John 4 - NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible
4:1–26 Jesus Talks With a Samaritan Woman. Like the previous chapters (2:6; 3:5), this account includes water symbolism (4:7–15) and dialogue in which Jesus discloses himself as fulfilling OT promises and institutions (see notes on v. 14; 1:45; 2:4, 6–7,10, 15–16, 19–22; 3:5, 14–15). Unlike Nicodemus in 3:1–15, the person at the well in ch. 4 is female, Samaritan, not seeking Jesus, uneducated, socially despised, and immoral—but both need Jesus.
4:4 had to go through Samaria. Because it was the most direct route taken by Jewish travelers heading from Judea to Galilee (see map) and it was part of the mission on which God sent Jesus (cf. “had to” in 20:9). Jews despised Samaritans (8:48; Luke 10:33) because they were defiled with Gentile blood and pagan worship practices. When the northern kingdom of Israel and its capital of Samaria (1 Kgs 16:24) was defeated by the Assyrians in 722 BC, the Assyrians deported many Israelites to Assyria and repopulated Israel with foreigners (2 Kgs 17:24–31) who intermarried with the remaining Israelites. The result was Samaritans, whom Jews regarded as ethnic half-breeds. Samaritans had their own version of the Pentateuch and rejected the rest of the OT. See notes on vv. 9,20.
4:5 Sychar. Probably the modern village of Askar, on the shoulder of Mount Ebal and opposite Mount Gerizim. given. See Gen 48:22.
4:6 Jacob’s well. Not mentioned elsewhere in Scripture; probably associated with Jacob’s move to the Shechem area (Gen 33:18–20). It is about a half mile (0.8 kilometers) south of Askar. tired. Jesus is fully human (1:14; see 19:28). about noon. May indicate that the woman in v. 7 was a social outcast since there is some evidence that women did not normally fetch water during the sun’s hottest hours.
4:7 Jesus breaches social custom (v. 9).
4:9 Jews do not associate with Samaritans. The reason the woman is surprised by Jesus’ request (see note on v. 4). Many Jews viewed all Samaritans as ritually defiled. The woman did not expect Jesus to talk to her (cf. v. 27), let alone become ritually defiled by drinking from a Samaritan’s water pot (see NIV text note). She does not know that Jesus cannot become ritually defiled; he sanctifies what he touches (Matt 8:3).
4:10 Jesus’ reply raises at least four questions for the woman: (1) What is “the gift of God”? It is probably eternal life, which only Jesus can give. (2) Who is this man? See vv. 12,19,29. (3) What is “living water”? On a physical level, it is fresh, flowing water from springs as opposed to stagnant cistern water. On a spiritual level, it is “the gift of God,” the eternally satisfying life that Jesus provides through the Spirit, who produces spiritual life (see notes on 3:5,6,8, 14–15; 7:38; cf. Jer 2:13). (4) How can he get this water without a bucket? See v. 11.
4:11 deep. Over 100 feet (30 meters) today; probably deeper at that time.
4:11–12 Like Nicodemus in 3:4,9, the woman misunderstands Jesus (see also v. 15).
4:12 The question implies a negative answer. The woman thinks that Jesus is a charlatan, but she is twice wrong: (1) Jesus’ “living water” does not come from an ordinary well (see note on v. 10). (2) Jesus is far greater than Jacob.
4:13 this water. From the well.
4:14 the water I give them. “Living water” (see v. 10 and note). never thirst. For God and eternal life in his presence (see Isa 12:3; 44:3; 49:10; 55:1–3; Rev 7:16). spring of water welling up to eternal life. The Spirit, who produces spiritual life and indwells believers (6:63; 7:37–39).
4:15 The woman still does not understand who Jesus is and what “living water” is (see note on vv. 11–12).
4:16–18 Jesus shows the woman that he knows about her sins (cf. 2:24–25) to help her realize that she is thirsty for his living water.
4:17 I have no husband. Technically true if they were deceased or divorced, but she doubtless intends to ward off any further probing of this sensitive area of her life while masking her guilt and pain (3:19–20). Jesus gently exposes the whole truth.
4:19 prophet. One with special insight, not necessarily a full-orbed OT prophet, let alone the Messiah (v. 25).
4:20 ancestors worshiped. Includes Abraham (Gen 12:6–7) and Jacob (Gen 33:19–20). this mountain. Mount Gerizim (see map). Moses commanded the Israelites to pronounce the law’s blessings from Mount Gerizim and its curses from Mount Ebal just across the valley of Shechem to the north (Deut 11:29; 27:12–13; Josh 8:33). The Samaritans had erected a temple on Mount Gerizim; it replaced Jerusalem as their spiritual center. In 128 or 127 BC, John Hyrcanus, the Jewish high priest in Judea, destroyed the Samaritan temple. The hostility between Jews and Samaritans continued to Jesus’ day (see note on v. 4). Here the woman changes the subject from her adultery (v. 18) to the most controversial religious issue between Jews and Samaritans: Should God’s people worship in Jerusalem or on Mount Gerizim?
4:21 you. Samaritans. nor in Jerusalem. See note on 2:19–22. The place of worship would soon be irrelevant, replaced by the living church as God’s dwelling place. See “Temple.”
4:21–24 Jesus’ response is threefold: (1) Both the Jerusalem temple and the Mount Gerizim shrine are about to become obsolete as definitive places of worship (v. 21). (2) Salvation springs from the Jews, not the Samaritans (see v. 22 and note). (3) True worship is not tied to a sacred site (vv. 23–24).
4:22 worship what you do not know. They had their own version of the Pentateuch and rejected the rest of the OT, so their worship was not characterized by truth and knowledge. salvation is from the Jews. God revealed himself in the OT through the Jews (Ps 76:1), and the Savior, the Messiah, comes from them.
4:23 time. “Hour” (see note on 2:4). has now come. Before the cross, this period of true worship is already present in the person and ministry of Jesus. See Introduction: Characteristics and Themes, 4. true worshipers. Identified not by where they worship but whom and how they worship. in the Spirit and in truth. Or “in spirit and truth.” True worship is empowered by “the Spirit of truth” (14:17; 15:26; 16:13) and is in accordance with truth. It can occur only in and through Jesus, who is “the truth” (14:6; see 1:14) and the true temple (see note on 2:19–22).
4:24 God is spirit. “Spirit” characterizes what God is like in the same way that flesh, location, and corporeality characterize what humans and their world are like. God is invisible, divine as opposed to human (3:6), life-giving, and unknowable to humans unless he chooses to reveal himself (1:18). He is not confined to one space, so people can worship him anywhere. in the Spirit and in truth. See note on v. 23.
4:26 I am he. Jesus reveals himself as the promised Messiah. The term “Messiah” (v. 25) did not have the political overtones in Samaria that it had in Judea.
4:27 returned. From buying food in the town (v. 8). surprised. Because this was (1) a Samaritan (see notes on vv. 4,9,20) and (2) a woman. Jewish religious teachers rarely spoke with women in public.
4:27–38 The Disciples Rejoin Jesus. Jesus teaches the disciples about their mission.
4:28–30 The woman eagerly witnesses to the townspeople, whom she previously had reason to avoid, and they decide to come to see Jesus for themselves.
4:31–33 Jesus, though doubtless still tired and thirsty (vv. 6–7) and probably hungry, apparently dwells on his conversation with the Samaritan woman to teach his followers about his own priorities. Once again, people misunderstand Jesus: Jesus’ disciples think of physical food as quickly as the Jewish leaders thought of the physical temple building, Nicodemus thought of physical birth, and the Samaritan woman thought of physical water (see notes on vv. 11–12,15; 2:19–22; 3:4).
4:34 Likely alludes to Deut 8:3, which Jesus exemplifies. Jesus was performing his Father’s will in his exchange with the Samaritan woman, and that was greater sustenance and more satisfying than any food the disciples could offer him. He came to do the Father’s will (5:36; 6:38), and he always did it (8:29). His works were the works of God (9:3–4; 10:25,32, 37–38; 14:10), and he successfully completed his mission (17:4; 19:30).
4:35–38 The harvest has already begun in the history of salvation. Jesus himself is engaged in that harvest, which is part of the work the Father gave him to do (v. 34).
4:36 crop. People who become followers of Jesus (e.g., the Samaritans in vv. 39–42). the sower and the reaper may be glad together. Recalls Amos 9:13, perhaps implying that those coming days have dawned in Jesus’ ministry as sowing and reaping coincide.
4:37–38 Verse 37 summarizes v. 38: Jesus sent his disciples to reap what others sowed. John the Baptist is the last in the succession of prophets and others who sowed but did not live long enough to reap (Luke 16:16).
4:39–42 Many Samaritans Believe. Many Samaritans believe in Jesus because of (1) the woman’s testimony (v. 29) and (2) Jesus’ words, which confirm her testimony (vv. 41–42).
4:42 Savior of the world. Jesus is the Savior not just of the Jews but of the Samaritans as well (see vv. 22,23 and notes; 10:16; 11:51–52). Greek gods and Roman emperors were called in various ways “savior of the world,” but Jesus is the true Savior. world. See notes on 1:9,29; 3:16. Jesus’ mission anticipates the church’s mission in Acts 1:8: going from Jerusalem (2:13—3:15) to Samaria (4:1–42) to the Gentiles.
4:43–54 Jesus Heals an Official’s Son. This is Jesus’ second sign in John’s Gospel (see v. 54; see also Introduction: Purpose and Addressees).
4:44 his own country. Galilee as it represents Jewish land over against Samaritan land (Matt 13:57; Mark 6:4; Luke 4:24).
4:45 welcomed. Their superficial welcome was actually a kind of rejection because they were interested only in Jesus’ miracles, not in Jesus as the Messiah and Savior. John has already let his readers know how Jesus viewed that kind of spurious faith that was so dependent on miracles (2:23–25; cf. 6:26).
4:46 royal official. Evidently an officer of Herod Antipas (see notes on Matt 14:1; Luke 3:1,19).
4:47 come. Unlike the centurion of Matt 8:5–13; Luke 7:2–10. Not until after Jesus’ miracle does the royal official display any faith that goes beyond desperation (vv. 52–53).
4:48 Jesus detects in the royal official a faith that desires a miraculous cure but that does not truly trust him (see notes on vv. 45,47). Jesus’ rebuke addresses the people at large because the royal official exemplifies what is wrong with the Galileans as a whole (1:11).
4:49 come down. See note on v. 47.
4:51–53 The miracle’s precise timing strengthens the royal official’s faith (v. 50).
4:53 whole household. Cf. Acts 11:14; 16:15, 31–34; 18:8.
4:54 second sign. See Introduction: Purpose and Addressees.
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