The Gospel of John, Chapter 4

¹ When therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John,

² (Though Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples,)

³ He left Judaea, and departed again into Galilee.

Jesus, in his wisdom, knew it was best for him to depart to Galilee at this time. The Pharisees were invested in the Sanhedrin. They were very legalistic about keeping the Laws, while missing the point of the Law. These men of the Pharisees were the kind that acted as if they alone had the truth and would become really upset if someone came along with a valid point that challenged some part of their doctrine. The doctrine itself was correct, but the way they used the doctrine was missing the point. The Law was given to bring men to repentance, so they could have a relationship with God, and could become God minded and included into the family of God…. but the Pharisees used it to rise above others and kind of corner the market on what is and isn’t Godly. They set themselves up as the authority and seemed to want to control what others thought was Godly, so when Jesus came and was preaching and baptizing people and bringing them to God, the Pharisees took issue with it and were angry. Jesus knew exactly how they felt and what he needed to accomplish on his way to the Cross. So he departed to Galilee.

⁴ And he must needs go through Samaria.

⁵ Then cometh he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.

⁶ Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour.

⁷ There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink.

⁸ (For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.)

⁹ Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.

The Samaritans were a group of descendants from the 12 tribes of Israel that were living in the northern area and were displaces by the Assyrians. The Jewish people didn’t have dealings with them. God’s ideal plan for Israel was to lead them all himself, but Israel wanted a king, so God gave them King Saul, then David and then Solomon…. but after Solomon the nation split into 2 and had two kings over them. In the south was King Rohoboam and in north was King Jeroboam, who was over the area of Samaria.

¹⁰ Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.

¹¹ The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water?

¹² Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle?

¹³ Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again:

¹⁴ But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

¹⁵ The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.

¹⁶ Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither.

¹⁷ The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband:

¹⁸ For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly.

¹⁹ The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet.

When Jesus is asking for a drink of water, the woman of Samaria responds with a question as to why a Jewish man would ask for a drink from her. My thoughts are that there was a kind of rejection of the people in the northern areas of Israel, even though they were also descendants from Abraham. So when Jesus, a Jew, asked this Northern Israelite woman for a drink, she was surprised. Probably because she was used to being shunned by the Jewish people, and here was Jesus, a Jew, speaking to her.

²⁰ Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.

She reminds Jesus of the division between the Jews and the Samaritans.

²¹ Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.

Jesus is telling her that the time is coming where a location for worship won’t be needed…. and that worship of God will be within each believer any place, any time.

²² Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.

For years, I thought the Samaritan woman was not from the line of Abraham, even though she clearly says she is because I mistakenly thought that all Israelites were Jews.

²³ But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.

²⁴ God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

²⁵ The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things.

²⁶ Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he.

Jesus went to find this woman… he was drawn to her because she had a hunger to know God… to have a relationship with him, you can tell by her words she has been pondering these things.. like the part where she says that the Jews say that true worship happens in Jerusalam. She’s been pondering these things with a heart that wants to know God and to worship him. She even knows that the Messiah is coming and seems to be waiting for the wisdom he will bring. She came to that well THIRSTY not for the water in the well, but for the water that Jesus has. Jesus saw this. To break it down….
God, Jesus… who know everything that is and was and in to come, knew at that exact moment that this woman would be at that well looking for water…. and at that exact moment in time she came to draw from the well only to find a well-spring of Living water that could and would quench her thirst forever more. Unlike the Pharisees who adhere to the Law and would have shunned this woman and never spoken to her, Jesus saw her heart crying out to know God… which is what salvation is all about. We miss the point if the only message we get here is that this fallen woman finds Jesus… we need to see that Jesus will find you if your heart desires him. He never said to this woman to go and sin no more, Jesus knew this encounter would change her.

²⁷ And upon this came his disciples, and marvelled that he talked with the woman: yet no man said, What seekest thou? or, Why talkest thou with her?

The disciples trusted Jesus so they never questioned why he spoke to her against what was normal for a Jewish person. It did surprise them because it was something they didn’t expect. To me it doesn’t seem like they marvelled in a bad way, but in a good way…like standing in awe of how Jesus went about his ministy.

²⁸ The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men,

²⁹ Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?

I used to read this and think… “Wow, is that all it took to convince her… the fact that Jesus knew her past husbands and that her current man was not her husband?” … now I can see, her spirit recognised the answer to her prayers. Jesus opened her eyes and told her who he was and she knew it was true. She even left her water pot behind.

³⁰ Then they went out of the city, and came unto him.

³¹ In the mean while his disciples prayed him, saying, Master, eat.

³² But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of.

³³ Therefore said the disciples one to another, Hath any man brought him ought to eat?

³⁴ Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.

There is a few things here. The woman of Samaria brought back people to hear Jesus, so right away this newly converted woman is gathering people to meet Jesus. The disciples wanted Jesus to eat and didn’t understand that Jesus was doing what he came to do, the thing that was most important, that is leading men to salvation and into a relationship with God.

³⁵ Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.

³⁶ And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together.

³⁷ And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth.

³⁸ I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours.

All these people of Samaria gathered there around the well of Jacob to hear Jesus…. and become believers. This is the ripened field ready to harvest… the time is now to reap. Jesus wanted the disciples, and all of us, to be ready at any time to lead someone to the Lord… to have our eyes open for the ripened fields ready to harvest just like the people of Samaria that day at the well. In my study of John 3 I spoke about how I found the little red Bible verse book and memorised John 3:16 and how that was a seed that would later grow and ripen and how all those other laborers in the field also tended that seed until one day it was ready to harvest and I accepted Jesus as my savior and received the well-spring of living waters. Other people had spoken to this woman in Samaria, they planted the seed… and on this day, Jesus harvested her soul and gave her eternal life. We all have a part to play, some of us plant, other till the soil, some water and God gives the increase.

³⁹ And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him for the saying of the woman, which testified, He told me all that ever I did.

⁴⁰ So when the Samaritans were come unto him, they besought him that he would tarry with them: and he abode there two days.

⁴¹ And many more believed because of his own word;

⁴² And said unto the woman, Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world.

⁴³ Now after two days he departed thence, and went into Galilee.

For 2 days Jesus held this meeting, saving souls and teaching the people. I imagine it was glorious and that joy was abundant as these people who once felt they needed to be in Jerusalam to worship God, now found out they could worship him whereever they are and now had a relationship with him.

⁴⁴ For Jesus himself testified, that a prophet hath no honour in his own country.

I found this to be so very true… not just for the ministry but in everything in life. I remember once I was learning how to sketch and had drawn a picture of George Washington. My cousin came over and saw it, I told him I had drawn it and he picked it up and held it to the light. I asked what he was doing and he said he was checking to see if I traced it. He could not accept that I had done it on my own. Now other people when they see my art, good or bad, don’t really question if I did it or not. The people who have known me my whole life have developed an idea of who I am and placed me in that box…it’s inconceiveable to them that I’ve grown beyond what they imagined about me. People do this in ministry too… we tend to make a judgment on a person and take away their ability to change in our minds… like our opinion of them doesn’t grow with them, our opinion stays the same and we rationalize the things they do that is beyond what we expected to keep our opinion of them the same. We need to stop that… everyone’s growth needs to be recognised and celebrated.

⁴⁵ Then when he was come into Galilee, the Galilaeans received him, having seen all the things that he did at Jerusalem at the feast: for they also went unto the feast.

⁴⁶ So Jesus came again into Cana of Galilee, where he made the water wine. And there was a certain nobleman, whose son was sick at Capernaum.

⁴⁷ When he heard that Jesus was come out of Judaea into Galilee, he went unto him, and besought him that he would come down, and heal his son: for he was at the point of death.

⁴⁸ Then said Jesus unto him, Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe.

⁴⁹ The nobleman saith unto him, Sir, come down ere my child die.

⁵⁰ Jesus saith unto him, Go thy way; thy son liveth. And the man believed the word that Jesus had spoken unto him, and he went his way.

⁵¹ And as he was now going down, his servants met him, and told him, saying, Thy son liveth.

⁵² Then enquired he of them the hour when he began to amend. And they said unto him, Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.

⁵³ So the father knew that it was at the same hour, in the which Jesus said unto him, Thy son liveth: and himself believed, and his whole house.

⁵⁴ This is again the second miracle that Jesus did, when he was come out of Judaea into Galilee.