Bible Commentaries
John 4

Verses 1-54

4 He must come through Samaria. This is the compulsion of grace, for Samaria had small claim upon His consideration. The seventeenth of second Kings shows us what a mongrel race they were, and how incurably idolatrous. They never had conformed to the divine ritual. The

Jews had no intercourse with them. We do not wonder, then, that the Lord meets an outcast woman at Jacob's spring. Nicodemus was too proud to visit the Lord during daylight. The woman was too shamed to visit the spring in the evening, when all other women came. So she endures the heat of the midday sun to avoid their insults. Nicodemus offered the Lord no refreshment. The woman thought she could give Him none. But it is from sinners, not the selfrighteous, that God derives joy. This scene suggests a marvelous thought. The Lord first presents His need, and then hers. This is the true order. It is God Who is thirsty, first of all. He needs and desires the affectionate fellowship of His creatures. He would not condescend to make His desires known to a haughty Pharisee, but to the humiliated outcast He does not hesitate, even though it was considered a disgrace to talk to a woman in such circumstances.

11 Like Nicodemus, she fails to fathom the figure of speech. As physical life is dependent on water, so spiritual life is sustained by the Spirit and word of God. We are so accustomed to a plentiful supply of water that the force of the figure is largely lost with us. In the arid East, the thirsty traveler knows something of the delight of a drink of pure water. There the professional water seller carries a porous clay jar, which keeps the water cool by evaporation, and two tinkling cups, in which he serves it to customers, as he goes along shouting (Isaiah 55:1). A spring was a prized possession. They often cost enormous labor, and were very deep. A whole town depended on this spring for its very life. But a physical figure of spiritual realities always falls short. Jacob's spring was a deep well. There was no windlass or bucket. Travelers were expected to carry their own long leather buckets. But the Lord and His disciples were not equipped with comforts. This was well, for it gave Him a good excuse to break the stringent etiquette which forbade a man speaking to a strange woman. How different is the spirit He imparts! It is an artesian spring welling up and overflowing with blessing to all around. No need to draw, or a bucket to lift a scant supply! No need to walk a long distance with huge water jars! The spirit is within and becomes a stream surging forth to others.

19 The ancient controversy between Jerusalem and Samaria was most bitter in connection with the proper place of worship. Of course Jerusalem was right and Samaria was wrong, for God had chosen the city of David for His dwelling place. Yet now we are confronted with the strange contradiction that, whereas He found idolatry in the temple at Jerusalem, He finds true adoration in Samaria! We would go to the magnificent ritual at Jerusalem to find pure worship. We would go to the rebellious unauthorized shrine at Samaria for idolatry. Not so

He. The same is true of our Lord's message. We would have demanded anew birth from the moral outcast and discussed the nature of God and worship with the religious Jew. But He, with wisdom from above, insists on regeneration when dealing with the respectable religionist, and reveals His spiritual secrets to the moral leper of Samaria.

24 True worship is not a matter of place or of ritual, but must correspond with its Object, Who is spirit. In the present era of grace, we worship Him wherever and whenever we please, and He deigns to dwell in us. Heartfelt adoration is hindered by forms and set ceremonies. Prayer that flows forth freely; praise that pours forth spontaneously; beseeching that breaks the bands of convention and precedent, mean more to God than petitions repeated like a prayer wheel and supported by custom or habit. The religious "exercises" of Christendom are like the sacrifices of old, which He could not bear. Let us not draw near with our lips when our hearts are far from Him.

27 In the stringent etiquette of the East it was not proper for a man to speak to a woman. Only such an excuse as a drink of water made it possible for Him to address her at all.

28 The fruitfulness of God's grace shines forth in this narrative. Her need was great and it became the measure of her satisfaction. Nicodemus knew little lack and did not feel constrained to tell his joy to his friends and neighbors. We know of none who were reached through his efforts. But this poor woman is so filled with joy that she forgets how her message reflects on her own sad life. Here was a Man Who knew all her sordid past, and yet she did not shun Him! His grace had captured her heart and filled it overfull. She must share her joy with others. Her fervor was infectious. The men of the city did not murmur at the morals of the messenger, but marveled at her message. She did hot ask them to believe her, but constrained them to come and hear Him. Such are the blessed results when grace grows in the fertile field of sin.

31 Perhaps the most notable result of this marvelous meeting was the satisfaction which it brought to Christ. And this is still more marvelous when we reflect that it is the indirect result of the most sordid of sins. Throughout His ministry He emphasized the fact that sinners were a necessary complement to His message of love and grace, but this seems to be all unheeded in this self-righteous generation. Sin is a necessary factor in the revelation of God to man and indirectly essential to the satisfaction of His love. Love cannot be lavished on those who are deserving. But to be undeserving presupposes sin and all its train of evils. There can be no Saviour without a sinner, no Healer apart from sickness, no Justifier where there is no unrighteousness, no Reconciler unless first there be enmity. Let us enjoy the great satisfaction of knowing that the evil influences in the world are not merely beneath the control of God so that they cannot get beyond bounds but their limited exercise provides the most potent ingredient, not only in the ultimate bliss of His creatures, but in that of the Creator.

46 The first sign, at Calla, signifies the blessing of Israel in the kingdom. This, the second sign, is also at Calla, hence is also concerned with the coming kingdom. The wine prefigured the joy of the favored nation. This second sign foreshadows the healing of that nation. The effect of human government is aptly figured by a burning fever. Never was this more evident than after the great European conflict. The delirium, the weakness, the oppression, the dread of death, possesses the nations. It will be far worse at the time of the end. It will not be cured by human medicaments, but by the coming of Christ. The seventh hour is suggestive of the seventh seal, and the seventh trumpet which proclaims that the world kingdom became our Lord's and His Christ's. . . (Revelation 11:15). Christ is the Way and the Truth and the Life. He will assuage the pain and unrest which possesses Israel today. He will change their feverish delirium into a quiet, restful peace.

49 "Lord, descend! " is the only cure for the earth's political ills. The resort to arms has not healed but rather aggravated the sores which caused it. Instead of being the last war it seems to be the seed of further conflict. Even if the war weary world should patch up a truce, it would not last. There is no other cure but "Lord, descend!" This sign does not signify blessing to the nations now, during Israel's defection. At present the fever of the nations continues unabated and all our blessings are spiritual and celestial. The fact that the courtier was connected with the king, suggests that the rule of Israel over the nations is in view, and that they are included in the blessing. The Lord does not visit the son, but heals him at a distance. So He will deal with the nations in the millennial era. When He comes for us we are snatched away to meet Him in the air and enter His very presence, and remain with Him, and share His heavenly rule for the eons. The nations on earth in that day will not be so highly blessed.

52 Yesterday, that is, before sunset of the same day.