GENNHQH EX hUDATOS KAI PNEUMATOS. (Born of water and the Spirit.) How confusing those words are to some because of misplaced allegiances. It means simply repentance—that is on us and God working together, and rebirth of spirit—that is on God alone. We saw the confusion just before in the previous chapter in the learned Jewish rabbi Nicodemus, and straightaway here we shall see it again on the other end of the spectrum in an unlearned Samaritan woman. There must surely be a teaching Jesus is driving home. A good part of the blessed chapter of God’s Word before us will allow us to prayerfully engage that teaching. So, we are going to settle in and wrestle with it and be blessed. And then, Team Captain Jesus will commission us as players on His Team to put into shoe leather, with understanding, what He taught us per all the wrestling and blessings. At the end of it all, our Lord will demonstrate His power to us, even in us, to accomplish that which we shall put into shoe leather on His behalf. Let us dive in and get wet.

We will follow this format:

Verse of Scripture utilizing the KJV text followed by an NKJV mouse over of that verse. Key words in the KJV text will be footnoted with a link to a word study based on the Greek text, and/or a general discussion relative to the given word (we are not biblical Greek or Hebrew scholars, please consider our grammatical constructions with a critical eye).

Commentary We shall always be commenting on this passage keeping before us the crucial fact that every jot and every tittle comprising these verses came forth under the inspiration of the blessed Holy Spirit. We pray that He, by His grace, helps us along the way.

II. John Chapter Four Commentary Verses

4:1-3- From a Trickle to a Flood, and O How it Irked Them

1 When therefore the Lord[1] knew[2] how the Pharisees[3] had heard[4] that Jesus made and baptized[5] more disciples[6] than John[7], 2 (Though Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples,)[8] 3 He left Judaea[9], and departed again[10] into Galilee[11]. (John 4:1-3 KJV), (John 4:1-3 NLT)

COMMENTARY: What a proud and self-righteous lot the Pharisees of Jesus’ day were. John the Baptist taught repentance, and a manner of living consistent with the holiness of God (Isaiah 40:3, Matthew 3:1-3). He was the last in a long line of prophets God sent to Israel and Judah announcing the coming of Messiah—a Deliverer, a Savior of… the Jewish nation? So thought the Scribes and the Pharisees and the common Jew owing to what was taught them. Here is glaring exclusivity on display. That is not at all what God had in mind. Messiah was to be a Deliverer and a Savior of…humankind. Here is glaring inclusivity on display. The Baptist was breaking through those exclusivity barriers in his preaching[12] and was baptizing disciples into the Kingdom of God entirely contrary to this Pharisaic Judaism that prevailed, thus undermining it and exposing its phony leaders and confused proponents (Matthew 3:7-10, “Matthew Chapter Twenty-Three Commentary”). And the number of conversions were “proof in the pudding” that folks were embracing his preaching (Matthew 3:5). In old-fashioned terms, the Baptist was “a problem” for Pharisaic Judaism. What to do? The usual—let’s get rid of him… And so, they did. They first got him imprisoned, then they literally took his head off. No more Baptist, no more problems, right? Wrong. Along comes Jesus (Messiah), and not only continues the same preaching and exposure and conversions (John 3:22), but accelerates them:

 When therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John (Though Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples).

So now what to do? Better get rid of Him too. But Jesus’ hour had not yet come. So, our Lord leaves them in the dust and takes His preaching north again (Matthew 4:12-17-note verse seventeen is consistent with the Baptist’s preaching). We cannot present the exact time | place sequence of Jesus’ early visits to Galilee because it is not clear to us, suffice to say for this commentary that our Lord is making a return trip to Galilee right here.

4:4-6- He Must Needs Go Through Samaria, Even Samaria

4 And he must needs go[13] through Samaria[14]. 5 Then cometh he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar[15], near to the parcel of ground that Jacob[16] gave to his son Joseph[17]. 6 Now Jacob’s well[18] was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied[19] with [his] journey, sat thus on the well: [and] it was about the sixth hour[20]. (John 4:4-6 KJV), (John 4:4-6 NLT)

COMMENTARY: He must needs go through Samaria not just because that was the most straightforward/less exhausting way to get to Galilee (assuming a Jerusalem area departure, Fig. 2), but because Father God had drawn a ewe astray, like the rest of us sad to say, to meet Him there at Jacob’s well in Samaria just outside Sychar, about one-half-mile removed (Genesis 33:18-19, Joshua 24:32). Yon ewe astray—she would listen without contempt and jealousy and conniving, and so would her people—the hated Samaritans no less! (God is never mocked, not even a little bit.) Finally, the Gospel is about to blossom. All it takes is some unclogged ears and open minds and a little bit of functional gray matter between them ears. There were still hurdles to clear to be sure, but this Samaria was fertile ground to turn over, like unto the disciples that the Baptist and just later Jesus turned over near Salim (John 3:23, G4530, also, and also).

Please see our notes nineteen and twenty regarding Jesus’ weariness and travels.

4:7-26- Prototypical Salvation at Sychar

7 There cometh a woman of Samaria[21] to draw water[22]: Jesus saith unto her, Give[23] me to drink. 8 (For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.[24]) 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[25]. 10 Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest[26] the gift of God[27], 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[28]. 11 The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with[29], and the well is deep[30]: from whence then hast thou that living water? 12 Art thou greater than our father Jacob[31], which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle? 13 Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh[32] of this water shall thirst[33] again: 14 But whosoever drinketh[34] of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give[35] him shall be in him a well of water[36] springing[37] up into everlasting[38] life.15 The woman saith unto him, Sir, give[39] me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw. 16 Jesus saith unto her, Go[40], call[41] thy husband[42], and come hither. 17 The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well[43] 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[44] that thou art a prophet.[45] 20 Our fathers[46] worshipped[47] in this mountain[48]; and ye say, that in Jerusalem[49] is the place where men ought to worship. 21 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe[50] me, the hour[51] cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father[52]. 22 Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation[53] is of the Jews[54]. 23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true[55] worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit[56] and in truth[57]: for the Father seeketh[58] such to worship[59] him. 24 God [is] a Spirit[60]: and they that worship him must worship [him] in spirit and in truth. 25 The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias[61] cometh, [62] which is called Christ[63] when he is come, he will tell[64] us all things. 26 Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am[65] [he]. (John 4:7-26 KJV), (John 4:7-26 NLT)

COMMENTARY:

He must needs go through Samaria that day, see here, to bless even bless, a dear friend,

yea to rest a spell, quench His thirst yon well, this lost sheep battered to tend.

Yon ewe astray, been round and round you say, the talk of all Sychar-town,

five husbands before, a sixth at the door, no nary a wedding gown.

Give me a drink He said, piercing eyes aflame, seated there at Jacob’s well,

I am not a Jewess my, wist He not O my, where these Schism-boundaries fell!

Indeed He knew, eyes aflame He knew, petty strife His infinite Name arrested, contested, molested,

at that well that day, for the record that day, the required Way He manifested, manifested, manifested.

God is Spirit He said, but in Truth worshiped He said, setting the record straight, His record straight,

neither on this hill is found, nor in Jerusalem renown, but in the contrite hearts of His people relates.

Said, the Gift of God, is the Spirit of God, Whom He that speaketh with thee imparts,

like unto Living Waters bestowed, Living Waters that flow, ever a Wellspring of Life in the heart.

But ask of me He said, all your thirst He said, forever, God, shall abundantly satisfy, satisfy, satisfy,

for into your heart I send, indeed the Gift of God I send, springing up unto eternal life, life, life.

Ever give me of this Living Water my Lord. Thank you. Amen.

(Isaiah 55:1, Revelation 22:17, “A Letter of Invitation”)

Here we have Jesus, and this bruised woman of Samaria, and John, at Jacob’s well, and Mount Gerizim with its rival altar atop towers over the scene. Now follows a divine appointment:

There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink. (For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.) 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.

There is much written about why this woman came here to draw water instead of the well outside Sychar, all well and good, but the real reason she is here is because she had a divine appointment to meet Jesus that day. You say, did not Jesus forbid His disciples to enter Samaria (Matthew 10:5)? So why is He here then, why this divine appointment in that place with that woman of all people? We think that Jesus forbade the disciples because they being Jews were not yet ready to preach to the peoples that Jews considered their enemies and whom they flat out hated. But Jesus’ mindset, obviously, is completely different—we are talking about the Messiah, the Savior of the world here, who loves all peoples and wants all to come to repentance, and by-and-by to come to Salvation through precisely Him. Quite simply, He can minister this hurting one like none other, because He loves her and her people. And she, unlike those pious frauds in Jerusalem, is going to listen to Jesus, as He well knew beforehand, and progress is going to be made for the Gospel, and for her blessed soul, and the blessed souls of her people. It is a first step, and first steps must be done aright else the rest are for naught. First steps. We had a discourse with a confused rabbi before (john 3:1-21, “John Chapter Three Commentary”), and we discussed baptism above, and now we see a confused “enemy” (so the Jews) ministered. First steps. We find Jesus personally involved in these first steps, and so it must be for all to go well later. It would be pure negligence on God’s part if He were not personally involved in these first steps. Or, one could say that God just did not care all that much about getting His program of Salvation launched aright if He were not personally involved at the outset. So, Jesus stops by on His way north. The Samaritan woman—Sister Sychar—was chosen for the ministry that would unfold through her, by divine appointment, as are all of us who serve God chosen by grace by divine appointment for our particular ministries. It goes without saying that Salvation is by grace a divine appointment as Sister Sychar presently in heaven enjoying God full well knows.

That the Jews have no dealings with Samaritans as Sister Sychar says is a barrier, a typical one, that Jesus is dealing with here: Jesus, the quintessential Jew, engages this Samaritan woman in conversation, building on a water theme He started back in the previous chapter with rabbi Nicodemus:

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.

Notice the conjunction and: “…If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink…”. It connects “…the gift of God…” with “…who it is that saith to thee, give me to drink…,” i.e., Jesus. It can be parsed differently, but that is certainly one way to look at it. Is Jesus the Gift of God? Sure (e.g., John 3:16 et al.). And once removed, so too is living water, given by Jesus, the gift of God. Which then is the gift of God Jesus is referring to, Himself? Or living water? We will learn later that living water is properly written Living Water, it is the Holy Spirit, the third person of the triune God Jehovah. The conclusion we settled upon is that the Gift of God is God Himself—this is in fact true no matter how one looks at it.

Let’s recap: Jesus asks Sister Sychar for a drink. She mumbles back some short-sighted, worldly stuff about barriers, and straightaway Jesus identifies Himself as deity and offers her an otherworldly drink. Now kicks in the “Nicodemus complex:”

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

For starters, notice her heritage claim—father Jacob. She is of a mixed bloodline and echoes a claim pervasive amongst the Samaritans. Moreover, they tampered with Scripture to justify their version of the Pentateuch, which original the One before her wrote (ouch), and no less they tampered with Scripture to justify Mount Gerizim towering nearby and Shechem down the road as God’s true dwelling place, something The Lord God Jesus they put in a box here will address and set straight shortly. (Sister Sychar, it is okay to blush a little right here, you got hoodwinked; notwithstanding, our Savior made an appointment to stop by and get you out of that mess praised be His Name.)

Again, the Nicodemus Complex mentioned: “…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?…” (cf. John 3:3-4).

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

Brother Nicodemus, in that context, was thinking about carnal rebirth and not a Spirit-washed spirit (GENNHQH EX hUDATOS KAI PNEUMATOS: Born of water and the Spirit). Sister Sychar, in this context, was thinking about the cistern’s H₂O and not about the eternal-life-giving Spirit of God ever springing up within her unto eternal life (GENHSETAI EN AUTW PHGH hUDATOS ALLOMENOU EIS ZWHN AIWNION: shall be in him a well of water springing up into eternal life). The Holy Spirit is the focal point of both discourses, and Jesus unpacks both discourses (for He is in the bosom of the triune God Jehovah and reveals Him, John 1:18). In the Brother Nicodemus discourse the water is static, it is a metaphor for cleansing attending repentance, and stands in place of the Agent of cleansing, namely the Spirit of God bringing about cleansing unto Christ-likeness. In the Sister Sychar discourse the water is dynamic, it is a metaphor for Life, and stands in place of the Agent of eternal life, the same Spirit of God as before. This information could not be knowable apart from revelation by God by way of the Mediator between God and humankind, even Jesus Christ (1Timothy 2:5). All this revelation from God is so novel and off the beaten worldly path that neither hearer immediately understood what they heard, and to the day it is difficult without God’s Spirit bringing clarity. So, the Holy Spirit is identically the Living Water of these few verses. The Holy Spirit is a Wellspring of Life for those who receive Jesus Christ, for it is precisely Jesus that imparts the blessed Spirit of God to humankind (Matthew 3:11, John 3:34, 4:10, 7:39, 14:26, 20:21-22, et al.). Indeed, the Spirit imparted, He who makes clear the Word of God to those that receive Christ, and who day by day, practically, abides within as Friend, Guide, Helper, Sculptor of Christlikeness, you name it, as we sojourn down here in the land of the living homeward bound to be with God. Sister Sychar like Brother Nicodemus is (understandably) not understanding things, and they stand in place of many (probably most) who hear the Gospel. That is in large part why God has ministers in the mission fields; ministers must be cogent, and prayerfully gentle and loving and patient—that is how Jesus is ministering here with Sister Sychar, and before with Brother Nicodemus, and please notice that our Lord, the Head Shepherd, sets the standard in that regard (Fig. 3).

When working with Jesus, either in prayer (prayer, Scripture study and whatnot) or outright as Sister Sychar here, one must elevate one’s thinking to a higher plane than what typically works in the mundane, maybe like so—dearest Lord Jesus, open mine eyes and guide my thinking so that I might behold you and rejoice in you and your Truth and Wisdom (cf. Psalms 119:18). Sister Sychar’s thinking is completely off the rails in this context:

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

Besides Redemption and Salvation, Jesus came to this earth to deal with this sort of confusion—to turn the ship about onto the right heading, with the right oarsmen getting it where it is supposed to be going, with His Wind in the sails of course. Jesus leaves her confusion hanging for the moment and confronts her with something more serious—because the former was done in ignorance and not least under the impetus of some really lousy teaching. (There is hardly anything more devilish than a corrupt and phony religious system that vaunts itself above God in the Name of God, Isaiah 14:12-14, to the spiritually mortal detriment of the beguiled.) Jesus leaves her confusion hanging and  confronts Sister Sychar with her sin/s. She said, give me, give me, yon living water, and Jesus in effect says to her, hey wait a minute mam, first go take a look in the mirror at the person into whom this water is going, and then come hither:

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

(1)         Repentance

(2)         Redemption

(3)         Salvation

That, is the order; that, is how it works. First steps. Laying the groundwork here with Sister Sychar and building on the first steps the Baptist laid down amen.

Sister Sychar is fertile ground, she is an honest person, that is half the battle or more when it comes to repentance, yea that first step:

The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband: For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly.

Jesus saw right through her, and she knew it. Where can one run to hide one’s sins and escape the eyes of God, eyes that run to and fro throughout the whole earth? (2Chronicles 16:9, Zechariah 4:10). Those eyes were on sister Sychar and found her out:

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

Nay, not just a prophet, this Omniscient One before thee Sister Sychar raises up prophets and commissions them and speaks an infallible word to them.

Sin hurts. It is hard to look at when cozily festering in self. It makes one want to dodge the thought—to live inauthentically; the truth of it makes one squirm when the conscience is not seared. Sister Sychar is going to play dodge ball like most of us do. It is “clever” dodge ball, a clever game she will play, of dodging the sin-subject just raised. How so? By way of a religiosity-subject-switch no less. Thus depraved and fallen humankind masquerades before God and thinks it plays Him the fool, ad nauseam (But God is not mocked, not even a little bit, not ever Galatians 6:7-8). Notice the “clever” switch of subject from sin to religion as though she were a religious one. Dodge ball:

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

Jesus does not call her bluff nor tickle her fancies, but rather proceeds to turn the ship about, more first steps (nay, a retrace of steps lost); important ones, concerning the worship of God, a totally confused and convoluted mess thanks to those pious frauds in Jerusalem and in Israel before and these here offshoot Samaritans and their own arrogant and self-serving convolutions—worship of Jehovah God had become a total mess by this time in biblical history (even before) and needed to be fixed, rightly restored, which means humankind’s thinking in this regard needed to be completely obviated and replaced with a form and pattern of worship that would in fact be acceptable to the One being worshiped, which means the One to be worshiped needed to do the heavy lifting here, so right here is another big reason why Jesus stopped by to see an open-minded Sister Sychar, and it is no accident that His beloved and trustworthy stenographer John stayed behind whilst the rest of the boys went to town for supplies, for this Fix needed to be written down and then passed along never to get out of hand again:

Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. 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. God [is] a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship [him] in spirit and in truth.

Here just came a shock—worship did not need to happen in Jerusalem nor on Gerizim. Radical for the time. Sister Sychar’s head must have been spinning by now. First this Jewish man is talking to her, a woman, a Samaritan woman, and respectfully no less, with an eye to her dignity as a human being. He informs her of her deepest sins; hence He is not just an ordinary man, but a prophet as she said, thus worthy of hearing out to say the least, and now He tells her that the long-standing places of worship over which folks have fought to the death to uphold, and have revered as though they were God Himself, are bogus. What a shock. (Reform is typically shocking, unnerving.) And while her head is spinning, and her brain is in overdrive (the perfect time to cast a fish net), Jesus goes on to tell her that her Samaritan religion is bogus—serious vertigo now. Nothing will ever be the same in her head, and that is the point (the point that is hard to reach as an evangelist; again, the head Shepherd sets a ministerial standard for us). Indeed, He tells her that her Samaritan religion is bogus, and that the Jewish religion is right on because, and this key, Salvation is of the Jews. What does Jesus mean by that? He is going back to Genesis 3:15, in the Garden, that has Him in view crushing the serpent’s head and redeeming humankind out of its fallenness, through the Messianic line that ended on Messiah, on Him—Yeshua, which in the Hebrew means Salvation (=Jesus in Greek). The claims of the Samaritans that they descended from the patriarchs is in no small way a claim to be in said Messianic line, but that cannot be, because they were of a mixed bloodline—Jehovah God kept the Jewish bloodline pure (hence all the meticulous genealogy records in Scripture) precisely in keeping with His promise that Messiah would be Jewish Messiah (God in conversation with Abraham: Genesis 12:3). The Samaritans tried to crowbar their way into that line to legitimate their religion, which maneuver is in a sense blasphemous. All the more amazing that Messiah paid them a visit on the one hand, but all the more convincing that Jesus is in fact Messiah in keeping with Messiah’s salvific thrust on the other. And this is the big Reform, for all of us to keep in mind, forever: God is a Spirit (PNEUMA hO QEOS is how the Greek has it, where PNEUMA—Spirit—is a nominative, singular, neuter noun). He does not dwell in a temple, a body of water, on a high hill, out yonder in space somewhere, He is omnipresent (Jesus condescended to lay aside this attribute of deity as also many others when He ministered amongst us). He is to be worshiped by the inner person—by our spirit, who we are as a human being, in loving sincerity, with gratitude and praise and respect, at any time, at any place.

With her brain in overdrive, Sister Sychar straightaway mentions Messiah, which means the “Salvation is of the Jews” statement by Jesus was at least being processed if not processed aright. The totally radical statement comes from Jesus, when He flat out says, I am Messiah—He leaves no doubt, for Sister Sychar, or for the record that is being jotted down. As others have said, either Jesus was a liar, or a lunatic, or in fact He was Lord, even Messiah as He claimed. Underpinned by faith founded on fact, our answer, as any Christian’s, is that Jesus is indeed Messiah and Lord. Amen:

The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ when he is come, he will tell us all things. Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am [he].

4:27-30- Is Not This the Christ?

27 And upon this came his disciples, and marvelled[66] that he talked with the woman: yet no man said, What sleekest[67] thou? or, Why talkest thou with her? 28 The woman then left her waterpot[68], 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? 30 Then they went out of the city, and came unto him. (John 4:27-30 KJV), (John 4:27-30 NLT)

COMMENTARY: As Suggested, the disciples’ marveling here reflects their spiritual immaturity. To their credit, they had no difficulty entering a Samaritan city to buy provisions—that is an amazing first step in the right direction, but they still have a long way to go before they think and walk and talk like Jesus does and can be trusted with the delicate responsibilities accruing to Messiah’s ministers. Still too much bigotry and prejudice and worldliness in them; they must be shown how their Judaism “came off the rails” and why and what it was meant to be, and that is going to take a while because they are steeped in it—it is all they know, and naturally they hold it dear. Going by what they were taught before Jesus came along, they think they are doing what God requires of them:

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

It would seem that no sooner than the good ol’ Jewish boys showed up marveling, you know the look, Sister Sychar left, and in a hurry, leaving her waterpot no less! Let us not marvel at that—Sister Sychar was probably accustomed to that look and attendant whispers and could spot it all a mile away if you will. All of that to say this—Sister Sychar felt comfortable around Jesus:

The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men, Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?

Sister Sychar left the scene and started witnessing for Jesus. How terrific is that? She did in one encounter with Jesus what those pious frauds in Jerusalem did not do for millennia despite myriad encounters with Him and blessings and privileges from Him and heads up per His coming to boot. The pious frauds in Jerusalem were supposed to witness, to represent Jehovah to the nations around them, and did not, Sister Sychar was not supposed to do that, no one asked her to do it but she did of her own volition, and with a whole lot of umph and gusto to be sure, else the Samaritan folks would not have come flocking to see the quintessential Jew Jesus. Yea Jesus, is this not the Christ? Amen it is and amen:

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

Good show Sister Sychar, heaven is a little more populous because of your testimony.

4:31-38- Team Heaven

31 In the mean while his disciples prayed[69] him, saying, Master[70], eat. 32 But he said unto them, I have meat[71] 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[72] of him that sent me, and to finish[73] his work[74]. 35 Say not ye, There are yet four months, and [then] cometh harvest[75]? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields[76]; for they are white[77] already to harvest. 36 And he that reapeth[78] receiveth[79] wages[80], and gathereth[81] fruit[82] unto life eternal: that both he that soweth[83] and he that reapeth may rejoice[84] together. 37 And herein is that saying[85] true, One soweth, and another reapeth. 38 I sent[86] you to reap that whereon ye bestowed[87] no labour other men laboured, and ye are entered[88] into their labours. (John 4:31-38 KJV), (John 4:31-38 NLT)

COMMENTARY: Here strikes the Nicodemus Complex again a little closer to home this time:

In the mean while his disciples prayed him, saying, Master, eat. But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of. Therefore said the disciples one to another, Hath any man brought him [ought] to eat?

It must be appreciated that Jesus was always preaching and teaching (and healing and blessing). He knew why He was here, where He came from, and where He was going (John 16:28). Redemption and Salvation is why He was here, and in no small part He was here to introduce humankind to very God, in this way He was here to reveal very God—and there was much to be taught and to be done in revealing deity to a humankind with limited capacity to grasp said teaching and with well-entrenched, errant ideas about God, for example, worshiping God as just discussed. It would come piecemeal in consideration of humankind’s limitations and errant ways heretofore. This would take some time, but Jesus was going to be here in ministry for only a short three years thereabouts. He condescended to come and minister for a short three years, and we are blessed to have had those three years of teaching given to us by Him (He came gladly and willingly, but still, it was a condescension, “We Have You Yeshua”). Of course He would continue to teach us by way of His Spirit in His absence (John 14:26), but for now, the groundwork of a daunting task that Father God commissioned Him for had to be laid (John 17:1ff “He Who Sent Me”). And Jesus was consumed by that commission, it was as it were, His very food. (with all due respect, Jesus’ salivation was none other than our Salvation praised be His Name.) Again, the Head Shepherd sets a ministerial precedent in that regard:

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

What work? A Harvest of Redemption and Salvation. And where? On the mission fields:

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.

Maybe in view here are the white-djellaba-clad Samaritans that came Jesus’ way per Sister Sychar’s testimony? Maybe. Even so, Jesus’ words can surely be taken more generally and applied to any age and any mission field. It is clear that the Redemption | Salvation aspect of Jesus’ ministry is in view by His own words here when He speaks of gathering fruit unto life eternal, where said Fruit of itself is the reward of the laborers, thus rejoicing together in the Salvation that God wrought through them (and life eternal in the presence of very God is the excellent reward of all concerned, all the more accruing to the rejoicing):

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

Sister Sychar sowed a testimony in Sychar, and a harvest of souls was reaped. Sowers and Reapers, together with the Harvest and Team Captain Jesus comprise Team Heaven. God’s concern is the Harvest, that is why He came (Luke 19:10). The Harvest. In His wisdom, God made the work a team effort (Romans 1:13, 1Corinthians 3:5-9, 9:19-23). He gives guidance to the laborers (1Timothy 4:16). The Harvest. It should be as a precious jewel to the laborers (1Thessalonians 2:19). Team Heaven:

And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth. I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours.

This sowing and reaping has been going on for millennia. We think sometimes of our dear brethren from hundreds of years ago that sowed a good seed, maybe a commentary, or a hymn, a testimony, or more recently, a Gospel tract, a Godly word and whatnot, that to the day reaps a harvest for God. There were many that sowed a good seed in our own life, that did not come to bear fruit for decades, and then one day it happened, fruit, and God gathered us into His loving arms and into His eternal future. We thank you Father God for the Salvation you wrought for us through the dedicated, hard work of your laborers. We are exceedingly indebted to them. We are grateful for them. And Team Heaven today, please bless it, the work of its hands. Amen.

4:39-42- This Is Indeed the Christ

39 And many of the Samaritans of that city believed[89] on him for the saying of the woman, which testified[90], He told me all that ever I did. 40 So when the Samaritans were come unto him, they besought[91] him that he would tarry[92] with them: and he abode[93] there two days. 41 And many[94] 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[95] [him] ourselves, and know[96] that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour[97] of the world. (John 4:39-42 KJV), (John 4:39-42 NLT)

COMMENTARY: First and ten and goal to go, beware the red dog, go team go.

One would think that the last thing Sister Sychar would do is broadcast to the gossip-happy Sychar folks that someone had chronicled her sins to her. No, no, no, uh-uh—that is how the unregenerate mind thinks. You know, to keep up the phony façade sins must be hidden, kept in the dark, minimized, laughed off, joked about, bragged about, that sort of thing (John 3:20). But nay, beloved Sister Sychar had an encounter with Jesus the Messiah, and was born anew, as was Brother Nicodemus per the previous chapter born anew amen. (GENNHQH EX hUDATOS KAI PNEUMATOS: Born of water and the Spirit.) The burden of, the guilt of, her sins had been removed. Her step was lighter, quicker, her eyes brighter, clearer, her heart glad, rejoicing. Despair turned into hope turned into long-lost joy. Repentance had taken place, a spiritual washing ensued, and the Spirit of God, well, He was exceeding pleased now to move in, and stay, move in and stay with Sister Sychar on into eternity. And she knew it, she experienced Him, she became aware of His presence, sensed Him, but wist not how or why or what was going on, but whatever it was, it was ever so inexplicably and wonderfully real (John 3:6-8). Her sins were no longer a part of who she was going forward, she was born anew, a new creation, a new person, and she liked herself, she liked who she was now, and tears streamed down her cheeks for the sheer joy of it all. It mattered not to her what the gossipers were going to say, because for the first time in her life she felt genuinely loved, and needed not the praise of men to feel, nay, to know, that she had worth, worth in the eyes of whom it matters most, even God, and forgiveness, she experienced forgiveness, a consuming freshness. And the One, her Savior, even Jesus, this strange, and unexpected encounter with this man, who conversed with her kindly, noticeably cognizant of her personhood, who imparted to her the Spirit of God in one infinitesimal instant worth an eternity, my, she could not restrain her lips from praising Him, and testifying about Him with arms uplifted to heaven in praising thanksgiving (she believed Jesus was Messiah as He claimed because of His insights into her deepest secrets, and testified accordingly, cf. Nathanael, John 1:48). And her testimony, this testimony, it was so genuine, yea streaming out of her heart in lockstep with the tears streaming down her cheeks, it was so genuine that it was contagious, exceeding contagious, to the extent that folks fell all over themselves trying to get over yonder to see this amazing man-prophet who identified Himself as Messiah. Could it really be Messiah?! We must see for ourselves! (To the day, Jesus invites us all to see for ourselves, “A Letter of Invitation.”) And of course, hearing Him and seeing Him, beholding Him, of course, yea, they believed on Him, they believed in Jesus and wanted Him to stay, my goodness, all the more having encountered this blessed Messiah themselves:

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. So when the Samaritans were come unto him, they besought him that he would tarry with them: and he abode there two days. And many more believed because of his own word; 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.

We look forward to meeting you one fine day Sister Sychar.

4:43-45- A Prophet Hath No Honor in His Own Country

43 Now after two days he departed thence, and went into Galilee[98]. 44 For Jesus himself testified[99], that a prophet[100] hath no honour[101] in his own country. 45 Then when he was come into Galilee, the Galilaeans received[102] him, having seen all the things that he did at Jerusalem at the feast[103]: for they also went unto the feast. (John 4:43-45 KJV), (John 4:43-45 NLT).

COMMENTARY: What is meant here is Jesus did not turn south toward Jerusalem/Judea, He continued north to Galilee:

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

And Jesus Himself testifies why:

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

What does Jesus mean by that? Why would He say that? We must look ahead to John 5-7 (note John 5:18, 7:1). In short, conflict with the Jewish religious “authorities” in Jerusalem concerning their twisted view of God’s Sabbath rest command, their burdensome and convoluted “clean and unclean” ideas, He was accused of blasphemy by this brood, this offspring of vipers; and it escalated to the point that they wanted Jesus dead, out of their way for good. Jesus challenged their funky traditions because God never instituted that nonsense, and it got to the point where Jesus “lit into” these disappointedly lousy so-called stewards of His with a Refiner’s Fire of indignation” (Matthew Chapter Twenty-three Commentary”). Clearly, He wanted to stay out of their grasp until His hour had come—the divine clock was still ticking and would not stop ticking until Jesus, from the cross, told that clock “it is finished.” At that point in time the clock was reset, and a new down-count began, which ticks until His return, at which point in time it resets again and a final down-count begins.

Now Jesus was more than a prophet, He uses the term to make a point: “…a prophet has no honor in his own country…”. He is referring to Himself, sure, and is thinking of the persecution that He experiences in Jerusalem. Jesus did not crash the scene with pomp and circumstance and eye-popping, attention-getting flash. He was as ordinary as the next guy. He was born “up yonder in them thar’ Gentile badlands.” Folks new Him and His family. He probably had a Galilean accent and whatnot. He was not Mr. GQ—one wonders if He even owned a pair of sandals. He had not a place of His own to lay His precious head night after night, that’s for sure (Matthew 8:20).

‘…And you mean to tell me this guy from down the road is a prophet even Messiah all of the sudden, who are you kidding brother…?’

That sort of stuff makes it tough to be a prophet or anything else worthy of praise in one’s own country. But God designed Christianity to be as simple as pie, He designed it to be belief and faith based (how hard can that be), that is why at some point there had to be signs, divine power, to show Jesus to in fact be who He said He was. And John’s record, his Gospel, does that for us. To be clear, Jesus was God incarnate, and in the flesh He was very ordinary, because, in all respects He identified with and necessarily made Himself to be like us His brethren, for whom He stood in place of, offering up His sinless life in place of us, as Redeemer, Savior, Messiah (that is the demand that had to be met to satisfy Divine Justice, a demand we could not meet; please notice that Jesus’ willful poverty and mean appearance and existence was not just for the sake of humility Hebrews 2:17). Praised be His infinitely non-ordinary Name. Amen.

4:46-54- Thy Son Liveth

46 So Jesus came again into Cana[104] of Galilee, where he made the water wine. And there was a certain nobleman[105], whose son was sick[106] at Capernaum[107]. 47 When he heard that Jesus was come out of Judaea into Galilee, he went unto him, and besought[108] him that he would come down, and heal[109] his son: for he was at the point of death. 48 Then said Jesus unto him, Except[110] ye see[111] signs and wonders[112], ye will not believe[113]. 49 The nobleman saith unto him, Sir, come down[114] ere my child die. 50 Jesus saith unto him, Go[115] thy way; thy son liveth[116]. And the man believed[117] 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[118]. And they said unto him, Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever[119] 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. (John 4:46-54 KJV), (John 4:46-54 NLT).

COMMENTARY: John introduces this verse set recalling a sign, a deity-identifying sign, a miracle that Jesus did before, in Cana (“John Chapter Two Commentary”):

So Jesus came again into Cana of Galilee, where he made the water wine.

As it turns out, John will have to bookend this verse set with signs of Jesus’ deity. Both happened at Cana of Galilee by the Word of God; Cana is the locus of Jesus’ first two miracles. The first happened when Jesus was on location at Cana, the second happened long distance, at Capernaum, when Jesus was on location at Cana. The first sign concerned a wedding forestalled for lack of wine, which wine Jesus miraculously furnished. The second sign concerned a funeral forestalled for lack of disease, which lack Jesus miraculously furnished.

The “nobleman” of the second sign was probably someone who served in the court of the pleasure-champion Herod Antipas, a steward, or a courtier maybe. It is thought he might have had connections with one or more of Jesus’ followers—that is just an educated guess but worthy of consideration. And as the text says, this man’s son was grievously ill:

And there was a certain nobleman, whose son was sick at Capernaum.

So Jesus is at Cana, the nobleman and son are at Capernaum just north of Lake Galilee at a much lower elevation—the distance between is about fifteen miles (Fig. 2). At say three or so miles per hour about a five hour walk:

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.

The love of a father for his son, it touched Jesus, it touches all of us. Imagine the desperation this father felt knowing that his boy was dying and nothing could be done about it, for the text indicates the boy’s disease was chronic, which means nothing heretofore had worked toward his cure. His only hope was Jesus, a last resort. That is not good, Jesus must be our first resort.

It is clear from Scripture that Jesus’ notoriety as a healer was the buzz of Palestine (and beyond no doubt). Nothing hits so close to home as one’s health (fame and wealth are not even a close second), and accordingly Jesus the proven healer was flocked to by multitudes. As one can imagine, word about Him, Him the Healer, spread like wildfire, and folks came to Him with their diseases, and their loved ones’ diseases. Is He sought any differently today? How many prayers shoot heavenward for healing day by day? The number must be staggering. The tragedy is that in many if not most instances He is sought only for the instant gratification of a healing, not for an everlasting relationship that seeks precisely and specifically Him and His fellowship, which He graciously offers and treasures. He feels the same hurt of being taken advantage of, without any love in the mix, as we all do, let us never forget that. Scripture indicates again and again that folks flocked to Him for healing (e.g., Luke 4:23, John 6:2). And so, this father, a dad, whose lad was wasting away, besought the Great Physician Jesus, for a healing.

This father, in his despondency, short-armed Jesus’ power (cf. Exodus 6:9):

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

But hear this father, his pleading, it tears one’s heart out:

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

And maybe Jesus’ too:

Jesus saith unto him, Go thy way; thy son liveth.

What of all the horrific and sorrowful dying down through the ages since Jesus was here, doesn’t it tear Jesus’ heart out? It does, that is why He came, He went to that cross so that death no longer reigns, for in Him death is swallowed up in victory amen (1Corinthians 15:55-57, John 3:16). We are all going to die, but none need die the eternal death. How good it is that we have you great Savior God.

Please allow a short somewhat aside. We live in a different age, an age of advanced medical technology by God’s grace—this is available to us by His grace in our generation, and we must prayerfully and gratefully resort to that grace, and not put God to the test (one must go to the doctor if one is sick; one should do so with a prayer on one’s lips in keeping with James 5:13-16, but let us be careful and not think that our own estimation of our faith is what it takes to move God here). To bypass the medical care available to us in this generation in some sort of privileged, faith-warrior approach is to put God to the test, and it crams our own estimation of working faith down His throat, and we must never do that. It is not a sin to prayerfully resort to modern medical care when one is sick—that is why God raised up servants and educated and trained them and placed them in that profession; it is not a sin to utilize that care, it is arrogant and foolish not to utilize it. As far as we are concerned, the most important thing about the role of faith when it comes to healing by God is to have faith that He knows what He is doing with the lives, our lives, that we have placed into His hands. A Child of God places their all into God’s blessed hands (cf. the Son Luke 23:46).

The troubled father believed what Jesus said to him, that his son would live, and went on back home (in obedience). Eyeball to eyeball with Jesus, he believed. That is the key, the takeaway for us all—he believed Jesus. (Please notice carefully that we have the privilege of hearing Jesus speak even today in the Gospel.) We are sure of this—those eyes, Jesus’, were the most caring eyes this father ever had the privilege to look into. “…Thy son liveth…”. One wonders what Jesus’ voice sounded like when He spoke those words of healing, of life:

And the man believed the word that Jesus had spoken unto him, and he went his way.

Jesus’ words must have echoed in the father’s head all the way home—

 “…Thy son liveth…”. “…Thy Son liveth…”. “…Thy son liveth…”. “…Thy son liveth…”.“…Thy son liveth…”.“…Thy son liveth…”.“…Thy son liveth…”.

And O my, as those words bounced around in his head with each step he saw his servants off in the distance, and surely… O no, is this bad news? His pace quickened and his heart raced, he could not swallow because his mouth and throat had dried up. He kept looking at his servants, they got closer, and closer, and closer, and came into clear view and, what…they were smiling; he saw them smiling! Yea, smiling! He thought back to Jesus’ words: “…Thy son liveth…”. He dashed ahead to meet them, he stopped just short of them and one of them yelled, yelled out—Sir, Thy son liveth, thy son liveth, thy son liveth! Tears welled up in his eyes, he dropped to his knees, numb, overcome with a startled joy unspeakable. He bowed his head. He thought about Jesus, he looked up at his servants, he asked them when, when did my boy make a turn for the good? And they said to him, sir, yesterday, it was yesterday, at precisely the seventh hour, thy son that was nigh dead began to blossom with life robust. First his eyes, they cleared, then his arms, his legs…he stood up. He moved about, he ate and drank, never in all the days we have known him has he been so alive. And the father knew, he knew, he full well knew that it was Jesus who had at that hour spoken his son out of the grave and into fullness of life. And he praised God, even Jesus, and he believed, of a surety he believed that yea Jesus, Jesus was Messiah, even his Messiah, who had compassion on him, a beggar, and on his beloved son. And his whole household, bearing witness, believed in Jesus with him, and all alike praised God:

And as he was now going down, his servants met him, and told [him], saying, Thy son liveth. 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. 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. This [is] again the second miracle [that] Jesus did, when he was come out of Judaea into Galilee.

Praised be thy great Name Messiah Jesus. How good it is that we have you. Amen