John 4 - Summary

Setting for most of Jesus' ministry in John

Site of first miracle and resurrection appearance

Samaria was the capital of the northern kingdom of Israel and later became the name for the entire region between Judea and Galilee. After the Assyrian conquest, the population became mixed, and the Samaritans developed their own form of worship. Jews and Samaritans had deep hostility. Jesus broke social barriers by speaking with the Samaritan woman at the well and telling the parable of the Good Samaritan.

Cana of Galilee was a village where Jesus performed his first miracle, turning water into wine at a wedding feast. It was also the hometown of Nathanael (Bartholomew). Jesus later healed a royal official's son from a distance while in Cana.

Capernaum was a fishing village on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee that became the center of Jesus' Galilean ministry. Jesus called it "his own city" and performed many miracles there, including healing Peter's mother-in-law and the centurion's servant. The ruins of a synagogue where Jesus taught can still be seen today.