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John 4
Jesus asks a Samaritan woman for a drink and offers living water. The conversation runs from a well to the Messiah to a whole town.
What happens in this chapter
Jesus, weary at Jacob’s well, crosses social lines: a Jewish man speaking with a Samaritan woman (John 4:1–9). He offers living water that becomes a spring unto eternal life (4:10–14). The dialogue turns to her life, to the dispute over Gerizim and Jerusalem, and to worship in spirit and truth (4:15–24). He discloses, “I am he” (4:25–26). She testifies; many Samaritans believe (4:27–42). The chapter ends with a royal official’s son healed at a word (4:43–54).
Living water
“Living water” meant flowing spring water over against cistern water. Jesus uses it for the life he gives — later identified with the Spirit in John 7:37–39. This is the chapter behind the search “what did Jesus mean by living water.”