John 4 - The Moody Bible Commentary

4:1-3 The narrative begins by describing the historical circumstances that led Jesus to leave Judea. The Lord knew that the Pharisees had received reports that He was making and baptizing more disciples than John. The forerunner’s words were being fulfilled (Cf. 3:30). The Fourth Gospel downplays water baptism (Cf. 1:6, 31) by noting that Jesus Himself was not baptizing, but His disciples were (v. 2). Since the precise occasion for His death had not yet come (Cf. 2:4), Jesus chose to avoid controversy with the Pharisees in Jerusalem. So He went away again into Galilee (v. 3).

5 Samaritan Woman (4:1-42)

Like the story of Nicodemus (3:1-21), the narrative of Jesus’ conversation with the woman at the well is treasured as a wonderful example of an evangelistic encounter.

4:4-6 The historic tensions between Jewish people and Samaritans usually (but not always) caused Jewish people to avoid traveling straight north through Samaria to Galilee. Instead they would circle around Samaria to the east, into Perea and the Decapolis east of the Jordan. Jews and Samaritans despised each other (Cf. 4:9; 8:48). The reason for this hatred, from the Jewish perspective, was manifold. First, Samaritans were of mixed heritage with Gentiles, yet they claimed to be the “true” recipients of the Abrahamic promises. Second, they had violently opposed Cyrus’s restoration of the Jewish people to the land of Israel. Third, the Samaritans had built their own counterfeit temple on Mt. Gerizim and adopted their own priesthood and sacrificial system, all independent of the Jewish people. Fourth, during the Seleucid king Antiochus IV’s religious persecution of the Jewish people (167 BC), the Samaritans allied with the pagan attack on Judaism. In retaliation, Jewish leader John Hyrcanus (reigned 134–104 BC) destroyed the Samaritan temple. Clearly, the hatred ran both ways between these two people groups.

But Jesus had to [edei, “it was necessary”] pass through Samaria. By divine obligation, Jesus violated social, cultural, and religious conventions to demonstrate God’s love for an outcast people. Jesus stopped at Sychar (v. 5), where Jacob’s well was located (v. 6). Now after 1,800 years, Jacob’s well was still productive. Jesus was wearied from His journey (showing He was fully human) and sat down by the well at the sixth hour (noontime; see comment on 1:39).

4:7-8 It was customary in Jewish culture for women to draw water (Ex 2:16) and do it in the evening (Gn 24:11). That this immoral woman of Samaria came to draw water at noon by herself may suggest her intention to maintain anonymity. Jesus, now without His disciples (v. 8), initiated the conversation, opening with a question. Believers must take the initiative in evangelistic conversations, and questions are often the place to begin. The disciples were to buy food (v. 8; cf. the cost of discipleship in Lk 14:26-33), in contrast to the woman who will be offered the free gift of “living water” (eternal life, v. 10).

4:9 The Samaritan woman was amazed that Jesus spoke to her since (1) in that culture men did not talk to women, especially unknown women; and (2) Jews have no dealings with Samaritans (a comment by John and not the woman). Tradition taught that taking a drink from a vessel handled by a Samaritan woman would make Jesus ceremonially unclean. In reality, the water Jesus wanted to give the woman would make her spiritually and eternally clean.

4:10 Jesus gave the woman three conditions for gaining “living water”: she needed to (1) know the free gift of eternal life that God gives; (2) know the identity of Jesus, the One who gives this gift on behalf of God; and (3) to ask Jesus for it (i.e., to believe in him). That Jesus claims to be the source of living water indicates that he viewed Himself as the God of the OT and the Messiah (Ps 36:9; Jr 2:13; 17:13).

4:11-12 Nicodemus and the woman both confused spiritual truths with physical realities. How could this unknown Jewish man be greater than their patriarch Jacob (v. 12)? And how could the water-gift He gives be greater than the well Jacob gave that watered even his cattle? The woman’s questions reflect her skepticism (the Greek construction of the question You are not greater than our father Jacob, are you? anticipates a negative response). Like so many others, the woman did not recognize who Jesus was (1:10, 26, 31, 33).

4:13-14 Jesus contrasted the temporal satisfaction of physical water that needs to be drunk repeatedly with the permanent, eternal satisfaction of the water He will give (v. 14). The one who drinks just once of the water (i.e., believes) Jesus gives will never thirst again because it will become in him a perpetual well (pege, an active “spring”) of water springing up to eternal life. The Greek word, “springing up” (hallomai), is used of the lame “leaping” after being healed (Ac 3:8; 14:10).

4:15-16 The woman asked for this water, so that she would not be thirsty nor come all the way to the well to draw water again. The woman’s request was more to gain earthly contentment and convenience than eternal life (Cf. 6:34). She had knowledge of the coming Messiah (vv. 25, 29). Jesus’ response (v. 16), Go, call your husband, is designed ultimately to lead her to identify Him as the Messiah (cf. v. 39).

4:17-18 The woman’s reply I have no husband both revealed and concealed truth. Jesus complimented the woman for telling the truth, but at the same time uncovered her immorality. Over her adult life, she was married to and divorced from five different husbands (v. 18). Presently, she was committing adultery with a sixth man not her husband. Little more is made of her sin in the narrative.

4:19-20 I perceive that You are a prophet marks an advance in the woman’s perception of Jesus. His knowledge of her marital status illustrated His prophetic abilities. It also suggests that what follows is not an attempt to change the subject. Instead, the woman wondered if this newly discovered prophet could solve an age-long dispute between Samaritans and Jews on the place of worship (v. 20). Was it this mountain, Mt. Gerizim, or was it Jerusalem?

4:21-22 On woman, see 2:4. If the woman considered Jesus a prophet (v. 19), she must have also believe[d] His prophecy about future worship. The phrase an hour is coming is used seven times in John (4:21, 23; 5:25, 28; 16:2, 25, 32) and here refers to the time beginning with His death and resurrection. For similar expressions, “My hour,” see comments on 2:4; for “His hour,” see comments on 7:30; 8:20; and 13:1. Soon the Father would be worshiped in any location, not just Jerusalem. The Samaritans (you is pl. in Gk., v. 22) worshiped in ignorance. The true message (as found in the Scriptures) and Provider (Messiah) of salvation comes from the Jews, not the Samaritans. Nevertheless, the provision of salvation would encompass all people who had faith in the Jewish Messiah, including the Samaritans.

4:23-24 Jesus, the Prophet, also predicted that the time for this transformation of worship was now. True worshipers are defined as those who will worship the Father in spirit and truth. In spirit does not mean “with enthusiasm” or “with spiritual gifts.” In v. 24, Jesus explained that God is spirit. To worship in spirit and truth means, among other things, to worship with God in one’s life, to worship as one in whom God, who is a spirit, dwells. In truth indicates the full revelation now given through Christ (1:14, 17). The Father seeks (cf. v. 27) this kind of worshiper. Our worship (v. 24) must correspond to the nature of God: God is spirit and we must worship in spirit and truth.

4:25-26 The woman believed in a coming Messiah or Christ (see comment on 1:20) who would declare all things to them. Since Jesus had already exposed her past (v. 29) and had prophesied a radical change in worship (v. 23), her hopes ran high that He might be the Messiah. I who speak to you am He (v. 26) means, lit., “I am—the one who speaks to you” (there is no predicate or “He” in the Gk.). The statement is similar to Jesus’ “I am” claims in John. See comments on 6:35, 8:24, and 8:58. “I am” recalls the name of the self-existent God of the OT (Ex. 3:14-15; Is 41:4; 43:10, 13) and implies Jesus’ deity.

4:27 The disciples, influenced by the attitudes toward women in first-century Judaism, were amazed that He had been speaking with a woman. Their surprise might have been eliminated if they had not refused to communicate with Him (no one said). The answer to What do You seek? was that Jesus was seeking exactly what the Father was seeking (v. 23): true worshipers.

4:28-30 In the joy of her discovery, she left her waterpot to go into the city. That Jesus told her all the things that she had done (v. 29) was for the Samaritans the supernatural knowledge of the coming Messiah (v. 25). Her hesitancy (this is not the Christ, is it?) was because she needed to be cautious as a woman “teaching” men. By her testimony, the Samaritans started coming to Him (v. 30), both physically and spiritually.

4:31-33 The disciples were focused on physical needs (Rabbi, eat), while Jesus was concerned for spiritual needs. I have food to eat that you do not know about exposed their ignorance of His true inner sustenance (Mt 4:4). That is not to say that Jesus did not need to eat. Jesus was willing to forgo food for a time to engage in what truly energized and strengthened Him, namely ministry. The disciples still did not know the Lord intimately (cf. Jn 14:9). They again misunderstood Jesus’ attempt to communicate spiritual truth by means of physical analogies.

4:34-35 The disciples’ confusion presented the opportunity for Jesus to teach them. His spiritual food was to do the will of the One who sent Him (5:30; 6:38-40; 8:29) and to accomplish His work (9:4; 17:4). There are yet four months may be a proverb or used literally of the time of the year (December, before the harvest of winter crops in April). His followers must look at the masses of people (viz., the Samaritans coming, v. 30) as fields that are white (ripe) for harvest.

4:36-38 Even now (already), ahead of time, on earth, the disciple who leads others to faith in Christ is receiving wages, rewards, or blessings. “Wages” (misthos) is the same word translated as (future) “reward” (Mt 5:12; 6:1-2; 10:41-42). Paul’s identical teaching on future rewards (1Co 3:6-15) originated with the Lord. Sowing and reaping are both necessary for a spiritual harvest. So the planter and the harvester can rejoice together without jealousy and competition. Others have labored may refer to the OT prophets and John the Baptist, who ministered in Samaria previously (Cf. 3:23).

4:39-40 From that city (Sychar, v. 5) specifies many of the Samaritans who believed in Him. When Philip later visited the area (Ac 8), many more Samaritans believed, likely because of the impact made by John the Baptist and Jesus before him. When a pastor enjoys great success, he and his congregation need to recognize that much of the credit is due to those who came before him and prayed and worked.

In contrast to Nicodemus (see comment on 3:9), the Samaritan woman boldly testified about Christ. With divine omniscience, Jesus had described all the things that the woman had done. At the request of the Samaritans (v. 40), Jesus stayed two days in Sychar. Perhaps He stayed at the Samaritan woman’s home (cf. Ac 16:14-15).

4:41-42 The wisdom of Jesus’ decision to stay in Sychar became evident: Many more believed because of His word. God’s Word is the stimulus to faith (Rm 10:17; Gl 3:2, 5). The woman’s reward (cf. v. 36) was to hear from those to whom she witnessed, now witnesses of their own faith. To believe in Christ is to know that this One is indeed the Savior of the world. The words “Savior of the world” include Gentiles.

4:43-45 After Jesus’ successful two-day ministry among the Samaritans, He continued on to His original destination (v. 3), Galilee, about a three-day walk from Sychar. In contrast to the response of Samaria (v. 44), Jesus testified that a prophet (cf. v. 19) has no honor in his own country, in His case Galilee and Judea (Cf. 1:11, 46). The Galileans received Him (v. 45) as a wonderful healer (but not with saving faith; a Greek word for “receive” is used here that is different from what is used in 1:12) because they had personally seen all the things (the miracles, 2:23) that He did in Jerusalem at the Passover feast.

6 Official’s Son Healed (4:43-54)

4:46 Jesus went again to Cana. By this time, the townspeople would have learned how He had made the water into wine (2:1-11). The royal official was probably a high-ranking civil or military officer (he had slaves, v. 51) under Herod Antipas (4 BC–AD 39), tetrarch over Galilee. The healing of the centurion’s servant in Mt 8:5-13 and its parallels represents a different incident. Since the officer was likely a Gentile, John presented the movement of Jesus’ message to a Jew (chap. 3), then to a Samaritan (chap. 4), and finally to a Gentile (cf. Acts 1:8), signifying the relevance of the message and ministry of Jesus for all people groups. His son was sick at Capernaum with a severe fever (v. 52), so the official traveled 20 miles to Cana to seek Jesus’ help.

4:47-48 The official implored Jesus to come down and heal his son; for he was near death. While signs are designed to lead to faith (2:11, 23; 7:31; 20:31-32), requiring that God provide signs before one believes is reprehensible. It makes God into one’s slave, rather than making God into one’s Lord. Unless you people [Gk. pl.] see signs and wonders, you simply will not believe (v. 48) confronted the reluctance on the part of the official (Jesus said to him) and the Galilean Jews to believe that He was the Christ.

4:49-50 The official was not dissuaded by Jesus’ challenge but repeated his request for help. His petition was answered in a way that demanded faith. Go; your son lives (v. 50) was both a prophecy (vv. 19, 44) and a healing. “Your son lives” is reminiscent of the prophet Elijah, who pronounced the healing of the son of the woman from Zarephath (1Kg 17:23). But Jesus, as the greater prophet, healed the official’s son without even being personally present. The essence of faith is to believe the word that Jesus spoke—the very thing the official did. His faith was evident in that he started off to Capernaum.

4:51-53 The father did not have to reach Capernaum (about 18 to 20 miles from Cana) to learn the news of his son’s health. On his way down from Cana (a drop of 1,300 ft.), his slaves met him, saying that his son was living. To confirm that this was not mere coincidence (v. 52), he inquired of them the hour when his son began to get better. He learned that it was the previous day at 1:00 p.m. (the seventh hour) that the fever left him. For “the seventh hour,” see comment on 1:39. Convinced (v. 53) that Jesus had healed his son at that precise time, he himself believed and his whole household, which included the now healed son. It was common in the NT era for whole households to come to faith together (cf. Ac 11:14; 16:31; 18:8). Since the word “life” appears three times in the narrative (vv. 50, 51, 53), the miracle points to Jesus as the messianic source of all life (1:4).

4:54 The healing of the official’s son was not the second sign Jesus did (Cf. 2:23; 3:2; 4:45) but the second sign when He had come out of Judea into Galilee. The narrative brings the reader full circle back to Cana (2:11; 4:46).