< John 4 >

Jesus left Judea and travelled through Samaria to Galilee. The Samaritans were the descendants of the people that the Assyrians brought into the land to replace the ten tribes of Israel they had taken into captivity. The Jews had “no dealings with the Samaritans” so the woman of Samaria was surprised when Jesus spoke to her,v.9John 4:9XWaiting for response asking for water from the well.v.7John 4:7XWaiting for response The Samaritans had adopted the Jews’ religion in a corrupted form and disputed with the Jews where God could be worshipped, in Jerusalem or at the mountain where Jacob’s well was sited.v.20John 4:20XWaiting for response The woman, recognising Jesus as a prophet,v.19John 4:19XWaiting for response asked his view of the matter. The answer, of course, was that God had placed his name in Jerusalem, but a great change was coming when the law of Moses would be superseded and Jerusalem and the temple would be destroyed. Men and women could then worship God anywhere, provided they did so in spirit and in truth.vs.23-24John 4:23-24XWaiting for response This time is now.

The Samaritans worshipped ignorantly v.22John 4:22XWaiting for response but this would soon change when the gospel was proclaimed throughout the Gentile world and people would worship the LORD in truth. It is an essential part of God’s truth that “salvation is of the Jews” v.22John 4:22XWaiting for response and “All Israel will be saved when the Deliverer comes out of Zion”. Romans 11:26Romans 11:26XWaiting for response It is therefore necessary for us who wish to be saved from sin and death to become “Jews” or “Israelites indeed”. We do this by believing in Jesus and being baptized into him because we then change our status, not only from Adam’s children to God’s children, but also from Gentiles to spiritual Jews. We then must feed upon spiritual food, therefore Jesus spoke of “living water”,vs.10-14John 4:10-14XWaiting for response the word of God which we must imbibe to live for ever, and spiritual meat. Jesus said: “My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work” v.34John 4:34XWaiting for response and we should follow his example.

In the Old Testament, specifically in Genesis, God reveals his plan for salvation through his promises to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and David.

As a result of this conversation with the woman of Samaria, many Samaritans believed in Jesus vs.41-42John 4:41-42XWaiting for response but people in his own region of Galilee had difficulty receiving his teaching.vs.43-44John 4:43-44XWaiting for response All these people had the privilege of meeting Jesus and receiving blessings from him, but we have not experienced this for he is far away in heaven. Nevertheless he has sent his word so that we can believe and, by belief and baptism, pass from death to life, as Jesus said: “He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life”. John 5:24John 5:24XWaiting for response This is illustrated by the second miraculous sign Jesus performed, healing from a distance a nobleman’s son who was at the point of death.vs.46-54John 4:46-54XWaiting for response Jesus sent his word and delivered him from death. In this life we are always at the point of death, but by receiving the word sent to us in the scriptures we can pass from death to life, like the nobleman’s son, and also do so literally at the resurrection, as illustrated by a later sign in this book.