John 4, Part One

Jesus' trip plans (vs. 1-4)--Jesus was already making enemies in Jerusalem, and so when word got out that His followers now outnumbered John the Baptist's, He decided to go to Galilee, where He would spend most of the next two, and final, years of His ministry. Going from Judea to Galilee required traveling through Samaria (v. 4).

Living water (vs. 5-15)--Sychar was a small, insignificant town in Samaria. It was about a mile from Jacob's well, which was apparently on the plot of land Jacob bought from Hamor, the father of Shechem, who was the young man who raped Dinah and led to the mass murder of the men of the town of Shechem by Simeon and Levi (this interesting tale is found in Genesis 34). Jacob eventually gave this land to Joseph (John 4:5), which means part of the land inheritance of his son, Ephraim. Jesus stopped at the well due to weariness; it was noon (v. 6). His disciples had gone to Sychar to purchase some food (v. 8), and while they did, Jesus struck up a conversation with a woman of the city who came out to draw water from the well (v. 7). He asked her for a drink. This surprised her because she recognized Him as a Jew (we're not exactly sure how--perhaps His mode of dress or Galilean dialect). Jews hated Samaritans, whom they considered half-breeds, and in once since they were. The Samaritans arose after the Babylonian captivity (605-536 B.C.). The Babylonians did not take the entire populace into slavery; they left some of the poorer "trash", and when others, non-Jews, moved into and began settling in Palestine, there was some intermarriage. The "Samaritans" were the product. They had also taken some non-Jewish theological positions, as we shall see. Jesus, of course, was always looking for a way to save souls--Jew, Gentile, or Samaritan, thus He directed the conversation into spiritual ways. He provides a "gift of God" (v. 10), "living water." The woman, thinking in physical terms, wondered how Jesus could produce this water, since "you have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep" (v. 11). The Lord, of course, was talking metaphorically--He can provide "water"--the greatest necessity of life, and especially important in desert regions like Samaria--which has no end and will "spring up into everlasting life" (v. 14). The woman, still thinking in physical terms, requests this water, "that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw." Jesus will then introduce Himself as the Messiah.

True worship (vs. 16-26)—Upon Jesus displaying some miraculous knowledge (that the woman had had five husbands and was now living with a man with whom she was not married (vs. 17-18), the woman rightly deduced, "You are a prophet" (v. 19), though He was obviously greater than that. Thus, understanding at least something of His true nature, she wanted some clarification: "Our fathers worshiped on this mountain (Gerizim), and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship" (v. 20). In other words, who's right? The Samaritans believed that it was on this mountain that Abraham prepared to offer Isaac as a sacrifice, and that, soon after, he met Melchizedek near here. So they venerated this location, since the Jews wouldn't let them into Jerusalem anyway.

Jesus endorsed the pure Jewish position (v. 22)--"Salvation is of the Jews." The Messiah came through that line. But "the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth; for the Father seeketh such to worship Him" (v. 23). The Jewish age was passing; Jesus came to end the Mosaic dispensation and inaugurate a completely different one, where He would have all authority and salvation would come through Him (Matt. 28:18; Acts 4:12). There would be no one physical location for worship. It would be an inward thing ("in spirit") in accordance with the diktats of God ("in truth"). Both are necessary (v. 24). To worship Him with the proper attitude but not in accordance with His pattern is improper, as is to go through the correct ceremonies with no sincerity or devotion. God has always told man how He wants to be worshipped, and that is true in the Christian age as well. We are to gather on the first day of the week (Acts 20:7; I Cor. 16:1-2), where we sing (Eph. 5:19), pray (I Cor. 14:15), partake of the Lord's supper (Acts 20:7; I Cor. 11:20), give of our financial means (I Cor. 16:2), and study from God's word (Acts 20:7). This is the "truth" (God's Word, John 17:17), by which we "must" abide (John 4:24). But again, that worship must also be "in spirit," with true love, devotion, and appreciation to Him. The final part of this section of John 4 has Jesus flat out telling the woman that He is the Christ (vs. 25-26). He didn't do that very often, but in this case He obviously found it propitious to do so.