#12 John 4:27-42
Leader: Have your Student write down the Passage and the Questions then, give them a week to prepare.
Passage: John 4:27-42
Questions:
- 1) What is Jesus trying to teach his disciples?
- 2) What questions do you have?
Then, this week the Student will:
- Read the Passage every day!
- Handwrite the Passage
- Answer the questions
When you do meet again, you will go over this…
John 4:27-42
27 Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no one asked, “What do you want?” or “Why are you talking with her?”
28 Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, 29 “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?” 30 They came out of the town and made their way toward him.
31 Meanwhile his disciples urged him, “Rabbi, eat something.”
32 But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.”
33 Then his disciples said to each other, “Could someone have brought him food?”
34 “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. 35 Don’t you have a saying, ‘It’s still four months until harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. 36 Even now the one who reaps draws a wage and harvests a crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. 37 Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true. 38 I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.”
39 Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.” 40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. 41 And because of his words many more became believers.
42 They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.”
Notes for Leader:
Open your time together with prayer. Be sure to ask the Holy Spirit to lead the conversation and teach what needs to be learned and heard during your discussion. He will give you the words that you need! May you grow closer together and closer to Jesus.
Briefly review what you learned last week. Now, let’s see what else we can discover about who Jesus is…
Here is what we noticed.
1) What is Jesus trying to teach his disciples?
v.27 By talking to the Samaritan woman, Jesus was showing his disciples that He loves people of all genders and races, not just Jews.
v.28-30 This woman was excited about Jesus and had to tell people her story. She went boldly to people that did not think highly of her to share her genuine encounter with Jesus. This enthusiasm for Jesus and how he changed her life made others curious to know more.
v.31,32 What are the disciples worried about? They were worried about Jesus’ physical needs, he was hungry and needed food. But Jesus wants them to know that doing the Father’s work is more important than our physical needs.
v.33 The disciples are focused on the temporal rather than the spiritual or the eternal. They were more worried about a single meal than saving souls from eternal death. A harvest mindset puts God’s will above everything.
v.34 Jesus’ food is “to do the will of Him who sent me”.
v.35,36 (see v.30) When Jesus says, “open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.” He very well could have been pointing at the crowds of people now heading toward them. He wants the disciples to open their eyes to the spiritual readiness of the people and to recognize that the harvest is moving people from unbelief to faith, from death to eternal life. And a harvest is a busy time, that cannot be postponed. When it is time to harvest, it is time to harvest!
v.37,38 The food the disciples brought back was produced by others’ labor, just as the people approaching were prepared by Jesus and the woman, or by God’s doing and his prophets.
v.39,41 The woman and Jesus impact this entire town.
v.42 Jesus is called “Savior of the world” by these town folks – this woman and Jesus had a huge impact on the people of this town.
2) What questions do you have?
Don’t be nervous about this one… the Holy Spirit will help you answer. If you are discipling a young child (and most others!), remember that they are not expecting a doctoral dissertation when you answer, so keep it simple and true. And, it is ok to say, “I am not sure, let’s look into that together.” And then add that question to your study for next week.
Allow the Spirit to lead a great conversation!
Now, look ahead to next week’s study and give your student the next passage and questions to prepare this coming week.