After the scene in the temple, He realizes it is not safe to stay in the south. So He travels back north — and takes the road most Jewish travellers avoided.

The well at Sychar

Passing through Samaria, He stops at a well and speaks with a Samaritan woman — and tells her outright that He is the Messiah. He had not said it that plainly to anyone yet. The whole town comes out to see Him.

He is likely still living in Nazareth at this point.

John 4:1–42

Cana again — the second sign

Back in Cana, He heals a nobleman’s son who lay sick at Capernaum — the second of John’s signs. Note who this is: not an obscure peasant, but a nobleman. Word of Him is reaching people with standing and influence.

John 4:43–54

The Feast of Tabernacles — the third sign

He returns to Jerusalem for what John calls simply “another feast” — the Feast of Tabernacles, in the fall. At the pool of Bethesda He heals a man who had been ill for thirty-eight years, and does it on the Sabbath.

It causes another enormous scene. The healing itself is not what enrages the religious leaders; the day He chose to do it is.

John 5:1–47

Retreat to Galilee

Jerusalem is now even more dangerous than before — after Tabernacles and the miracle at Bethesda, He is a marked man in the south. He retreats to Galilee. About nine months have passed since His baptism.

Around this time John the Baptist is arrested and put in prison.

Matthew 4:12 · Mark 1:14–15

Samaria → the woman at the well → back to Cana → the nobleman’s son → the first Feast of Tabernacles → the pool of Bethesda. Then north again, where the pace changes entirely.