“John 2–4,” New Testament Institute Teacher Manual (2025)
Woman at the Well, by Crystal Close
John 2–4
The Savior’s transforming power can be seen throughout the New Testament, such as the time He turned water into wine and when He healed a nobleman’s son who was deathly ill. Jesus also cleansed the temple, teaching that the house of God should be reverenced and respected. Jesus’s invitation to Nicodemus to be spiritually born of God and to the woman at the well to accept Him as the Christ demonstrate His power and mission to save those who believe and obey Him.
Additional Resources
Scripture Helps: New Testament, “John 2–4”
Note: The “Introduction to the Course” provides guidance on how to use the four standard lesson elements that follow.
Encouraging Personal Study
Before class, consider sending students one or more of the following messages or some of your own:
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Why do you think John included the miracle of water being turned into wine in his Gospel? Look for possible answers as you read John 2:1–11 or as you watch “Jesus Turns Water into Wine” (2:26).
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Study John 2:13–17, and think about what you do or can do to show your respect for the temple as a house of God. You could watch “Jesus Cleanses the Temple” (1:34) to enhance your study.
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How do you know God loves you? Look for an important answer to this question in John 3:14–17.
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Watch “The Woman at the Well” (7:49) or read John 4:1–29, and consider how the truths the Savior taught the Samaritan woman can transform your life as well.
7:30
Questions and Sharing
Provide time for students to ask questions and share insights and truths they discovered in their personal study of John 2–4.
Improving Our Teaching and Learning
Give students time to review before sharing. If students are hesitant to ask questions or share insights, consider giving them a few minutes to review the assigned scripture passages. Having time to review can help some students remember what they read before class and prompt others to find something they would like to talk about.
Skill Training
There are several opportunities to help students practice study skills in this lesson. John 2:13–17 might be a helpful place for students to use the skill “Finding the Meaning of Words and Phrases” in Scripture Study Skills. John 3:3–8 might be a good place to use the skill “Using Restoration Scripture to Understand the Bible” in Scripture Study Skills. Students’ understanding of John 3:14–17 and John 4:10–14 could be enhanced by using the skill “Understanding Symbolism in the Scriptures” in Scripture Study Skills.
Learning Activity Options
Multiple learning options are provided for you and your students. Prayerfully choose which option or options will be most meaningful for your class.
What truths can I learn from the Savior’s first recorded miracle?
You could display the accompanying picture and explain that Jewish wedding celebrations in New Testament times could last for several days. To run out of wine would likely have been distressing for the host of the wedding feast.
Display the following questions, and invite students to select the one that most interests them. Then invite them to study John 2:1–11 to find an answer to their question.
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What can you learn about the Savior in this story?
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What can you learn from Mary in this story?
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What most impresses you about this first recorded miracle by the Savior?
After having time to study, students could write on the board one answer they found to their question. (Answers could include insights similar to the following: Jesus participated in the everyday activities of life. Jesus Christ has power over the physical elements. The Savior knew He had a divine mission to fulfill. Jesus loved and respected His mother. Mary trusted Jesus.)
Students could then take turns selecting different statements from the board and asking the individuals who wrote them to share why this statement is important to them and how it might apply to our lives. Step back and let students’ questions, insights, and applications guide the discussion.
Note: If your students have concerns about how Jesus addressed His mother in John 2:4 or wonder why He would turn water into wine considering the Word of Wisdom (see John 2:1–11), point them to the corresponding entries in Scripture Helps: New Testament.
How can I show greater reverence in the house of the Lord?
Consider displaying the accompanying picture of Jesus cleansing the temple or watching “Jesus Cleanses the Temple” (1:34). Explain that during the Passover, thousands of visitors came to Jerusalem to celebrate the sacred festival. Many of them needed to purchase animals to offer as sacrifices in the temple. (Consider reviewing together “John 2:16. Why were there money changers in the temple?” in Scripture Helps: New Testament for more information.)
Jesus Cleansing the Temple, by Carl Bloch
Invite students to read John 2:13–17, and discuss what Jesus’s actions and words recorded in this passage might teach us about the temple. Students may identify a truth like the following: The temple is the house of the Lord and should be treated with reverence and respect.
To help students deepen their understanding of what it means to reverence the house of the Lord, you could display the following learning options. (It may be important to take some time to review the skill “Finding the Meaning of Words and Phrases” in Scripture Study Skills.) Invite each student to select the activity that interests them most and be prepared to share what they learn.
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Learn more about the meaning of reverence using the Define feature in Gospel Library. Then study the entry “Reverence” in the Guide to the Scriptures. Think about specific attitudes and behaviors that could help us be more reverent when we attend the temple.
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On each Latter-day Saint temple is engraved the words “Holiness to the Lord; the House of the Lord.” Learn about the meaning of holiness using the Define feature in Gospel Library. Also study the entries for “Holiness” and “Holy” in the Guide to the Scriptures. Consider how you would explain to someone why “Holiness to the Lord” is inscribed on our temples.
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Temple garments can be a powerful reminder of our temple experience. Read or watch “Sacred Temple Clothing” (4:12), and consider how you would explain the sacred nature of the temple garment to someone preparing to attend the temple for the first time.
4:12
After students have had time to study, they could form small groups and take turns sharing what they learned in their study.
To conclude this activity, you could give students time to ponder and record their thoughts about the following question:
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What is something you will do to show greater reverence and respect for the house of the Lord?
How can I know if I have been born again?
Display the following question, and invite students to record a response: How can I know if I have been born again?
Invite students to reflect on this question as you talk about the Savior’s teachings to Nicodemus.
Read John 3:1–2 together, and discuss what these verses reveal about Nicodemus. Then have students read John 3:3–8, looking for what the Savior taught about being born again.
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In what way did Nicodumus misunderstand the Savior’s words?
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What did the Savior teach to expand Nicodemus’s understanding? (Students may identify a truth like the following: We must be born of water and of the Spirit to enter the kingdom of God.)
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How does being born of water and of the Spirit relate to the ordinances of baptism and confirmation? (If helpful, point out that the Prophet Joseph Smith taught, “Being born again, comes by the Spirit of God through ordinances” [Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith (2007), 95]).
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What additional questions might someone have as they read the Savior’s answer to Nicodemus?
Point out that one way to learn more about what it means to be “born again” is to turn to scriptures of the Restoration (see “Using Restoration Scripture to Understand the Bible” in Scripture Study Skills). Invite students to find a passage of scripture from the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, or Pearl of Great Price that helps clarify what it means to be born again. If needed, students could look at “Born Again, Born of God” in the Guide to the Scriptures (Gospel Library) for relevant passages.
After allowing time for study, invite students to write on the board something they learned about being born again. (They could include the scripture reference.) You could then have students ask questions or make comments about statements on the board. You could invite the person who wrote the statement to provide additional insights about what they wrote.
Invite students to return to the question asked previously: How can I know if I have been born again? Invite them to record any additional insights, thoughts, or impressions that have come to them during the discussion.
Note: Since being born again involves changing and being changed, some students might be discouraged and feel they are not changing fast enough. If this is a concern for your students, consider reading and discussing the following statement by Elder D. Todd Christofferson:
You may ask, why doesn’t this mighty change happen more quickly with me? You should remember that the remarkable examples of King Benjamin’s people, Alma, and some others in scripture are just that—remarkable and not typical. For most of us, the changes are more gradual and occur over time. Being born again, unlike our physical birth, is more a process than an event. And engaging in that process is the central purpose of mortality. (“Born Again,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2008, 78)
Do Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ really love me?
If you did not do the prior learning activity, consider providing context for this scripture block by watching “Jesus Teaches of Being Born Again” from time code 0:00 to 2:40 or summarizing John 3:1–10. Explain that to help Nicodemus understand His words, the Savior used a familiar story from the Old Testament. Read together John 3:14–15 and, if needed, read Numbers 21:4–9.
Moses and the Brass Serpent, by Judith Mehr
Display the accompanying picture, and remind students that the Lord often used symbols to teach important gospel truths. (See “Understanding Symbolism in the Scriptures” in Scripture Study Skills if you feel students need additional help with symbols.) Invite students to share what they think the brass serpent represents.
You could then display the following picture next to the picture of the brass serpent and read John 3:16–17.
Crucifixion, by Harry Anderson
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In what ways might the brass serpent symbolize Jesus Christ? (Possible answers: Both were “lifted up”; both were provided by the Lord to save His people; both were provided in response to people’s sins; the action required to be saved was to “look,” or to “believe.”)
Consider writing the following scriptures and incomplete statements on the board. Invite students to study the passages, looking for ways to complete the statements (the words in parentheses are provided only as possible answers):
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God so loved the world that … (He gave His Only Begotten Son).
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Jesus so loved us that … (He gave His life).
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We love Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ so much that we … (keep the commandments).
Students could share the different ways they completed the statements. As they share how they completed the first two statements, encourage them to relate experiences that have helped them to know Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love them. As students share how they completed the third statement, invite them to relate ways they show their love for Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.
If time permits, students could memorize John 3:16–17 so that these words can bring them inspiration and comfort in the future. (Note: “Memorizing Scripture Passages” in Scripture Study Skills provides different methods to help with memorization.)
How can the Savior quench my spiritual thirst?
You could begin this learning activity by briefly discussing the signs and problems associated with dehydration. Then consider discussing the signs and problems associated with spiritual dehydration.
Consider showing a picture of the Savior with the woman at the well and inviting students to summarize the event or read together this account in John 4:3–15. If helpful, review “John 4:27. Why did Jesus’s disciples ‘marvel that he talked to the [Samaritan] woman’?” in Scripture Helps: New Testament.
Living Water, by Simon Dewey
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What can we learn about Jesus from his interaction with the Samaritan woman?
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How would you summarize what the Savior taught this woman? (Students might share a truth like this one: Drinking deeply of the Savior’s living water quenches spiritual thirst and leads us to eternal life.)
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How can water represent Jesus Christ? What might be the meaning of “living water”? (If you would like additional ideas on how to help students understand symbolism in the scriptures, go to “Understanding Symbolism in the Scriptures” in Scripture Study Skills.)
Consider reading and discussing the following statement by Elder David A. Bednar:
The living water referred to in this episode is a representation of the Lord Jesus Christ and His gospel. And as water is necessary to sustain physical life, so the Savior and His doctrines, principles, and ordinances are essential for eternal life. You and I need His living water daily and in ample supply to sustain our ongoing spiritual growth and development. (“A Reservoir of Living Water” [Church Educational System fireside for young adults, Feb. 4, 2007], 2, broadcasts.ChurchofJesusChrist.org)
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Why are the Lord’s doctrine and ordinances essential for eternal life? What can you do to partake of the Lord’s living water “daily and in ample supply”? (You could list students’ responses on the board.)
Consider giving students time to record any feelings or promptings they have as they consider how they might drink more deeply and often of the Savior’s living water.
Additional Learning Option
To teach an additional principle about being a witness of the Savior, you could invite students to silently read John 4:25–26, 28–30, 39–42, looking for what the woman at the well learned and how she acted on that knowledge.
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How can we help others come to the Savior and partake of His living water?
You might share the following statement by Sister Carole M. Stephens:
When we come to [Christ] with humble and teachable hearts—even if our hearts are heavy with mistakes, sins, and transgressions—He can change us, “for he is mighty to save” [Alma 34:18]. And with hearts changed, we can, like the Samaritan woman, go into our own cities—our homes, schools, and workplaces—to witness of Him. (“The Master Healer,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2016, 10)
Consider inviting students to share in small groups their experiences of spiritually being brought to the Savior’s living water. Or they could share how they have helped someone else come unto Christ and receive His living water.
Invite students to think of someone who needs to hear about Jesus Christ and His living water. Encourage them to act on any impressions they receive. Follow up in the next class by asking if any students would like to share their experiences.