John 4 - NIV Grace and Truth Study Bible

4:1–3 Chapter 4 illustrates how the new age inaugurated an outreach that went beyond strictly Jewish boundaries to Samaritans and Gentiles. Faithful Jews normally avoided contact with both groups. Jesus, however, came to be the “Savior of the world” (v. 42).

Jesus left Judea for Galilee because of the Pharisees’ growing interest in his baptismal ministry. The shortest journey from Judea to Galilee was through Samaria. When the northern kingdom of Israel and its capital in Samaria fell to the Assyrians in 722 BC, many Jews were deported to Assyria, and foreigners were brought in to settle the land (2Ki 17:24). Many of the remaining Jews intermarried with these foreigners, resulting in the intermarriage of Israelites and pagan idolaters; this mixed group of Jews and pagans who lived north of Judea were called Samaritans. The Jews thought of the Samaritans as a compromised people, and there was intense hostility between the groups.

After Jesus’ initial encounter with the Samaritan woman is described, the story develops around the topics of living water and true worship. The woman demonstrated a growing understanding of Jesus’ identity as the conversation unfolded. The contrast between Nicodemus and the Samaritan woman is striking. Nicodemus was a well-educated, highly regarded rabbi, and a man. The name of the Samaritan woman is not even mentioned. She was likely not very well educated and was considered something of a social outcast because of her immorality. What is shocking is that the Samaritan woman responded much more positively to Jesus than Nicodemus did!

4:4–6 The fact that Jesus had to go through Samaria (v. 4) is both geographically and theologically significant. Geographically, passing through Samaria was the shortest distance between Judea and Galilee. Theologically, it pointed to the imminent meeting being ordained by God. The encounter took place at noon, contrasting with Nicodemus’s conversation with Jesus at night. Jesus sat by a well. Wells were normally located outside the village along the main road. Women would typically draw water in the morning and again in the evening. The Samaritan woman may have been a social outcast since she came to draw water in the heat of the day, when others would not want to be there. The well was located near the Samaritan village of Sychar, just east of Mount Gerizim. It was at this place that Jesus rested from his weariness. Jesus’ rest demonstrates his true humanity.

4:7–10 The woman was shocked that a Jewish man would ask her for a drink (v. 7). Jesus turned the conversation quickly to spiritual matters and the issue of eternal life. Many Old Testament references speak of thirsting for God as one thirsts for water (Ps 42:1; Isa 55:1). Jesus had sent the disciples into the Samaritan village to buy food (Jn 4:8). Jews did not typically associate with Samaritans, but apparently Jesus did not fear that his disciples would be defiled by eating food prepared by Samaritans.

4:11–15 The woman misunderstood Jesus’ offer of living water, interpreting it literally as a reference to flowing water over against stagnant well water. She knew that Jesus had no means to draw water, and surely he could not think himself to be greater than Jacob, who first dug the well. The belief that Jacob dug the well was based on tradition and not Scripture. Jesus clarified his point by contrasting the well water with the gift of living water, which represented the eternal life that comes from the Holy Spirit. While the woman responded more positively than Nicodemus had, she likely understood Jesus’ words literally.

4:16–20 Jesus next turned his spotlight on the woman’s moral life. While her answer to Jesus’ comment about her husband was technically true, she failed to mention that she was currently living with a man who was not her husband. Unlike Nicodemus, she did not flee from the light even as she attempted to redirect the conversation away from herself. Jesus’ knowledge of the woman’s situation once again demonstrates his divinity. Her question concerning the proper place of worship was a longstanding debate between Samaritans and Jews. Mount Gerizim was the Samaritans’ holy place. The Samaritans had built a temple on Mount Gerizim, which the Jews later destroyed.

4:21–24 Jesus’ response to the woman’s question was to note that a change in redemptive history was taking place. True worship would not be relegated to a particular place. In fulfillment of this statement, believers today can worship God no matter their location. Because God is Spirit, he is everywhere present and can be worshiped anywhere. The Samaritan religion was not orthodox, and unlike the Jews, they did not worship the one true and living God. Jesus’ statement that “salvation is from the Jews” (v. 22) means that the God of Israel sent Jesus the Messiah to bring salvation to the world.

4:25–26 Jesus felt free to acknowledge his Messiahship to the woman since the Samaritans did not believe the coming Messiah would be a political-military figure. She was the only person before his trial to whom Jesus specifically acknowledged his Messianic identity in this Gospel.

4:27–33 Jesus and the woman finished their conversation just as the disciples returned with food (v. 27). The disciples did not ask Jesus why he was speaking with the woman, perhaps because Jesus regularly did things that surprised them. The woman left, and the author makes the incidental comment that the woman left her water jar behind (v. 28). The very thing that brought her to the well in the first place seemed completely unimportant as she made her way back to the village. As soon as the woman entered the town, she found a crowd and informed them about her encounter with Jesus. Her response to Jesus was much like that of Andrew and Philip: finding others to tell about Jesus.

Jesus used his encounter with the woman to teach his disciples about true food. The disciples urged Jesus to eat, but he had food to eat they knew nothing about (v. 32). Just as food provides nourishment and strength for the body, doing God’s will does the same for one’s spiritual life. The disciples wondered if someone already had given him something to eat.

4:34–38 The disciples’ misunderstanding provided Jesus the perfect opportunity to speak to them about true food, which is to do the will of God. Jesus used a proverbial thought about harvesting crops to teach that the harvest cannot be rushed; however, these fields (the Samaritans who were about to arrive) were ready whether the disciples realized it or not. Eternal life was at stake in the harvesting of these souls. In a spiritual harvest, everyone has a task: some sow the gospel seed, others harvest the gospel crop. The disciples were about to harvest a gospel crop they did not sow. When believers share the gospel, the Holy Spirit uses it to strengthen them spiritually. The “hard work” (v. 38) that was already done could refer to the ministry of John the Baptist, but it could also refer to Jesus and the Samaritan woman.

4:39–42 The arrival of the people from the village illustrated Jesus’ teaching to the disciples. The apostle John underscores the Samaritans’ faith in Jesus in these verses. The woman’s testimony bore fruit of eternal life. The Samaritans declared Jesus to be “the Savior of the world” (v. 42; see 1Jn 4:14). While Jerusalem failed to respond positively to Jesus, this Samaritan village was the site of a large gospel harvest! Believers should never be surprised at what God can do in unlikely settings. For the disciples, Jesus’ outreach to the Samaritans began a foundation for a future worldwide missionary outreach.

4:43–47 Jesus left Samaria for Galilee after two days. John parenthetically adds Jesus’ statement that a prophet has no honor among those who know him best (v. 44). The Galileans did, however, welcome him as a powerful miracle worker. The father of the seriously ill boy traveled about 16 miles from Capernaum to Cana to beg Jesus to heal his son. The royal official was probably an official in Herod’s service.

4:48–54 In verse 48, Jesus’ response seems harsh, but he was confronting a mentality that saw him simply as a miracle worker. He directed his comment to both the royal official and the Galilean people. The father demonstrated faith by trusting in Jesus’ word and immediately returning home after Jesus pronounced his son healed. As the official traveled home, he encountered his servants along the way and learned that his son had been healed the previous day, at the very time Jesus pronounced it. The fact that Jesus healed the boy from such a great distance demonstrates that Jesus is the divine Messiah. The father and his household believed in Jesus (v. 53). The section concludes with reference to the fact that this was the second sign Jesus performed in Cana (v. 54; see note on 2:9–12).