John 4

John 4:1  The Pharisees heard that Jesus was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John,

John 4:2  although in fact it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples.

John 4:3  When the Lord learned of this, he left Judea and went back once more to Galilee.

John 4:4  Now he had to go through Samaria.

‘John may intend a contrast between the woman of this narrative and Nicodemus of ch. 3.  He was learned, powerful, respected, orthodox, theologically trained; she was unschooled, without influence, despised, capable only of folk religion.  He was a man, a Jew, a ruler; she was a woman, a Samaritan, a moral outcast.  And both needed Jesus.’ (Carson)

Joh 4:5 So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph.

How Jesus Witnessed

1. He turned an everyday situation to good effect, v7. Jesus might have let this opportunity slip, for he was tired, it was midday, she was a Samaritan, a woman, and sinful.
2. He established a point of contact established, v7. Jesus was thirsty, and made a natural request. Friendship is two-way: we need to learn to take as well as to give.
3. He aroused her interest. Attention is aroused at the beginning (because of the unusualness of the situation) and throughout.
4. He used a conversational approach. Seven times he addressed her, and six times she replied.
5. He used questions and answers. “Why do you call me good?” “What is your name?” – “Who do the crowds say I am?” – “What do you want me to do for you?” – “Tell me, John’s baptism – was it from heaven, or from men?” – “What are you discussing together as you walk along?” – “Do you want to get well?” Although Jesus does not here ask questions (apart from the request for a drink), he answers three.
6. He focussed on the real problem. Jesus deals with the personal problem of the woman’s life and shows its solution. Her various ‘cop-outs’ (sociological, v9, intellectual, v11, historical, v12, theological, v20 and procrastinating, v25) are dealt with firmly but sensitively.
7. He drew illustrations from life. The situation itself drawing water from the well – is used as the basis for speaking about the ‘living water’.
8. He moved her from the known to the unknown. See previous point. Beginning ‘where people are at’.
9. He invited a response. The stimulation of interest leads to arousal of conscience and then to a definite response, vv19, 28f. She is by no means a fully-formed disciple, but she has at least faced up to the critical, life-changing question, “Who is this man?” 

The plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph – See Ge 48:22.

Joh 4:6 Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour.

The site of Jacob’s well is known to this day. It is within sight of Mt. Gerazim, a site holy to the Samaritans, and which will feature in the conversation between the woman and Jesus.

According to the usual reckoning, the sixth hour would have been midday. The heat of the day and the journey now being undertaken explain Jesus’ thirst and tiredness.

Joh 4:7 When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?”

‘In the Fourth Gospel, Jesus’ gift of the Spirit supersedes the ritual waters of John the Baptist, {Joh 1:26,33} ceremonial purification, {Joh 2:6} proselyte baptism {Joh 3:5} and the Feast of Tabernacles. {Joh 7:37-39 9:7} It also apparently supersedes water having other religious symbolism associated with holy sites, such as healing sanctuaries {Joh 5:2-8} and Jacob’s well. {Joh 4:7-26} For John’s readers, who have the Spirit but lack many of the rituals of their opponents, these contrasts would constitute an encouragement.’ (NT Background Commentary)

A Samaritan woman came to draw water - She seems to have come alone, which would indicate that she was not popular. Moreover, it would have been more usual to fetch water earlier or later in the day, when the heat was not so intense.

“Will you give me a drink?” – Jesus breaks with convention here, for, (a) she was a woman; (b) she was a Samaritan woman; (c) she was on her own. He had no jar of his own to draw water with, v11.

‘That this Samaritan woman comes to the well alone rather than in the company of other women probably indicates that the rest of the women of Sychar did not like her, in this case because of her sexual activities (cf. comment on 4:18). Although Jewish teachers warned against talking much with women in general, they would have especially avoided Samaritan women, who, they declared, were unclean from birth. Other ancient accounts show that even asking water of a woman could be interpreted as flirting with her-especially if she had come alone due to a reputation for looseness. Jesus breaks all the rules of Jewish piety here. In addition, both Isaac {Ge 24:17} and Jacob {Ge 29:10} met their wives at wells; such precedent created the sort of potential ambiguity at this well that religious people wished to avoid altogether.’ (NT Background Commentary)

Joh 4:8 (his disciples had gone into the town to buy food.)

This implies that the disciples would normally have helped Jesus to draw water.

Joh 4:9 The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)

“I am a Samaritan woman” – and would not be expected to associate with a Jewish man on both counts.

(For Jews do not associate with Samaritans) – or, ‘For Jews do not use dishes Samaritans have used.’

‘Cultural practices must be evaluated by Christ’s standards. This woman (1) was a Samaritan, a member of the hated mixed race, (2) was known to be living in sin, and (3) was in a public place. No respectable Jewish man would talk to a woman under such circumstances. But Jesus did. The gospel is for every person, no matter what his or her race, social position, or past sins. We must be prepared to share this gospel at any time and in any place. Jesus crossed all barriers to share the gospel, and we who follow him must do no less.’ (HBA)

‘A religious, male, Jewish aristocrat like Nicodemus, or an untrained, female Samaritan peasant who had made a mess of her life – Jesus converses frankly with both, and happily breaks social and religious taboos to do so.’ (Carson)

Note the woman’s various ‘cop-outs’ (sociological, v9, intellectual, v11, historical, v12, theological, v20 and procrastinating, v25). Jesus deals with these firmly but sensitively.

Joh 4:10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”

‘We have to note that this conversation with the Samaritan woman follows exactly the same pattern as the conversation with Nicodemus. Jesus makes a statement. The statement is taken in the wrong sense. Jesus remakes the statement in an even more vivid way. It is still misunderstood; and then Jesus compels the person with whom he is speaking to discover and to face the truth for herself. That was Jesus’ usual way of teaching; and it was a most effective way, for, as someone has said: “There are certain truths which a man cannot accept; he must discover them for himself.”‘ (DSB)

‘Jesus pointed out to her that she was ignorant of three important facts: who he was, what he had to offer, and how she could receive it. ‘ (Wiersbe)

‘He waives her objection of the feud between the Jews and Samaritans, and takes no notice of it. Some differences are best healed by being slighted, and by avoiding all occasions of entering into dispute about them. Christ will convert this woman, not by showing her that the Samaritan worship was schismatical (though really it was so), but by showing her her own ignorance and immoralities, and her need of a Saviour.’ (MHC)

“If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink” – All the woman can see is the weary traveller. The ‘gift of God’ is probably the gift of eternal life, referred to in v14. Alternatively, the reference may be to the Torah, the law of Moses, which case, Jesus is saying, “If you really knew your Torah, and who it is who is asking for a drink…”

“Living water” – The expression was used for flowing water (springs, fountains and streams, as opposed to water from wells and stagnant pools), but we are probably right to see here one of John’s double meanings. Jesus’ gift of the Spirit supercedes the literal water used by John the Baptist, cf. Joh 1:26,33.

‘That John intends the promise to be understood as the Spirit is evident both from 4:23 (“The hour is coming and now is” when true worshipers worship the Father “in Spirit and truth”) and from his specific equation of the offer of living water with the Spirit in Joh 7:37-39.’ (DJG)

Bearing in mind the hot and arid nature of the environment for much of the year, the metaphor of ‘flowing water’ or ‘living water’ is deeply meaningful. Moreover, the symbolism is found already in the OT: Isa 1:16-18 Jer 2:13 Eze 36:25-27 Zec 14:8. John picks up on the symbolism at various points, Joh 3:5 4:10-15 7:38 19:34.

‘Jesus here means to denote by it his doctrine, or his grace and religion, in opposition to the impure and dead notions of the Jews and the Samaritans.’ (Barnes)

‘This was one of the many instances in which he took occasion from common topics of conversation to introduce religious discourse. None ever did it so happily as he did, but, by studying his example and manner, we may learn also to do it. One way to acquire the art is to have the mind full of the subject; to make religion our first and main thing; to carry it with us into all employments and into all society; to look upon everything in a religious light, and out of the abundance of the heart the mouth will speak, Mt 12:34.’ (Barnes)

Joh 4:11 “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water?”

“The well is deep” – If the well is the same one that is there now, it was about 100 feet deep.

‘When people were on a journey they usually carried with them a bucket made from the skin of some beast so that they could draw water from any well at which they halted. No doubt Jesus’ band had such a bucket; and no doubt the disciples had taken it into the town with them. The woman saw that Jesus did not possess such a traveller’s leather bucket, and so again she says in effect: “You need not talk about drawing water and giving it to me. I can see for myself that you have not a bucket with which to draw water.”‘ (DSB)

Joh 4:12 “Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his flocks and herds?”

“Are you greater than our father Jacob?” - There is some irony here (and not for the only time in this Gospel), for she obviously implies the answer ‘No’, but John knows that the truth is far otherwise.

“Our father Jacob” - This would be something of an affront to Jews, who regarded themselves as the true descendents of Jacob, and who saw Samaritans as half-breeds or worse.

The woman’s meaning is, ‘Can you provide a better source of water than this well, with its long and noble history?’ Our eyes can be shut to new possibilities when we are too ready to cling to the old and familiar. ‘A well from which Jacob, and his sons, and cattle had drank must be pure, and wholesome, and honoured, and quite as valuable as any that Jesus could furnish. Men like to commend that which their ancestors used as superior to anything else. The world over, people love to speak of that which their ancestors have done, and boast of titles and honours that have been handed down from them, even if it is nothing better than existed here-because Jacob’s cattle had drunk of the water.’ (Barnes)

Joh 4:13 Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again,”

Jesus answered - As usual, he does not give a straightforward answer to the question. ‘Jesus did not directly answer her question, or say that he was greater than Jacob, but he gave her an answer by which she might infer that he was. He did not despise or undervalue Jacob or his gifts; but, however great might be the value of that well, the water could not altogether remove thirst.’ (Barnes)

“Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again” - ‘Jesus contrasts temporary with eternal satisfaction, teaching that all earthly pleasures, even if legitimate, are fading.’ (New Geneva)

See Mt 5:6.

Joh 4:14 “but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

“The water I give him” - Jesus might well have said that he is the living water. But the consistent expression here is that he gives it (cf. v10). This suggests that in the present passage ‘the water is the satisfying eternal life mediated by the Spirit that only Jesus, the Messiah and Saviour of the world, can provide.’ (Carson)

‘Jesus here refers, without doubt, to his own teaching, his grace, his spirit, and to the benefits which come into the soul that embraces his gospel. It is a striking image, and especially in Eastern countries, where there are vast deserts, and often a great want of water. The soul by nature is like such a desert, or like a traveller wandering through such a desert. It is thirsting for happiness, and seeking it everywhere, and finds it not. It looks in all directions and tries all objects, but in vain. Nothing meets its desires. Though a sinner seeks for joy in wealth and pleasures, yet he is not satisfied. He still thirsts for more, and seeks still for happiness in some new enjoyment. To such a weary and unsatisfied sinner the grace of Christ is as cold waters to a thirsty soul.’ (Barnes)

“Never thirst” - ‘He shall be satisfied with this, and will not have a sense of want, a distressing feeling that it is not adapted to him. He who drinks this will not wish to seek for happiness in other objects. Satisfied with the grace of Christ, he will not desire the pleasures and amusements of this world. And this will be for ever-in this world and the world to come. Whosoever drinketh of this-all who partake of the gospel-shall be for ever satisfied with its pure and rich joys.’ (Barnes)

“Welling up” - ‘This is a beautiful image. It shall bubble or spring up like a fountain. It is not like a stagnant pool-not like a deep well, but like an ever-living fountain, that flows at all seasons of the year, in heat and cold, and in all external circumstances of weather, whether foul or fair, wet or dry. So religion always lives; and, amid all changes of external circumstances-in heat and cold, hunger and thirst, prosperity and adversity, life, persecution, contempt, or death-it still lives on, and refreshes and cheers the soul.’ (Barnes)

The deepest well, the widest river, the highest flood, may dry up, but the water that Jesus gives will never fail.

“Eternal life” - ‘It is not temporary, like the supply of our natural wants; it is not changing in its nature; it is not like a natural fountain or spring of water, to play a while and then die away, as all natural springs will at the end of the world. It is eternal in its nature and supply, and will continue to live on for ever.’ (Barnes)

The Jews ‘often spoke of the thirst of the soul for God; and they often spoke of quenching that thirst with living water. Jesus was not using terms that were bound to be misunderstood; he was using terms that anyone with spiritual insight should have understood. In the Revelation that promise is: “To the thirsty I will give water without price from the fountain of the water of life.” {Re 21:6} The Lamb is to lead them to springs of living waters. {Re 7:17} The promise was that the chosen people would draw water with joy from the wells of salvation. {Isa 12:3} The Psalmist spoke of his soul being thirsty for the living God. {Ps 42:1} God’s promise was: “I will pour water on the thirsty land.” {Isa 44:3} The summons was that every one who was thirsty should come to the waters and freely drink. {Isa 55:1} Jeremiah’s complaint was that the people had forsaken God who was the fountain of living waters and had hewed themselves out broken cisterns which could hold no water. {Jer 2:13} Ezekiel had had his vision of the river of life. {Eze 47:1-12} In the new world there would be a cleansing fountain opened. {Zec 13:1} The waters would go forth from Jerusalem.’ {Zec 14:8} (DSB) Of course, Samaritans, such as this woman, might not have appreciated these allusions, since they limited the canon to the Pentateuch.

Although the woman understood Jesus literally, he was in fact making a Messianic claim. ‘In the prophetic vision of the age to come, the age of God, the promise was: “They shall not hunger or thirst.” {Isa 49:10} It was with God and none other that the living fountain of the all-quenching water existed. “With thee is the fountain of life,” the Psalmist had cried. {Ps 36:9} It is from the very throne of God that the river of life is to flow. {Re 22:1} It is the Lord who is the fountain of living water. {Jer 17:13} It is in the Messianic age that the parched ground is to become a pool and the thirsty ground springs of water. {Isa 35:7} When Jesus spoke about bringing to men the water which quenches thirst for ever, he was doing no less than stating that he was the Anointed one of God who was to bring in the new age.’ (DSB)

‘”I shall give” expresses the divine origin of the blessing: “springing up” is its great abundance; “everlasting life” is its endless duration.’ (New Geneva)

Joh 4:15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.”

“Sir, give me this water…” - She seems here to be speaking almost in jest. Like Nicodemus and other characters in this Gospel, the woman takes literally what is intended as figurative. This shows how apt we all are to misunderstand Jesus’ words and thus to distort his teaching.

Joh 4:16 he told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.”

“Go, call your husband” - Why did Jesus tell the woman to fetch her husband?

‘We may admire the manner which our Saviour took to lead her to perceive that he was the Christ. His instructions she did not understand. He therefore proceeded to show her that he was acquainted with her life and with her sins. His object, here, was to lead her to consider her own state and sinfulness-a delicate and yet pungent way of making her see that she was a sinner. By showing her, also, that he knew her life, though a stranger to her, he convinced her that he was qualified to teach her the way to heaven, and thus prepared her to admit that he was the Messiah, Joh 4:29.’ (Barnes)

John 4:17  “I have no husband,” she replied. Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband.

Joh 4:18 “The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.”

Jesus is displaying that insight which was referred to in Joh 2:25. Jewish teaching disapproved of a woman having had more than three husbands (even though the prerogative for divorce lie with the husband, not the wife). Samaritan teaching was no less rigorous in this respect.

“The man you have is not your husband” - Jewish teaching did not countenance common-law marriages.

Joh 4:19 “Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet.”

“I can see that you are a prophet” - Prophets were often thought capable of knowing other people’s thoughts. This (limited) designation of Jesus as a prophet is rather frequent, Joh 4:44 6:14 7:40 9:17.

Joh 4:20 “our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.”

“Our fathers worshiped on this mountain” - As already noted, Mt. Gerazim was in full view of Jacob’s well. The expression is put in the past tense because, although the Samaritans still worshiped on Gerazim, the temple they had erected there had been destroyed by the Jews some 200 years before. The Samaritans, for their part, mocked the Jewish temple site and once, under cover of night, had tried to defile it.

‘Although the woman’s introduction of the issue of the place of worship may seem a diversion to avoid an unpleasant subject, it is more likely that her realizing that Jesus was some kind of Jewish prophet prompted her to show her acquaintance with Jewish-Samaritan differences over the main place of worship (v20). Worship was closely linked to a sacred place. In the past there had been a temple built on Mt Gerizim to rival the temple at Jerusalem. Even after the Gerizim temple was destroyed by John Hyrcanus, the Samaritans continued worshipping on the mountain. It is not clear how concerned the woman was about these differences, but she seized on it as a matter worthy of discussion.’ (NBC)

John 4:21  Jesus declared, “Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.

Joh 4:22 you Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews.

“Salvation is from the Jews” - Samaritan worship was inferior to that of the Jews, because they based their beliefs on the Pentateuch alone. The Jews had been made the recipients of a fuller revelation of God’s redemptive purposes.

‘There is not any promise anywhere of raising up a kingdom unto the Lord Christ in this world but it is either expressed, or clearly intimated, that the beginning of it must be with the Jews.’ (John Owen)

Joh 4:23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.

Jesus makes it clear that it is the object, not the place, of worship that is of paramount importance.

“The time is coming and has now come…” - The Gerazim/Jerusalem debate ceases to have any relevance in the light of the coming of Christ. In him all racial and geographical distinctions are made obsolete.

Joh 4:24 “God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.”

“God is Spirit” - ‘This is the second reason why men should worship him in spirit and in truth. By this is meant that God is without a body; that he is not material or composed of parts; that he is invisible, in every place, pure and holy. This is one of the first truths of religion, and one of the sublimest ever presented to the mind of man. Almost all nations have had some idea of God as gross or material, but the Bible declares that he is a pure spirit. As he is such a spirit, he dwells not in temples made with hands, {Ac 7:48} neither is worshipped with men’s hands as though he needed anything, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things, Ac 17:25. A pure, a holy, a spiritual worship, therefore, is such as he seeks-the offering of the soul rather than the formal offering of the body-the homage of the heart rather than that of the lips.’ (Barnes)

‘When our Lord said this, he was seeking to disabuse the Samaritan woman of the idea that there could be only one right place for worship, as if God were locally confined in some way. “Spirit” contrasts with “flesh:” Christ’s point is that while man, being “flesh,” can only be present in one place at a time, God, being “spirit,” is not so limited. God is non-material, non-corporeal, and therefore non-localised. Thus (Christ continues) the true condition of acceptable worship is not that your feet should be standing in either Jerusalem or Samaria, or anywhere else for that matter, but that your heart should be receptive and responsive to his revelation.’ (J.I Packer, Knowing God, 133)

The first of the 39 Articles brings asserts that God is ‘without body, parts, or passions’. God has no body – he is omnipresent, and free from limitations with respect to space and distance. God has no parts – his personality, powers and qualities are perfectly integrated, so that he is eternally the same, Jas 1:17. God has no passions – not that he is unfeeling, but that in contrast to us the divine affections are not called forth involuntarily by external circumstances, but have the nature of deliberate voluntary choices.

‘God is a Spirit infinitely happy, therefore we must approach him with cheerfulness; he is a Spirit of infinite majesty, therefore we must come before him with reverence; he is a Spirit infinitely high, therefore we must offer up our sacrifices with deepest humility; he is a Spirit infinitely glorious, we therefore must acknowledge his excellency…he is a Spirit infinitely provoked by us, therefore we must offer up our worship in the name of a pacifying mediator and intercessor.’ (Stephen Charnock, Q by Packer, Among God’s Giants, 333)

‘Let us pray to God, that as he is a Spirit, so he will give us of his Spirit. The essence of God is incommunicable; but not the motions, the presence and influences of his Spirit. When the sun shines in a room, not the body of the sun is there, but the light, heat, and influence of the sun. God has made a promise of his Spirit. Eze 36:27. ‘I will put my Spirit within you.’ Turn promises into prayers. ‘O Lord, thou who art a Spirit, give me of thy Spirit; I, flesh, beg thy Spirit, thy enlightening, sanctifying, quickening, Spirit.’ Melanchthon prayed, ‘Lord, inflame my soul with thy Holy Spirit.’ How needful is his Spirit! We cannot do any duty without it, in a lively manner. When this wind blows upon our sails, we move swiftly towards heaven. Let us pray, therefore, that God would give us of the residue of his Spirit, Mal 2:15, that we may move more vigorously in the sphere of religion.’ (Thomas Watson, A Body of Divinity)

“Worship in spirit and in truth” - ‘Worship’ (together with related words) is mentioned 10 times in this account (out of 13 in Jn, and a total of 47 in the NT). To worship ‘in spirit’ is to recognise that a sincere attitude is far more important than physical posture. To worship ‘in truth’ is to be open and honest before God and man, and (no doubt) also to be in accord with God’s word.

Joh 4:25 The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”

Dr Charles Fineberg, a noted Jewish-Christian scholar, says that in the course of Israel’s history since the time of our Lord, sixty-four different individuals have appeared claiming to be the Messiah. (Illustrations for Biblical Preaching, 214)

Joh 4:26 Then Jesus declared, “I who speak to you am he.”

Joh 4:27 Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no one asked, “What do you want?” or “Why are you talking with her?”

Surprised to find him talking with a woman - ‘No Rabbi would have carried on a conversation with a woman. One of their sayings ran: “A man shall not be alone with a woman in an inn, not even with his sister or his daughter, on account of what men may think. A man shall not talk with a woman in the street, not even with his own wife, and especially not with another woman, on account of what men say.”‘ (Leon Morris)

Joh 4:28 Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people,

‘It is an indication of the deep impression that had been made upon her that she left her waterpot there. She completely abandoned the business in hand (though the abandoned waterpot meant that she would certainly return). She set about telling what had happened to her instead. She went back to the village and invited the men to come and meet Jesus.’ (Leon Morris)

John 4:29  “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?”

John 4:30  They came out of the town and made their way toward him.

John 4:31  Meanwhile his disciples urged him, “Rabbi, eat something.”

Joh 4:32 But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.”

‘What wonder if that woman did not understand about the water? See: the disciples do not yet understand the food.’ (Augustine)

John 4:33  Then his disciples said to each other, “Could someone have brought him food?”

Joh 4:34 “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.”

The example of Jesus here shows that keeping the law of God brings joy and strength. It is not wearisome, but refreshing. Obedience to God brings highest happiness; duty and delight are a perfect partnership. See Ro 7:18-22 12:1-2 1Jo 5:3.

Joh 4:35 Do you not say, ‘Four months more and then the harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.

There were four months between the end of seed-time and the beginning of harvest. ‘This might well have given rise to a proverbial saying indicating that there is no hurry for a particular task. The seed may be planted, but there is no way of getting round the months of waiting. Growth is slow and cannot be hurried. But Jesus did not share this view when applied to spiritual things. He had an urgent sense of mission and these words convey something of it to the disciples…The fields are even now ready for harvest.’ (Leon Morris)

Joh 4:36 Even now the reaper draws his wages, even now he harvests the crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together.

“The sower and the reaper may be glad together” - ‘Let it be noted, that in heaven there will at last be no jealousy and envy among Christ’s labourers. Some will have been sowers and some will have been reapers. But all will have done that part of the work allotted to them, and all will finally “rejoice together.” Envious feelings will be absorbed in common joy.’ (J.C. Ryle)

‘It must almost always be the case that those who reap precious souls profit from the work of those who have been before them. Each Christian worker is dependent for success on the labours of his predecessors.’ (Leon Morris)

John 4:37  Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true.

Joh 4:38 “I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.”

“Others have done the hard work” - possibly referring to the preparatory work of John the Baptist.

John 4:39  Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.”

John 4:40  So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days.

John 4:41  And because of his words many more became believers.

John 4:42  They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.”

A Prayer Based on Jn 4:3-42

Jesus used an everyday opportunity.  He needed to go through Samaria.  Lord, may your Spirit work in us to raise our consciousness of all the opportunities we have to act, speak and pray on your behalf.

Jesus broke with convention.  He spoke with a woman, and she a lone, sinful, Samaritan woman.  Lord, set us free from the tyranny of other people’s expectations and from our craving for their approval.  Make us to know the privilege and joy of ministering and witnessing to those whom this world holds in low esteem: the elderly, the frail, the vulnerable, the unproductive, the unattractive.

Jesus spoke to her with wisdom and sensitivity.  Lord, we confess that when we open our mouths to speak of spiritual things we are too often misguided or insensitive.  Or, through fear of these things, we fail to open our mouths in the first place.  Give to us, in our personal Christian work, and to the pastors and teachers of your church in their public ministry, boldness to proclaim your word in season and out of season, together with meekness, gentleness and compassion.

Jesus got a response.  The woman was so deeply impressed that she abandoned her water pot and set about telling other what had happened.  Lord, we would not fish without a catch.  We would not beat the air like those who are shadow-boxing.  Let us not go empty-handed.  May the exploration of Christianity lead to joyful discovery, and life-long commitment.

Jesus asked for a drink of water.  It was midday, and Jesus was hot and tired.  In this, and so many other ways, he shared in our weaknesses, and so is able to sympathise with them.  And so, Heavenly Father we commend to your love and care those who suffer in body, mind or spirit, and especially those known to us whom we hold up to you now.  … In your goodness and mercy grant them health of body, soundness of mind, and peace of heart, that in wholeness of being they may glorify your name, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Jesus spoke of himself and of God and of spiritual worship.  Purge our imagination by the beauty of God. open our heart to the love of God. feed our mind with the word of God. quicken our conscience by the holiness of God. devote our will to the purpose of God. yield to the Spirit and obey the truth of God.

John 4:43  After the two days he left for Galilee.

Jesus resumes the journey he had begun in v3.

John 4:44  (Now Jesus himself had pointed out that a prophet has no honor in his own country.)

A prophet has no honour in his own country - All three Synoptics also carry this saying from the lips of Jesus, Mk 6:4; Matt 13:57; Lk 4:24, although they apply it to those occasions when he was rejected in Galilee (especially Nazareth).  In the present passage, it may apply to Jerusalem, which Jesus has just left, and where he was greeted with unbelief, Jn 2:24.  His visit to Galilee is, on this occasion, met with a general welcome, v45, and a notable instance of belief.  An alternative approach is to link this saying with the general rejection spoken of in Jn 1:11, but with exceptions as indicated in 1:12.

Carson favours the view that ‘his own country’ refers to ‘Jewish turf’ in contrast to Samaria, from where he has just come and has been given an unqualified welcome.  Here in Galilee, however, the reception is more ambiguous.  ‘Jesus himself has declared that “a prophet has no honour in his own contry” (unlike the reception he enjoyed in Samaria), an dhe determinedly and knowingly heads in that direction.  Therefore when he arrives, the Galileans welcome him – not as Messiah, but because they had seen all that he had done at the Passover Feast in Jerusalem.’

Cf Jn 15:18, “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.”

John 4:45  When he arrived in Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him. They had seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, for they also had been there.

The Gk text of this verse begins with oun, ‘therefore’.

The Galileans welcomed him - but there is an underlying irony in this statement, since he was welcomed as a miracle-worker rather than as the Messiah.

John 4:46  Once more he visited Cana in Galilee, where he had turned the water into wine. And there was a certain royal official whose son lay sick at Capernaum.

These verses begins with another oun (‘therefore’).  ‘Precisely because the welcome the Galileans displayed was so dependent on miracles (unlike the faith of the Samaritans!), therefore on visiting Cana and being petitioned to perform a healing, Jesus detects in the royal official a welcome and a faith that desires a cure but that does not truly trust him.  Indeed, the royal official, in Jesus’ view, exemplifies what is wrong with the Galileans as a whole.’ (Carson)

Cana…Capernaum - Something approaching a full day’s walk apart.

Royal official - ‘probably means that this man is one of Herod Antipas’ court officials, although Herod’s official title was tetrarch rather than king. Jesus was extremely unfavorable toward Antipas (Lk 13:32; 23:9; for reasons, cf. Mk 6:17-29); this man who comes to Jesus would be a wealthy aristocrat, probably much influenced by Greco-Roman culture and not very religious by general Palestinian Jewish standards.’  (IVP Background Commentary)

Although there are similarities between this account and that of the healing of centurian’s servant in Mt 8:5ff; Lk 7:ff, there is no evidence that the ‘royal official’ was a gentile.

John 4:47  When this man heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea, he went to him and begged him to come and heal his son, who was close to death.

Come - rather, ‘come down’: Capernaum, on the Sea of Galilee, was lower than Cana.

John 4:48  “Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders,” Jesus told him, “you will never believe.”

“You people” - the official and the observers.

“Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders, you will never believe” - ‘If the man had been toying with the idea of viewing Jesus as a wonder-working, cure-all magician, Jesus stopped him immediately in any such pattern of thinking.’ (NAC)

‘Jesus’ reply is at first sight rather harsh.  But it is addressed to a wider audience than the officer as the plural “ye” indicates…Jesus is affirming that people such as the man who had come to him were lacking in that deep trustful attachment which is of the essence of faith.  They looked for the spectacular, and were linked to him only by a love for the sensational.’ (Leon Morris)

‘In John’s Gospel, too much interest in the raw miracles themselves is spiritually dangerous, 2:23-25; 6:26.  Miracles cannot compel genuine faith, e.g. 11:45f.  But the apologetic value of miracles, though often exaggerated, should not be despised: Jesus himself can encourage faith on that basis, especially amongst those too skeptical to trust his word, 10:28; 14:11.’ (Carson)

John 4:49  The royal official said, “Sir, come down before my child dies.”

‘The royal official is not interested in Christology or fulfilled prophecy or even in signs and wonders he is interested in the well-being of his child.’ (Carson)

John 4:50  Jesus replied, “You may go. Your son will live.” The man took Jesus at his word and departed.

“You may go” - or, rather, “Go”.

Long-distance miracles are rare by (for example) OT standards.  They would have been regarded as more extraordinary than those performed close at hand.  The point here, however, has to do with the seeker’s faith in his power.

‘In the ancient world miracles and acts of power were linked to the presence of the miracle worker, but here the healer refused to be present.The story therefore is an important illustration of the purpose for which John wrote the Gospel. Here believing the word is linked with not immediately seeing the sign (cf. 20:30-31; but note 20:29 also).’ (NAC)

The official said, “Sir, come, because my little child is dying,” v49. Jesus replied, “Go, because your son will live.”

John 4:51  While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living.

John 4:52  When he inquired as to the time when his son got better, they said to him, “The fever left him yesterday at the seventh hour.”

John 4:53  Then the father realized that this was the exact time at which Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” So he and all his household believed.

In addition to the healing of the boy, we may observe another miracle here.  There is a miracle of faith in the father.  He moves from hearsay belief, to desperation, to conviction, and finally to personal faith.

‘The time confirmation meant that the father/official “realized” or knew (4:53, a Johannine theme) the healing was directly connected with Jesus. This confirmation of the healing led the man to believe (4:53). The mention of a multistage believing pattern on the part of the man (“believed,” 4:50, and then “believed,” after confirmation of the time, 4:53) should not trouble western readers because the evangelist was fully aware of stages within the believing pattern of persons related to Jesus. Many Christians have developed single-dimension theories of believing that in fact contradict growth patterns of believing in personal experience as well as biblical perspectives. Theology must be related to actual life patterns if it is to be authentic.’ (NAC)

He and his household believed - See Acts 10:2; 11:14; 16:15,31; 18:8.

John 4:54  This was the second miraculous sign that Jesus performed, having come from Judea to Galilee.

This was the second miraculous sign that Jesus performed, having come from Judea to Galilee - The second, that is performed in Galilee (cf 2:11).  Jesus had performed signs in Judea, 2:23, and the Galileans themselves had witnessed more while in the south, 4:45.  The remaining ‘signs’ reported by John are not numbered.

‘The healing miracle finds a close parallel in the synoptic cure of the centurion’s servant (Matt. 8:4-13) and the story of the Syrophoenician woman (Mark 7:24-30). Both are cures effected at a distance. In John the miracle serves to display the new life promised by Jesus in the preceding discourses (3:16; 4:14, 36). In Cana, as in Samaria, Jesus hopes to inspire belief (v. 50) and in this case, the official’s son is saved (v. 51). The Johannine account underscores one feature of the miracle: Jesus’ word is powerful and effectual. The very hour of healing is the hour of Jesus’ utterance (v. 52). This combination of miracle and belief (vv. 50, 53) is what distinguishes the Johannine term sign. The powerful works of Jesus are designed to evoke a response, to reveal who Jesus is. They are signs that lead elsewhere-to faith. This is the intent of the signs in Cana, Jerusalem, Samaria, and again in Cana. This is the aim that John has even for his reader of the “Book of Signs.” “Many people saw the miraculous signs he was doing and believed in his name” (2:23).’ (Evangelical Commentary on the Bible)

‘The fact that the healing of the official’s son is designated as the second sign and none of the other signs in the Gospel are numbered also seems to indicate that the evangelist wanted these two signs to be seen as related to each other in a special way. The fact that the two signs move our thinking in a cycle from Cana to Cana argues that John wanted the two stories to form an inclusio. The focus of this story, as with each of the Cana Cycle stories, is on believing. The point of this story is that it illustrates a new dimension of believing: namely, a believing without the immediacy of seeing. Accordingly, it foreshadows the concluding words of Thomas about believing without seeing (20:29).’ (NAC)