Preface
This chapter reveals a number of issues regarding the ministry of Jesus Christ during His sojourn upon earth. They deal with His relation to baptism, to character and to the Gentiles as a part of salvation’s plan. Also at the end of the chapter, another concrete example of faith is portrayed for the reader of God’s Word.
John 4:1-3
Therefore, when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John (though Jesus Himself did not baptize, but His disciples), He left Judea and departed again to Galilee.
Judea was headquarters for the Jewish religious establishment. Jesus always had compassion, patience and understanding when it came to the people with whom He came into contact--that is, except those of the religious hierarchy. Jesus was always lenient with the seeker of truth, to the one ignorant of God’s Word and to the unpretentious person; but to the “religious sect,” He was both intolerant and blunt. It was then, as it is today with religion--an artificial façade filled with “dead men’s bones.” Matthew 23 is quite revealing in this regard. Jesus repeatedly addressed the religious leaders--scribes and Pharisees--of the day, calling them blind, hypocrites, snakes and graves filled with dead men’s bones and everything unclean.
Why was Jesus so hard on those who were “religious” and “law-abiding” during this time? The answer is that “religion” is an orchestration of effort both conceived and supported by Satan, whereby mankind attempts to secure the approbation (approval) of God through self-effort and self-works. The emphasis of religion is on “self” and on one’s own way, which is diametrically opposed to God’s will and plan. Christianity is not “religion,” as is understood and expressed in this context. It is a union or relationship with Jesus Christ. It is a manifestation of God’s grace and mercy. It is centered on what God has done and is doing for mankind; not what mankind can do for God. Its primary orientation is on the cross of Calvary and the substitution-death of Jesus Christ upon it. It has nothing to do with good works based on human good. Furthermore, religion focuses on the veneer and the display, whereas Christianity focuses on the inner motive.
The Pharisees-the chief religious leaders of the day-centered their attention on the conversions from Judaism to Christianity, as displayed by the number of baptisms being performed (somewhat similar to the way politicians orient toward “polls” today). They soon determined that in this regard, Jesus was having more success than their other nemesis, John the Baptist. Having been terribly displeased with and agitated over John the Baptist, they were now even more upset over Jesus.
The order and structure of the Greek in this passage indicates that Jesus was constantly (1) making “disciples”--Gk. mathetes, meaning one who believed and adhered to the teachings of Christ and (2) baptizing disciples. It is important to understand that the order of the text indicates that becoming a disciple [believer] precedes baptism, i.e., one must become a believer (disciple) before one may be baptized. To put it another way, being baptized has nothing to do with becoming a disciple. To believe that baptism is part of the salvation experience is contrary to God’s Word, and it plays into the hand of the religious sect. To the religious person, the one who must do something in order to achieve God’s approval, baptism is only a progressive step toward salvation. This is abhorrent in the sight of God and totally contradictory to His grace and mercy as is clearly revealed in His Word. Man can do nothing, e.g., be baptized, join the church, pray, give to the poor or anything else, to merit the approval of God. This may only be achieved by the faith-acceptance of Jesus Christ and His sacrifice on the cross of Calvary for one’s personal salvation.
This can be seen quite clearly in the Apostle Paul’s statement to the Corinthian Church when he said, “For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect.” (1 Corinthians 1:17) The Apostle Paul was fully aware of the priorities in his ministry, which was first to bring the lost to Jesus Christ--a transaction or decision solely of faith. Of course he knew that he was authorized to baptize and that a new believer should be baptized to demonstrate his new-found relationship with Jesus, but he wanted the Corinthian believers to understand that baptism was not part of the salvation experience and, in fact, was of no value unless first the person places his trust in Christ.
Baptism is very important, but only to the believer--a person already and permanently saved as a result of faith alone in Christ alone. It is a dynamic outward expression or testimony of one’s faith in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is an act of obedience, which honors God’s Word.
This passage reveals that Jesus was having greater success than John the Baptist in bringing the lost to salvation, which was indicated by the many baptisms being performed, not by Him personally, but by His disciples. In this text, His “disciples” refers not only to the apostles (the twelve) of Christ, but also to all who were His disciples (believers). The point is that God’s Word never limits the administration of baptism to only designated ministers who have experienced some form of “ordination” by man (that is to say a specific “religious denomination”). Any believer may baptize any other believer in conformity with the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19).
The fact that Jesus was having such great success in conversions and baptisms was a specific and agitating concern with the Pharisees of Judea. Upon becoming aware of this and realizing that this would only prompt the religious leaders to take premature action in their attempt to stop the time-schedule and order of events of the Messiah set by God the Father in eternity past, Jesus left Judea to go once again to Galilee.
John 4:4
But He needed to go through Samaria.
Jesus could have taken any of three routes to Galilee. One was along the coast, one was through Peraea, but the most direct route was through Samaria. He did not take this route because it was the most direct. The Greek word, anagke, in this verse translated as “needed,” suggests a “compelling force,” as opposed to a simple “willingness.” In other words, it wasn’t just a casual decision based on convenience. In the first place, due to the antipathy between the Jews and the Gentiles, the route through Samaria was a path generally avoided by the Jews. Galilee was heavily populated with Gentiles, and this particular path would expose the traveling Jews to many of them. A paragraph in the Life Application Bible explains how this condition evolved.
After the northern kingdom, with its capital at Samaria, fell to the Assyrians, many Jews were deported to Assyria, and foreigners were brought in to settle the land and help keep the peace (2 Kings 17:24). The intermarriage between those foreigners and the remaining Jews resulted in a mixed race impure in the opinion of Jews who lived in the southern kingdom. Thus the pure Jews hated this mixed race called Samaritans because they felt that their fellow Jews who had intermarried had betrayed their people and nation. The Samaritans had set up an alternate center for worship on Mount Gerizim (4:20) to parallel the temple at Jerusalem, but it had been destroyed 150 years earlier. The Jews did everything they could to avoid traveling through Samaria.
But this was never a consideration of Christ. In stark contrast to the “religious sect,” Jesus Christ was no phony. He was no fake, no fraud, and no counterfeit. He was and always will be the “genuine article,” that is, He is on the outside what He is in the inside. He is (and was) God in the flesh, who loves all mankind and would have all come to Him for salvation. This being the case, and since the Jewish community was already in the process of rejecting Him, He needed to stick to God’s plan and reach out with His message of mercy and grace to the Gentiles. Therefore, He was constrained by His Father’s will (God’s Master Plan) to go to Galilee by way of Samaria.
John 4:5, 6
So He came to a city of Samaria which is called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, sat thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour.
Jesus comes to a city named Sychar within Samaria. The city of Sychar (Gk. Suchar, meaning “drunken”) was named so, because it was the “town of the drunks.” It was a place where occupants and visitors indulged their appetites and darker sides, somewhat like Las Vegas of today. It was near the property that Jacob (Israel) gave to Joseph as recorded in Genesis 48:22. He stopped at Jacob’s well, because He was tired--a condition God could only experience while in the flesh. It is important to remember that Jesus Christ, who is divine (God), took upon Himself mortal flesh so that He could be tempted and experience life in all aspects just as we do.
He arrived and sat down by the well at about the sixth hour--in Jewish time it was 12 noon, just when the sun was directly overhead and the hottest hour of the day. Those who considered themselves “respectable” within the city would come to the well during the evening time, a cooler time of the day. Those who were held in disrepute came to the well for their water during the noon hour each day.
John 4:7-9
A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, "Give Me a drink." For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, "How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?" For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.
Previously the disciples accompanying Jesus had gone ahead into the city to purchase food, so Jesus was alone at noon time sitting by the well. A woman from Samaria, one who was of ill-repute and most likely ostracized, approached the well. Although the verse isn’t definite on this point, the assumption is that she let down her container into the well, which was over 100 feet deep, and had withdrawn water when Jesus spoke to her saying, “Give Me a drink.”
This is an example of grace, since under normal circumstances a Jew would never have spoken to a Samaritan. God through Jesus Christ always reaches out to man. Here Jesus broke the silence--He spoke first. This was quite shocking to her, because she immediately questioned Jesus as to why He was speaking to her--for Jews had no dealings with Samaritans.
Jesus was never “proud,” “pompous,” or “self-righteous” as to restrict Himself from anyone. This is clearly seen in Matthew 9:10-13 where Jesus eats with the tax collectors and the “sinners.” The “religious” leaders (Pharisees), in all their “self-righteousness,” at this time simply couldn’t understand how Christ could associate and break bread with those who were so immoral, such as prostitutes, drunkards and those who indulged their baser instincts. Jesus replied, as a matter of truth and example, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy and not sacrifice.' [Hosea 6:6] For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance."
And here at Jacob’s well Jesus once again reaches out to one who is held in low esteem, a reject from “proper” society. Christians should always follow this example, reaching out and sharing the gospel with the poor, the immoral, the lonely and the outcast; not just the rich, the “moral,” the popular and the powerful.
The request for water by Christ not only startled the Samarian woman, it also sparked her curiosity. This may have been a “first” for her, that is, a Jew who would normally hold a Samaritan in such little regard so as never to address one, actually asking her for a favor. It is also apparent that Jesus looked like a Jew, because by His appearance she recognizes Him as one.
At this point it is worthwhile to add that most, if not all, of the drawings and pictures prevalent today depicting Jesus Christ are far from what He actually looked like. There is indication in God’s Word that He was not a particularly attractive (or handsome) man. Isaiah 53:2 says of the coming Messiah, “For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, And as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; and when we see Him, There is no beauty that we should desire Him. He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.” In any case and at the well, he was recognizable as a Jew by this Samaritan woman.
She then responds to Jesus, asking the reason for his inquiry.
John 4:10-14
Jesus answered and said to her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says 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 nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where then do You get that living water? "Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?" Jesus answered and said to her, "Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, "but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life."
Having gained the woman’s attention, Jesus immediately shifts the conversation to the spiritual. This lowly Samaritan woman, just like the cultured, educated and “religious” Nicodemus, was totally oriented to the temporal and non-spiritual aspects of life. A review of these verses also clearly shows that just as the Pharisee Nicodemus could not understand the spiritual “second birth,” the Samaritan woman can not understand the spiritual concept of “living water.”
Jesus replies to her by stating that if she would have known the Gift of God [the grammatical structure in the Greek indicates that she was ignorant of this] who was the One speaking to her, she would have asked of Him, and would have received, living water. What does God’s Word say about the “Gift of God?” In John 3:16, it is Jesus Christ, God’s only begotten Son. In Romans 6:23, it is eternal life, which comes only through God’s Son. In 2 Corinthians 9:14, 15, it is the grace of God, which makes both Jesus Christ and eternal life available for mankind. Putting them altogether, the Gift of God is Jesus Christ who by the grace of God bestows eternal life to anyone who will accept Him and His substitution-sacrifice on Calvary by faith alone as totally sufficient for his personal salvation.
Jesus’ reference to “living water” is analogous to eternal life. This is seen throughout God’s Word, e.g., Isaiah 12:3; 55:1; Jeremiah 2:13; Zechariah 13:1 and Revelation 22:19. It is this reference to “living water” that catches the woman’s attention, but she still could not understand the spiritual aspects of the conversation. She can only wonder how this Jew could supply this so-called “living water” when He had nothing with which to draw it from the well. She then asks how He would supply it, because, in her reasoning, He was certainly not greater than her ancestor Jacob who dug the well and who supplied himself and his family from it. She could only understand water as a physical property.
Jesus doesn’t argue the point; He simply portrays a contrast between the earthly and the heavenly in order to explain salvation. Here Jesus is witnessing to another human being and thereby presents to the believer an example, as He did with Nicodemus in chapter 3, of how to bring the lost to salvation’s door. In regards to witnessing, the following points should be considered.
1. All Christians have the responsibility to witness to the lost.
2. It is wrong for a Christian to believe that if he fails to witness to any particular person, that person will not be saved and spend an eternity in hell. The truth is that if the Christian backs out of his responsibility to witness, God will only select someone else to convey the message. The one who follows God’s direction will receive the reward. The one who fails to witness will receive no reward.
3. There is no set way or manner of witnessing, other than that the essentials must be presented to the lost person so that he or she may understand the path to salvation. But the framework in which the essentials are presented may be different with each person. An approach that works with one who has no education and is unsophisticated concerning life may not work with an educated and savvy person. This may be seen in how Jesus speaks to Nicodemus and then to the Samaritan woman at the well.
4. The bottom line is that it is not through the brilliance and masterful technique of the presenter of God’s Word that spiritual results are achieved. It is only when the Holy Spirit applies God’s Word to the individual that any real effect takes place. For the Christian to insure the filling of (or to be controlled by) the Holy Spirit, he must (1) confess any known sin in his life in accordance with 1 John 1:9 and (2) accepts by faith that the Holy Spirit will control in every situation in accordance with Colossians 2:6. A side note: The Holy Spirit may at times even use an unsaved person to bring someone to Christ, e.g., when a lost person shares God’s Word with others either personally or through some media means-in this case the Holy Spirit speaks directly through His Word.
To further clarify and amplify, Jesus then tells the woman that the kind of water He is speaking of is that which, unlike physical water that only temporarily quenches physical thirst, will quench a person’s thirst for all eternity. Here Christ speaks to the inward longing and thirst of the soul, which is resident within every human being that has or will ever exist upon earth. Studies have easily shown that since time began mankind has had an inward inclination toward God. Somehow, even in the deepest and unknown regions of uncivilized earth, every tribe, every social group and every person knows within that there is something or someone greater than man. It is for this reason that whenever an uncharted group of people has been discovered in extremely remote areas of Africa or South American, they have always had some form of “religion.” Man never fails to reach out beyond himself to the supernatural.
Although the woman at this point still doesn’t understand, Jesus is referring to eternal salvation. Although this is the first time in the book of John He refers to “living water,” it is mentioned and alluded to in other passages in the book of John.
John 6:35
And Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.”
John 7:38
"He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water."
Throughout time the masses have always gone to the waterholes of the world for satisfaction--never to achieve it. Mankind strives to find peace, contentment and happiness in material objects, in wealth, and in earthly associations and power. All eventually lead to emptiness and frustration of the soul. The woman of Samaria could only understand at this point her need for earthly water, but the contrast between the temporal and the eternal further intrigued her.
John 4:15-18
The woman said to Him, "Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw." Jesus said to her, "Go, call your husband, and come here." The woman answered and said, "I have no husband." Jesus said to her, "You have well said, 'I have no husband,' for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly."
This “living water” that would permanently quench thirst sounded good to the woman, so she then asked Jesus to give her some. It is clear that she still sees this water in non-spiritual terms. Jesus then goes in another direction in order to help the woman see her personal spiritual condition.
Although several expositors take liberty with this woman’s reputation and attitude, it is best not to read too much into these aspects of her character. She may have been a very wayward person. She may have been a rude, insolent and flippant person. But these conclusions must be assumed. There is nothing in the text that confirms them. The only safe interpretation is that at this point she still was simply ignorant regarding the point that Jesus was attempting to make to her. Maybe she just didn’t want to see the spiritual side of the conversation. If this is true, then she is not unlike most people today. The prevailing attitude of most of mankind is one of avoiding the true spiritual condition of man and his need of salvation from a source other than himself.
Since the Samaritan woman persisted in avoiding the spiritual meaning of the dialog, Jesus resorts to another awakening technique. Just as prophecy and revelation are God’s primary means of validating His person and His truth, Jesus attempts to shock her by sharing information about her that a stranger would not be expected to know. In response to her instruction to provide “living water,” Jesus answers by telling her to call and then bring her husband to Him. In response, she answers that she has no husband. Jesus in turn informs her that she presented her situation truthfully, stating that she had had five husbands and the one she is presently living with is not her husband. Jesus revealed to her what she was unwilling to reveal herself. The underlying truth is that God knows us better than we know ourselves, and this further intrigued the woman.
John 4:19-26
The woman said to Him, "Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. "Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship." Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. "You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. "But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. "But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. The woman said to Him, "I know that Messiah is coming" (who is called Christ). "When He comes, He will tell us all things." Jesus said to her, "I who speak to you am He."
The woman now realized that Jesus was no ordinary person. She recognizes Him as a prophet, one in her mind who would be a spokesman for God, but she does not recognize Jesus Christ as God. At this juncture she may have in fact been under conviction of her sinful life, since it had been so succinctly depicted by Christ. Maybe to alter the direction of this embarrassing conversation, she attempts to alter the subject to a religious matter. If so, she is exhibiting a technique of many today who when confronted with their sinful nature quickly flee to “religion” as a place of refuge. The unfortunate fact is that religion can do nothing for the person who is lost. Religion attempts to placate the awakened conscience (a part of the soul) by assuring it that God can be satisfied through good deeds. Religion essentially will convince the person that he or she cannot be all “that bad,” and that through sincere effort toward good works all will eventually turn out all right.
The woman attempts to redirect the attention of Christ away from her condition by engaging Him in a theological discussion. Again, this is another ploy of the lost who wish to avoid the condition of their soul. She introduces the question concerning the proper geographical location for worship. She declares, "Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship." It is entirely possible that she hoped to engage Jesus in a theological debate, but He of course saw through her gambit. This is the same tactic Satan often uses today to sidetrack the believer in his witness to the lost of this world.
A Christian must always realize that it is not up to him, that is, his might or cunning or intellect or superior grasp of the Word that will bring a person to Christ. It is best when witnessing to avoid arguing or debating theological points of doctrine. No one generally “wins” in such situations. It is best to only present the clear and concise good news by using God’s Word and let the Holy Spirit do the convincing. If He cannot do this, then the believer certainly can’t.
Yet Jesus seizes upon the occasion to make a spiritual point of doctrine for consideration by the Samaritan woman. He did not avoid her comment, but He used it to convey further spiritual truth. He advances four salient points, three of doctrine and one which characterizes her “religion.”
1. The first point (doctrine) is that the day will come when there will be no “set” place of worship. This is true of the Church Age (dispensation). There is now no established (ordained) geographical place of worship. Prior to the coming of the baptism of the Holy Spirit, which creates a permanent union of all believers into the “body of Christ” and thereby established the actual and personal presence of God within every believer, God did reside in the Holy of Holies within the temple in Jerusalem. But today, the believer is the Temple of God. See John 14:20; 17:23; Romans 8:10; 1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19; Galatians 2:20; Ephesians 2:20-22; 1 Peter 2:5. Technically speaking, it is incorrect for Christians to refer to a church auditorium as the “sanctuary.” It is not the sanctuary, because the believer is the “sanctuary.” The local church is only a “meeting place,” nothing more than an ordinary building, and it is wrong to attribute any holy significance to a building in this dispensation of grace. The truth is that more sins of dishonesty, pride and deceit are performed in churches today than in any other geographical location. It is the practice of “religion” to attribute significance to buildings and structures. It is “religion” that will spend exorbitant funds on grand cathedrals and ornate edifices of all kinds and types. Religion glories in the outward appearance. God looks within the person (to be covered in the third and fourth points, to follow).
2. The second point (not doctrine) Christ makes is that the woman’s worship was only a form of “religion,” which was an exercise in ignorance and futility. He condemned her “religion,” just as He condemns all religious doctrine today that teach that all religions lead to God and that as long as a person means well and tries to do “good,” he or she will make it to heaven. Jesus informs the woman that the worship of the Samaritans was not authorized or approved by God. It had been invented by man and was being carried on without the sanction of the Word of God. This was not the case with the Jews. They had been set apart by Jehovah to carry out His specific blueprint in properly worshipping Him and to convey this blueprint to all others on earth. In saying that “salvation is of the Jews,” He was saying that the Jewish people were His messengers to all mankind. It was to them He had given the Scriptures, and it was their mission to share it with others. It was through the Jewish nation that the Messiah was given, and it was through them the entire world would be blessed.
3. The third point (doctrine) Christ made is that the time had now come that the true worshipper, that is, the ones that God wants, worships God in “spirit and in truth,” independent of any earthly form or location. This is an amplification of His first point of doctrine. It is also in contrast to “religion,” where the emphasis is placed on appearance and display. God looks within, because He is within every believer. He knows the inner motives and intents of every thought. He knows whether or not a Christian does anything based upon “divine good” (all deeds motivated by dependency upon God and empowered by the Holy Spirit) or upon “human good” (all good works or deeds self-generated by the person and apart from dependency upon God and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit). All our (human good) works are as “filthy rags” before God. The only works that will survive the test of fire and for which Christians will receive any credit are those that come by way of divine good. One additional point is that all worship that is pleasing to God is based upon truth, that is, upon Bible doctrine, which is the written presentation of the “mind of Christ.” As a Christian continues to study Bible doctrine, he or she will be more conformed to the mind of Christ and capable of worshipping and doing more of that which pleases God.
4. The fourth point (doctrine) is that “God is Spirit.” Here Christ gives a definition of God’s being. God is not a created being. He is not subject to any limitations, other than those He imposes upon Himself. He is not confined in any way, other than any confinement He may impose upon Himself. He is invisible. He is everywhere at all times and apart from the dimension of time. He is all-knowing, all powerful and does not change. He is perfect. Because of this, man can never escape or fool God. There must be no sham, pretense or hypocrisy in the worship of or in serving God. God may only be approached with a “broken and a contrite heart” in “spirit and in truth.”
Upon detailing these very significant points to the Samaritan woman, she finally comes to the conclusion that nonessential and indirect matters have no place in their exchange. It is possible that by listening to such spiritual instruction, she was made to think of the coming Messiah. It is quite possible the Holy Spirit had awakened in her an inner stirring or longing for the Messiah. She then states with confidence that she knows the Messiah, who is called Christ (“Messiah” is the Hebrew word for “God’s Anointed One; “Christ” is the Greek equivalent), is coming; and when He comes, He will teach “us all things.”
Upon this admission, Jesus Christ informs her that He is the Messiah. Literally, Jesus said, “I who speak to you am.” The personal pronoun “He” is not in the original text. Essentially He was telling her that He was the “I AM,” which was to indicate to her clearly that He was Jehovah God-that He was the Messiah whom she had been expecting--that the Jehovah of the Old Testament is the Christ of the New Testament and both were embodied in the person before her eyes.
John 4:27-30
And at this point His disciples came, and they marveled that He talked with a woman; yet no one said, "What do You seek?" or, "Why are You talking with her?" The woman then left her water pot, went her way into the city, and said to the men, "Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?" Then they went out of the city and came to Him.
It was at this time that the disciples of Jesus returned with food. When they approached the well and saw that Jesus was talking with a Samaritan woman they were filled with wonder or surprise seeing that Jesus, a Jew, was speaking with a Samaritan. Yet, they were astute enough not to question Him regarding the matter. It may be assumed that their respect for Christ exceeded their disrespect for the Samaritans, and they were careful to engage their brains before they opened their mouths.
The woman then “left her water pot” and went into the city. This (the abandonment of her pot) would have been a very abnormal procedure, unless of course there was an emergency. The emergency was that she finally realized that she was speaking with the Messiah, the Christ. She left the water pot, a representation of all the things in life that she had used in an effort to satisfy her deepest longings--all of which had failed. She now had found the Lord Jesus Christ, and she just had to share the news--so she went directly into the city. In her thirst to witness of the Christ and with unusual boldness, she went directly to the men. In the culture of the day and in that region it was the men who made important decisions, so she by-passed the women and went directly to the men. Yet she knew that if she told them with an air of authority that the Messiah, the Christ was at the well, they would only scoff, disbelieve her and take no action.
Knowing this, she used a very effective tact. She informed them that she had met a most unusual man, one who had told her everything about her past. This probably sparked the men’s curiosity, since they were more than likely well acquainted with her colorful and varied past. Then she asked a simple question, “Could this be the Christ?” This further incited their curiosity, so much so that they had to go out to see what she was talking about. They immediately left the city and went directly to Christ. The lost will come to Christ as a result of a believer’s witness.
John 4:31-38
In the meantime His disciples urged Him, saying, "Rabbi, eat." But He said to them, "I have food to eat of which you do not know." Therefore the disciples said to one another, "Has anyone brought Him anything to eat?" Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work. "Do you not say, 'There are still four months and then comes the harvest'? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest! "And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. "For in this the saying is true: 'One sows and another reaps.' "I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored, and you have entered into their labors."
While the woman was in the city witnessing to the men, the disciples of Jesus were attempting to get Him to eat. Christ was so elated over the woman’s conversion and subsequent eagerness to witness that He had no desire to eat. This only puzzled His disciples, thinking that someone had previous given Him food.
Jesus uses their curiosity as a springboard to transition to and teach a spiritual truth, that is, to teach more Bible doctrine. He wanted them to know that it is the spiritual elements and eternal matters that give true satisfaction in life. He wanted them to know that such spiritual and eternal items consisted of doing the will and finishing the work of God. It is the same for the Christian throughout all of time. How does the Christian know the will and work of God? He knows by studying the Bible--the Word of God. Nothing takes the place of Bible doctrine.
Jesus further wanted His disciples to know that to do the will and work of God was to live up to their responsibility in reaching out to those who are lost--to bring them to God through faith alone in Christ alone. Jesus uses the allegory of harvesting crops in the field to illustrate this point. He explains that the harvesting of a successful crop is dependent upon the efforts of many. Some plant the seed, some water it, some till the ground and others extract the mature crop. But at the end, all share in the harvest.
Jesus tells his disciples to lift their eyes and look out over the fields, which are ripe for harvest. The “fields” represent the world, whereas the individual portions of the crop represent the innumerable number of souls needing salvation. His meaning is clear. Seldom does a person come to Christ for salvation as a result of one lone contact by one lone believer. It usually takes several applications of God’s Word before a lost person’s spiritual eyes are opened to his need for Jesus. The lost person may hear the gospel at church, over the radio, on television, over the Internet or from several Christians who take the opportunity to witness to him over a protracted period of time. Eventually the light goes on inside his soul, and he comes to Jesus Christ for personal salvation. When this occurs, all who have had a part in presenting God’s Word to him will have credit for this salvation in eternity. They all, together, will rejoice in eternity. The lesson is not to become discouraged when witnessing when the one being witnessed to refuses Jesus. The very fact that the Word of God is presented to a lost soul is success in itself. One will never know how this initially planted seed of the Word will eventually bring forth fruit, but the assurance of Jesus is that it will bring forth fruit.
The last point that Jesus makes regarding this matter of witnessing is that the fields are already ripe. One should not say that there remains four months and then comes the harvest, because no one will ever know how much time anyone has left on the face of this earth. The only proper attitude when it comes to witnessing is one of immediacy and urgency.
John 4:39-42
And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, "He told me all that I ever did." So when the Samaritans had come to Him, they urged Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days. And many more believed because of His own word. Then they said to the woman, "Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world."
No two conversions to Jesus Christ are exactly alike. Some came to salvation-faith by way of the woman’s “simple” testimony, and some by way of the personal words of Jesus Himself. It may also be assumed by the use of the words “many” and “many more” in this passage, instead of the words “all,” that some did not enter into salvation’s door. It is important to understand that the woman wasn’t a polished theologian when she brought others to Christ; she only presented what she knew. The point is that every believer has the ability to bring others to Christ. Yes, it is important to study and learn Bible doctrine--for many reasons. But it is not a prerequisite for bringing others to Christ. The believer needs only to share his or her personal experience with Jesus Christ with others. Another point to remember is that even at the “feet of Jesus” some will not believe. When a Christian witnesses to others and they fail to respond, the Christian should never let this unduly concern him-he needs only to move on to the next lost soul and share his testimony.
Once the Samaritans accepted by faith Jesus Christ as their personal Savior, their next and natural inclination was to learn more about Him, so they urged Him to stay with them. He stayed two days. This has always been true. Once a person comes to Christ and experiences the “new birth,” he or she becomes aware of an inner thirst to know more of Christ. Christians today are more privileged then those back then. Christians today have the completed canon of Scripture-God’s inspired and written Word, which reveals thoroughly and profoundly the “mind of Christ.” The study of Bible doctrine is of utmost importance to the nourishment of the newborn Christian, as well as the one who is more mature. The Bible, a compilation of 66 books by over 40 earth-authors, which is inspired of God and written over thousands of years, is a totally integrated work of consistency and truth. One may study it all of his life and never reach its end.
The last point emanating from this passage is that even though the Jews may have thought that the Messiah would be for them alone, the Samaritans realized that He was for “the entire world.” This truth is amplified in the book of Acts.
John 4:43-54
Now after the two days He departed from there and went to Galilee. For Jesus Himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country. So when He came to Galilee, the Galileans received Him, having seen all the things He did in Jerusalem at the feast; for they also had gone to the feast. So Jesus came again to Cana of Galilee where He had made the water wine. And there was a certain nobleman whose son was sick at Capernaum. When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and implored Him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. Then Jesus said to him, "Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe." The nobleman said to Him, "Sir, come down before my child dies!" Jesus said to him, "Go your way; your son lives." So the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and he went his way. And as he was now going down, his servants met him and told him, saying, "Your son lives!" Then he inquired of them the hour when he got better. And they said to him, "Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him." So the father knew that it was at the same hour in which Jesus said to him, "Your son lives." And he himself believed, and his whole household. This again is the second sign Jesus did when He had come out of Judea into Galilee.
After two days in Samaria, Jesus went back to His home-area. Why? He did so because it was this region which evidenced the least regard for His authority and revelation as the Son of God, the Savior of the world. Having been physically born in Nazareth, a city within the region, and having grownup there among the people, most probably only saw Him as the “carpenter’s son”--a human being no better than any of them. It is often true that this same “mind-set” affects the ministry of any believer within in his own hometown. It is often that a young man after years in one place comes to salvation-faith in Jesus Christ and his life is dramatically changed, only to find that those closest to him find it very difficult to see him as other than his old self. The Son of God experienced the same. He wished to return to attempt again to convince those who were closest to Him as a “human being” that He really was “the Way, the Truth and the Life.”
Upon His return the Galileans “received” Him, but not because they believed in Him--no, it was because they had seen Him do strange and wonderful things “in Jerusalem at the feast” and they were curious. This was the reason for His statement, "Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe." Jesus knew that they needed further convincing, so He was ready to enact one more “sign” (of His Deity) to show them the way to “heaven’s door.” When Jesus reached Cana, where He had turned water into wine, a nobleman of Capernaum (about 20 miles away), whose son was about to die, heard that Jesus had returned to the area. It is fair to assume that this nobleman had in addition to the “wine miracle” also heard of other miracles Jesus had performed. He came to Jesus with faith, asking that He come back with him to save his child. Jesus simply told him to return to his home and that his son would live.
The most striking words of this entire passage is that upon hearing this confirmation of life for his son, the nobleman “believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and he went his way.” This is the most profound truth, the most essential lesson presented to the reader of this chapter. The entire plan of God, everything good provided for mankind, the eternal salvation of one’s soul and spiritual victory in this life--all are contingent upon one indispensable and fundamental principle broadcast loud and clear here and throughout the Word of God-the “Principle of Faith.” This principle is the direct opposite of the principle championed by “religion”-that of self-effort or works. If the Bible teaches any imperative from Genesis to Revelation, it is that faith and faith alone pleases God-never the good works of man, which stem from “human good.”
What is “faith” in the sight of God? It is seen in this passage with the nobleman from Capernaum. He “believed the word that Jesus spoke to him.” He simply took Jesus at His word. There was no debate, no need for further explanation-there was no doubt. He just genuinely believed Jesus. When one is to come to Jesus for the salvation of his soul, this example of faith will show the way. It is only a matter of believing God’s Word that (1) you are a sinner, (2) because of sin you are condemned, (3) Jesus paid the price for your sins on the cross by means of His death, burial and resurrection, so that you do not need to pay the price and (4) if you will only accept His payment for your sins-what He did and not what you can do--for the salvation of your soul; you will be eternally (permanently) saved--granted eternal life.
Then notice that the nobleman acted upon his faith. He, promptly and without question, went back to his home. When one has faith, the action of obedience will follow. This exemplifies the teaching in James that says, “I will show you my faith by my works.” When a Christian actually takes God at His Word (the truths of Bible doctrine), his life will change and he will continue to grow to spiritual maturity. The nobleman at once returned to his home, knowing that Jesus could heal his son even though there was a vast distance between the two. No space, regardless of size, can separate a person from Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ, who is God, is multi-dimensional. He is everywhere at all times (omnipresent); therefore the puny four dimensions that govern mankind’s existence have no limitations on Him. The nobleman immediately started home, and on the way received confirmation before arriving that his son was healed--at the same hour that Jesus had spoken the words of his healing.
The end result of this most revealing and marvelous “second sign” that Jesus did upon returning from Judea to Galilee was that this nobleman, along with his family, came to know Jesus Christ (by faith alone) as their personal Savior and thereby received eternal life. Nothing greater could have happened for or to them.
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