John 4 - NIV Study Bible

4:1 Pharisees. See note on 3:1. These religious leaders took a close interest in John the Baptist (see 1:24 and note) and then also in Jesus.

4:2 The disciples did not baptize without Jesus’ approval (see 3:2 and note).

4:3 left Judea. Success (which aroused opposition; see note on 7:1—8:59), not failure, led Jesus to leave Judea.

4:4 had to go. Perhaps the necessity lay in Jesus’ mission rather than in geography. Samaria. Here the whole region, not simply the city. Jews often avoided Samaria by crossing the Jordan and traveling on the east side (see notes on Mt 10:5; Lk 9:52).

4:5 Sychar. A small village near Shechem. Jacob bought some land in the vicinity of Shechem (Ge 33:18–19), and it was apparently this land that he gave to Joseph (Ge 48:21–22). See map.

4:6 Jacob’s well. Mentioned nowhere else in Scripture (see v. 11 and note).

4:7 to draw water. People normally drew water at the end of the day rather than in the heat of midday (see v. 6; Ge 24:11 and note). But the practice is attested by Josephus, who says that the young ladies whom Moses helped (Ex 2:15–17) came to draw water at noon.

4:9 do not associate with. The point of the NIV text note (and probably of the text) is that Jews would become ceremonially unclean if they used a drinking vessel handled by a Samaritan, since they held that all Samaritans were “unclean.”

4:10 gift. Emphasizing God’s grace through Christ. Jesus gave life and gave it freely. living water. Not stagnant cistern water but fresh, flowing water, as of a spring or mountain stream, that revives and refreshes life. In 7:38–39 the term is explained as referring to the Holy Spirit, but here it refers to that which produces eternal life (v. 14).

4:11 deep. Christian pilgrim sources as early as the fourth century mention a well in this area that was about 100 feet deep. When the present well was cleaned out in 1935, it was found to be 138 feet deep.

4:12 our father Jacob. Deep regard for the past prevented her from seeing the great opportunity of the present.

4:14 welling up. The expression is a lively one, with a meaning like “leaping up.” Jesus was speaking of abundant life (cf. 10:10 and note), gushing forth from its spring.

4:15 Cf. the misunderstanding of Nicodemus (3:4). In both cases the way was opened for further instruction.

4:18 five husbands. Her multiple partners could indicate an immoral lifestyle or that she was the victim of exploitation by these men. Perhaps she was repeatedly widowed, and/or her husbands divorced her, potentially because of childlessness. She was not married to her present partner, which in her culture was considered immoral.

4:19 you are a prophet. Because of his special insight.

4:20 this mountain. Recognizing Jesus as a prophet, she asked him a theological question about the proper place of worship, a key point of debate between Jews and Samaritans. Samaritans held that “this mountain” (Mount Gerizim) was especially sacred. Abraham and Jacob had built altars in the general vicinity (Ge 12:6–7; 33:18–20), and the people had been blessed from this mountain (Dt 11:29; 27:12). In the Samaritan Scriptures, Mount Gerizim (rather than Mount Ebal) was the mountain on which Moses had commanded an altar to be built (Dt 27:4–6). The Samaritans had built a temple on Mount Gerizim c. 400 bc, which the Jews destroyed c. 128. Both actions, of course, increased hostility between the two groups. See map and photo.

4:22 worship what you do not know. The Samaritan Bible contained only the Pentateuch. Samaritans worshiped the true God, but their failure to accept much of his revelation meant that they knew little about him. salvation is from the Jews. The Messiah would come from God’s historic people (see notes on Ro 1:16; 11:18).

4:24 God is spirit . . . worship in the Spirit and in truth. The place of worship is irrelevant, because true worship must be in keeping with God’s nature, which is spirit. “True worshipers” (v. 23) must worship God in the power (enablement) of his Spirit and in accordance with truth. In John’s Gospel truth is associated with Christ (see notes on 1:14; 14:6), a fact that has great importance for the proper understanding of genuine Christian worship.

4:25 Messiah . . . will explain everything. The Samaritans expected a Messiah, but their rejection of all the inspired writings after the Pentateuch meant that they knew little about him. They thought of him mainly as a teacher.

4:26 I am he. The only occasion before his trial on which Jesus specifically said that he was the Messiah (but see Mk 9:41, “Messiah”). The term did not have the political overtones in Samaria that it had in Judea, which may be part of the reason Jesus used the designation here.

4:27 were surprised. Jewish religious teachers rarely spoke with women in public.

4:29 everything I ever did. An exaggeration, but it shows the impression Jesus made on her.

4:32 Cf. Mt 4:4 and note.

4:33 A misunderstanding similar to that of the woman (see v. 15 and note).

4:34 My food . . . is to do the will of him who sent me. John often mentions that Jesus depended on the Father and did the work the Father sent him to do (see, e.g., 3:34; 5:30 and notes; 6:38; 8:26; 9:4; 10:37–38; 12:50 and note; 14:31 and note; 15:10; 17:4; Mt 6:25 and note).

4:35 four months until harvest. Apparently a proverb that meant something like “Harvest cannot be rushed.” But, while the crops must take their time ripening, in the fields that Jesus referred to the harvest is already ripe (cf. Mt 9:36–38).

4:36 draws a wage. The work, or at least part of it, had been done, and others were working hard. The disciples were not to think that the harvest was far off. Jesus was not speaking of grain but of the “crop for eternal life.” There was urgency, for the crop would not wait. glad together. There is no competition among Christ’s faithful servants, and sower and reaper share in the joy of the crop.

4:37 See 1Co 3:6–9.

4:38 Others. May refer to John the Baptist and his supporters, on whose work the apostles would build. Or perhaps Jesus was looking further back, to the prophets and other godly people of old. Either way, he expected the apostles to be reapers as well as sowers.

4:39 that town. Sychar (v. 5). because of the woman’s testimony. Highlighting the important theme of testimony or witness in John.

4:42 the Savior of the world. In the NT the expression occurs only here and in 1Jn 4:14. It points to the facts (1) that Jesus not only teaches but also saves and (2) that his salvation extends to the world (see note on 3:16).

4:44 his own country. It is unclear whether this refers to Galilee (v. 43) or Judea (a broad designation referring to all Jewish lands; cf. Ac 2:9 and note; cf. Lk 4:24).

4:45 welcomed him. The welcome of the Galileans was actually limited, for they were interested only in Jesus’ miracles. They were not welcoming the Messiah who could bring forgiveness of sins, but only a miracle worker who could meet all their physical needs and expectations. all that he had done. See 20:30 and note. Passover Festival. The one narrated in 2:13–25.

4:46 Cana. The first and second signs both occur in Cana, framing Chs. 2–4 (see Introduction: Outline). royal official. Evidently an officer in Herod’s service.

4:48 Unless you . . . see signs and wonders . . . you will never believe. The general attitude of Galileans, not that of the official.

4:50 your son will live. Not simply a prophecy, but words of power. Jesus was healing the man’s son at a distance, not forecasting a happy ending (vv. 51,53).

4:53 believed. Cf. the aim of this Gospel (see 20:31 and note; see also Introduction: Purpose and Emphases).

4:54 second sign. This was the second time Jesus performed a sign after coming from Judea to Galilee (see 2:11 and note; see also chart). The fact that John is numbering the signs suggests that their number (7) is theologically significant, indicating completeness or perfection.