John 4 - NLT Student Life Application Study Bible

4:19-24 Where, How, and Who The Samaritan woman brought up a popular theological issue of the time—the correct place to worship. But her question was really a redirection to move the conversation away from the personal and vulnerable direction it had started to go. Then Jesus guided the conversation to a much more important point: The location of worship doesn’t matter nearly as much as who it is we worship.

4:36-38 Planting and Harvesting Some of the rewards Jesus offers are the joy of working for him and seeing the harvest of new believers. These benefits come to planter and harvester alike because both find joy in seeing new believers come into Christ’s Kingdom. The statement that “others had already done the work” may refer to the Old Testament prophets and to John the Baptist, who paved the way for the Good News.

4:46-51 Faith in Action This government official was probably an officer in Herod’s service. He had walked 20 miles to see Jesus and addressed him as “Lord,” putting himself under Jesus even though he had legal authority over him. The government official not only believed that Jesus could heal but also obeyed Jesus by returning home, which demonstrated his faith. Although the official’s son wasn’t close by, he was healed when Jesus spoke the word. Distance was no problem for Jesus because he has mastery not only over disease but also over time and space. We can never put ourselves beyond the reach of his power. But merely saying we believe that Jesus can take care of our problems isn’t enough—like the official, we need to act upon that belief.