John 4 - Holman KJV Study Bible

4:1-42 ­Jesus' encounter with the Samaritan woman took place by divine necessity (v. 4). Unlike Nicodemus, the woman progressed in her understanding. She viewed Him first as a Jew (v. 9), then as someone who could make her life easier (v. 15), then as a prophet (v. 19), and then possibly as Messiah (v. 29). The woman's fellow townspeople concluded that ­Jesus was the Saviour of the world (v. 42).

4:1 The Pharisees had investigated John the Baptist's credentials (1:19,24); now they were looking into those of ­Jesus.

4:2 This clarified the statements in 3:26 and 4:1.

4:3 On ­Jesus going from Judaea to Galilee, see note at 3:22.

4:4 Must needs may indicate that ­Jesus' itinerary was set by the sovereign plan of God (9:4; 10:16; 12:34; 20:9). Through Samaria was the most direct route from Judaea to Galilee, but strict Jews, wishing to avoid defilement, bypassed Samaria by taking a longer, less direct route. This involved crossing the Jordan and traveling on the eastern side of the river.

4:5 Sychar was located just east of mounts Gerizim and Ebal. From Gen. 48:21-22 and Josh. 24:32 it was inferred that Jacob gave to his son Joseph the land at Shechem which he had bought from the sons of Hamor (Gen. 33:18-19) and which later served as Joseph's burial place (Exod. 13:19; Josh. 24:32).

4:6 ­Jesus' weariness underscores His genuine, full humanity.

4:8 ­Jesus and His disciples usually carried little or nothing to eat, but brought money to buy provisions along the way (12:6; 13:29). ­Jesus did not fear being defiled by food bought in a Samaritan village.

4:9 The author's aside that Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans explained to his Diaspora readership that rabbis considered Samaritans to be in a continual state of uncleanness.

4:10-15 The references to ­Jesus as the giver of living water involve double meaning (see notes at 3:3-8 and 3:14). Literally, the phrase refers to fresh spring water (Gen. 26:19; Lev. 14:6). God was known as the source of life (Gen. 1:11-12,20-31; 2:7) and "the fountain of living waters" (Jer. 2:13; see Isa. 12:3). In Num. 20:8-11, water gushed out of the rock, a much-needed provision for the Israelites.

4:11 Jacob's well is more than 100 feet deep today and was probably deeper in ­Jesus' day.

4:12 The woman's account was based on tradition. The book of Genesis does not record Jacob digging a well, drinking from it, and giving it to his children.

4:14 The well giving life is reminiscent of Isa. 12:3 (cp. Isa. 44:3; 55:1-3).

4:17 While technically truthful, the woman's statement was misleading. ­Jesus knew the full truth.

4:18 Five husbands could be translated "five men" (Gk aner).

4:19 ­Jesus knew the woman's life circumstances without apparently having been told by anyone (cp. Luke 7:39).

4:20-21 This mountain is Gerizim (Deut. 11:29; 27:12), the OT setting for the pronouncement of blessings for keeping the covenant, and the mountain on which Moses commanded an altar to be built (Deut. 27:4-6). The fathers included Abraham (Gen. 12:7) and Jacob (Gen. 33:20), who built altars in this region.

4:24 Because God is a Spirit, the Israelites were not to make idols "in the likeness of any thing" as the surrounding nations did (Exod. 20:4). Proper worship of God is a matter of spirit rather than physical location.

4:27 The disciples' amazement that ­Jesus was talking with a woman stemmed from the common Jewish teaching that talking too much to a woman, even one's wife, was a waste of time, diverting one's attention from the study of Scripture and reflection on God.

4:28 The woman's waterpot was probably a large earthenware pitcher carried on the shoulder or hip. She abandoned her original purpose for coming to the well in order to tell her townspeople about ­Jesus.

4:29 All things was an ­exaggeration—understandable in light of her excitement. See note at verse 39.

4:31 Master, eat reflected the disciples' concern for their teacher's well-being. ­Jesus had been worn out from His journey before His conversation with the Samaritan woman (see note at v. 6). He still had not had anything to eat.

4:32-34 The accomplishment of ­Jesus' mission was more important to Him than physical food (Matt. 6:25; Mark 3:20-21). His statement may echo Deut. 8:3 (cp. Matt. 4:4; Luke 4:4). On ­Jesus' work, see note at 17:4.

4:35 In agriculture there is always a considerable separation in time between sowing and harvesting. The disciples needed to realize that with the coming of ­Jesus, sowing (preaching) and reaping (conversions) coincided. The immediate reference may be to the approaching Samaritans (v v. 39-42).

4:36 This saying is reminiscent of Amos 9:13, which depicted the prosperity of the new age. Hence ­Jesus claimed that He was ushering in the messianic age, a time of swift, abundant harvest.

4:37-38 This saying may allude to Micha 6:15, "Thou shalt sow but . . . not reap." Yet ­Jesus' adaptation left judgment unmentioned. The others who had labored were ­Jesus and His predecessors, most recently John the Baptist, the final prophet associated with the OT era. ­Jesus' followers were the beneficiaries of their work and would bring in the harvest.

4:39 That city refers to Sychar (see note at v. 5). Though people would naturally be skeptical about religious ­pronouncements made by an immoral woman, her sincerity (and perhaps a noticeable change in her morality) convinced her townspeople to take her seriously as she spoke about ­Jesus.

4:40 ­Jesus obviously did not share in the Jewish bias against Samaritans since He spent two days with them (see notes at v v. 4 and 9).

4:41-42 As others had done (1:40-41,45), the woman brought people to ­Jesus so they could see for themselves. Ultimately, it was on the basis of a personal encounter with ­Jesus that they believed. His large harvest among the Samaritans marked the first sign of the universal scope of His saving mission (10:16; 11:51-52). The early church also undertook a Samaritan mission (Acts 8:4-25; cp. 1:8). In fact, the pattern of ­Jesus' mission from Judaea (Nicodemus, 3), to Samaria (4), to the Gentiles (v v. 46-54; cp. 12:20-33), anticipated the post-Pentecost mission of the early church (Acts 1:8).

4:43-54 The healing of the royal official's son completes the "Cana cycle" in John's Gospel, which spans from 2:1 to 4:54 and begins and ends with a "miracle" performed by ­Jesus in Cana of Galilee (2:11; 4:54; see note at 2:11). The present miracle is a rare instance of a long-distance healing performed by ­Jesus. The story resembles that of the Gentile centurion in Matt. 8:5-13 and Luke 7:2-10, but this is not the same incident. All three miracles featured in the Cana cycle (the turning of water into wine, the temple clearing, and the healing of the royal official's son) set forth ­Jesus as Messiah, who showed convincing signs of His divine commission.

4:43 From Sychar to Cana of Galilee was about 40 miles, a trip of two or three days.

4:45 ­Jesus' Galilaean welcome must be understood in light of verses 44 and 48 (cp. 2:23-25).

4:46-47 The nobleman was probably a Gentile centurion, possibly in service to Herod Antipas (Mark 6:14). His son's illness involved fever (4:52) and appears to have been terminal (v v. 47,49). From Capernaum to Cana was about 15 miles.

4:48 The expression signs and wonders probably harks back to the series of miracles performed by Moses at the exodus. ­Jesus rebuked people for their dependence on the miraculous; for John, miracles were "signs" pointing to ­Jesus' messianic identity (see note at 2:11).

4:49-50 This is a rare instance of a long-distance miracle. A similar incident is described in Matt. 8:5-13 and Luke 7:1-10. The words thy son liveth may recall Elijah's statement in 1 Kings 17:23. If so, ­Jesus' messianic activity is compared with the healing ministry of Elijah (Luke 4:23-27).

4:54 The second miracle refers to signs done in Cana (see note at 2:11); in the interim, ­Jesus had performed miracles in Jerusalem (2:23; 3:2; 4:45). Thus John closed the cycle of ­Jesus' first ministry circuit, starting and ending in Cana of Galilee (see note at v v. 43-54).