The Sunday Bible readings in the Revised Common Lectionary

These links are to Year A, Year B and Year C will take you to the PowerPoint lesson for the Bible readings for each Sunday in the three-year lectionary cycle. Lick on the link Year A B or C, then locate the lesson. The PowerPoint decks are numbered and titled with Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Easter, Pentecost and the Proper also known as Ordinary time. These are linked to a OneDrive Cloud location and may be viewed online or downloaded.  

USE

These may be used to facilitate an adult education group discussion for an Episcopal Church. On the other hand, you may use these as a personal study about the readings for each Sunday. Each power point deck deals with the designated scripture readings for that Sunday, the collect from the BCP for that Sunday, and related artwork chosen for readings or the Collect.

Why these were Created

These were developed for a Sunday morning discussion group that meets for about one hour. The slides can be projected on a screen or shown on a television set placed so that the entire group can easily see the slides. The leader should have a general knowledge of theology and scriptures. The leader may be a member of the clergy or a layman who is qualified by for example completion of the four-year EFM (Education for Ministry) program or an equivalent. 

Sources

The scripture commentary is taken largely from the introductions, footnotes, and reference materials in the New Oxford Annotated Bible with Apocryphal / Deuterocanonical Books, from the New Revised Standard Version, Edited by Bruce M. Metzger and Roland E. Murphy, 1989 Edition, Oxford University Press. The collects are drawn from the Book of Common Prayer 1979 using the modern language. There are other sources used which are indicated in the materials. The Notes page feature of the PowerPoint decks will often have more information than the slide. The group leader will need minimal skills with PowerPoint as each deck is complete with maps and animations. 

Scope and Time Available

A presenter can download and edit the decks as needed for the circumstances. The decks are long as they cover the readings and alternative readings and the collect. If there is limited time, then a class might cover only some of the readings. A facilitator may wish to cover only the Collect and one of the reading selections such as the day’s Gospel. 

Discussion

The class works best as a group discussion using the PowerPoint for the basic information about the reading. Some members may want to participate by reading the scripture aloud to the others and exchanging comments. Others may not want to speak at all but may wish only to listen or read the PowerPoint slides. Very often one of the readings on a given Sunday may spark a spirited discussion that uses up class time. When this happens let the discussion go and if needed skip to the end. When this happens that’s a good day. Even when there is ample time for formation a lively discussion will make the time seem short.

Questions

If you have questions about the use of these PowerPoint decks or glitches you can contact me by email at jbcross@cei.net.

The Collect Almighty God, you know that we have no power in ourselves to help ourselves: Keep us both outwardly in our bodies and inwardly in our souls, that we may be defended from all adversities which may happen to the body, and from all evil thoughts which may assault and hurt the soul; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
 The Collect The collect’s theme seems to be a recognition that we depend on God for all in body and spirit. The lessons for RCL A, B and C present a mix of God’s concern for our bodies – in the provision of water from a rock in RCL A and God’s plan to send Moses to rescue His people by the burning bush in RCL C. The Collect And His concern for our spirit in the provision of the Law in RCL B by the 10 Commandments and his assurance of faith in RCL C in that years’ reading from Corinthians 10:1-13 with: “God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it.” This Collect seems to be more of an observation that God will protect and has protected us through time. Even when we cannot see it even in a life time, as Israel waited 400 years in Egypt. Today’s readings center around water and forgiveness? the symbol of water Exodus 17:1-7 From the wilderness of Sin the whole congregation of the Israelites journeyed by stages, as the Lord commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. The people quarreled with Moses, and said, "Give us water to drink." Moses said to them, "Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?”  Exodus 17:1-7 But the people thirsted there for water; and the people complained against Moses and said, "Why did you bring us out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and livestock with thirst?" So Moses cried out to the Lord, "What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me." The Lord said to Moses, "Go on ahead of the people, and take some of the elders of Israel with you; take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go.  Exodus 17:1-7 I will be stan  

The Collect Gracious Father, whose blessed Son Jesus Christ came down from heaven to be the true bread which gives life to the world: Evermore give us this bread, that he may live in us, and we in him; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. The Collect The image for this collect is that of Christ’s sojourn of salvation in the world to bring life, physical and spiritual. The readings over the three-year cycle at times relate to food or its lack in RCL B the people complain that they will starve, and a plague is sent. In RCL C the OT relates to the last day of the provision of manna when it was no longer needed.  The other Gospel theme is salvation through Christ’s presence. In RCL A we have Christ’s healing of the man blind since birth. In RCL B we have John 3:16 and in RCL C the parable of the prodigal son who is driven home by starvation and welcomed with a feast. In each there is a rescue, in A of a blind man, in B the world and in C the prodigal son.  The First Four weeks in Lent Reconciliation / Salvation Salvation. The primary meaning of the Hebrew and Greek words translated "salvation" is nonreligious and in a in military context means “victors” such as Gideon or ‘rescuer’ and in NT periods ‘healer.’ In the Gospel of John Jesus is identified as "savior," as an interpretation of his name. The object of salvation is frequently identified as "the world“ the created order now at enmity with God and therefore in need of salvation through Jesus. Salvation  Eternal life in the fullness of God's love.  Salvation is deliverance from anything that threatens to prevent fulfillment and enjoyment of our relationship with God.  In the OT, God was experienced as the savior who delivered Israel from bondage in Egypt  Salvation  -The Episcopal Dictionary The fulfillment of the Kingdom of God is associated with the second coming of Jesus in power and glory. Our hope is that all humanity and all creation will be united in God's love in the fullness of time, and that "nothing, not even death, shall separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord" “the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” The theme for the day!  Sighted in the Light and Blind in the Dark. 1 Samuel 16:1-13 The Lord said to Samuel, "How long will you grieve over Saul? I have rejected him from being king over Israel. Fill your horn with oil and set out; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons." Samuel said, "How can I go? If Saul hears of it, he will kill me." And the Lord said, "Take a heifer with you, and say, `I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.' Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do; and you shall anoint for me the one whom I name to you." 1 Samuel 16:1-13 Samuel did what the Lord commanded, and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city came to meet him trembling, and said, "Do you come peaceably?" He said, "Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord; sanctify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice." And he sanctified Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.
When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, "Surely the Lord's anointed is now before the Lord." 1 Samuel 16:1-13 But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart." Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. He said, "Neither has the Lord chosen this one." Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, "Neither has the Lord chosen this one." Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel, and Samuel said to Jesse, "The Lord has not chosen any of these." 1 Samuel 16:1-13 Samuel said to Jesse, "Are all your sons here?" And he said, "There remains yet the youngest, but he is keeping the sheep." And Samuel said to Jesse, "Send and bring him; for we will not sit down until he comes here." He sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and had beautiful eyes, and was handsome. The Lord said, "Rise and anoint him; for this is the one." Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the presence of his brothers; and the spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward. Samuel then set out and went to Ramah.
 Introduction to 1 Samuel 1 Samuel presents an account of the origins of Israel's monarchy.  Through God's reluctant agreement to kingship, then full oversight of it during Saul's reign. The turmoil of David's rise to prominence  In 2 Samuel David becomes king. David represents the highest expression of Kingship refined through Moses, to define Israel.  King David David is featured in: The Books of Samuel Kings  Chronicles The Psalms The New Testament One of the best-known biblical characters. David is an elusive figure, carving out an empire unmatched in ancient Israel's history.  He is known to generations of scripture readers as "the sweet psalmist of Israel" and the man whom God had chosen. Yet his story in the books of Samuel pivots on the episode of his adultery with Bathsheba and murder of her husband, Uriah. The New Testament David The New Testament shows little interest in the personality of David but rather in him as an idealized hero of the past. The account of Jesus' plucking of the ears of grain on the Sabbath explicitly recalls David's taking the holy bread from the priest at Nob. In the Gospels, Jesus is linked to the royal dynasty of Judah and to the Davidic covenant by both genealogy and name. He is called son of David. Above all, in the New Testament, David is author—and prophet—of the psalms which are interpreted where possible as messianic prophecies fulfilled by Jesus. David and Salvation David’s reign is the final chapter in a way of the salvation of Israel from Egyptian slaves to sovereignty. But as an earthly kingdom it was flawed and temporary and falls back into servitude. Jesus starts a new path from the ruins of New Testament Jerusalem towards a heavenly Kingdom – perfect and permanent. Attributed to Lorenzo Maitani (1275-1330)
Orvieto Cathedral: Exterior West Front Sculpture
Second pilaster: detail, the Unction of David,  c. 1310-1330  French Gothic Illuminator, David anointed by Samuel; detail of the Morgan Crusader Bible, c. 1250
4 ½ x 5“ Pierpont Morgan Library, New York Claude Lorrain, David crowned by Samuel, 1647
Oil on Canvas, 1.19 x 1.50 m, Musée du Louvre, Andrea del Castagno,
The Youthful David, c. 1450
Tempera on leather on wood, width at bottom 115,6 x 41 cm
National Gallery of Art, Washington  Psalm 23 Dominus regit me 1 The LORD is my shepherd; * I shall not be in want.  2 He makes me lie down in green pastures * and leads me beside still waters.  3 He revives my soul * and guides me along right pathways for his Name's sake.  4 Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil; * for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.  Psalm 23 Dominus regit me 5 You spread a table before me in the presence of those who trouble me; * you have anointed my head with oil, and my cup is running over.  6 Surely your goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, * and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.   Psalm 23 The LORD is compared to a shepherd.  Soul here means vitality, the individualized principle of life.  Darkest valley: "shadow of death" is an ancient, but probably fanciful, rendering.  The LORD is compared to a gracious host.  Dwell in the house of the LORD means to worship in the temple. Ephesians 5:8-14 Once you were darkness, but now in the Lord you are light. Live as children of light-- for the fruit of the light is found in all that is good and right and true. Try to find out what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness,  Ephesians 5:8-14 but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to mention what such people do secretly; but everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for everything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, "Sleeper, awake!
Rise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you."  Introduction to the Letter of Paul to the Ephesians The language was probably drawn in part from Christian hymns and liturgies. The book’s theme is that reconciliation to God through the death of Christ that has broken the power of evil and specifically the longstanding separation between Jews and non-Jews.  Some early manuscripts of this letter and some commentators in the early church make no reference to Ephesus. Nor does the author deal with the problems of a particular congregation Ephesians is widely regarded as a "circular letter" that was not written specifically for Ephesus, but was distributed to several churches in Asia Minor.  Renounce Pagan Ways In this section Ephesians, Christians are called to renounce ‘pagan ways’ which meant fornication, impurity, greed, silly or vulgar talk. The reading is edited into a light / dark symbol. This same light / dark symbol is repeated in John. The hymn might have been based on Isaiah Isaiah 60 “The Ingathering of the Dispersed 1 Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you. 2 For darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the LORD will arise upon you, and his glory will appear over you. 3 Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn. Symbolism The symbol here is Light vs. Dark. Believers are called to the light out of the Dark. John 9:1-41  As he walked along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" Jesus answered, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God's works might be revealed in him. We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world." When he had said this, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva and spread the mud on the man's eyes, saying to him, "Go, wash in the pool of Siloam" (which means Sent). Then he went and washed and came back able to see.  John 9:1-41  The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar began to ask, "Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?" Some were saying, "It is he." Others were saying, "No, but it is someone like him." He kept saying, "I am the man." But they kept asking him, "Then how were your eyes opened?" He answered, "The man called Jesus made mud, spread it on my eyes, and said to me, `Go to Siloam and wash.' Then I went and washed and received my sight." They said to him, "Where is he?" He said, "I do not know." John 9:1-41  They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. Now it was a Sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. Then the Pharisees also began to ask him how he had received his sight. He said to them, "He put mud on my eyes. Then I washed, and now I see." Some of the Pharisees said, "This man is not from God, for he does not observe the Sabbath." But others said, "How can a man who is a sinner perform such signs?" And they were divided. So they said again to the blind man, "What do you say about him? It was your eyes he opened." He said, "He is a prophet." John 9:1-41  The Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight and asked them, "Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?" His parents answered, "We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; but we do not know how it is that now he sees, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age. He will speak for himself." His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews; for the Jews had already agreed that anyone who confessed Jesus to be the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue. Therefore his parents said, "He is of age; ask him." John 9:1-41  So for the second time they called the man who had been blind, and they said to him, "Give glory to God! We know that this man is a sinner." He answered, "I do not know whether he is a sinner. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see." They said to him, "What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?" He answered them, "I have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples?" Then they reviled him, saying, "You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from." John 9:1-41  The man answered, "Here is an astonishing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners, but he does listen to one who worships him and obeys his will. Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing." They answered him, "You were born entirely in sins, and are you trying to teach us?" And they drove him out. John 9:1-41  Jesus heard that they had driven him out, and when he found him, he said, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?" He answered, "And who is he, sir? Tell me, so that I may believe in him." Jesus said to him, "You have seen him, and the one speaking with you is he." He said, "Lord, I believe." And he worshiped him. Jesus said, "I came into this world for judgment so that those who do not see may see, and those who do see may become blind." Some of the Pharisees near him heard this and said to him, "Surely we are not blind, are we?" Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would not have sin. But now that you say, `We see,' your sin remains." Word Play You have a Blind Man who can ‘see’ who and what Jesus is. Contrasted with the Phrases, who can see, but are blind to who and what Jesus is. The question is who is in fact blind? Context The common belief, then and now is that suffering or affliction such as blindness was attributed to sin, either of the parents or of the man prenatally.  Jesus denies that the man’s suffering was a punishment for sin. Saliva was considered to have medicinal value and the Pharisees would consider making mud as work, a breach of Sabbath laws Priorities To Jesus the recovered sight was more important than Pharisaic tradition concerning the Sabbath. The accusation ‘You are his disciple’ is a classic example of the logical fallacy know as ‘ad hominem’  A regular ad hominem fallacy consists of saying that someone's argument is wrong purely because of something discreditable/not-authoritative about the person. Here that he is a disciple. The lesson If the lesson is that all suffering is because God is teaching some one lesson – it is as bad as the fallacy it refutes! The lesson – I hope – is that suffering is not a punishment for sin. We are by nature sinful. And, wealth and good luck are not a reward for piety. The Teaching If the lesson is not about good and bad luck, then what. Is there anything wrong about an OT Sabbath? The answer is of course not, it’s a good thing. But any good thing can be taken to extremes.  Here the absolute enforcement of ‘rest’ resulting in suffering turns a good thing into a bad one.  Love and Grace Here Pharisees who were devoted to God by adherence to rules had become blinded by the very rules they valued.  Jesus through an act of love was reaching out to the Pharisees and teaching us that grace and love are greatest commandments.  There is never a time when Grace and Love are not needed. The healing of the man blind from birth – The Gospel of John Today’s Gospel The Siloam Inscription, c. 726-722 BCE
The inscribed text commemorates the excavation of a tunnel between the spring of Gihon and the pool of Siloam inside the walls of Jerusalem; built under King Hezekiah, the tunnel brought water to the city while it was besieged by the Assyrians.  Byzantine Mosaic, c. 500
Healing of the Blind Man of Jericho
Nave, north wall, upper level, Sant'Apollinare Nuovo, Ravenna, Italy Duccio di Buoninsegna, Healing of the Blind Man, 1308-11
Tempera on wood, 43 x 45 cm
National Gallery, London  El Greco, Christ Healing the Blind, 1570-75
Oil on canvas, 50 x 61 cm, Galleria Nazionale, Parma   ding there in front of you on the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it, so that the people may drink." Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel. He called the place Massah and Meribah, because the Israelites quarreled and tested the Lord, saying, "Is the Lord among us or not?"  Story Context The event in today’s reading is early in the Exodus experience. Freed from Egypt. The Israelites have crossed the Red Sea. Bread from Heaven has just started. Trying Experiences in the Wilderness Israel's thirst was also quenched with water from the rock in an incident in Numbers 20.2-13.  “Test the LORD” in this context means to demand proof that God was in their midst. The place is named both Massah from the Hebrew verb "test" and Meribah from the verb "find fault“! These names became memorials of Israel's faithlessness. Symbolism The lack of water is equated with unhappiness and despair.  Water is given, and it preserves life. God brings water from a rock, which is by nature dry and lifeless. Those Darn Israelites! They were always ‘testing’ the Lord – looking for a sign. But, aren't they just doing what everyone does? Have you ever said -Why this? Why Now! When people are in a fix, isn’t their and our reaction a natural one? Have you ever looked for a sign? Pieter de Grebber, Moses Striking the Rock, c. 1630
Oil on canvas, 65 x 52 in.
Musée des Beaux-Arts, Tourcoing Tintoretto, Moses Drawing Water from the Rock, 1577
Oil on canvas, 18 x 17 ft.
Scuola Grande di San Rocco, Venice Psalm 95 Venite, exultemus 1 Come, let us sing to the LORD; *
let us shout for joy to the Rock of our salvation.  2 Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving *and raise a loud shout to him with psalms.  3 For the LORD is a great God, *
and a great King above all gods.  4 In his hand are the caverns of the earth, *
and the heights of the hills are his also.  Psalm 95 Venite, exultemus 5 The sea is his, for he made it, *
and his hands have molded the dry land.  6 Come, let us bow down, and bend the knee, *
and kneel before the LORD our Maker.  7 For he is our God,
and we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand. *
Oh, that today you would hearken to his voice!  Psalm 95 Venite, exultemus 8 Harden not your hearts,
as your forebears did in the wilderness, *
at Meribah, and on that day at Massah,
when they tempted me.  9 They put me to the test, *
though they had seen my works.  Psalm 95 Venite, exultemus 10 Forty years long I detested that generation and said, * "This people are wayward in their hearts;
they do not know my ways."  11 So I swore in my wrath, *
"They shall not enter into my rest."  A Liturgy of God's Kingship This brief outline of a service opens with a hymn celebrating God's kingship.  1-2: Summons to worship.   3-5: God's rule based upon the fact that he created the world.   6-7a: Renewed summons to worship.  7b-1 1: Prophetic warning against disobedience.  Familiar? 7 For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand. * Psalm 95 the “Venite” has a familiar sound particularly to older Episcopalians. It is one of the selections for Daily Morning Prayer in Rite One and Rite Two of the Book of Common Prayer.  It is also the subject of popular choral arrangements
 But is this the only rock?   Numbers 20 The Waters of Meribah 20 The Israelites, the whole congregation, came into the wilderness of Zin in the first month, and the people stayed in Kadesh. Miriam died there, and was buried there. 2 Now there was no water for the congregation; so they gathered together against Moses and against Aaron. 3 The people quarreled with Moses and said, "Would that we had died when our kindred died before the LORD! 4 Why have you brought the assembly of the LORD into this wilderness for us and our livestock to die here? Numbers 20 The Waters of Meribah 5 Why have you brought us up out of Egypt, to bring us to this wretched place? It is no place for grain, or figs, or vines, or pomegranates; and there is no water to drink." 6 Then Moses and Aaron went away from the assembly to the entrance of the tent of meeting; they fell on their faces, and the glory of the LORD appeared to them. 7 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 8 Take the staff, and assemble the congregation, you and your brother Aaron, and command the rock before their eyes to yield its water. Thus you shall bring water out of the rock for them; thus you shall provide drink for the congregation and their livestock. Numbers 20 The Waters of Meribah 9 So Moses took the staff from before the LORD, as he had commanded him. 10 Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock, and he said to them, "Listen, you rebels, shall we bring water for you out of this rock?" 11 Then Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock twice with his staff; water came out abundantly, and the congregation and their livestock drank. 12 But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, "Because you did not trust in me, to show my holiness before the eyes of the Israelites, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them." 13 These are the waters of Meribah, where the people of Israel quarreled with the LORD, and by which he showed his holiness. Sin
 

Zin Romans 5:1-11 Since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us. Romans 5:1-11 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person-- though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die. But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us. Much more surely then, now that we have been justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from the wrath of God.  Romans 5:1-11 For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more surely, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life. But more than that, we even boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.  Context We seem to be moving through the ‘argument’ in Roman’s first backwards now along. Today’s reading is part of the bridge from last week’s reading to the reading for the first Sunday in Lent about Adam and Sin. The reading for today is thus immediately before the reading about Adam and sin from two weeks ago. Back to Moses…. The lack of human faith, as shown in the wilderness incidents, even immediately after the parting of the red sea. Perhaps makes God’s demonstration of faith in contrast to human faithlessness the more stark! According to Paul “But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.” What about suffering? The people suffered thirst and blamed God. God answered by relief of that suffering! Paul, of course is Paul – he says the suffering part is good for you – leading to hope. Still not a very satisfying answer- see Job….. Context In both OT and Epistle – we see a faithful God dealing in forgiveness for failed people  Also, note it is people who are to be reconciled to God and not the other way round. John 4:5-42 Part 1 Jesus came to a Samaritan city called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob's well was there, and Jesus, tired out by his journey, was sitting by the well. It was about noon. A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, "Give me a drink." (His disciples had gone to the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, "How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?" (Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.) John 4:5-42 Part 2Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, `Give me a drink,' you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water." The woman said to him, "Sir, you have no bucket, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us the well, and with his sons and his flocks drank from it?" Jesus said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life." The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.” John 4:5-42 Part 3 Jesus said to her, "Go, call your husband, and come back." The woman answered him, "I have no husband." Jesus said to her, "You are right in saying, `I have no husband'; for you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true!" The woman said to him, "Sir, I see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem.” John 4:5-42 Part 4 Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth." The woman said to him, "I know that Messiah is coming" (who is called Christ). "When he comes, he will proclaim all things to us." Jesus said to her, "I am he, the one who is speaking to you.” John 4:5-42 Part 5 Just then his disciples came. They were astonished that he was speaking with a woman, but no one said, "What do you want?" or, "Why are you speaking with her?" Then the woman left her water jar and went back to the city. She said to the people, "Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done! He cannot be the Messiah, can he?" They left the city and were on their way to him. John 4:5-42 Part 6 Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, "Rabbi, eat something." But he said to them, "I have food to eat that you do not know about." So the disciples said to one another, "Surely no one has brought him something to eat?" Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to complete his work.  John 4:5-42 Part 7 Do you not say, `Four months more, then comes the harvest'? But I tell you, look around you, and see how the fields are ripe for harvesting. The reaper is already receiving wages and is gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. For here the saying holds true, `One sows and another reaps.' I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.” John 4:5-42 Part 8 Many Samaritans from that city believed in him because of the woman's testimony, "He told me everything I have ever done." So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them; and he stayed there two days. And many more believed because of his word. They said to the woman, "It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the Savior of the world."  Christ and the Samarian Woman Benedetto da Maiano, Christ and the Samarian Woman, c. 1475 Terracotta, 16 x 30 in., Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest  Juan de Flandes,
Christ and the Woman of Samaria, 1496-1504
Oil on panel, 9 ½  x 7 in.,
Musée du Louvre, Paris  Annibale Carracci, The Samaritan Woman at the Well, c. 1600
Oil on canvas, 5 ½ x 7 ½ ft.
Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan Guercino,
Jesus and the Samaritan Woman at the Well, 1640-41
Oil on canvas,
46 x 61 ½ in. Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid
 

Attributed to Rembrandt, Christ and the Woman of Samaria, 1655
Oil on wood,
25 x 19 1/4 in.
Metropolitan Museum Rembrandt, Christ and the Woman of Samaria among Ruins, 1634
Etching
5 x 4 1/8 in.
Metropolitan Museum Rembrandt,
Christ and the Woman of Samaria, 1658
etching and drypoint
3rd of 5 states
5 x 6 ¼ in.
Metropolitan Museum of Art Introduction to the Gospel According to John Who wrote this Gospel? Tradition says it was the apostle John.  Many scholars, however, think that it was composed by a disciple of John who recorded his preaching as Mark did that of Peter.  The Gospel was published near the close of the first century. Jesus and the Samaritans Samaria is between Judea and Galilee with a mixed people. The Jews held Samaritans in contempt, as religious apostates. Being tired out, shows Jesus' humanity.  Rabbis in that day and age avoided speaking to a woman in public. “I have no husband, a true answer, literally taken, though given with an intention to deceive,” Jesus both saw through the lie and disregarded the Sin. The Mountain The mountain here is Mount Gerizim, where the Samaritans had a temple.  The comments made by Jesus mean that the place of worship is not of primary importance. The point in that day was an important one. In 2 Kings, the view was that God was a local deity and part of his location was this mountain [not at Jerusalem.] Assyria Resettles Samaria In Second Kings, those in the Northern Kingdom were exiled, afterward foreigners were given Samaria. They were attacked by Lions, since they did know how to worship God, The Assyrians let one of the priests return to teach them how to worship or at any rate how to avoid the lions! The Samarian mountain was where Jacob bought land and later where Joseph was placed after the Exodus. The Samarian mountain had a real claim to be ‘the’ mountain.  Samaritans Samaritans still survive in our own day, as a community preserving its ancient rites on its holy site, Mount Gerizim. There is a Samaritan Pentateuch. The scroll preserved by the present-day Samaritan community is claimed by them to date back to Abishua, the great -grandson of Aaron mentioned in 1 Chronicles. It is actually a medieval scroll, although it certainly preserves older traditions sometimes valued by textual critics Living Water The symbol here is Living Water, offered by Jesus. The Samaritans initially are interested by the knowledge of Jesus about the woman. But after contact with Jesus they believe because of him. The gift of faith from Jesus illustrates Paul’s point about grace. Subtext That Jesus was a more efficient savior than Moses who was imperfect as a human. Remember John was written late in the 1st Century, after the destruction of the temple. The lesson that God is worshipped not in a place but in the spirit would have been an important point. Water was a powerful symbol of the OT and used by John extensively in his Gospel – e.g crucifixion. The notes of explanation indicate that the 4th Gospel audience was not primarily Jewish.