Jesus gave them this answer: “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. This starts a discourse by Jesus as to His unity with the Father, His authority, and the proof of …
Category Archives: Book of John By Verse
John 5:18
For this reason the Jews tried all the harder to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God. In the previous verse Jesus had said to them, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, …
John 5:17
Jesus said to them, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working.” In the synoptic gospels, Jesus defends His actions by pointing out that He was Lord of the Sabbath and could thus do what He willed on the Sabbath #Mark 2:28, but John records another defense …
John 5:16
So, because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jews persecuted him. “persecute” = dioko = to follow after, to pursue. This is used in the sense of a hunter following after his quarry until he catches and kills it. “had done” (KJV) = is actually in the continuous sense and should read “was …
John 5:15
The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well. The man went to a place where the authorities were and reported the name of the one who had healed him. He was still under investigation for breaking the Sabbath, a capital offense, and undoubtedly wanted to clear his …
John 5:14
Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, “See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.” The man went to the Temple, probably on the same day as his healing. He may have gone there to offer sacrifices for his recovery or just to see and …
John 5:13
The man who was healed had no idea who it was, for Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was there. “slipped” = ekneyo = the turn the head to the side; to get away by swimming; to slip away secretly. Not only did the man not know who his healer was, but he could …
John 5:12
So they asked him, “Who is this fellow who told you to pick it up and walk?” “What man is that…” is a contemptuous expression, “Who is the fellow?” (RWP) The authorities’ use of the term “man” is in contrast to the law of God. “How can a mere man order the violation of God’s law?” Note that …
John 5:11
But he replied, “The man who made me well said to me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’” Morris says, “The man was not of the stuff of which heroes were made.” He puts the blame for his violation of the Sabbath fully on Jesus. We must remember that the punishment for working on the …
John 5:10
and so the Jews said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat.” Sabbath = God’s law required that the Sabbath be kept free from worldly pursuits and centered on God. Ex 20:10, 23:12, Jer 17:21-22, Neh 13:15 The penalty for disobedience of this …
John 5:9b
At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked. The day on which this took place was a Sabbath, Morris points out that, “This healing differs from many others in that, not only is there no mention of faith on the part of the man, but there seems no room for …
John 5:8-9a
Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked. A mat or pallet (KJV) was a light mattress that could be rolled up and carried under the arm. The verb “walk” literally means “keep on walking.” What Jesus told …
John 5:7
“Sir,” the invalid replied, “I have no-one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.” Because of the man’s inability to move quickly and the lack of a servant to “help” (literally “throw in quickly”) him into the …
John 5:6
When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?” “How Jesus ‘knew’ we are not told, whether supernatural knowledge (#2:24) or observation or overhearing people’s comments.” (RWP) John 2:24 But Jesus would not entrust himself to …
John 5:5
One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. “an invalid” probably indicates he had paralysis since he had a bed and was incapable of being first into the water unless someone would help him. John probably chose this particular sign among many to affirm the messiahship of Jesus in accordance with messianic prophecy …
John 5:4
waiting for the moving of the waters; for an angel of the Lord went down at certain seasons into the pool and stirred up the water; whoever then first, after the stirring up of the water, stepped in was made well from whatever disease with which he was afflicted. (NAS95) See the note on the …
John 5:3
Here a great number of disabled people used to lie—the blind, the lame, the paralysed. The people believed that when the water was disturbed, it indicated the presence of an angel who would heal the first to enter the pool after the disturbance (“which may have been caused by the intermittent bubbling up of a …
John 5:2
Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. In its translation the NIV adds the word “gate” to the word “sheep” and KJV adds “market” at the same place. The reason for the additions is that “sheep” is an adjective with no apparent noun …
John 5:1
Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for a feast of the Jews. “a feast” is “the feast” in some manuscripts. Probably, though not certainly, it was a Passover.
John 4:54
This was the second miraculous sign that Jesus performed, having come from Judea to Galilee. McGarvey observes that “One small sign and many converted in Samaria; two great miracles and one household converted in Galilee. Such is the record. Jesus doubtless had many other converts in Galilee, but it is often true that the greater brings the lesser …
John 4:53
Then the father realised that this was the exact time at which Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” So he and all his household believed. “believed” is to put total trust in the Person of Jesus, in the sense of becoming a Christian. This is the first recorded instance of an entire family giving themselves …
John 4:52
When he enquired as to the time when his son got better, they said to him, “The fever left him yesterday at the seventh hour.” “got better” (NIV) or “began to amend” (KJV) when compared with “left” show that the father expected the fever to gradually leave but instead it had left totally at once. He …
John 4:51
While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living. The servants were probably sent to find and tell the father the good news as soon as the boy recovered.
John 4:50
Jesus replied, “You may go. Your son will live.” The man took Jesus at his word and departed. As Morris points out, “Jesus’ words impose a stiff test. He gives the man no sign. The officer has nothing but Jesus’ bare word. But this is enough. He rises to the implied demand for faith. He believes what Jesus says and …
John 4:49
The royal official said, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” “child” was a term denoting affection; “my little boy” would be another way of translating it The father’s concern is totally for his child; he does not argue or try to defend himself against the strong words of Jesus; he just respectfully repeats his request for …
John 4:48
“Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders,” Jesus told him, “you will never believe.” “ye” (KJV) or “you people” (NIV) is plural. Jesus is not just speaking to the father of the sick boy. “signs” = Again, the miracles of Jesus had meaning; they pointed men to God and attested that the One doing them was acting under …
John 4:47
When this man heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea, he went to him and begged him to come and heal his son, who was close to death. “went” = the trip from Capernaum to Cana is about 16 miles as the crow flies or about 20 miles by road. The father was in a hurry to …
John 4:46
Once more he visited Cana in Galilee, where he had turned the water into wine. And there was a certain royal official whose son lay sick at Capernaum. “nobleman” (KJV) or “royal officer” (NIV) was an official attached to Herod’s court. We are not told, but it could be Manean in Acts 13:1 or Chuzas referred to in Luke 8:3. Acts 13:1 In …
John 4:45
When he arrived in Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him. They had seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, for they also had been there. “all that he had done” (see John 2:23) The miracles He had wrought in Jerusalem at the feast of the Passover had impressed the Galileans who were in attendance …
John 4:44
(Now Jesus himself had pointed out that a prophet has no honour in his own country.) “Now” (NIV) or “for” (KJV) links this verse with the preceding one. Jesus had to go into Galilee to show that this was indeed true. Loyd states that “He had to go on and get on with the business of being rejected by …
John 4:43
After the two days he left for Galilee. “the two days” are those that He spent with the Samaritans John 4:40. He then resumed His journey to Galilee which He had started in John 4:3. John 4:40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. John 4:3 …
John 4:42
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 Saviour of the world.” What a testimony! The fact that the conversation is recorded here is a testimony in itself. How did John know what …
John 4:41
And because of his words many more became believers. “Many more” is literally “more by much” in comparison with just “many” of verse #39. “Jesus was reaping more rapidly than the woman did.” (RWP) John 4:39 Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I …
John 4:40
So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. The urging of the Samaritans for a Jew to stay with them was very unusual as was the fact that a Jew would indeed stay with them for any period of time. Their hearts had obviously …
John 4:39
Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.” “And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him for the saying of the woman, which testified…” (KJV) Oh, that this could be said of us! Most of the town was undoubtedly …
John 4:38
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 labour.” The reapers are the disciples. The sowers are: Jesus the Samaritan woman John the Baptist the prophets The harvest is the approaching multitude; but also those whom the disciples have …
John 4:37
Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true. This proverb has a variety of applications in the world and in Christian service. Can you think of any? One is the difference between the teacher and the evangelist. Another application is that we are reaping the results of the previous generation’s sins. But Jesus is speaking of …
John 4:36
Even now the reaper draws his wages, even now he harvests the crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. “he that reapeth receiveth wages” (KJV) Who is “he that reapeth?” What wages does he receive: in this physical realm? (Joy) in heaven? (Commendation from the Lord) “and gathereth …
John 4:35
Do you not say, ‘Four months more and then the harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. “Say not ye, There are yet four months, and [then] cometh harvest?” (KJV) There is much discussion among commentators as to whether this is referring to the time …
John 4:34
“My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. Jesus was probably thinking of the future and of what His work on earth was accomplishing. He may have been contemplating the universal worship of His Father by all of God’s children or He may have …
John 4:33
Then his disciples said to each other, “Could someone have brought him food?” Some passages of scripture paint a vivid picture of what is transpiring and this is one of them. We can almost see the puzzlement on the faces of the disciples as they turn to one another to enquire whether someone brought Jesus food …
John 4:32
But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.” “food” is literally the act of eating but it came to mean that which was eaten in the current idiom of Jesus’ day in a similar manner to our “eats” or “good eating.” Jesus, who had gone forty days and forty …
John 4:31
Meanwhile his disciples urged him, “Rabbi, eat something.” While the woman was in town telling all about Jesus, there was another scene being enacted at the well. The whole purpose of the disciples going into town was to buy food, most probably because they and Jesus were hungry. Now that they had returned the most natural thing …
John 4:30
They came out of the town and made their way towards him. “went” (KJV) or “came” (NIV) shows that her news produced a response “at once and in a rush.” (RWP) “came” (KJV) or “made their way” (NIV) are translations of a descriptive verb better rendered “were coming” which vividly portrayed the long procession of Samaritans approaching Jesus. S.D. …
John 4:29
“Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?” Upon finding Jesus, the first thing a new convert does is to go and tell. (John 1:41) She shared her great joy much as the woman who had lost the coin in the parable Jesus told in (Luke 15:9), …
John 4:28
Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, The woman had come to the well for the express purpose of getting water. She completely abandoned her business and left the waterpot behind. Why? Some reasons: she was excited so Jesus and his disciples could drink as a guarantee …
John 4:27
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?” “marvelled that he talked with the woman” (KJV) becuase the Jews did not consider a lengthy conversation with a woman to be right, good, or even legal. Their …
John 4:26
The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.” She suspected that Jesus was Messiah. She used the word “know” to respond to the comment of Jesus in verse #22. She was saying, “We Samaritans may not know what we are worshipping, but I do know …
John 4:25
The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.” She suspected that Jesus was Messiah. She used the word “know” to respond to the comment of Jesus in verse #22. She was saying, “We Samaritans may not know what we are worshipping, but I do know …
John 4:24
God is spirit, and his worshippers must worship in spirit and in truth.” There is no article before “spirit” in the Greek. Jesus is saying that the essential nature of God is spirit. (cf. “God is light” and “God is love.” 1John 1:5, 4:8) God is not of a material nature and thus not bound to any place …
John 4:23
Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshippers the Father seeks. “and has now come” could not be added to verse 21 because local worship had not yet been done away with. “spirit” is not the …
John 4:22
You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. The rejection by the Samaritans of the prophets, the psalms, and the historical books greatly limited their knowledge of God. They knew Who to worship, but they didn’t know Who they were worshipping. The Jews were given …
John 4:21
Jesus declared, “Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. Jesus refuses to be drawn into an argument. He uses the circumstances to give a greater revelation of God, but does not divert from His agenda of saving the woman. As Morris tells, “The woman had …
John 4:20
Our fathers worshipped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.” The woman probably has 2 motives in her statement: first is her desire to change the direction from where this prophet is trying to go, and second is a true desire to find the answer to …
John 4:19
“Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. After what he had spoken to her, she saw that He was not your average person. Scripturally, a prophet is just someone who speaks forth a revelation from God, but there was a line of thinking at that time that a prophet could have special insight …
John 4:18
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.” The woman had 5 previous husbands and the relationship she now was in did not even use the form of marriage to cover over her sin. The 5 marriages had probably ended …
John 4:17
“I have no husband,” she replied. Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. Her reply is very curt and rather deceitful. Plummer points out that, “in the fewest possible words she tries to stop a dangerous subject at once.” (qt’d in Morris p. 264) “You are right when you …
John 4:16
He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.” Jesus’ reply has no apparent relation to what she just said, but it was to prepare her to receive that for which she had asked (the thirst-quenching water). To receive, she needed to believe and to do that she needed to acknowledge her need, which depended …
John 4:15
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.” She is still understanding what Jesus has said as if it applied to the physical realm and not the spiritual, much in the way Nicodemus did the new birth. It would …
John 4:14
but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” Jesus does not directly answer the woman’s question, but He certainly does indirectly. Note the contrast with the preceding verse. The verb tense for “drinks” is …
John 4:13
Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, The water that comes from Jacob’s well will indeed satisfy a natural thirst…for a while, but that thirst will return. The woman’s own experiences will testify to that. The results of drinking from the well are not permanent. Matthew Henry states that “Yesterday’s meat and drink …
John 4:12
Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his flocks and herds?” “our father Jacob” refers to the fact that the Samaritans claimed descent from Jacob through Joseph and his sons Ephraim and Mannaseh. The people of the day had a great …
John 4:11
“Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? Her response is still referring to the physical realm; she does not understand the spiritual aspect of what Jesus is saying. The carnal man cannot understand spiritual things. “nothing to draw with” = most …
John 4:10
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.” What is “the gift of God?” Is it Jesus Himself, the Holy Spirit, the living waters mentioned in the last part of this …
John 4:9
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.) The woman is astonished that someone of the race which she believes despises her own should ask a favor of her. The dealings of the …
John 4:8
(His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.) The disciples probably left Jesus alone because of His weariness, but if they had been there the conversation with the Samaritan woman could never have been started in the way it was. Indeed, she may never have approached the well until the band of travelers had …
John 4:7
When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” This gospel has already shown an interview of Jesus with Nicodemus, a religious Jew, upstanding figure in the community and nation, and prominent member of the Sanhedrin. His second interview is now displayed by John as being with …
John 4:6
Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour. Jacob’s well is located 1/2 mile south of Sychar and 1 1/2 miles east of Schechem. McGarvey states that “Maundrell, who visited it in 1697, said that it was 105 feet deep, …