was very aware of his role. He was also very aware that his work would be coming to a close. But he continued to point the way to Jesus. And he continued to proclaim Jesus the Messiah.

When humans are asked to give up a "work", sometimes it is not easy. Sometimes you really miss the "work", some folks might even resent that the "work" was taken from them. It is not always easy to see God at work in your life.

What a great example John the Baptist set for us. Always look to God! Continue to point the way to Jesus! God will have a new plan for you -- be conscious of that. And continue to pray that His will be done.

John 3:16-21

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

17 God did not send his Son into the world to condemn it, but to save it.

18 "There is no judgment awaiting those who trust him. But those who do not trust him have already been judged for not believing in the only Son of God.

19 Their judgment is based on this fact: The light from heaven came into the world, but they loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil.

20 They hate the light because they want to sin in the darkness. They stay away from the light for fear their sins will be exposed and they will be punished.

21 But those who do what is right come to the light gladly, so everyone can see that they are doing what God wants."

God's love is overwhelming! He sent His only Son to save us! He sent Jesus to bare all our sins on the cross so that WE could have eternal life!

Eternal life is not natural to us. We have a hard time understanding the concept. God does not force us to seek Him or to seek eternal life. He gives us the free gift of salvation when we seek him and obey Him.

First we have to believe that Jesus is the Son of God. Then, what should you do to be saved? Read Acts 2:38 to start. Read about the jailer in Acts 16, find out what he did to be saved.

John 3:1-15

After dark one evening, a Jewish religious leader named Nicodemus, a Pharisee, 2 came to speak with Jesus. "Teacher," he said, "we all know that God has sent you to teach us. Your miraculous signs are proof enough that God is with you."

3 Jesus replied, "I assure you, unless you are born again, you can never see the Kingdom of God."

4 "What do you mean?" exclaimed Nicodemus. "How can an old man go back into his mother's womb and be born again?"

5 Jesus replied, "The truth is, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit.

6 Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives new life from heaven.

7 So don't be surprised at my statement that you must be born again.

8 Just as you can hear the wind but can't tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can't explain how people are born of the Spirit."

9 "What do you mean?" Nicodemus asked.

10 Jesus replied, "You are a respected Jewish teacher, and yet you don't understand these things?

11 I assure you, I am telling you what we know and have seen, and yet you won't believe us.

12 But if you don't even believe me when I tell you about things that happen here on earth, how can you possibly believe if I tell you what is going on in heaven?

13 For only I, the Son of Man, have come to earth and will return to heaven again.

14 And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so I, the Son of Man, must be lifted up on a pole, 15 so that everyone who believes in me will have eternal life.

Here we learn about how a man is made alive spiritually, how he is able to go to heaven. A man cannot live until he is born. He is born physically into this world, but to go to heaven, he has to be born spiritually. He tells Nicodemus this re-birth is necessary. And he tells him how to do that -- to be born of water -- to be baptized in water.

John 2: 13-25

13 It was time for the annual Passover celebration, and Jesus went to Jerusalem.

14 In the Temple area he saw merchants selling cattle, sheep, and doves for sacrifices; and he saw money changers behind their counters.

15 Jesus made a whip from some ropes and chased them all out of the Temple. He drove out the sheep and oxen, scattered the money changers' coins over the floor, and turned over their tables.

16 Then, going over to the people who sold doves, he told them, "Get these things out of here. Don't turn my Father's house into a marketplace!"

17 Then his disciples remembered this prophecy from the Scriptures: "Passion for God's house burns within me."

18 "What right do you have to do these things?" the Jewish leaders demanded. "If you have this authority from God, show us a miraculous sign to prove it."

19 "All right," Jesus replied. "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up."

20 "What!" they exclaimed. "It took forty-six years to build this Temple, and you can do it in three days?"

21 But by "this temple," Jesus meant his body.

22 After he was raised from the dead, the disciples remembered that he had said this. And they believed both Jesus and the Scriptures.

23 Because of the miraculous signs he did in Jerusalem at the Passover celebration, many people were convinced that he was indeed the Messiah.

24 But Jesus didn't trust them, because he knew what people were really like.

25 No one needed to tell him about human nature.

Your body is a temple. Are you keeping it pure? Uncluttered? Taking good care of it spiritually and physically?

Read about this passage further at this link: Jesus Clears The Temple.

John 2:1-12

The Wedding at Cana

The next day Jesus' mother was a guest at a wedding celebration in the village of Cana in Galilee.

2 Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the celebration.

3 The wine supply ran out during the festivities, so Jesus' mother spoke to him about the problem. "They have no more wine," she told him.

4 "How does that concern you and me?" Jesus asked. "My time has not yet come."

5 But his mother told the servants, "Do whatever he tells you."

6 Six stone waterpots were standing there; they were used for Jewish ceremonial purposes and held twenty to thirty gallons each.

7 Jesus told the servants, "Fill the jars with water." When the jars had been filled to the brim,

8 he said, "Dip some out and take it to the master of ceremonies." So they followed his instructions.

9 When the master of ceremonies tasted the water that was now wine, not knowing where it had come from (though, of course, the servants knew), he called the bridegroom over.

10 "Usually a host serves the best wine first," he said. "Then, when everyone is full and doesn't care, he brings out the less expensive wines. But you have kept the best until now!"

11 This miraculous sign at Cana in Galilee was Jesus' first display of his glory. And his disciples believed in him.

12 After the wedding he went to Capernaum for a few days with his mother, his brothers, and his disciples.

Jesus is at a wedding as a guest. The wine runs out. His mother asks him a favor so that the host will not be embarassed. At first, Jesus does not seem inclined to grant this favor. But his mother had great faith that he would do what was right, and tells the servants to do as he instructs them.

Jesus performs his first miracle because his mother asked him, because he loved his mother, and because he had compasson for the host of the wedding. And he didn't just give them any old wine, he gave them the best wine.

Do you think Jesus expects anything less of us? To have love and have compassion on our family, friends, and fellow man, and to give them our best?