Bible Study. 23 June 2020
Hello friends. I have chosen two bible passages from the gospel of John for us to reflect upon for this week's church bible study.
The first comes from John 3:22-36 with events following on from when Jesus encountered Nicodemus, the Pharisee by night, and answering his questions by teaching about being made new (or being born of both water and the spirit).
Jesus then went off into the countryside for some rest and relaxation with his disciples.
1).Reading: John 3:22-36 New International Version (NIV)
John Testifies Again About Jesus
22 After this, Jesus and his disciples went out into the Judean countryside, where he spent some time with them, and baptized. 23 Now John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because there was plenty of water, and people were coming and being baptized. 24 (This was before John was put in prison.) 25 An argument developed between some of John’s disciples and a certain Jew over the matter of ceremonial washing. 26 They came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan—the one you testified about—look, he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him.”
27 To this John replied, “A person can receive only what is given them from heaven. 28 You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah but am sent ahead of him.’ 29 The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. 30 He must become greater; I must become less.”[a]
31 The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is from the earth belongs to the earth, and speaks as one from the earth. The one who comes from heaven is above all. 32 He testifies to what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony. 33 Whoever has accepted it has certified that God is truthful. 34 For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God[b] gives the Spirit without limit. 35 The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands. 36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.
Footnotes:a. John 3:30 Some interpreters end the quotation with verse 36.
b.John 3:34 Greek he. New International Version (NIV)
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2). Reading - John 4:1-26 New International Version (NIV)
Jesus Talks With a Samaritan Woman
4 Now Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that he was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John— 2 although in fact it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples. 3 So he left Judea and went back once more to Galilee.
4 Now he had to go through Samaria. 5 So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon.
7 When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” 8 (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.)
9 The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.[a])
10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”
11 “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?”
13 Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.”
16 He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.”
17 “I have no husband,” she replied.
Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. 18 The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.”
19 “Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. 20 Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.”
21 “Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”
25 The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”
26 Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.”
Footnotes: a. John 4:9 Or do not use dishes Samaritans have used
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Comment:
In the first reading from John 3v 22-36, Jesus was still in the early days of his ministry having left the company of John the Baptist and set out with his own disciples. He had been in Jerusalem where he cleansed the Temple and then taught Nicodemus, the ‘teacher of Israel,’ about the things of God. Jesus then went on to baptise in the Judean desert with his own disciples and the text goes on to establish Jesus’ authority over that of John the Baptist. For me, one of the most moving aspects of this account is the real humility and grace that John the Baptist showed towards Jesus in recognising that Jesus ‘had to increase and he had to decrease’. How often is it that we see leaders of all kinds, celebrities or maybe even friends and family whose time as leaders has now past but who just cannot bring themselves to hand over the reigns of leadership to another. John the Baptist teaches them and all of us a valuable lesson about moving from taking the lead, to offering support with good grace when the time is right. The author of John’s Gospel puts it in terms of a question of numbers. Or who is baptizing the most people? Whilst numbers are important, from this passage we can discern that, for us, playing our individual part in God’s work is also more important whether as leaders or supporters. John the Baptist used the metaphor of the bridegroom and of the best man to describe his relationship with Jesus. In other words, he had a supporting role, preparing the way, but, who wants the best man to hang around after the wedding is over?
Verse 25 tells us that there is a discussion between John’s disciples and a Jew about purification. We are not given any details but perhaps it is about differences between John’s disciples and Jesus’ disciples. Rather than getting drawn into a divisive discussion, John reminds the listeners of his role – that of the one who prepares the way. Anything else is secondary.
The author mentions that these events happened before John was thrown into prison. It was true that John was to decrease but what he may not have realised at the time was that his imprisonment and subsequent death would be a continuation of his role as precursor to Jesus. John’s fate prepared the way for Jesus, for the self denial of the cross, and Jesus, in turn, invites us to follow him in the way of the cross.
The narrative moves on to our second reading from John 4 v1-26 where we read that Jesus had decided to leave Judea and was returning to Galilee “because the Pharisees had heard that He and his disciples were baptizing more people than was John”. It seemed as if Jesus wanted to avoid creating an unwelcome competition with John and his followers, and perhaps He also thought that the Pharisees were hoping to divide and rule by creating dissention amongst their respective followers.
On his way back to Galilee, Jesus travelled through Samaria and started a conversation with a Samaritan woman whom he met at the well. This is the second important conversation of our study. (The first being with Nicodemus). Only this lady had several disadvantages compared to those of Nicodemus. She was certainly not a teacher of Israel and also (and significantly for the time) she is a woman, a Samaritan and a sinner; all problems that are highlighted in these verses and the next.
While the conversation with Nicodemus happened at night, this conversation happens at noon. The author is not just noting the time but seems to be adding a theological significance to these conversations. The darkness and light acted as a metaphor for each of the character’s ability to be enlightened by Jesus’ message.
The conversation was not exactly straightforward and it was not as if the woman instantly understood, but she did seem to get there in the end. And here is a point worth noting! Who else did Jesus entrust with the straightforward statement that he was the messiah? He certainly did not say this to Nicodemus but he did say it to this Samaritan woman.
As well as the time of day, the author also noted the place where this all happened, namely at the well that Jacob had given to his son Joseph (he of the coat of many colours, or coat with long sleeves- depending upon translations used). Geography was also important in the discussion between the woman and Jesus. Where was the correct place to worship God? But it seemed that geography or ancestry was no longer to matter, rather it is those who worship in spirit and in truth who are the true worshippers of God.
May God bless us all as we reflect on these two passages.
To Ponder:
-Re-read the Methodist Covenant Prayer in the light of John the Baptist’s words.
Methodist Covenant Service Prayer.
I am no longer my own but yours.
Put me to what you will,
rank me with whom you will;
put me to doing,
put me to suffering;
let me be employed for you,
or laid aside for you,
exalted for you,
or brought low for you;
let me be full,
let me be empty,
let me have all things,
let me have nothing:
I freely and wholeheartedly yield all things
to your pleasure and disposal.
And now, glorious and blessed God,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
you are mine and I am yours. So be it.
And the covenant now made on earth, let it be ratified in heaven.'
(The Methodist Covenant Prayer)
-Think about times of decrease in your life. What might God want to reveal to you about these times?
-How easy do you find it to rejoice in the success of others, especially when things are not going well for you?
-At the time of writing the COVID-19 pandemic means that churches are closed. -What has it meant to worship in spirit and in truth during this time?
-What does the social status of the Samaritan woman teach you about your attitudes to others?
-Jesus left Judea because his success was fuelling rivalry with John the Baptist. What do you learn from this?
In preparing these notes I have been grateful for the study offered on the Methodist Church Website by the Revd Jonathan Mead of the London NW Mission Circuit and to the Bible Gateway website.
Yours In Christian Love
Colin