¶ When therefore the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus makes and baptises more disciples than John v.1 Once the Pharisees learned of the proportion of the Lord’s ministry compared to John’s, they were going to use it to stir up rivalry between the disciples of the Lord and of John. John 3:22-36 is an example of the rivalry that the Pharisees’ wanted to gender, but also of how the spirit of grace in John put an end to it.

The Samaritans. The origin of the Samaritans is inseparably linked from the captivity of Israel, the ten northern tribes (2 Kings 17:7-41). Because the children of Israel had sinned, God cast them out of their land. They were taken captive by the king of Assyria and settled in various places, and they have not yet been restored to their land. Instead, "the king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, and from Cuthah, and from Avva, and from Hamath, and from Sepharvaim, and made them dwell in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel; and they possessed Samaria, and dwelt in its cities" (2 Kings 17:24). At the beginning they did not know Jehovah at all, and He sent lions among them to teach them to fear Him. God allowed the Samaritans to remain in His land as stewards of the land, not because they were better than Israel, but because He did not want the land to fall back under the curse of idolatry as it had under the reign of the Amorites. The Samaritans understood that to remain in the land required them to acknowledge Jehovah. But not knowing Jehovah, the Samaritans appealed to the king of Assyria, who sent one of the priests back to the northern part of the land to teach the Samaritans "the manner of the god of that land". The result was that they feared Jehovah in an outward way, but also served other gods. The Samaritans had a version of the Pentateuch, but they worshiped in Mount Gerizim rather than at Jerusalem. The restored captives of Judah deeply despised the Samaritans and had no relationship with them (John 4:9) because the Samaritans were not true Jews. Yet, in their religious pride, the Jews did far worst than that, and said to their Messiah, “Thou art a Samaritan!” (John 8:48). They religiously judged other men meanwhile they themselves were far worse. In doing that they were judging God! The Lord Jesus fulfilled the type of Joseph as a fruitful branch reaching over the wall of separation when He visited the town of Sychar in Samaria (John 4). Several years later Philip brought the gospel there to the cities, towns, and villages of Samaria, and the result was a tremendous harvest of souls (Acts 8).

4 And he must needs pass through Samaria. v.4 It says that Jesus “must needs go” through Samaria. The reason was not merely geographical. His love brought Him here. The direct route to Galilee lay through Samaria, but due to the racial divide, Jews were known to go out around through Perea across Jordan to bypass Samaria (see map below). The reason was love. The grace of God imposed upon Him a path that brought Him to a particular city (v.4) at a particular time (v.5). The Lord Jesus is deeply interested in individuals, and will involve Himself in the details of our lives.

 

5 He comes therefore to a city of Samaria called Sychar, near to the land which Jacob gave to his son Joseph. v.5 There is no coincidence to these details. Sychar, now called ‘Askar’, lies half a mile north of the well. It was a small town, the name meaning “town of the sepulcher”, and Joseph’s tomb being about one hundred yards east of it. It was adjoined to the land which Jacob gave to Joseph (Gen. 33:19; 47:22; Josh. 24:32). The Lord Jesus is about to fulfill in picture the type of Joseph as “a fruitful bough by a well; his branches shoot over the wall” (Gen. 49:22). The blood of Christ had not been shed yet, and the cross of Christ – that slayed the enmity between Jew and Gentile, that broke down the middle wall of partition – had not taken place yet. Here we have the man the fruitful Branch in grace reaching over the wall, which was not yet broken down.

 

6 Now a fountain of Jacob’s was there; Jesus therefore, being wearied with the way he had come, sat just as he was at the fountain. It was about the sixth hour. v.6 We find something beautiful here; Jesus was “wearied with his journey”. He was fully a man. He passed through all the circumstances we pass though. He knew what is was to be thirsty and weary. This leg of the journey was about 20 miles! The time is recorded as “the sixth hour”. If John reckons time as the Romans did, this is our 6:00 AM.¹ Some might dispute this because the disciples were already gone into the city to buy food (v.8), which would have been very early. If is was according to Jewish reckoning, this would have been the Jewish sixth hour, or our 12:00 noon. In either case it was an unusual time to draw water; 6:00 AM being very early (still dark), and 12:00 PM being very late. It would suggest that the Samaritan woman came at a time when there would be few other women present. Perhaps she did so to be alone on account of her reputation.

 

Jesus as a humbled man. In this account, it is remarkable that Jesus is not only presented in His official character (Messiah) but as a humble man, weary and thirsty from His journey (and at the close, hungry). Jesus walked an estimated 3,125 miles during His three years of public ministry. He waited a long time, and took a verbal beating from this woman, but He never got His drink. It is Christ in this character that feeds our souls while we pass through this wilderness pathway. In John 6, the Lord presents the truth of this to the Jews, saying, “I am the living bread which came down from heaven” (John 6:51). Jesus showed that, as a man on the earth, He was the antitype of the manna that fed Israel. We can and must feed on Christ in this way, occupying ourselves with Him in His humility and perfect grace. It was Jesus in this character that occupied the mind of J.G. Bellett at the end of his life; see excerpt. This “manna” is one of the three spiritual foods we are to feed on; the passover, the manna, and the old corn of the land (read more…).

 

7 A woman comes out of Samaria to draw water. Jesus says to her, Give me to drink v.7 Jesus Himself made all the water in the universe, and here He was thirsty. He would never perform a miracle to satisfy His own need. He waited on the Father to satisfy His needs. Every miracle He did was for the blessing of others. Jesus was here for her salvation… “Beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings…that publisheth salvation.” (Isa. 52:7). Yet the Lord says to her, “Give me to drink”, showing that He wanted to be refreshed by fellowship with His creature.

 

8 (for his disciples had gone away into the city that they might buy provisions). v.8 The Lord Jesus was alone too. A lonely sinner and a lonely Saviour meet at this well. The Lord begins a work in the soul of this woman, through many oppositions, resulting on the salvation of her soul. The Lord works, not by doing an external miracle before her eyes, but simply by the Son of God speaking in Divine love. No sign is needed, and her conscience and heart are reached! The salvation of this woman and the teaching of Christ surrounding it speaks of Christianity.

 

Five Objections are raised by the woman in the course of the interaction. Each one of them is met by the Lord in perfect wisdom. We see the Lord working as a master with souls. The five objections:

The Lord graciously treats all her objections as “requests for more information”. This is a good lesson for evangelists. Often when someone speaks crassly or lashes out it is the fruit of a hurting heart. So it is wise to answer softly, yet speak to the conscience, and point them to Christ.

The Jews and the Samaritans. Why did the Jews have “no dealings” with the Samaritans? 2 Kings 17 tells us that, after the ten tribes were taken away by Assyria, Gentiles were transplanted into the northern kingdom. They worshipped idols, so the Lord sent lions among them to make them fear Him. The result was a hybrid worship of Jehovah and idolatry carried out in Mt. Gerazim. They worshipped the Lord out of superstition and fear. The Jews held racist hatred for them and tried to justify it with scripture.

The springing fountain. There are seven figures of the Spirit of God used in John’s gospel. The word “well” should be translated “fountain”, and has the thought of a geyser, which springs up of its own accord with “inboard” power. The Spirit of God, in the aspect of the fountain, is the internal source of satisfaction and joy in the believer, which results in worship. The fullness of this could not be known until the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit was sent down (Acts 2). We read in John 7:39 that “the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.”

15 The woman says to him, Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst nor come here to draw. v.15 Objection #3. “My problems are too big for a spiritual solution.” The woman stated her third objection as a form of sarcasm. She was as much as saying, “if your living water can solve my physical thirst so I can stop making this 6:00 AM trek to the well, then I’ll take it.” She did not believe that the Lord could actually fill and satisfy her heart. She was attracted to this man, but His words were still not making a serious impression.

 

16 Jesus says to her, Go, call thy husband, and come here. v.16 Reply #3. This is the critical turning point. In order for her soul to be won for God, He must shine light upon her conscience. The Lord brought up the subject of her moral state, drawing her into the light. The words “Go call thy husband” were for her conscience; the words “come hither” were for her heart. He wasn’t casting her out, He wanted her company. Jesus is the manifestation of the heart of God; grace and truth, light and love. Love takes away what the light exposes.

 

17 The woman answered and said, I have not a husband. Jesus says to her, Thou hast well said, I have not a husband; 18 for thou hast had five husbands, and he whom now thou hast is not thy husband: this thou hast spoken truly vv.17-18 She replied with half the truth, trying to hide the full truth. It was important that not only “grace” (replies #1 & #2) but “truth” also (reply #3) should enter her ears for her to be converted. Jesus exposed the evil, fallen, depraved state of her soul. She had been through five husbands in her search for satisfaction, drawing her into lower and lower depths of sin. She was currently living common-law with a man. This made the Lord Jesus the seventh man in her life. If you have tried to find love and failed, there is a man you need to meet. There will never be an eighth man, for Jesus will fill your heart!

 

19 The woman says to him, Sir, I see that thou art a prophet. v.19 The Word touched her conscience, and the immediate response was to identify the Lord as a prophet. In a certain sense she was trying to deflect by putting the Lord into a category, but in another sense her conscience was touched. Prophecy in scripture has several different characteristics. Sometimes it is foretelling events, and other times it is that class of ministry which reaches the conscience. It may result in edification, exhortation, or comfort (1 Cor. 14:3). In every case, prophecy is a word from God for the time, and it brings the soul into the presence of God (1 Cor. 14:24-25). We see this character in the Lord’s reply in vv.16-18. Her heart may have been touched before v.16, but not her conscience until the Lord (who was “that Prophet”) spoke to her in this special capacity. After this, she began making real progress in her soul, because her conscience had been reached. Her objections from this point on take on a different tone. They are less scornful and insulting.

 

20 Our fathers worshipped in this mountain, and ye say that in Jerusalem is the place where one must worship. v.20 Objection #4. “There are many religions, who’s to say your religion is right?” She next tried to change the subject! Whenever the conscience is pricked about sin, the natural response is to backpedal. She was really saying, “you have your religion and I have mine, and who is to say which one is right?” How often when speaking with sinners will they interrupt to ask “what church do you go to?” It is a way of undercutting the spoken word, by making the voice of God just one of many “voices” in this world. The Samaritans had their own system of worship. They worshiped in “this mountain”, referring to mount Gerizim. The Jews worshiped in Jerusalem. Even the way she said “ye say” was calculated to cast religion as a matter of relative opinion, not of absolute fact.

 

vv.21-24 Four great differences between Judaistic and Christian worship: 

1. A change in the place of worship (v.21a)
2. A change in the relationship with the Person they worshiped (v.21b)
3. A change in the character of worship (vv.22-23a)
4. A change in the attitude of the worshipper (v.23b)

21 Jesus says to her, Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when ye shall neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem worship the Father. v.21 Reply #4. The Lord’s response was beautiful. If it were me, I might have pushed back against her changing the subject. But the Lord knew He had gone far enough (see the evident repentance in v.29). Instead, the Lord spoke to her of true worship, and gave four characteristics which we too must “believe” if we are to worship rightly today. The first two changes:

1. A change in the place of worship (v.21a). In Christianity, worship is no longer at a geographical place. Both the Jews and the Samaritans worshipped in physical places, and the Christian’s place of worship is not a building or a congregation, but the very presence of God, the heavenly sanctuary (Hebrews 8-10), “within the veil”. We come into His presence by simple faith. This is where we worship. God had been looking forward to this “hour” of Christian worship since the beginning of time! (See note on the various “hours” in John’s Gospel). This would put the Jewish-Samaritan dispute to rest.
    

   Within the holiest of all,

   Cleansed by His precious blood,

   Before the throne we prostrate fall,

   And worship Thee, O God.
    
2. A change in the relationship with the Person they worshiped (v.21b). Jews and even Samaritans worshipped Jehovah. Now it would be God as Father… the character of God coming forth to His children in love and grace. In Christ, we have been made to share all the relationships that Christ has, including knowing God as our Father.

22 Ye worship ye know not what; we worship what we know, for salvation is of the Jews. 23a But the hour is coming and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth; vv.22-23a The third change:

3. A change in the character of worship (vv.22-23a). The Samaritans’ worship was unintelligent. They had some mixture of idolatry and worshiping Jehovah. But the Jews at least knew they worshipped a moral lawgiver, although this was still a very limited revelation of God. Salvation was “of the Jews”, in that the Messiah was promised to them (Luke 2:30). The “hour” of Christian worship was coming soon (see note on the various “hours” in John’s Gospel), and “now is” in the sense that Jesus was then declaring the Father’s name. The new character of worship would be “in spirit” (spiritual) and “in truth” (according to the revelation of God). Jews worshipped with their hands (not in spirit) but they did have truth, although it was limited. The Samaritans had neither. 

23b for also the Father seeks such as his worshippers. v.23b The fourth change:

4. A change in the attitude of the worshipper (v.23b). True worshippers are sought by the Father. We cannot worship from a framework of human efforts. We must bow before sovereign grace. There is a longing in the Father’s heart for intelligent, spiritual worship. He wants His creatures to refresh His heart with thoughts of His Son. The Son is seeking sinners, and the Father is seeking worshipers. Seeking is always connected with grace.

24 God is a spirit; and they who worship him must worship him in spirit and truth. v.24 Why is true worship “in spirit”? It is not capital “S”, as in the Spirit of God; although we do worship by the Holy Spirit (Phil. 3:3). True worship is not generated through the body or the soul (emotions) but rather in the spirit; i.e. the part of our being which is God-conscious. It is in contrast to fleshly worship. God wants to hear the overflow of our hearts! If the heart is not engaged, it isn’t true worship. True worship comes from God and goes to God. That which is physical or strictly emotional is of human design and not true worship. However, true worship will affect the soul and produce emotion. Depending on the composure of the individual, the emotion may even affect the body; e.g. tears. This is natural and to be expected; however, we should never forget that the emotion produced is not worship. The Word of God is able to discern what is spiritual and what is soulish; i.e. “the dividing asunder of soul and spirit” (Hebrews 4:12). 

 

What is worship? This is hard to answer definitively, but perhaps the Lord’s discourse in John 4 helps. Jesus wanted “a drink” from this woman. In a similar way, God wants something from His creature to refresh His heart… this is worship. The character of worship is in spirit and in truth. Worship is the overflowing of the human spirit that refreshes the heart of God. What could refresh His heart more than to hear our opinion of His Son? “And ye shall tell my father of all my glory in Egypt, and of all that ye have seen” (Gen. 45:13). And yet all of God’s thoughts about His Son are fully formed in His Word; therefore our worship is “in truth”.

 

¶ 39 But many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him because of the word of the woman who bore witness, He told me all things that I had ever done. v.39 Point #1: An understanding of God’s grace not sacrificing His holiness. This evangelical work which began through personal testimonies, and largely it still continues that way today. The Lord can use one insignificant sinner to work a great blessing. It began also with an understanding of grace that was not at the expense of God’s holiness. The woman wanted others to be attracted to One who had exposed her own wickedness.

 

40 When therefore the Samaritans came to him they asked him to abide with them, and he abode there two days. v.40 The period would last “two days”, as adequate witness to God’s grace. These “two days” represent the two thousand years in which God did “visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name” (Acts 15:14). Two days are often used to picture the Church period (Luke 10:35), which in terms of “one day is as a thousand years” (2 Pet. 3:8), speaks of roughly two-thousand years.

  

41 And more a great deal believed on account of his word; 42a and they said to the woman, It is no longer on account of thy saying that we believe, for we have heard him ourselves, vv.41-42a The work would grow rapidly through the spread of the Word. What was used for the conversion of many was “his own word”. Nothing is mentioned about miracles; it was what Jesus said that brought about the salvation of a great multitude. This is what characterizes the Christian dispensation; many saved through the spread of the Word. The charismatic movement is not an improvement on this!

 

42b and we know that this is indeed the Saviour of the world. v.42b The believers know Him not only as Messiah but as Savior. What we have pictured is a time when Jesus is known, not only as the Messiah, but as the Savior of the world, because the gospel has gone out full and free to Jew and Gentile alike. A Jew would never say this. They would only see the Messiah as the one who would “save his people”, but the saved Gentiles have in some ways a deeper understanding of grace, and see that He is “the savior of the world”.

 

1. Rejected in Jerusalem (John 2:13-25). A picture of the Lord’s rejection by Israel at His first coming. 
2. Two days in Samaria (vv.39-42). A picture of the Church period. There is no miracle or signs given, just the Word of God working in power. The result is tremendous blessing and a vast harvest of Gentile souls. 
3. A third day in Galilee (vv.43-54). A picture of God taking up with a faithful remnant of the Jews in a coming day. The nobleman (the remnant) has faith, while the nation refuses to believe without signs and wonders (v.48). The Lord rewards his faith with a miracle (the healing of his son) which is a picture of the restoration of Israel as a nation in the Millennium.

The beginning of Christ’s public ministry. Compare Matt. 4:12-17; Mark 1:14-16; Luke 4:14-16. Although not mentioned here, just previous to this event, John the Baptist was imprisoned and the Lord Jesus was taken into the wilderness for the 40 days of temptation. Afterward, the Lord returned through Samaria (John 4:1-42) and now He comes into Galilee in the full power of the Spirit of God. This event really marks the beginning of our Lord’s public ministry.

 

¶ 43 But after the two days he went forth thence and went away into Galilee, v.43 This departure of the Lord into Galilee is a picture of Jehovah resuming His work with Israel and taking up with a remnant. Hosea 6:1-2 says, “After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight.” The Church period is often pictured as “two days” (Luke 10:35), which in terms of “one day is as a thousand years” (2 Pet. 3:8), is an apt picture of these two-thousand years.

 

44 for Jesus himself bore witness that a prophet has no honour in his own country. v.44 The Lord was rejected by the proper Jews (Jerusalem, His own country) and retreats for a time to Galilee, which represents the poor of the flock, a remnant company. “A prophet has no honor in his own country” because of familiarity. The people in a prophet’s own country have seen him grow up, and it is hard for them to accept that God might be working through such a person. Sometimes we get tired of hearing a prophet in our own country because we see their failures… but the Lord had no failures! Often men of God are valued by the saints abroad, but not valued at home.

 

45 When therefore he came into Galilee, the Galileans received him, having seen all that he had done in Jerusalem during the feast, for they also went to the feast. v.45 Though Jesus was rejected by the Judeans in the south, “the Galileans received him”, which is a picture of the Jewish remnant receiving the Lord in a future day. That is something Israel is unwilling to do today. Receiving Christ is the critical hinge-point of blessing. This is a general reception, but individual faith was still necessary (v.50).

 

¶ 46a He came therefore again to Cana of Galilee, where he made the water wine. v.46a The Lord returns to the very place in which He did His first miracle; the marriage of Cana, which held out the promise, pledge, and earnest of Israel’s future joy. In a similar way the Lord will resume His dealings with Israel on the very same moral “ground” in which He displayed His power in the days of David and Solomon.

 

Capernaum. Capernaum was the Lord’s hometown for the years of His public ministry. He was raised in Nazareth, but when He turned thirty years of age he moved to Capernaum, which was 20 miles to the north in the borders of Zebulon and Naphtali to fulfill scripture (Matt. 4:13). Capernaum, Cana, and Nazareth were cities of the region of Galilee. In Matt. 11, we read that that Lord had done many “mighty works” in Capernaum. The following miracle was one of those works.

The Nobleman’s Faith in the Invisible Word of God (vv.46b-50)

Faith rewarded by the visible restoration of his son (vv.51-54)