John 4

Jesus Goes to Galilee

1 Therefore when ¹the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and ²baptizing more disciples than John

2 (although ³Jesus Himself was not baptizing, but His ⁴disciples were),

3 He left ⁵Judea and went away ⁶again into Galilee.

4 And He had to pass through * ⁷Samaria.

5 So He came to a city of ⁸Samaria called Sychar, near ⁹the parcel of ground that ¹⁰Jacob gave to his son Joseph;

6 and Jacob's well was there. So Jesus, being wearied from His journey, was sitting thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour.

The Woman of Samaria

7 There came a woman of Samaria to draw water. Jesus said to her, "Give Me a drink."

8 For His ¹¹disciples had gone away into ¹²the city to buy food.

9 Therefore the ¹³Samaritan woman said to Him, "How is it that You, being a Jew, ask me for a drink since I am a Samaritan woman?" (For ¹⁴Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.)

10 Jesus answered and said to her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, 'Give Me a drink,' you would have asked Him, and He would have given you ¹⁵living water."

11 She said to Him, "Sir, You have nothing to draw with and the well is deep; where then do You get that ¹⁶living water?

12 "You are not greater than our father Jacob, are You, who ¹⁷gave us the well, and drank of it himself and his sons and his cattle?"

13 Jesus answered and said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again;

14 but whoever * drinks of the water that I will give him ¹⁸shall never * thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to ¹⁹eternal life."

15 The woman said to Him, "Sir, ²⁰give me this water, so I will not be thirsty nor come all the way here to draw."

16 He said to her, "Go, call your husband and come here."

17 The woman answered and said, "I have no husband." Jesus said to her, "You have correctly said, 'I have no husband ';

18 for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; this you have said truly."

19 The woman said to Him, "Sir, I perceive that You are ²¹a prophet.

20 "²²Our fathers worshiped in ²³this mountain, and you people say that ²⁴in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship."

21 Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe Me, ²⁵an hour is coming when ²⁶neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father.

22 "²⁷You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for ²⁸salvation is from the Jews.

23 "But ²⁹an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father ³⁰in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers.

24 "God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship ³¹in spirit and truth."

25 The woman said to Him, "I know that ³²Messiah is coming (³³He who is called Christ ); when that One comes, He will declare all things to us."

26 Jesus said to her, "³⁴I who speak to you am He."

27 At this point His ³⁵disciples came, and they were amazed that He had been speaking with a woman, yet no one said, "What do You seek?" or, "Why do You speak with her?"

28 So the woman left her waterpot, and went into the city and said to the men,

29 "Come, see a man ³⁶who told me all the things that I have done; ³⁷this is not the Christ, is it?"

30 They went out of the city, and were coming to Him.

31 Meanwhile the disciples were urging Him, saying, "³⁸Rabbi, eat."

32 But He said to them, "I have food to eat that you do not know about."

33 So the ³⁹disciples were saying to one another, "No one brought Him anything to eat, did he?"

34 Jesus said to them, "My food is to ⁴⁰do the will of Him who sent Me and to ⁴¹accomplish His work.

35 "Do you not say, 'There are yet four months, and then comes the harvest '? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white ⁴²for harvest.

36 "Already he who reaps is receiving ⁴³wages and is gathering ⁴⁴fruit for ⁴⁵life eternal; so that he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together.

37 "For in this case the saying is true, '⁴⁶One sows and another reaps.'

38 "I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored and you have entered into their labor."

The Samaritans

39 From ⁴⁷that city many of the Samaritans believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, "⁴⁸He told me all the things that I have done."

40 So when the Samaritans came to Jesus, they were asking Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days.

41 Many more believed because of His word;

42 and they were saying to the woman, "It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this One is indeed ⁴⁹the Savior of the world."

43 After ⁵⁰the two days He went forth from there into Galilee.

44 For Jesus Himself testified that ⁵¹a prophet has no honor in his own country.

45 So when He came to Galilee, the Galileans received Him, ⁵²having seen all the things that He did in Jerusalem at the feast; for they themselves also went to the feast.

Healing a Nobleman's Son

46 Therefore He came again to ⁵³Cana of Galilee ⁵⁴where He had made the water wine. And there was a royal official whose son was sick at ⁵⁵Capernaum.

47 When he heard that Jesus had come ⁵⁶out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and was imploring Him to come down and heal his son; for he was at the point of death.

48 So Jesus said to him, "Unless * you people see ⁵⁷signs and ⁵⁸wonders, you simply will not believe."

49 The royal official said to Him, "Sir, come down before my child dies."

50 Jesus said to him, "⁵⁹Go; your son lives." The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and started off.

51 As he was now going down, his slaves met him, saying that his son was living.

52 So he inquired of them the hour when * he began to get better. Then they said to him, "Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him."

53 So the father knew that it was at that hour in which Jesus said to him, "Your son lives "; and he himself believed and ⁶⁰his whole household.

54 This is again a ⁶¹second sign that Jesus performed when He had ⁶²come out of Judea into Galilee.

John 4 Commentary

Chapter 4

Christ's departure into Galilee. (1-3) His discourse with the Samaritan woman. (4-26) The effects of Christ's conversation with the woman of Samaria. (27-42) Christ heals the nobleman's son. (43-54)

Verses 1-3 Jesus applied himself more to preaching, which was the more ( 1 Corinthians. 1:17 ) his disciples, by employing them to baptize. He teaches us that the benefit of sacraments depends not on the hand that administers them.

Verses 4-26 There was great hatred between the Samaritans and the Jews. Christ's road from Judea to Galilee lay through Samaria. We should not go into places of temptation but when we needs must; and then must not dwell in them, but hasten through them. We have here our Lord Jesus under the common fatigue of travellers. Thus we see that he was truly a man. Toil came in with sin; therefore Christ, having made himself a curse for us, submitted to it. Also, he was a poor man, and went all his journeys on foot. Being wearied, he sat thus on the well; he had no couch to rest upon. He sat thus, as people wearied with travelling sit. Surely, we ought readily to submit to be like the Son of God in such things as these. Christ asked a woman for water. She was surprised because he did not show the anger of his own nation against the Samaritans. Moderate men of all sides are men wondered at. Christ took the occasion to teach her Divine things: he converted this woman, by showing her ignorance and sinfulness, and her need of a Saviour. By this living water is meant the Spirit. Under this comparison the blessing of the Messiah had been promised in the Old Testament. The graces of the Spirit, and his comforts, satisfy the thirsting soul, that knows its own nature and necessity. What Jesus spake figuratively, she took literally. Christ shows that the water of Jacob's well yielded a very short satisfaction. Of whatever waters of comfort we drink, we shall thirst again. But whoever partakes of the Spirit of grace, and the comforts of the gospel, shall never want that which will abundantly satisfy his soul. Carnal hearts look no higher than carnal ends. Give it me, saith she, not that I may have everlasting life, which Christ proposed, but that I come not hither to draw. The carnal mind is very ingenious in shifting off convictions, and keeping them from fastening. But how closely our Lord Jesus brings home the conviction to her conscience! He severely reproved her present state of life. The woman acknowledged Christ to be a prophet. The power of his word in searching the heart, and convincing the conscience of secret things, is a proof of Divine authority. It should cool our contests, to think that the things we are striving about are passing away. The object of worship will continue still the same, God, as a Father; but an end shall be put to all differences about the place of worship. Reason teaches us to consult decency and convenience in the places of our worship; but religion gives no preference to one place above another, in respect of holiness and approval with God. The Jews were certainly in the right. Those who by the Scriptures have obtained some knowledge of God, know whom they worship. The word of salvation was of the Jews. It came to other nations through them. Christ justly preferred the Jewish worship before the Samaritan, yet here he speaks of the former as soon to be done away. God was about to be revealed as the Father of all believers in every nation. The spirit or the soul of man, as influenced by the Holy Spirit, must worship God, and have communion with him. Spiritual affections, as shown in fervent prayers, supplications, and thanksgivings, form the worship of an upright heart, in which God delights and is glorified. The woman was disposed to leave the matter undecided, till the coming of the Messiah. But Christ told her, I that speak to thee, am He. She was an alien and a hostile Samaritan, merely speaking to her was thought to disgrace our Lord Jesus. Yet to this woman did our Lord reveal himself more fully than as yet he had done to any of his disciples. No past sins can bar our acceptance with him, if we humble ourselves before him, believing in him as the Christ, the Saviour of the world.

Verses 27-42 The disciples wondered that Christ talked thus with a Samaritan. Yet they knew it was for some good reason, and for some good end. Thus when particular difficulties occur in the word and providence of God, it is good to satisfy ourselves that all is well that Jesus Christ says and does. Two things affected the woman. The extent of his knowledge. Christ knows all the thoughts, words, and actions, of all the children of men. And the power of his word. He told her secret sins with power. She fastened upon that part of Christ's discourse, many would think she would have been most shy of repeating; but the knowledge of Christ, into which we are led by conviction of sin, is most likely to be sound and saving. They came to him: those who would know Christ, must meet him where he records his name. Our Master has left us an example, that we may learn to do the will of God as he did; with diligence, as those that make a business of it; with delight and pleasure in it. Christ compares his work to harvest-work. The harvest is appointed and looked for before it comes; so was the gospel. Harvest-time is busy time; all must be then at work. Harvest-time is a short time, and harvest-work must be done then, or not at all; so the time of the gospel is a season, which if once past, cannot be recalled. God sometimes uses very weak and unlikely instruments for beginning and carrying on a good work. Our Saviour, by teaching one poor woman, spread knowledge to a whole town. Blessed are those who are not offended at Christ. Those taught of God, are truly desirous to learn more. It adds much to the praise of our love to Christ and his word, if it conquers prejudices. Their faith grew. In the matter of it: they believed him to be the Saviour, not only of the Jews but of the world. In the certainty of it: we know that this is indeed the Christ. And in the ground of it, for we have heard him ourselves.

Verses 43-54 The father was a nobleman, yet the son was sick. Honours and titles are no security from sickness and death. The greatest men must go themselves to God, must become beggars. The nobleman did not stop from his request till he prevailed. But at first he discovered the weakness of his faith in the power of Christ. It is hard to persuade ourselves that distance of time and place, are no hinderance to the knowledge, mercy, and power of our Lord Jesus. Christ gave an answer of peace. Christ's saying that the soul lives, makes it alive. The father went his way, which showed the sincerity of his faith. Being satisfied, he did not hurry home that night, but returned as one easy in his own mind. His servants met him with the news of the child's recovery. Good news will meet those that hope in God's word. Diligent comparing the works of Jesus with his word, will confirm our faith. And the bringing the cure to the family brought salvation to it. Thus an experience of the power of one word of Christ, may settle the authority of Christ in the soul. The whole family believed likewise. The miracle made Jesus dear to them. The knowledge of Christ still spreads through families, and men find health and salvation to their souls.

Cross References

• 1. Luke 7:13
• 2. John 3:22, 26; 1 Corinthians 1:17
• 3. John 3:22, 26; 1 Corinthians 1:17
• 4. John 2:2
• 5. John 3:22
• 6. John 2:11
• 7. Luke 9:52
• 8. Luke 9:52
• 9. Genesis 33:19; Joshua 24:32
• 10. Genesis 48:22; John 4:12
• 11. John 2:2
• 12. John 4:5, 39
• 13. Luke 9:52
• 14. Ezra 4:3-6, 11f; Matthew 10:5; John 8:48; Acts 10:28
• 15. Jeremiah 2:13; John 4:14; John 7:37; Revelation 7:17; Revelation 21:6; Revelation 22:1, 17
• 16. Jeremiah 2:13; John 4:14; John 7:37; Revelation 7:17; Revelation 21:6; Revelation 22:1, 17
• 17. John 4:6
• 18. John 6:35; John 7:38
• 19. Matthew 25:46; John 6:27
• 20. John 6:35
• 21. Matthew 21:11; Luke 7:16, 39; Luke 24:19; John 6:14; John 7:40; John 9:17
• 22. Genesis 33:20; John 4:12
• 23. Deuteronomy 11:29; Joshua 8:33
• 24. Luke 9:53
• 25. John 4:23; John 5:25, 28; John 16:2, 32
• 26. Malachi 1:11; 1 Timothy 2:8
• 27. 2 Kings 17:28-41
• 28. Isaiah 2:3; Romans 3:1; Romans 9:4
• 29. John 4:21; John 5:25, 28; John 16:2, 32
• 30. Philippians 3:3
• 31. Philippians 3:3
• 32. Daniel 9:25; John 1:41
• 33. Matthew 1:16; Matthew 27:17, 22; Luke 2:11
• 34. John 8:24, 28, 58; John 9:37; John 13:19
• 35. John 4:8
• 36. John 4:17
• 37. Matthew 12:23; John 7:26, 31
• 38. Matthew 23:7; John 6:25, 49">2John 6:25, 49; Mark 9:5; Mark 11:21; Mark 14:45; John 1:38, 49; John 3:2, 26; John 6:25; John 9:2; John 11:8
• 39. Luke 6:13-16; John 1:40-49; John 2:2
• 40. John 5:30; John 6:38
• 41. John 5:36; John 17:4; John 19:28, 30
• 42. Matthew 9:37, 38; Luke 10:2
• 43. Proverbs 11:18; 1 Corinthians 9:17
• 44. Romans 1:13
• 45. Matthew 19:29; John 3:36; John 4:14; John 5:24; Romans 2:7; Romans 6:23
• 46. Job 31:8; Micah 6:15
• 47. John 4:5, 30
• 48. John 4:29
• 49. Matthew 1:21; Luke 2:11; John 1:29; Acts 5:31; Acts 13:23; 1 Timothy 4:10; 1 John 4:14
• 50. John 4:40
• 51. Matthew 13:57; Mark 6:4; Luke 4:24
• 52. John 2:23
• 53. John 2:1
• 54. John 2:9
• 55. Luke 4:23; John 2:12
• 56. John 4:3, 54
• 57. Daniel 4:2; Daniel 6:27; Matthew 24:24; Mark 13:22; Acts 2:19, 22, 43; Acts 4:30; Acts 5:12; Acts 6:8; Acts 7:36; Acts 14:3; 1Acts 5:12; Romans 15:19; 1 Corinthians 1:22; 2 Corinthians 12:12; 2 Thessalonians 2:9; Hebrews 2:4
• 58. Daniel 4:2; Daniel 6:27; Matthew 24:24; Mark 13:22; Acts 2:19, 22, 43; Acts 4:30; Acts 5:12; Acts 6:8; Acts 7:36; Acts 14:3; 1Acts 5:12; Romans 15:19; 1 Corinthians 1:22; 2 Corinthians 12:12; 2 Thessalonians 2:9; Hebrews 2:4
• 59. Matthew 8:13
• 60. Acts 11:14
• 61. John 2:11
• 62. John 4:45

Footnotes

• [a]. Perhaps 6 p.m. Roman time or noon Jewish time
• [b]. Or "Lord"
• [c]. Or "Lord"
• [d]. Or "Lord"
• [e]. Or "Spirit"
• [f]. I.e. the Messiah
• [g]. Or "attesting miracles"
• [h]. Or "Lord"
• [i]. Or "boy"
• [j]. Perhaps 7 p.m. Roman time or 1 p.m. Jewish time
• [k]. Or "attesting miracle"

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO 1 JOHN 4

In this chapter the apostle cautions against seducing spirits; advises to try them, and gives rules by which they may be known, and by which they are distinguished from others; and then returns to his favourite subject, brotherly love. He exhorts the saints not to believe every man that came with a doctrine to them, but to try them, since there were many false teachers in the world; and gives a rule by which they may be tried and judged, as that whatever teacher owns Christ to be come in the flesh is of God, but he that does not is not of God, but is the spirit of antichrist that should come, and was in the world, 1Jo 4:1,2, but, for the comfort of those to whom he writes, he observes, that they were of God, and had overcome these false teachers, through the mighty power of the divine Spirit in them, who is greater than Satan, and all his emissaries, 1Jo 4:4. He distinguishes between seducing spirits, and faithful ministers of the word; the former are of the world, speak of worldly things, and worldly men hear them; but the latter are of God, and they that have any spiritual knowledge of God hear them; but such as are not of God do not heal them, by which may he known the spirit of truth from the spirit of error, 1Jo 4:5,6. And then the apostle returns to his former exhortation to brotherly love, which he enforces by the following reasons, because it is of God, a fruit of his Spirit and grace, and because it is an evidence of being born of God, and of having a true knowledge of him; whereas he that is destitute of it does not know him, seeing God is love, 1Jo 4:7,8, and having affirmed that God is love, he proves it, by the mission of his Son, to be a propitiation for the sins of such that did not love him, and that they might live through him; wherefore he argues, that if God had such a love to men, so undeserving of it, then the saints ought to love one another, 1Jo 4:9-11. Other arguments follow, engaging to it, as that God is invisible; and if he is to be loved, then certainly his people, who are visible; and that such who love one another, God dwells in them, and his love is perfected in them; and that he dwells in them is known by the gift of his Spirit to them, 1Jo 4:12,13, and that God the Father so loved the world, as to send his Son to be the Saviour of it, before asserted, is confirmed by the apostles, who were eyewitnesses of it; who also declare, that whoever confesses the sonship of Christ, God dwells in him, and he in God; and who had an assurance of the love of God to them, who is love itself; so that he that dwells in God, and God in him, dwells in love, 1Jo 4:14-16. And great are the advantages arising from hence, for hereby the saints' love to God is made perfect; they have boldness in the day of judgment, since as he is, so are they in this world, and fear is cast out by it, 1Jo 4:17,18, but lest too much should be thought to be ascribed to love, that is said to be owing to the love of God to them, which is prior to theirs to him, and the reason of it, 1Jo 4:19. And the chapter is closed with observing the contradiction there is between a profession of love to God, and hatred of the brethren, seeing God, who is invisible, cannot be loved, if brethren that are seen are hated; and also the commandment, that he that loves God should love his brother also, 1Jo 4:20,21.