On 4-22-12 John 4:7-15, 23-26, 28-30 or John 4:7-15, 21-30 will be our Adult Sunday School/Uniform Series/International Sunday School Lesson, herein is my commentary. This lesson is known by some as Woman of Samaria aka Samaritan Woman Finds Living Water.

Woman of Samaria

or

Samaritan Woman Finds Living Water

John 4:7-15, 23-26, 28-30

 or

 John 4:7-15, 21-30

International Sunday School Lesson

April 22, 2012

Commentary

By

Jed Greenough

We all have favorites; things that we return to again and again and in doing so those things start to become a part of our essence.  For me those things are the places that I return to year after year.  It is the family times that have become tradition, the things I collect and the outdoors.  For many of you it is work, studies, sports and music and though we are each in God’s image these favorites help to differentiate us.

As Christians also we have the things we gravitate toward in the scripture that become our favorites as we create our own individual understanding.  I can tell you that I gravitate towards this book of John because of places like this chapter.  I have dwelt in Romans so often that my previous Bible came apart at the seams there!  Things eschatological have given me a sense of duty to you my brothers and sisters. 

And I wonder what shapes you readers?  Are your favorites found in the Synoptic Gospels because this is where Jesus seems most to dwell to you?  For some it will be the letters from Paul and for some it is the rich fact filled history found throughout the Bible from Genesis to Acts.

My personal belief and in which I am quite confident is that God speaks to us through His word just the way we do with our children.  To the precocious child I speak of things more in depth, to the more serious child I speak of matters more of the heart and to the budding artist things less structured in nature.  Would God the Father be any different with us?

For me, John 4:1-42 cannot be broken down to the scripture chosen for our lesson today and since I have this format I will share with you what God directs me most towards in these verses and why I like to seek guidance from them.

I like that Jesus doesn’t act like others in part because I am often like that.  In His day Jews would have crossed over the Jordan River rather than pass through Samaria.  I like to think that Jesus did this for just as many layered reasons as His word is layered with meaning for each of us.  Examples are that He wasn’t prejudiced, that all of us one day would be alike in worshiping Him, that we don’t have to do things the way everyone does them and that sometimes we should search our mind for new ways to do just that.

I like that we see so readily the Old Testament and the New Testament come together with their recorded history in verses such as 4, 5, and 19.

I like that Jesus doesn’t find it necessary to answer the Samaritan woman’s question of how he could ask her for a drink but rather tells her about His living water.

I like, albeit with fear and trembling, that He demonstrates that He knows all we have ever done.

I like that though Jesus is talking to the Samaritan woman and to the disciples it seems clear that He is talking directly to me as He talks of this living water, all that I have done, that we must understand what it is to worship Him in Spirit and truth and through his discourse on the harvest of the crop for eternal life.

I also like the lesson we can receive about witnessing and sharing the good news about Jesus.  The witness of the woman was immediate, the response from those with whom she shared was eager and it was effective.

Finally I like sharing my favorites with you.  I know that in the end no matter how unique we each are He can and does speak to us in a unique way but we all without disparity can drink from the same spring of living water and that being born in the same Spirit we can now all worship in spirit and in truth. 

For Discussion:

1.      Don’t hesitate to share with others your specific likes and especially favorites from the Scripture.  If God had something to say to you then you have something to share.

2.      The Jews and Samaritans have a common ancestry.  Research what happened and why the Samaritans worshiped differently from the Jews.

3.      Discuss the immorality of this woman evidenced from the life she had led but yet how Christ still found use for her.

4.      Write out what worshiping in spirit and truth means to you so that you are prepared.

5.      Discuss her witness.

6.      Every day, every minute the harvest is ripe.  Christ wanted His disciples to prioritize.

7.      The hospitality may have been different then but look at how the Samaritans eagerly urged Jesus to stay and share with them.  How can we be more hospitable with regard to those that share the good news?

8.      Discuss all the things that we can take from this passage (1-42) that can help us as Christians from matters of faith, to convicting a sinner, to witnessing, whatever comes to mind.

Upcoming Adult Sunday School Class Commentaries

4-29-12:  Healing the Blind Man (Blind Man Receives Sight) John 9:1-17

5-6-12:    The Bread of Life John 6:22-35

5-13-12:  The Good Shepherd John 10:7-18

5-20-12:  The Resurrection and the Life John 11:17-27 or John 11:17-27, 41-44

5-27-12:  The Way, the Truth, and the Life John 14:1-14

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 Biblica. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved