John 4 - Wiersbe Study Bible

4:1–30 Because the Pharisees were trying to incite competition between Jesus and John the Baptist (3:25–30), Jesus left Judea and started north for Galilee. He could have taken one of three possible routes: along the coast, across the Jordan and up through Perea, or straight through Samaria. Orthodox Jews avoided Samaria because there was a longstanding, deep-seated hatred between them and the Samaritans.

4:5 The Samaritans were a mixed race, part Jew and part Gentile, that grew out of the Assyrian captivity of the ten northern tribes in 727 B.C. Rejected by the Jews because they could not prove their genealogy, the Samaritans established their own temple and religious services on Mount Gerizim.

4:7–10 In that day, it was not considered proper for any man, especially a rabbi, to speak in public to a strange woman (v. 27). But our Lord set social customs aside because a soul’s eternal salvation was at stake. It certainly surprised her when He asked for a drink of water. She surmised that He was a Jewish rabbi, and perhaps she tried to “read between the lines” to find another meaning to His request.

4:10 Jesus pointed out to her that she was ignorant of three important facts: who He was, what He had to offer, and how she could receive it. Here was eternal God speaking to her, offering her eternal life! The Samaritans were as blind as the Jews (1:26). But our Lord’s words had aroused her interest, so she pursued the conversation.

4:16–24 The only way to prepare the soil of the heart for the seed is to plow it up with conviction. That was why Jesus told her to go get her husband: He forced her to admit her sin. There can be no conversion without conviction. There must first be conviction and repentance, and then there can be saving faith. Jesus had aroused her mind and stirred her emotions, but He also had to touch her conscience, and that meant dealing with her sin.

4:25–30 In spite of her ignorance, there was one truth this woman did know: The Messiah was coming and would reveal the secrets of hearts. Where did she learn this truth? We do not know, but that seed had lain buried in her heart until that very hour, and now it was going to bear fruit. Our Lord’s response to her statement was, literally, “I who speak to you am He,” He dared to utter the holy name (“I AM”) of God! (See Ex. 3:13–15.)

4:34 Our Lord did not look on the Father’s will as a heavy burden or a distasteful task. He viewed His work as the very nourishment of His soul. Doing the Father’s will fed Him and satisfied Him inwardly. “I delight to do Your will, O my God, and Your law is within my heart” (Ps. 40:8). The Samaritan woman was now doing the Father’s will and finding excitement and enrichment in it.

4:39–42 Many of the Samaritans believed because of the testimony of the woman, and then many more believed when they personally heard Jesus. They were so excited about Him that they begged Him to stay with them, and He stayed for two days. During that short time, His Word produced fruit in their lives.

4:39 The woman put her faith in Jesus Christ and was converted. Immediately she wanted to share her faith with others, so she went into the village and told the people she had met the Christ. When you consider how little spiritual truth this woman knew, her zeal and witness put us to shame. But God used her simple testimony, and many of the people came out to the well to meet Jesus.

4:47 Jesus was met at Cana by a nobleman from Capernaum, perhaps around ten miles away. The man had heard about His miracles and came to intercede for his son, who was dying. The first miracle at Cana came at the request of his mother (2:1–5), and this second miracle at Cana at the request of a father.

4:53 This man began with crisis faith. He was about to lose his son and he had no other recourse but the Lord Jesus Christ. Many people came to Jesus with their crises, and He did not turn them away. The nobleman’s crisis faith became confident faith: he believed the Word and had peace in his heart. He was even able to delay his trip home, knowing that the boy was out of danger. His confident faith became confirmed faith.

4:54 This is one of several miracles that Jesus performed at a distance. He healed the centurion’s servant from a distance (Matt. 8:5–13, and note that he too lived in Capernaum), and He healed the daughter of the Canaanite woman in the same manner (Matt. 15:21–28). These two were Gentiles and, spiritually speaking, were “far off” (Eph. 2:12,13). Perhaps this nobleman was also a Gentile. We do not know.