John 4:27-49

²⁷Just then we disciples returned from town. Since it was contrary to our custom for Jewish religious teachers to converse with a woman they did not know, we were surprised that he was talking to a woman. However, none of us asked her, “What do you want?” and none of us asked him, “Why are you talking with her?”

²⁸The woman left her water jar there and went into the town. She said to the people there,

²⁹“Come and see a man who was able to tell me all about my past life HYP, even though I never met him before Could this man be the Messiah?”

³⁰So many people left the town and started going to where Jesus was.

³¹Meanwhile, we disciples were urging him, “Teacher, eat some of the food we brought!”

³²But he said to us, “I have food to eat that you do not know anything about!”

³³So we started saying to each other, “◄Surely no one has brought him any food when we were not here!/Has anyone brought him any food when we were not here?► RHQ”

³⁴Jesus said to us, “Doing what my Father who sent me wants me to do and finishing the work he gave me to do is ◄ what sustains me/like my food► MET.

³⁵At this time of the year you are saying (OR, your ancestors used to say), ‘There are four months left before we harvest the crops.’ But I say to you, look carefully at the non-Jewish people around here. God says, ‘They are ready to accept my message MET, like crops in fields that are ready for people to harvest.

³⁶If you help them to accept my message, I will reward you MET, as an owner of a field pays those who harvest the crops. Because of your work, people will gain eternal life.’ I have been telling people God's message. That is like MET a man who plants seeds. You will help people to accept my message. That will be like MET harvesting crops. When that happens, both you and I will rejoice.

³⁷As a result, this saying will become true: One person plants seeds, but others harvest the crops.

³⁸I am sending you to enable people to accept my message, but you will not be the first ones who tell them God's message. Others previously worked hard to tell people God's message, and now you will be harvesting the results of their work.”

³⁹Many of the Samaria district people who lived in that town believed that Jesus was the Messiah because they heard what that woman said about Jesus, “That man was able to tell me all about my past life HYP!”

⁴⁰So when those people of Samaria came to Jesus, they urged him to stay with them. So we stayed there two days.

⁴¹Many more of those people believed ◄ in Jesus/that he was the Messiah► because of what he said.

⁴²They told the woman, “We believe in Jesus now , but not just because of what you told us. Now we have heard him ourselves. And now we know that this man truly is the one who can save people MTY from the guilt of their sins .”

⁴³Jesus had said previously that people did not honor prophets like himself when they tried to teach people in their own home area. So, two days later, Jesus and we disciples left that area and went to his own area in Galilee district, because he knew that people there would not think very highly of him, and as a result the Jewish leaders would not be jealous.

⁴⁵However, when we arrived in Galilee district, many of the people there welcomed him, because they had been in Jerusalem during the Passover celebration and had seen all the things he did there.

⁴⁶Jesus went again to Cana in Galilee district. That was where he previously turned water into wine. There was one of the king's officials who lived in Capernaum, whose son was very sick.

⁴⁷When that man heard others say that Jesus had returned to Galilee district from Judea district, he went to Jesus in Cana and pleaded with him, “Please come down to Capernaum and heal my son, who is about to die!”

⁴⁸Jesus said to him, “You people will believe my message only if you see me perform more miracles!”

⁴⁹But the official said to him, “Sir, ◄ I believe in you/I believe that you came from God►. So please come down to my home before my son dies!”