John 4:1-42

1 The Pharisees heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more fol- lowers than John,

2 although Jesus himself did not baptize people, but his followers did.

3 Jesus knew that the Pharisees had heard about him, so he left Judea and went back to Galilee.

4 But on the way he had to go through the country of Samaria.

5 In Samaria Jesus came to the town called Sychar, which is near the field Jacob gave to his son Joseph.

6 Jacob's well was there. Jesus was tired from his long trip, so he sat down beside the well. It was about twelve o'clock noon.

7 When a Samaritan woman came to the well to get some water, Jesus said to her, "Please give me a drink."

8 (This happened while Jesus' followers were in town buying some food.)

9 The woman said, "I am surprised that you ask me for a drink, since you are a Jewish man and I am a Samaritan woman." (Jewish people are not friends with Samaritans.n)

10 Jesus said, "If you only knew the free gift of God and who it is that is asking you for water, you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water."

11 The woman said, "Sir, where will you get this living water? The well is very deep, and you have nothing to get water with.

12 Are you greater than Jacob, our father, who gave us this well and drank from it himself along with his sons and flocks?"

13 Jesus answered, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again,

14 but whoever drinks the water I give will never be thirsty. The water I give will become a spring of water gushing up inside that person, giving eternal life."

15 The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water so I will never be thirsty again and will not have to come back here to get more water."

16 Jesus told her, "Go get your husband and come back here."

17 The woman answered, "I have no husband." Jesus said to her, "You are right to say you have no husband.

18 Really you have had five husbands, and the man you live with now is not your husband. You told the truth."

19 The woman said, "Sir, I can see that you are a prophet.

20 Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews say that Jerusalem is the place where people must worship."

21 Jesus said, "Believe me, woman. The time is coming when neither in Jerusalem nor on this mountain will you actually worship the Father.

22 You Samaritans worship something you don't understand. We understand what we worship, because salvation comes from the Jews.

23 The time is coming when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, and that time is here already. You see, the Father too is actively seeking such people to worship him.

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

25 The woman said, "I know that the Messiah is coming." (Messiah is the One called Christ.) "When the Messiah comes, he will explain everything to us."

26 Then Jesus said, "I am he -- I, the one talking to you."

27 Just then his followers came back from town and were surprised to see him talking with a woman. But none of them asked, "What do you want?" or "Why are you talking with her?"

28 Then the woman left her water jar and went back to town. She said to the people,

29 "Come and see a man who told me everything I ever did. Do you think he might be the Christ?"

30 So the people left the town and went to see Jesus.

31 Meanwhile, his followers were begging him, "Teacher, eat something."

32 But Jesus answered, "I have food to eat that you know nothing about."

33 So the followers asked themselves, "Did somebody already bring him food?"

34 Jesus said, "My food is to do what the One who sent me wants me to do and to finish his work.

35 You have a saying, 'Four more months till harvest.' But I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields ready for harvest now.

36 Already, the one who harvests is being paid and is gathering crops for eternal life. So the one who plants and the one who harvests celebrate at the same time.

37 Here the saying is true, 'One person plants, and another harvests.'

38 I sent you to harvest a crop that you did not work on. Others did the work, and you get to finish up their work."

39 Many of the Samaritans in that town believed in Jesus because of what the woman said: "He told me everything I ever did."

40 When the Samaritans came to Jesus, they begged him to stay with them, so he stayed there two more days.

41 And many more believed because of the things he said.

42 They said to the woman, "First we believed in Jesus because of your speech, but now we believe because we heard him ourselves. We know that this man really is the Savior of the world."

John 4:1-42 Meaning and Commentary

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.