BibleProject | One Story That Leads to JesusSample

As you’re reading John’s gospel, pay attention to the way people respond to Jesus. Some leave everything to follow him. Others meet him and walk away confused. And then a few hear his teachings and hate him for it—some even want to kill him.

Nicodemus, a Pharisee and respected religious leader, approaches Jesus at night, likely to avoid being seen with him. Nicodemus says he can see that Jesus is from God, and Jesus tells him no one can truly see the Kingdom of God without being born again—born of water and Spirit (cf. Gen. 1:2; John 1:33). The people need more than renewed guidance or fresh teaching; they need brand new hearts (cf. Deut. 30:6; Jer. 4:4)—they need to be born again.

Nicodemus is bewildered. Nobody re-enters their mother’s womb to be reborn. Jesus tells him that the Son of Man must be lifted up like the bronze serpent that sustained the lives of snake-bitten Israelites (see Num. 21:8-9). In that story, the people sinned against God, resulting in a plague of poisonous snakes. God then gave them an unusual method of salvation. People dying of snake poison had to look up to a bronze serpent on a pole to be saved. It’s as though Jesus acknowledges Nicodemus’ confusion and says, “Just stay focused on me and believe in me if you want eternal life. That’s more important than figuring everything out right now.” Watch today’s video to trace the theme of eternal life across the Bible.

Jesus then passes through Samaria and stops at Jacob’s well. After his disciples leave, a Samaritan woman comes to draw water from the well. Jesus engages her in conversation, but she’s unsure about his motives. What does Jesus have to do with her? Then Jesus invites her to see a new way of life. Yes, physical water brings life in a way, but the “living water” he offers brings a fullness of life she has not yet tasted.

This “living water” is likely a wordplay that refers to running (or “alive”) water used for religious purification rituals. So Jesus’ living water offers purification, but it also hints at Hebrew Bible imagery of water that brings sustained, ongoing life. When Jesus tells her story to her, in such intimate detail only God could know, she believes everything Jesus told her about himself. She runs to tell her community the good news. This Samaritan woman (who does not belong to Israel’s community) understands what Nicodemus (a Jewish religious expert) missed. The living water of eternal life flows not only for the educated leaders but to all who are thirsty.

Reflection Questions

• As you read today’s passages, pay attention to mentions of water. Where else have you seen water in John? How does this connect to themes from the Hebrew Bible?
• Meditate on the idea of belief in John 4:46-54. How does the royal official demonstrate his belief? How does this shape the way we think about belief in Jesus?