John Chapter Four Commentary
Contents
I. Introduction
II. John Chapter Four Commentary Verses
4:1-3- From a Trickle to a Flood, and O How it Irked Them
4:4-6- He Must Needs Go Through Samaria, Even Samaria
4:7-26- Prototypical Salvation at Sychar
4:27-30- Is Not This the Christ?
4:31-38- Team Heaven
4:39-42- This Is Indeed the Christ
4:43-45- A Prophet Hath No Honor in His Own Country
4:46-54- Thy Son Liveth
III. Illustrations and Tables
Figure 1. John 4 Locales: Jerusalem-Sychar-Cana-Capernaum, Overview.
Figure 2. John 4 Locales: Jerusalem-Sychar-Cana-Capernaum, Detail.
Figure 3. Engaging the Nicodemus Complex: Gentle+Loving+Patient+IFIC.
Works Cited and References
Notes
GENNHQH EX hUDATOS KAI PNEUMATOS. (Born of water and the Spirit.) How confusing those words are to some because of misplaced allegiances. It means simply repentance—that is on us and God working together, and rebirth of spirit—that is on God alone. We saw the confusion just before in the previous chapter in the learned Jewish rabbi Nicodemus, and straightaway here we shall see it again on the other end of the spectrum in an unlearned Samaritan woman. There must surely be a teaching Jesus is driving home. A good part of the blessed chapter of God’s Word before us will allow us to prayerfully engage that teaching. So, we are going to settle in and wrestle with it and be blessed. And then, Team Captain Jesus will commission us as players on His Team to put into shoe leather, with understanding, what He taught us per all the wrestling and blessings. At the end of it all, our Lord will demonstrate His power to us, even in us, to accomplish that which we shall put into shoe leather on His behalf. Let us dive in and get wet.
We will follow this format:
Verse of Scripture utilizing the KJV text followed by an NKJV mouse over of that verse. Key words in the KJV text will be footnoted with a link to a word study based on the Greek text, and/or a general discussion relative to the given word (we are not biblical Greek or Hebrew scholars, please consider our grammatical constructions with a critical eye).
Commentary We shall always be commenting on this passage keeping before us the crucial fact that every jot and every tittle comprising these verses came forth under the inspiration of the blessed Holy Spirit. We pray that He, by His grace, helps us along the way.
4:1-3- From a Trickle to a Flood, and O How it Irked Them
1 When therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John, 2 (Though Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples,) 3 He left Judaea, and departed again into Galilee. (John 4:1-3 KJV), (John 4:1-3 NLT)
COMMENTARY: What a proud and self-righteous lot the Pharisees of Jesus’ day were. John the Baptist taught repentance, and a manner of living consistent with the holiness of God (Isaiah 40:3, Matthew 3:1-3). He was the last in a long line of prophets God sent to Israel and Judah announcing the coming of Messiah—a Deliverer, a Savior of… the Jewish nation? So thought the Scribes and the Pharisees and the common Jew owing to what was taught them. Here is glaring exclusivity on display. That is not at all what God had in mind. Messiah was to be a Deliverer and a Savior of…humankind. Here is glaring inclusivity on display. The Baptist was breaking through those exclusivity barriers in his preaching and was baptizing disciples into the Kingdom of God entirely contrary to this Pharisaic Judaism that prevailed, thus undermining it and exposing its phony leaders and confused proponents (Matthew 3:7-10, “Matthew Chapter Twenty-Three Commentary”). And the number of conversions were “proof in the pudding” that folks were embracing his preaching (Matthew 3:5). In old-fashioned terms, the Baptist was “a problem” for Pharisaic Judaism. What to do? The usual—let’s get rid of him… And so, they did. They first got him imprisoned, then they literally took his head off. No more Baptist, no more problems, right? Wrong. Along comes Jesus (Messiah), and not only continues the same preaching and exposure and conversions (John 3:22), but accelerates them:
When therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John (Though Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples).
So now what to do? Better get rid of Him too. But Jesus’ hour had not yet come. So, our Lord leaves them in the dust and takes His preaching north again (Matthew 4:12-17-note verse seventeen is consistent with the Baptist’s preaching). We cannot present the exact time | place sequence of Jesus’ early visits to Galilee because it is not clear to us, suffice to say for this commentary that our Lord is making a return trip to Galilee right here.
4 And he must needs go through Samaria. 5 Then cometh he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. 6 Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with [his] journey, sat thus on the well: [and] it was about the sixth hour. (John 4:4-6 KJV), (John 4:4-6 NLT)
COMMENTARY: He must needs go through Samaria not just because that was the most straightforward/less exhausting way to get to Galilee (assuming a Jerusalem area departure, Fig. 2), but because Father God had drawn a ewe astray, like the rest of us sad to say, to meet Him there at Jacob’s well in Samaria just outside Sychar, about one-half-mile removed (Genesis 33:18-19, Joshua 24:32). Yon ewe astray—she would listen without contempt and jealousy and conniving, and so would her people—the hated Samaritans no less! (God is never mocked, not even a little bit.) Finally, the Gospel is about to blossom. All it takes is some unclogged ears and open minds and a little bit of functional gray matter between them ears. There were still hurdles to clear to be sure, but this Samaria was fertile ground to turn over, like unto the disciples that the Baptist and just later Jesus turned over near Salim (John 3:23, G4530, also, and also).
Please see our notes nineteen and twenty regarding Jesus’ weariness and travels.
7 There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink. 8 (For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.) 9 Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. 10 Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. 11 The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water? 12 Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle? 13 Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: 14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.15 The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw. 16 Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither. 17 The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband: 18 For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly. 19 The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. 21 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. 22 Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. 23 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. 24 God [is] a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship [him] in spirit and in truth. 25 The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ when he is come, he will tell us all things. 26 Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am [he]. (John 4:7-26 KJV), (John 4:7-26 NLT)
COMMENTARY:
He must needs go through Samaria that day, see here, to bless even bless, a dear friend,
yea to rest a spell, quench His thirst yon well, this lost sheep battered to tend.
Yon ewe astray, been round and round you say, the talk of all Sychar-town,
five husbands before, a sixth at the door, no nary a wedding gown.
Give me a drink He said, piercing eyes aflame, seated there at Jacob’s well,
I am not a Jewess my, wist He not O my, where these Schism-boundaries fell!
Indeed He knew, eyes aflame He knew, petty strife His infinite Name arrested, contested, molested,
at that well that day, for the record that day, the required Way He manifested, manifested, manifested.
God is Spirit He said, but in Truth worshiped He said, setting the record straight, His record straight,
neither on this hill is found, nor in Jerusalem renown, but in the contrite hearts of His people relates.
Said, the Gift of God, is the Spirit of God, Whom He that speaketh with thee imparts,
like unto Living Waters bestowed, Living Waters that flow, ever a Wellspring of Life in the heart.
But ask of me He said, all your thirst He said, forever, God, shall abundantly satisfy, satisfy, satisfy,
for into your heart I send, indeed the Gift of God I send, springing up unto eternal life, life, life.
Ever give me of this Living Water my Lord. Thank you. Amen.
(Isaiah 55:1, Revelation 22:17, “A Letter of Invitation”)
Here we have Jesus, and this bruised woman of Samaria, and John, at Jacob’s well, and Mount Gerizim with its rival altar atop towers over the scene. Now follows a divine appointment:
There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink. (For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.) Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.
There is much written about why this woman came here to draw water instead of the well outside Sychar, all well and good, but the real reason she is here is because she had a divine appointment to meet Jesus that day. You say, did not Jesus forbid His disciples to enter Samaria (Matthew 10:5)? So why is He here then, why this divine appointment in that place with that woman of all people? We think that Jesus forbade the disciples because they being Jews were not yet ready to preach to the peoples that Jews considered their enemies and whom they flat out hated. But Jesus’ mindset, obviously, is completely different—we are talking about the Messiah, the Savior of the world here, who loves all peoples and wants all to come to repentance, and by-and-by to come to Salvation through precisely Him. Quite simply, He can minister this hurting one like none other, because He loves her and her people. And she, unlike those pious frauds in Jerusalem, is going to listen to Jesus, as He well knew beforehand, and progress is going to be made for the Gospel, and for her blessed soul, and the blessed souls of her people. It is a first step, and first steps must be done aright else the rest are for naught. First steps. We had a discourse with a confused rabbi before (john 3:1-21, “John Chapter Three Commentary”), and we discussed baptism above, and now we see a confused “enemy” (so the Jews) ministered. First steps. We find Jesus personally involved in these first steps, and so it must be for all to go well later. It would be pure negligence on God’s part if He were not personally involved in these first steps. Or, one could say that God just did not care all that much about getting His program of Salvation launched aright if He were not personally involved at the outset. So, Jesus stops by on His way north. The Samaritan woman—Sister Sychar—was chosen for the ministry that would unfold through her, by divine appointment, as are all of us who serve God chosen by grace by divine appointment for our particular ministries. It goes without saying that Salvation is by grace a divine appointment as Sister Sychar presently in heaven enjoying God full well knows.
That the Jews have no dealings with Samaritans as Sister Sychar says is a barrier, a typical one, that Jesus is dealing with here: Jesus, the quintessential Jew, engages this Samaritan woman in conversation, building on a water theme He started back in the previous chapter with rabbi Nicodemus:
Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.
Notice the conjunction and: “…If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink…”. It connects “…the gift of God…” with “…who it is that saith to thee, give me to drink…,” i.e., Jesus. It can be parsed differently, but that is certainly one way to look at it. Is Jesus the Gift of God? Sure (e.g., John 3:16 et al.). And once removed, so too is living water, given by Jesus, the gift of God. Which then is the gift of God Jesus is referring to, Himself? Or living water? We will learn later that living water is properly written Living Water, it is the Holy Spirit, the third person of the triune God Jehovah. The conclusion we settled upon is that the Gift of God is God Himself—this is in fact true no matter how one looks at it.
Let’s recap: Jesus asks Sister Sychar for a drink. She mumbles back some short-sighted, worldly stuff about barriers, and straightaway Jesus identifies Himself as deity and offers her an otherworldly drink. Now kicks in the “Nicodemus complex:”
The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water? Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle?
For starters, notice her heritage claim—father Jacob. She is of a mixed bloodline and echoes a claim pervasive amongst the Samaritans. Moreover, they tampered with Scripture to justify their version of the Pentateuch, which original the One before her wrote (ouch), and no less they tampered with Scripture to justify Mount Gerizim towering nearby and Shechem down the road as God’s true dwelling place, something The Lord God Jesus they put in a box here will address and set straight shortly. (it is okay for Sister Sychar to blush a little right here, she got hoodwinked; notwithstanding, our Savior made an appointment to stop by and get her out of that mess praised be His Name.)
Again, the Nicodemus Complex mentioned: “…The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water?...” (cf. John 3:3-4).
Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
Brother Nicodemus, in that context, was thinking about carnal rebirth and not a Spirit-washed spirit (GENNHQH EX hUDATOS KAI PNEUMATOS: Born of water and the Spirit). Sister Sychar, in this context, was thinking about the cistern’s H2O and not about the eternal-life-giving Spirit of God ever springing up within her unto eternal life (GENHSETAI EN AUTW PHGH hUDATOS ALLOMENOU EIS ZWHN AIWNION: shall be in him a well of water springing up into eternal life). The Holy Spirit is the focal point of both discourses, and Jesus unpacks both discourses (for He is in the bosom of the triune God Jehovah and reveals Him, John 1:18). In the Brother Nicodemus discourse the water is static, it is a metaphor for cleansing attending repentance, and stands in place of the Agent of cleansing, namely the Spirit of God bringing about cleansing unto Christ-likeness. In the Sister Sychar discourse the water is dynamic, it is a metaphor for Life, and stands in place of the Agent of eternal life, the same Spirit of God as before. This information could not be knowable apart from revelation by God by way of the Mediator between God and humankind, even Jesus Christ (1Timothy 2:5). All this revelation from God is so novel and off the beaten worldly path that neither hearer immediately understood what they heard, and to the day it is difficult without God’s Spirit bringing clarity. So, the Holy Spirit is identically the Living Water of these few verses. The Holy Spirit is a Wellspring of Life for those who receive Jesus Christ, for it is precisely Jesus that imparts the blessed Spirit of God to humankind (Matthew 3:11, John 3:34, 4:10, 7:39, 14:26, 20:21-22, et al.). Indeed, the Spirit imparted, He who makes clear the Word of God to those that receive Christ, and who day by day, practically, abides within as Friend, Guide, Helper, Sculptor of Christlikeness, you name it, as we sojourn down here in the land of the living homeward bound to be with God. Sister Sychar like Brother Nicodemus is (understandably) not understanding things, and they stand in place of many (probably most) who hear the Gospel. That is in large part why God has ministers in the mission fields; ministers must be cogent, and prayerfully gentle and loving and patient—that is how Jesus is ministering here with Sister Sychar, and before with Brother Nicodemus, and please notice that our Lord, the Head Shepherd, sets the standard in that regard (Fig. 3).
When working with Jesus, either in prayer (prayer, Scripture study and whatnot) or outright as Sister Sychar here, one must elevate one’s thinking to a higher plane than what typically works in the mundane, maybe like so—dearest Lord Jesus, open mine eyes and guide my thinking so that I might behold you and rejoice in you and your Truth and Wisdom (cf. Psalms 119:18). Sister Sychar’s thinking is completely off the rails in this context:
The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.
Besides Redemption and Salvation, Jesus came to this earth to deal with this sort of confusion—to turn the ship about onto the right heading, with the right oarsmen getting it where it is supposed to be going, with His Wind in the sails of course. Jesus leaves her confusion hanging for the moment and confronts her with something more serious—because the former was done in ignorance and not least under the impetus of some really lousy teaching. (There is hardly anything more devilish than a corrupt and phony religious system that vaunts itself above God in the Name of God, Isaiah 14:12-14, to the spiritually mortal detriment of the beguiled.) Jesus leaves her confusion hanging and confronts Sister Sychar with her sin/s. She said, give me, give me, yon living water, and Jesus in effect says to her, hey wait a minute mam, first go take a look in the mirror at the person into whom this water is going, and then come hither:
Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither.
(1) Repentance
(2) Redemption
(3) Salvation
That, is the order; that, is how it works. First steps. Laying the groundwork here with Sister Sychar and building on the first steps the Baptist laid down amen.
Sister Sychar is fertile ground, she is an honest person, that is half the battle or more when it comes to repentance, yea that first step:
The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband: For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly.
Jesus saw right through her, and she knew it. Where can one run to hide one’s sins and escape the eyes of God, eyes that run to and fro throughout the whole earth? (2Chronicles 16:9, Zechariah 4:10). Those eyes were on sister Sychar and found her out:
The woman saith Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet.
Nay, not just a prophet, this Omniscient One before thee Sister Sychar raises up prophets and commissions them and speaks an infallible word to them.
Sin hurts. It is hard to look at when cozily festering in self. It makes one want to dodge the thought—to live inauthentically; the truth of it makes one squirm when the conscience is not seared. Sister Sychar is going to play dodge ball like most of us do. It is “clever” dodge ball, a clever game she will play, of dodging the sin-subject just raised. How so? By way of a religiosity-subject-switch no less. Thus depraved and fallen humankind masquerades before God and thinks it plays Him the fool, ad nauseam (But God is not mocked, not even a little bit, not ever Galatians 6:7-8). Notice the “clever” switch of subject from sin to religion as though she were a religious one. Dodge ball:
Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.
Jesus does not call her bluff nor tickle her fancies, but rather proceeds to turn the ship about, more first steps (nay, a retrace of steps lost); important ones, concerning the worship of God, a totally confused and convoluted mess thanks to those pious frauds in Jerusalem and in Israel before and these here offshoot Samaritans and their own arrogant and self-serving convolutions—worship of Jehovah God had become a total mess by this time in biblical history (even before) and needed to be fixed, rightly restored, which means humankind’s thinking in this regard needed to be completely obviated and replaced with a form and pattern of worship that would in fact be acceptable to the One being worshiped, which means the One to be worshiped needed to do the heavy lifting here, so right here is another big reason why Jesus stopped by to see an open-minded Sister Sychar, and it is no accident that His beloved and trustworthy stenographer John stayed behind whilst the rest of the boys went to town for supplies, for this Fix needed to be written down and then passed along never to get out of hand again:
Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. 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. God [is] a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship [him] in spirit and in truth.
Here just came a shock—worship did not need to happen in Jerusalem nor on Gerizim. Radical for the time. Sister Sychar’s head must have been spinning by now. First this Jewish man is talking to her, a woman, a Samaritan woman, and respectfully no less, with an eye to her dignity as a human being. He informs her of her deepest sins; hence He is not just an ordinary man, but a prophet as she said, thus worthy of hearing out to say the least, and now He tells her that the long-standing places of worship over which folks have fought to the death to uphold, and have revered as though they were God Himself, are bogus. What a shock. (Reform is typically shocking, unnerving.) And while her head is spinning, and her brain is in overdrive (the perfect time to cast a fish net), Jesus goes on to tell her that her Samaritan religion is bogus—serious vertigo now. Nothing will ever be the same in her head, and that is the point (the point that is hard to reach as an evangelist; again, the head Shepherd sets a ministerial standard for us). Indeed, He tells her that her Samaritan religion is bogus, and that the Jewish religion is right on because, and this key, Salvation is of the Jews. What does Jesus mean by that? He is going back to Genesis 3:15, in the Garden, that has Him in view crushing the serpent’s head and redeeming humankind out of its fallenness, through the Messianic line that ended on Messiah, on Him—Yeshua, which in the Hebrew means Salvation (=Jesus in Greek). The claims of the Samaritans that they descended from the patriarchs is in no small way a claim to be in said Messianic line, but that cannot be, because they were of a mixed bloodline—Jehovah God kept the Jewish bloodline pure (hence all the meticulous genealogy records in Scripture) precisely in keeping with His promise that Messiah would be Jewish Messiah (God in conversation with Abraham: Genesis 12:3). The Samaritans tried to crowbar their way into that line to legitimate their religion, which maneuver is in a sense blasphemous. All the more amazing that Messiah paid them a visit on the one hand, but all the more convincing that Jesus is in fact Messiah in keeping with Messiah’s salvific thrust on the other. And this is the big Reform, for all of us to keep in mind, forever: God is a Spirit (PNEUMA hO QEOS is how the Greek has it, where PNEUMA—Spirit—is a nominative, singular, neuter noun). He does not dwell in a temple, a body of water, on a high hill, out yonder in space somewhere, He is omnipresent (Jesus condescended to lay aside this attribute of deity as also many others when He ministered amongst us). He is to be worshiped by the inner person—by our spirit, who we are as a human being, in loving sincerity, with gratitude and praise and respect, at any time, at any place.
With her brain in overdrive, Sister Sychar straightaway mentions Messiah, which means the “Salvation is of the Jews” statement by Jesus was at least being processed if not processed aright. The totally radical statement comes from Jesus, when He flat out says, I am Messiah—He leaves no doubt, for Sister Sychar, or for the record that is being jotted down. As others have said, either Jesus was a liar, or a lunatic, or in fact He was Lord, even Messiah as He claimed. Underpinned by faith founded on fact, our answer, as any Christian’s, is that Jesus is indeed Messiah and Lord. Amen:
The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ when he is come, he will tell us all things. Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am [he].
27 And upon this came his disciples, and marvelled that he talked with the woman: yet no man said, What sleekest thou? or, Why talkest thou with her? 28 The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men, 29 Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ? 30 Then they went out of the city, and came unto him. (John 4:27-30 KJV), (John 4:27-30 NLT)
COMMENTARY: As Suggested, the disciples’ marveling here reflects their spiritual immaturity. To their credit, they had no difficulty entering a Samaritan city to buy provisions—that is an amazing first step in the right direction, but they still have a long way to go before they think and walk and talk like Jesus does and can be trusted with the delicate responsibilities accruing to Messiah’s ministers. Still too much bigotry and prejudice and worldliness in them; they must be shown how their Judaism “came off the rails” and why and what it was meant to be, and that is going to take a while because they are steeped in it—it is all they know, and naturally they hold it dear. Going by what they were taught before Jesus came along, they think they are doing what God requires of them:
And upon this came his disciples, and marvelled that he talked with the woman: yet no man said, What sleekest thou? or, Why talkest thou with her?
It would seem that no sooner than the good ol’ Jewish boys showed up marveling, you know the look, Sister Sychar left, and in a hurry, leaving her waterpot no less! Let us not marvel at that—Sister Sychar was probably accustomed to that look and attendant whispers and could spot it all a mile away if you will. All of that to say this—Sister Sychar felt comfortable around Jesus:
The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men, Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?
Sister Sychar left the scene and started witnessing for Jesus. How terrific is that? She did in one encounter with Jesus what those pious frauds in Jerusalem did not do for millennia despite myriad encounters with Him and blessings and privileges from Him and heads up per His coming to boot. The pious frauds in Jerusalem were supposed to witness, to represent Jehovah to the nations around them, and did not, Sister Sychar was not supposed to do that, no one asked her to do it but she did of her own volition, and with a whole lot of umph and gusto to be sure, else the Samaritan folks would not have come flocking to see the quintessential Jew Jesus. Yea Jesus, is this not the Christ? Amen it is and amen:
Then they went out of the city, and came unto him.
Good show, heaven is a little more populous because of Sister Sychar’s testimony.
31 In the mean while his disciples prayed him, saying, Master, eat. 32 But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of. 33 Therefore said the disciples one to another, Hath any man brought him [ought] to eat? 34 Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work. 35 Say not ye, There are yet four months, and [then] cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest. 36 And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together. 37 And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth. 38 I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours. (John 4:31-38 KJV), (John 4:31-38 NLT)
COMMENTARY: Here strikes the Nicodemus Complex again a little closer to home this time:
In the mean while his disciples prayed him, saying, Master, eat. But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of. Therefore said the disciples one to another, Hath any man brought him [ought] to eat?
It must be appreciated that Jesus was always preaching and teaching (and healing and blessing). He knew why He was here, where He came from, and where He was going (John 16:28). Redemption and Salvation is why He was here, and in no small part He was here to introduce humankind to very God, in this way He was here to reveal very God—and there was much to be taught and to be done in revealing deity to a humankind with limited capacity to grasp said teaching and with well-entrenched, errant ideas about God, for example, worshiping God as just discussed. It would come piecemeal in consideration of humankind’s limitations and errant ways heretofore. This would take some time, but Jesus was going to be here in ministry for only a short three years thereabouts. He condescended to come and minister for a short three years, and we are blessed to have had those three years of teaching given to us by Him (He came gladly and willingly, but still, it was a condescension, “We Have You Yeshua”). Of course He would continue to teach us by way of His Spirit in His absence (John 14:26), but for now, the groundwork of a daunting task that Father God commissioned Him for had to be laid (John 17:1ff “He Who Sent Me”). And Jesus was consumed by that commission, it was as it were, His very food. (with all due respect, Jesus’ salivation was none other than our Salvation praised be His Name.) Again, the Head Shepherd sets a ministerial precedent in that regard:
Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.
What work? A Harvest of Redemption and Salvation. And where? On the mission fields:
Say not ye, There are yet four months, and [then] cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.
Maybe in view here are the white-djellaba-clad Samaritans that came Jesus’ way per Sister Sychar’s testimony? Maybe. Even so, Jesus’ words can surely be taken more generally and applied to any age and any mission field. It is clear that the Redemption | Salvation aspect of Jesus’ ministry is in view by His own words here when He speaks of gathering fruit unto life eternal, where said Fruit of itself is the reward of the laborers, thus rejoicing together in the Salvation that God wrought through them (and life eternal in the presence of very God is the excellent reward of all concerned, all the more accruing to the rejoicing):
And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together.
Sister Sychar sowed a testimony in Sychar, and a harvest of souls was reaped. Sowers and Reapers, together with the Harvest and Team Captain Jesus comprise Team Heaven. God’s concern is the Harvest, that is why He came (Luke 19:10). The Harvest. In His wisdom, God made the work a team effort (Romans 1:13, 1Corinthians 3:5-9, 9:19-23). He gives guidance to the laborers (1Timothy 4:16). The Harvest. It should be as a precious jewel to the laborers (1Thessalonians 2:19). Team Heaven:
And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth. I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours.
This sowing and reaping has been going on for millennia. We think sometimes of our dear brethren from hundreds of years ago that sowed a good seed, maybe a commentary, or a hymn, a testimony, or more recently, a Gospel tract, a Godly word and whatnot, that to the day reaps a harvest for God. There were many that sowed a good seed in our own life, that did not come to bear fruit for decades, and then one day it happened, fruit, and God gathered us into His loving arms and into His eternal future. We thank you Father God for the Salvation you wrought for us through the dedicated, hard work of your laborers. We are exceedingly indebted to them. We are grateful for them. And Team Heaven today, please bless it, the work of its hands. Amen.
39 And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him for the saying of the woman, which testified, He told me all that ever I did. 40 So when the Samaritans were come unto him, they besought him that he would tarry with them: and he abode there two days. 41 And many more believed because of his own word; 42 And said unto the woman, Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard [him] ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world. (John 4:39-42 KJV), (John 4:39-42 NLT)
COMMENTARY: First and ten and goal to go, beware the red dog, go team go.
One would think that the last thing Sister Sychar would do is broadcast to the gossip-happy Sychar folks that someone had chronicled her sins to her. No, no, no, uh-uh—that is how the unregenerate mind thinks. You know, to keep up the phony façade sins must be hidden, kept in the dark, minimized, laughed off, joked about, bragged about, that sort of thing (John 3:20). But nay, beloved Sister Sychar had an encounter with Jesus the Messiah, and was born anew, as was Brother Nicodemus per the previous chapter born anew amen. (GENNHQH EX hUDATOS KAI PNEUMATOS: Born of water and the Spirit.) The burden of, the guilt of, her sins had been removed. Her step was lighter, quicker, her eyes brighter, clearer, her heart glad, rejoicing. Despair turned into hope turned into long-lost joy. Repentance had taken place, a spiritual washing ensued, and the Spirit of God, well, He was exceeding pleased now to move in, and stay, move in and stay with Sister Sychar on into eternity. And she knew it, she experienced Him, she became aware of His presence, sensed Him, but wist not how or why or what was going on, but whatever it was, it was ever so inexplicably and wonderfully real (John 3:6-8). Her sins were no longer a part of who she was going forward, she was born anew, a new creation, a new person, and she liked herself, she liked who she was now, and tears streamed down her cheeks for the sheer joy of it all. It mattered not to her what the gossipers were going to say, because for the first time in her life she felt genuinely loved, and needed not the praise of men to feel, nay, to know, that she had worth, worth in the eyes of whom it matters most, even God, and forgiveness, she experienced forgiveness, a consuming freshness. And the One, her Savior, even Jesus, this strange, and unexpected encounter with this man, who conversed with her kindly, noticeably cognizant of her personhood, who imparted to her the Spirit of God in one infinitesimal instant worth an eternity, my, she could not restrain her lips from praising Him, and testifying about Him with arms uplifted to heaven in praising thanksgiving (she believed Jesus was Messiah as He claimed because of His insights into her deepest secrets, and testified accordingly, cf. Nathanael, John 1:48). And her testimony, this testimony, it was so genuine, yea streaming out of her heart in lockstep with the tears streaming down her cheeks, it was so genuine that it was contagious, exceeding contagious, to the extent that folks fell all over themselves trying to get over yonder to see this amazing man-prophet who identified Himself as Messiah. Could it really be Messiah?! We must see for ourselves! (To the day, Jesus invites us all to see for ourselves, “A Letter of Invitation.”) And of course, hearing Him and seeing Him, beholding Him, of course, yea, they believed on Him, they believed in Jesus and wanted Him to stay, my goodness, all the more having encountered this blessed Messiah themselves:
And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him for the saying of the woman, which testified, He told me all that ever I did. So when the Samaritans were come unto him, they besought him that he would tarry with them: and he abode there two days. And many more believed because of his own word; And said unto the woman, Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard [him] ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world.
43 Now after two days he departed thence, and went into Galilee. 44 For Jesus himself testified, that a prophet hath no honour in his own country. 45 Then when he was come into Galilee, the Galilaeans received him, having seen all the things that he did at Jerusalem at the feast: for they also went unto the feast. (John 4:43-45 KJV), (John 4:43-45 NLT).
COMMENTARY: What is meant here is Jesus did not turn south toward Jerusalem/Judea, He continued north to Galilee:
Now after two days he departed thence, and went into Galilee.
And Jesus Himself testifies why:
For Jesus himself testified, that a prophet hath no honour in his own country.
What does Jesus mean by that? Why would He say that? We must look ahead to John 5-7 (note John 5:18, 7:1). In short, conflict with the Jewish religious “authorities” in Jerusalem concerning their twisted view of God’s Sabbath rest command, their burdensome and convoluted “clean and unclean” ideas, He was accused of blasphemy by this brood, this offspring of vipers; and it escalated to the point that they wanted Jesus dead, out of their way for good. Jesus challenged their funky traditions because God never instituted that nonsense, and it got to the point where Jesus “lit into” these disappointedly lousy so-called stewards of His with a Refiner’s Fire of indignation” (Matthew Chapter Twenty-three Commentary”). Clearly, He wanted to stay out of their grasp until His hour had come—the divine clock was still ticking and would not stop ticking until Jesus, from the cross, told that clock “it is finished.” At that point in time the clock was reset, and a new down-count began, which ticks until His return, at which point in time it resets again and a final down-count begins.
Now Jesus was more than a prophet, He uses the term to make a point: “…a prophet has no honor in his own country…”. He is referring to Himself, sure, and is thinking of the persecution that He experiences in Jerusalem. Jesus did not crash the scene with pomp and circumstance and eye-popping, attention-getting flash. He was as ordinary as the next guy. He was born “up yonder in them thar’ Gentile badlands.” Folks new Him and His family. He probably had a Galilean accent and whatnot. He was not Mr. GQ—one wonders if He even owned a pair of sandals. He had not a place of His own to lay His precious head night after night, that’s for sure (Matthew 8:20).
‘…And you mean to tell me this guy from down the road is a prophet even Messiah all of the sudden, who are you kidding brother…?’
That sort of stuff makes it tough to be a prophet or anything else worthy of praise in one’s own country. But God designed Christianity to be as simple as pie, He designed it to be belief and faith based (how hard can that be), that is why at some point there had to be signs, divine power, to show Jesus to in fact be who He said He was. And John’s record, his Gospel, does that for us. To be clear, Jesus was God incarnate, and in the flesh He was very ordinary, because, in all respects He identified with and necessarily made Himself to be like us His brethren, for whom He stood in place of, offering up His sinless life in place of us, as Redeemer, Savior, Messiah (that is the demand that had to be met to satisfy Divine Justice, a demand we could not meet; please notice that Jesus’ willful poverty and mean appearance and existence was not just for the sake of humility Hebrews 2:17). Praised be His infinitely non-ordinary Name. Amen.
46 So Jesus came again into Cana of Galilee, where he made the water wine. And there was a certain nobleman, whose son was sick at Capernaum. 47 When he heard that Jesus was come out of Judaea into Galilee, he went unto him, and besought him that he would come down, and heal his son: for he was at the point of death. 48 Then said Jesus unto him, Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe. 49 The nobleman saith unto him, Sir, come down ere my child die. 50 Jesus saith unto him, Go thy way; thy son liveth. And the man believed the word that Jesus had spoken unto him, and he went his way. 51 And as he was now going down, his servants met him, and told [him], saying, Thy son liveth. 52 Then enquired he of them the hour when he began to amend. And they said unto him, Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him. 53 So the father knew that [it was] at the same hour, in the which Jesus said unto him, Thy son liveth: and himself believed, and his whole house. 54 This [is] again the second miracle [that] Jesus did, when he was come out of Judaea into Galilee. (John 4:46-54 KJV), (John 4:46-54 NLT).
COMMENTARY: John introduces this verse set recalling a sign, a deity-identifying sign, a miracle that Jesus did before, in Cana (“John Chapter Two Commentary”):
So Jesus came again into Cana of Galilee, where he made the water wine.
As it turns out, John will have to bookend this verse set with signs of Jesus’ deity. Both happened at Cana of Galilee by the Word of God; Cana is the locus of Jesus’ first two miracles. The first happened when Jesus was on location at Cana, the second happened long distance, at Capernaum, when Jesus was on location at Cana. The first sign concerned a wedding forestalled for lack of wine, which wine Jesus miraculously furnished. The second sign concerned a funeral forestalled for lack of disease, which lack Jesus miraculously furnished.
The “nobleman” of the second sign was probably someone who served in the court of the pleasure-champion Herod Antipas, a steward, or a courtier maybe. It is thought he might have had connections with one or more of Jesus’ followers—that is just an educated guess but worthy of consideration. And as the text says, this man’s son was grievously ill:
And there was a certain nobleman, whose son was sick at Capernaum.
So, Jesus is at Cana, the nobleman and son are at Capernaum just north of Lake Galilee at a much lower elevation—the distance between is about fifteen miles (Fig. 2). At say three or so miles per hour about a five hour walk:
When he heard that Jesus was come out of Judaea into Galilee, he went unto him, and besought him that he would come down, and heal his son: for he was at the point of death.
The love of a father for his son, it touched Jesus, it touches all of us. Imagine the desperation this father felt knowing that his boy was dying and nothing could be done about it, for the text indicates the boy’s disease was chronic, which means nothing heretofore had worked toward his cure. His only hope was Jesus, a last resort. That is not good, Jesus must be our first resort.
It is clear from Scripture that Jesus’ notoriety as a healer was the buzz of Palestine (and beyond no doubt). Nothing hits so close to home as one’s health (fame and wealth are not even a close second), and accordingly Jesus the proven healer was flocked to by multitudes. As one can imagine, word about Him, Him the Healer, spread like wildfire, and folks came to Him with their diseases, and their loved ones’ diseases. Is He sought any differently today? How many prayers shoot heavenward for healing day by day? The number must be staggering. The tragedy is that in many if not most instances He is sought only for the instant gratification of a healing, not for an everlasting relationship that seeks precisely and specifically Him and His fellowship, which He graciously offers and treasures. He feels the same hurt of being taken advantage of, without any love in the mix, as we all do, let us never forget that. Scripture indicates again and again that folks flocked to Him for healing (e.g., Luke 4:23, John 6:2). And so, this father, a dad, whose lad was wasting away, besought the Great Physician Jesus, for a healing.
This father, in his despondency, short-armed Jesus’ power (cf. Exodus 6:9):
Then said Jesus unto him, Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe.
But hear this father, his pleading, it tears one’s heart out:
The nobleman saith unto him, Sir, come down ere my child die.
And maybe Jesus’ too:
Jesus saith unto him, Go thy way; thy son liveth.
What of all the horrific and sorrowful dying down through the ages since Jesus was here, doesn’t it tear Jesus’ heart out? It does, that is why He came, He went to that cross so that death no longer reigns, for in Him death is swallowed up in victory amen (1Corinthians 15:55-57, John 3:16). We are all going to die, but none need die the eternal death. How good it is that we have you great Savior God.
Please allow a short somewhat aside. We live in a different age, an age of advanced medical technology by God’s grace—this is available to us by His grace in our generation, and we must prayerfully and gratefully resort to that grace, and not put God to the test (one must go to the doctor if one is sick; one should do so with a prayer on one’s lips in keeping with James 5:13-16, but let us be careful and not think that our own estimation of our faith is what it takes to move God here). To bypass the medical care available to us in this generation in some sort of privileged, faith-warrior approach is to put God to the test, and it crams our own estimation of working faith down His throat, and we must never do that. It is not a sin to prayerfully resort to modern medical care when one is sick—that is why God raised up servants and educated and trained them and placed them in that profession; it is not a sin to utilize that care, it is arrogant and foolish not to utilize it. As far as we are concerned, the most important thing about the role of faith when it comes to healing by God is to have faith that He knows what He is doing with the lives, our lives, that we have placed into His hands. A Child of God places their all into God’s blessed hands (cf. the Son Luke 23:46).
The troubled father believed what Jesus said to him, that his son would live, and went on back home (in obedience). Eyeball to eyeball with Jesus, he believed. That is the key, the takeaway for us all—he believed Jesus. (Please notice carefully that we have the privilege of hearing Jesus speak even today in the Gospel.) We are sure of this—those eyes, Jesus’, were the most caring eyes this father ever had the privilege to look into. “…Thy son liveth…”. One wonders what Jesus’ voice sounded like when He spoke those words of healing, of life:
And the man believed the word that Jesus had spoken unto him, and he went his way.
Jesus’ words must have echoed in the father’s head all the way home—
“…Thy son liveth…”. “…Thy Son liveth…”. “…Thy son liveth…”. “…Thy son liveth…”.“…Thy son liveth…”.“…Thy son liveth…”.“…Thy son liveth…”.
And O my, as those words bounced around in his head with each step he saw his servants off in the distance, and surely… O no, is this bad news? His pace quickened and his heart raced, he could not swallow because his mouth and throat had dried up. He kept looking at his servants, they got closer, and closer, and closer, and came into clear view and, what…they were smiling; he saw them smiling! Yea, smiling! He thought back to Jesus’ words: “…Thy son liveth…”. He dashed ahead to meet them, he stopped just short of them and one of them yelled, yelled out—Sir, Thy son liveth, thy son liveth, thy son liveth! Tears welled up in his eyes, he dropped to his knees, numb, overcome with a startled joy unspeakable. He bowed his head. He thought about Jesus, he looked up at his servants, he asked them when, when did my boy make a turn for the good? And they said to him, sir, yesterday, it was yesterday, at precisely the seventh hour, thy son that was nigh dead began to blossom with life robust. First his eyes, they cleared, then his arms, his legs…he stood up. He moved about, he ate and drank, never in all the days we have known him has he been so alive. And the father knew, he knew, he full well knew that it was Jesus who had at that hour spoken his son out of the grave and into fullness of life. And he praised God, even Jesus, and he believed, of a surety he believed that yea Jesus, Jesus was Messiah, even his Messiah, who had compassion on him, a beggar, and on his beloved son. And his whole household, bearing witness, believed in Jesus with him, and all alike praised God:
And as he was now going down, his servants met him, and told [him], saying, Thy son liveth. Then enquired he of them the hour when he began to amend. And they said unto him, Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him. So the father knew that [it was] at the same hour, in the which Jesus said unto him, Thy son liveth: and himself believed, and his whole house. This [is] again the second miracle [that] Jesus did, when he was come out of Judaea into Galilee.
Praised be thy great Name Messiah Jesus. How good it is that we have you. Amen
.
Figure 1. John 4 Locales: Jerusalem-Sychar-Cana-Capernaum, Overview.
Figure 2. John 4 Locales: Jerusalem-Sychar-Cana-Capernaum, Detail.
Figure 3. Engaging the Nicodemus Complex: Gentle+Loving+Patient+IFIC.
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Notes (words under study are highlighted and the immediate context is bracketed [])
[When therefore the] Lord-Strong’s G2962 [knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John]. Bespeaks authority and power, a master and ruler, thus is Jesus the Lord of and over His people by their glad and willful desire: ‘…ever be thou my Lord great savior God to my exceeding delight and eternal good…’. Please see also.
[When therefore the Lord] knew-Strong’s G1097 [how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John]. Our Lord will shortly heal from a distance, here he knows from a distance, the former regarding space, the latter here regarding time. Jesus always knew how this would unfold with the Pharisees as concerns the Baptist’s work and now His—exceeding jealousy of His popularity and contempt and disdain and fear of a new doctrine/teaching—but it had to wait its manifestation on their end, hence there came a point in time when the action switched from a future event to a past event. Accordingly, the verbal usage is Aorist (simple past is probably okay but an argument could be made for an inceptive aorist), active voice (the subject Jesus is acting/knowing), indicative (mood-fact here). If assessed correctly, the aorist elegantly marks a past event when, finally, all the pieces regarding the antagonist Pharisees started falling into place.
[When therefore the Lord knew how the] Pharisees-Strong’s G5330 [had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John]. The Pharisees constructed a “hedge” around the Law with the hope that it would prevent violation of the Law proper. That is, they constructed a hedge consisting of traditions which were intended to prevent one from even coming close to violating God’s Law through strict adherence to this traditions-hedge of legal extensions, itself a detailed and complicated application-oriented “interpretation” of the Law known as Halaka. So detailed and complicated was this web of traditions that Pharisees spent much of their time in study to learn it; an entire professional class, the Scribes, or Sopherim (so called from Ezra [fifth-century BC], until Hillel [c. 70 BC-AD 10]; after Hillel called Rabbis), became necessary for the arbitration of matters concerning the Law and the traditions, and to provide the largely synagogue-based teaching known as Hagada, i.e., homiletic teaching. The Scribes made it their business to expound the Law according to the “tradition of the elders,” while the Pharisees made it their business to observe the Law according to that same tradition. Therein lies the mutual dependence these two groups had for one another, and a natural affinity as well; we usually hear the words “Scribes and Pharisees” spoken by Jesus in the same breath. But these are perhaps best thought of as two peas in a rather exclusive pod– the one through heady scholarship devising an ever-increasing mountain of legalism through which the other might vaunt himself, but which neither really practiced, rather, detachedly therewith managed to crush and condemn the common Jew, which in no uncertain terms kindled Jesus’ wrath against this brood of vipers that ever sought ways to rid themselves of our Lord. Please see also, and also.
[When therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees] had heard Strong’s G191 [that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John]. Verbal usage is Aorist (punctiliar, at some instant), active, indicative. The Pharisees heard with the ear and perceived with the mind and contrived in the heart here, that this meant “trouble” for their doctrine and traditions and had best be snuffed out fast—first the folks are flocking to John in this regard, and now to Jesus even more so…O my.
[When therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus] made and baptized-Strong’s G4160+G907 [more disciples than John].The Baptist was the last in a long line of prophets foretelling of Messiah’s coming. He preached a message of repentance and wholehearted turning to God and pointed people to the Lamb of God, even Messiah Jesus (John 1:29-34). Baptism with water was the outward symbol of compliance with his message. He presently testified that Messiah was here and directed his followers to Jesus and His teachings (=away from Judaism and to Jesus).The made verb bespeaks this conversion, and the baptism verb is a public testimony of that conversion (therefore an unmistakable means of tally in this context). Verbal usage for both verbs is Present (ongoing action presently to the chagrin of the Pharisees), Active voice, Indicative mood. See also, and also, and also.
[When therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more] disciples-Strong’s G3101 [than John]. Here is the end of that verb “made” we had just before; it is the making of many disciples by John/Jesus that irked and vexed the Pharisees and put John and especially Jesus in their cross hairs if you will (we say especially Jesus because His work came with great power, all the more threatening to them and their plastic, super-added religiosity that had not enough power to stand in a gentle breeze). See also.
[When therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than] John-Strong’s G2491. John the Baptist. With all due respect we shall refer to him as “the Baptist” throughout. Please see also.
(though Jesus Himself baptized not, but His disciples). Why? Because Jesus baptizes not with water, but with the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:5); water baptism is disciples’ work, then, and now, going forward. There must be a distinction drawn—that’s the message; it is a statement of Jesus’ deity and thus unequivocal capacity to bestow the Living Waters of which we shall learn shortly; in keeping with the previous chapter, we are working toward this: GENNHQH EX hUDATOS KAI PNEUMATOS. (Born of water and the Spirit.)
[Though Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples, He left] Judea-Strong’s G2449 [and departed again into Galilee]. See also, and Fig. 1.
[Though Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples, He left Judea and departed] again [into Galilee]. We are not sure enough about the chronology and locations of Jesus visits back and forth from Judea to Galilee back to Judea to present a breakdown of that. Suffice to say He is returning.
[Though Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples, He left Judea and departed again into] Galilee-Strong’s G1056. See also, and Fig. 1, Fig. 2.
As would Jesus of course, and later Paul took it to the Gentile world, and the Church continues the work until this Church Age comes to a close upon Messiah’s return.
[And he] must needs go [through Samaria]. A quick look at a map explains why—Palestine is about 120 mi | 193 km in extent from north to south, cutting through Samaria is simply the most efficient way to get there from the Jerusalem area, about a three day’s journey on foot by way of this direct route (Fig. 1, Fig. 2). But of course there were exceedingly great spiritual reasons why Jesus went through Samaria as we hope to show as the commentary unfolds.
[near to the parcel of ground that] Jacob-Strong’s G2384 [gave to his son Joseph]. The second-born twin son of Isaac and Rebekah. See also.
[near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son] Joseph-Strong’s G2501. Jacob’s eleventh son (thus a patriarch of Israel [Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph, Benjamen, in order of birth]). See also.
[Now] Jacob’s well [was there]. Not mentioned outright in the Old Testament, but nevertheless is a solid tradition (Genesis 33:18-19, Joshua 24:32 attests purchase of parcel of ground mentioned near Shechem). It was not spring-fed but rather a cistern/pit into which seeped and accumulated soft rainwater( as opposed to the hard limestone water of the ‘Ain Askar nearer Sychar). See also, also of wells per se.
[Jesus therefore] being wearied-Strong’s G2872 [with (his) journey, sat thus on the well: (and) it was about the sixth hour]. Exceedingly fatigued, exhausted. Verbal usage is Perfect (completed action—flat out tired here, spent), active voice (subject Jesus is wearied), participle mood (verbal noun). Jesus walked everywhere, like those with whom our Savior identified praise His Name, and the terrain on this journey was up and down and rough. Yes, there were Roman roads that met nearby Jacob’s well, three of them, and no doubt Jesus and his disciples traveled along one of the Roman roads heading northerly from the Jerusalem area if in fact that was their point of departure (Salim, is where the baptism activity had been taking place; from the Jerusalem area it would have been about the same distance; the main north-south road through central Palestine passed between Mounts Ebal and Gerizim)—you will notice the rugged terrain between either possible departure spot and Sychar (Fig. 2). As God’s providence would have it, Jesus wanted to be at Jacob’s well in time to meet the Samaritan woman whom Father God had drawn and in turn for her to reach the thirsty souls in Sychar just later according to the divine clockwork, so they probably kept a consistently quick pace. We will discuss Jesus’ weariness some more in the context of their arrival time and total hours traveled in in the next endnote.
[Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the] sixth hour. There are varying opinions in the literature as to the time here. The Jewish day ran from 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM, thus by this reckoning the sixth hour would be 12:00 noon. The Roman civil day was split into daytime hours and nighttime hours, 6:00 AM-7:00 AM being the first daytime hour, and 6:00 PM-7:00 PM being the first nighttime hour, thus by this reckoning 12:00 noon again makes the most sense, hence we shall assume that the time of arrival was 12:00 noon. They departed at some unclear time and arrived in the sixth hour; no doubt they left early, let’s say in the first hour, to be in step with the divine clockwork, and they arrived in the heat of the day after many hours of walking through rugged terrain in the heat, all of which makes it quite understandable that Jesus was exhausted and thirsty here. Clearly their supplies were depleted since the disciples left Jesus at the well while they went on to Sychar to get provisions, which would indicate that they probably were afoot for some time. Jesus was wearied as the text says, but what about the disciples, could they have been any less weary and thirsty? So why did thy not rest at the well where the water was? Well, John did of course, else the account with the Samaritan woman could not have been recorded. What about the rest of the disciples then? No doubt they had provisions for the journey that by this time were depleted that nevertheless kept them going for the time being, so they surely were not in dire straits yet, moreover, Sychar was only about one-half mile more away, and they went there precisely to buy provisions. (Aside, Matthew is no doubt going by the Jewish reckoning of the hours in his account of our Savior’s last hours on the Cross: Matthew 27:45-46, where again, the sixth hour would be 12:00 noon, and the ninth hour here would be 3:00 PM.)
[There cometh a] woman of Samaria [to draw water]. A woman of antiquity, thus confined to the private, largely mum space of females in that day, and a Samaritan, a hated and mixed race (mixed blood lines, Jewish/Gentile is meant; and no less compromisers of Judaism from the Jews’ perspective, bitter enemies of the Jews here).
[There cometh a woman of Samaria to] draw water. A daily task, maybe twice daily depending on the proximity of the well. (The ‘Ain Askar was just east of Sychar, and to there the women resorted to draw water.) To draw means to literally lower a “bucket” so-called comprised usually of goatskin in which to draw water from the well. It tells us something of the estate of this woman, for drawing water was servile and not something a woman of means or sway would have done—she drew her own water, no one did it for her, and that says aplenty about her; yes, women did this, but it was a poorer or servile woman’s work.
[Jesus saith to her] Give-Strong’s G1325 [me to drink (For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat)]. Give in the usual sense. Note the verbal usage—it is Second Aorist (at this instant), active (Jesus requesting), imperative (direct address command). Question is, how will she receive it? She is not mum as we shall see!
[Jesus saith unto her give me to drink, (for his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy)] meat-Strong’s G5160. Food, nourishment. This makes perfect sense given their fatigue and probably dehydration to some extent after an arduous journey that probably depleted whatever they brought along to sustain themselves on the journey. John points out that Jesus asked the woman for a drink because His disciples, who would normally attend to Him, were gone away, but that request and the ensuing discourse with her was Jesus’ express purpose for being there! It would not have mattered if the disciples were there or not as we understand this, that request issuing from Jesus was coming her way no matter what.
[Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria?] for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. The cause was hinted at in note twenty-one. After a long siege, the Assyrian Shalmaneser V, son of Tigleth Pileser III, and brother of Sargon II (who seized Shalmeneser’s throne in a coup), laid waste Israel’s capital city of Samaria in 722 BC (2Kings 18:9-10, 16:7); “Israel” referring to the northern Kingdom consisting of ten tribes. He took the entire northern kingdom captive. Here is why (2Kings 17:7-12, 13-18, 19-23). That is the spiritual side, now the particulars. Israel lay strategically between the Mesopotamian states to her north and east and their rival Egypt to her southwest. When King Hoshea of much-prized Israel sought an alliance with Egypt, it was viewed as a threat to Assyria’s commercial and military interests and straightaway brought the “remedial” ire of Assyria upon Israel (2Kings 17:1-6). Please allow an excursion if you will. To bring this home to modern times a little bit, a modern parallel might be the preemptive westernizing and democratization of Ukraine (Ukraine is a republic, not fully democratized, it is the second largest country in Europe after Russia), ultimately to pull her into the NATO alliance, per the 04/2008 NATO Summit held in Bucharest, which also targeted Georgia, similarly on Russia’s border. NATO is the USA’s chief facilitator of its preemptive Monroe Doctrine in the western hemisphere of the world since 1992 (established in 1949). In modern times, given a “shrunken world,” and nuclear proliferation that levels the playing field around the world, that doctrine almost by default extends beyond the West—not that we concur here to be clear, we perceive its expansion as foundational to Satan’s hegemonic world order going forward. Said preemption consists no less of pulling Ukraine into the EU, whose most powerful countries are democratized and in NATO. And why, why Ukraine? Like Israel in 722 BC, Ukraine would be a jewel of a buffer state for the West, both defensively and offensively, and not least economically. In this parallel, a jewel of a buffer state right at Russia’s doorsteps is meant. Notwithstanding, here is the rub, over against cash-strapped Russia’s military security and commercial interests in the face of this (on the commercial side, Russia is a huge supplier of not least natural gas and hydrocarbons to Europe through Ukraine, and exceeding much depends on that supply, both ways; of itself, fertile Ukraine, like Samaria in the day, is a massive grain producer that feeds a lot of hungry mouths worldwide. From either perspective, Ukraine is a lynchpin jewel). Obviously, like Assyria back in the day, Russia did not sit on its hands here, it “remediated,” and is “remediating,” and no doubt will continue to “remediate.” In this parallel, Ukraine sorely suffers in a tight spot and plays the role of Israel—a treasured buffer state sandwiched between longstanding enemies more powerful than her that are pulling her apart with great suffering on her part along the way, and Russia plays the role of the Mesopotamian states, particularly Assyria, and NATO and the EU play the role of the (other) seducer Egypt. Two seducers, two wicked approaches to lure the prize, that suffers, and history, even biblical history, repeats itself down here in the land of sin and sorrow. (Death and destruction in the war over Georgia, 08/2008, the same over Ukraine, 02/2014, ad nauseam more of the same over Ukraine at the time of this writing, 03/2022. End of excursion.) Now, Assyria deported its Israelite-Samaritan captives to the nations that had fallen to it (largely the upper crust, the majority of which ended up in Media 2Kings 17:6), and repopulated Samaria with the peoples of their conquered nations (under Sargon II, 2Kings 17:24, who seized the throne from his brother Shalmaneser, then under Esarhaddon, a descendant of Sargon (Ezra 4:2, 10), and those remaining intermarried with these peoples, and the offspring were considered “impure,” thus non-Jews (Nehemiah 13:27-29; intermarriage with foreigners was chronic before the fall even given Samaria’s prosperity and choice trade-route location). That is part of the reason for our highlighted text, that is, from the Jewish perspective, mixed bloodlines and attendant syncretistic worship. Around 450 BC in Ezra and Nehemiah’s day, the Samaritans were rejected when they offered to help rebuild the Jerusalem Temple, which sore embittered them against the Jews. Essentially, the Jews did not want the Samaritans to have any part in the Jerusalem temple, be it in the rebuild, or outright worship there (Ezra 4:1-3), and this sore vexed the Samaritans; it is not clear to us exactly when a decided schism occurred and the temple on Mount Gerizim was built, perhaps 336-323 BC thereabouts, perhaps much earlier; not one single incident triggered it, it is a convoluted affair. In 129 BC the Hasmonean priest-king John Hyrcanus attacked Samaria and destroyed the rival temple on Mount Gerizim, it was later rebuilt at Shechem (Nablus). Of course, the Samaritans claimed they were “legitimate” Jews descended from Joseph through Ephraim and Manasseh, they believed their version of the Pentateuch alone was the Word of God (they held only to their version of the Pentateuch and espoused none of the other books), that Mount Gerizim was the right place to worship God, and so on. We see the degree of contempt that the Jews had for the Samaritans even in Jesus’ day when Jesus’ enemies called Him “a Samaritan with a devil” (John 8:48). What we hope to point out via this background is that there is a long history of deep-rooted hatred from one side to the other here that must be considered to get a good feel for what the Samaritan woman is thinking and feeling in regard to the highlighted text, which does not address the fact that on top of everything else here it was a woman that Jesus was speaking with, and hopefully this short background lends some appreciation and insight into that and to the significance of Jesus’ determined barrier-breaking visit to Samaria—it was off the charts radical. (Thus is holiness down here in the land of sin and sorrow.)
[Jesus answered and said unto her, if thou] knewest-Strong’s, G1492 [the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink]. EIDW is utilized. The verb at its root has to do with seeing. The verbal usage is Pluperfect no less (action completed in past time), active, indicative. Jesus frames her longstanding spiritual ignorance with this pluperfect verb. He is saying that she never “got the point” about God, which extends to her people/teachers by default. Jesus is probably including the whole lot of them. He anticipates her question about worship, and the water/Living Water; the lead-in to that spiritual conversation is through this verb in its context. How elegant and gentle and lovely this teaching methodology.
[Jesus answered and said to her, if thou knewest] the gift of God [and who it is that saith to the, Give me to drink, thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water]. …For God so love the world that He gave His only begotten son, so that whoever believes in Him may not perish but have everlasting life…’ (John 3:16). There is no question that the Gift of God is Jesus Christ. In turn Jesus gives us the Holy Spirit (Luke 24:49, John 14:26), and so the gift of God as we understand it is God Himself—Father God gives the Son who Gives the Holy Spirit.
[Jesus answered and said to her, if thou knewest] the gift of God and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink, thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee] living water. There are a host of Old Testament prophecies that not only foreshadowed the Living Water here referenced but explicated it vividly (Psalms 36:9, 42:1, Isaiah 44:3-Holy Spirit connection centuries before Jesus, Isaiah 55:1, 49:10-looks forward to Messiah, Zechariah 13:1-ditto, Zechariah14:8-ditto, Jeremiah 2:13-water stagnates in cisterns, cisterns break, Jeremiah 17:13, Ezekiel 47:1-6, 7-12, New Testament: John 7:38, Revelation 7:17-the Lamb is Jesus here speaking to the Sam. woman, Revelation 21:6-Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega, Revelation 22:1) To a Jew living water was running water (e.g. Genesis 26:19, Leviticus 14:5-6), alive and on the move, fresh, vibrant, ever new.
[The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast] nothing to draw with [and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water?]. Whatever was handy no doubt but typically goatskin “buckets” were used because these could be folded up and carried along as one traveled and used for drawing water at wells as here or out of streams along the way. Apparently, Jesus had no such bucket on his person, or He had it tucked away or maybe the disciples had the bucket/s.
[The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is] deep: [from whence then hast thou that living water?]. Some sources say about 150 feet |46 meters, others say about half that, so a fair guess is probably 75 feet | 23 meters on the low end and 150 feet | 46 meters on the high end. Any depth in this range is pretty deep; that water must have been nice and cool and refreshing. H.V. Morton commenting on the well when he was there noted that the Greek priest he was conversing with said it was about 70 feet | 21 meters deep, but that it had accumulated much debris over the years so in Jesus’ day the 150 feet | 46 meter depth is maybe correct (it must have been covered most of the time to prevent debris accumulation since Jacob’s day [cf. Genesis 29:2]). But then again, thinking about Jacob digging a 150 feet deep well without a diesel-mechanized backhoe smarts. On the other hand, we must consider all the amazing feats that the ancients accomplished across the earth that seem impossible via manual labor and yet there they are as a testament to the ingenuity and work ethic of the ancients. Of course the deepest depth this well ever realized came when Jesus sat on it and utilized its water in a spiritually-deep discourse about Living Water.
[from whence then hast thou that living water?] Art thou greater than] our father Jacob, [which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle?]. the Samaritan woman here claims descendance from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and his twelve sons, in particular, Joseph, Jacob’s eleventh son, through Joseph’s sons Ephraim and Manasseh. Not so said the Jews. As said before, the Jews considered the Samaritans a mixed race that had compromised their Jewishness, and who tampered with Scripture to justify their (the Samaritan) Pentateuch and to justify Mount Gerizim as God’s choice for the Temple. See also, and also.
[Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever] drinketh-Strong’s G4095 [ of this water shall thirst again:]. Literally take in water through the mouth and swallow it. Drink to quench one’s thirst. To thus rehydrate. Verbal usage is Present (action is going on right now and continues to happen), active, participle (verbal noun). The tense is telling—one drinks liquid water and not long hence gets thirsty again and then one drinks again, and again, and again, it is an unending cycle.
[Jesus Answered and said to her, Whosoever drinketh of this water] shall thirst-Strong’s G1372 [again]. Feel a need to drink something. The verb bespeaks this need in the extreme, to the extent that one suffers for want of quenching/satisfying this thirst. Verbal usage is Future (action that has not yet happened | state does not yet exist—it’s “out yonder,” looming), active, indicative.
[But whosoever] drinketh-Strong’s G4095 [of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst]. We just had this verb in note thirty-two in the present tense, but here the Great Grammarian Holy Spirit throws us a change-up curve ball to keep our head in the game: He changes up the verbal usage and now we have it as a Second Aorist, still active voice but subjunctive mood (the potential is there, but not yet realized). Okay, the subjunctive is clear enough, but why switch to the aorist? There is nothing repetitive about an aorist! An aorist is a “one-and-done” type verb, and that fits perfectly right here (drink, and drink some more, and then some more, and on it goes [strikethrough for emphasis]). Living Waters are a Wellspring within ever sourced by God that obviate Thirst (= the Problem)…when whosoever drinketh thereof.
[but the water that I] shall give-Strong’s G1325 [him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life]. Note that Living Water is free, it is given, it is there for the asking. Verbal usage is Future, active, indicative.
[but the water that I shall give him shall be in him] a well of water-Strong’s G4077 [springing up into everlasting life]. The fertile Valley of Shechem abounded with little streams and springs coming from the nearby mountain, it lay between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim (Jacob’s well is at the foot of Mount Gerizim), and Shechem itself lay at their bases; the main north-south road through central Palestine ran between these mountains (Fig. 2). This is the backdrop as Jesus speaks here. He is seated on the well, He speaks of a well of water, springing up, and of everlasting life. Just picture the backdrop—the fertility which bespeaks life, the well, the water, springs, ,water springing up, streams, and think about how His words and the backdrop perfectly blended and reinforced one another. What is a well of water springing up? A well of water springing up is a well that is sourced by water somehow, maybe a spring, maybe a stream; it is not a just a pit or a cistern, where the water stagnates, a well of water springing up does not stagnate nor does it lose water and dry up. Jacob’s well was a cistern.
[but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water] springing up-Strong’s’ G242 [into everlasting life]. This is such apt verbiage to drive home a point—the district around her home Sychar abounded with springs. Gush up, spring up. The verbal usage is terrific, it is Middle (action folds back on the one acting), participle.
[but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into] everlasting-Strong’s G166 [life]. See also.
[The woman saith unto him, Sir] give-Strong’s G1325 [me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw]. Give in the usual sense. Verbal usage is interesting, it is Second aorist (give…NOW, at this instant), active, imperative! The woman wanted this water for sure. (Small wonder, can you imagine having Living Waters explained to you by Jesus against the backdrop of said scenery, as she just had!) She is almost totally blank spiritually (like rabbi Nicodemus in the previous chapter) and does not grasp what she just asked for. She was thinking of a couple of hydrogen atoms and an oxygen atom (cf. Nicodemus’ carnal rebirth mindset), Jesus was all along thinking of a couple of Adams and yea the Second Adam, He Jesus, that giveth Living Waters, the very Spirit of God, unto everlasting life praised be His Name, His great Name.
Jesus saith unto her] Go-Strong’s G5217 [call thy husband, and come hither]. Get thee hence O my—compare same verb used by Jesus in His temptation by Satan (Matthew 4:10). For starters, here we have “tit-for-tat:” an imperative just previously by the woman (give), met with an imperative by our Lord (go). The fact that Jesus used this verb when dealing with Satan is maybe of no significance here—it is maybe just something to be noted, we can make nothing of it. Verbal usage is Present (be ye going and keep going), active, imperative. The Present married to the imperative is a pretty serious couplet—Jesus has a point to make to the woman, one which she will unwittingly deflect/divert into matters of the highest spirituality that concerns our Lord, thus go, be going, keep going yon ewe astray, and bring hither thine husband I say.
[Jesus saith unto her, Go] call-Strong’s G5455 [thy husband, and come hither]. Summon. Verbal usage is as just before with Go, a continuation of that action, Aorist, active imperative.
[Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy] husband-Strong’s G435 [and come hither]. It is rendered “house-band,” the glue/mortar of the family, one who keeps the family together. See also. No house-band here: “…Yon ewe astray, been round and round you say, the talk of all Sychar town. Five husbands before, a sixth at the door, no nary a wedding gown…”. So sad.
[The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast] well-Strong’s G2573 [said, I have no husband: For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly.]. Honestly/truly. Is she an exceedingly honest person? Is she unashamed here and brash? Flippant? Maybe she is sad about it and feels comfortable enough around Jesus to just “let it out?” It is good to just “let it out” to Jesus, the/our Great Physician. We love you Lord and thank you for always being there for us. Amen.
[he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly. The woman saith unto him, Sir, I] perceive-Strong’s G2334 [that thou art a prophet]. Discern, recognize, become cognizant of.
[The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a] prophet-Strong’s G4396. An inspired (by God) proclaimer and teacher of the intentions, thoughts, and words of God. See also.
[Our] fathers-Strong’s G3962 [worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship]. Please see note thirty-one.
[Our fathers] worshipped-Strong’s G4352 [in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship]. An expression of adoration and reverence to Jehovah God (He alone is to be worshipped). Verbal usage is Aorist (maybe a cumulative aorist), active, indicative. See also.
[Our fathers worshipped in this] mountain-please see [and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship]. She is nodding or pointing to Mount Gerizim very nearby Fig. 2).
[Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in] Jerusalem-Strong’s G2414 [is the place where men ought to worship]. See also, and also, and also.
[Jesus saith unto her, Woman] believe-Strong’s G4100 [me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father]. Wholly accept as true and be sure of it. Verbal usage is Aorist (now, this instant), active, imperative. Note the imperative.
[Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the] hour-Strong’s G5610 [cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father]. Jesus speaks of the Church Age, which through His sending the Holy Spirit at Pentecost was imminent (Acts 2:1-4). See also.
[Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the] Father. Father God. Jehovah our God is a Trinity, Father, Son, Holy Spirit, seamlessly One, unified as One in quintessential love precisely because God is Spirit (God’s triunity is incomprehensible and certainly nonsensical in the flesh; His children enter into that amazing unifying Love). No surprise that Love is the essence of very God (1John 4:8, 16). See also and also, and also.
[Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for] salvation Strong’s G4991 [is of the Jews]. Salvation is a terrific word. Online dictionaries have it as preservation or deliverance from harm, ruin, or loss. That’s good. In Christianity we must add the specter of Sin, the very agency of harm, ruin and loss. Harm to the soul, the ruin of the soul, the loss of the soul. Salvation in the Christian sense is deliverance from this particular harm, ruin, and loss, unto life eternal in the presence of very God. Salvation is life eternal in the presence of very God. And, as one would expect, it comes through a Deliverer, and that Deliver is Jesus Christ, here speaking of Salvation to yon ewe astray at Jacob’s well. And she stands in place of all of us. We, all alike in need of the Salvation that God offers for free to thirsty sinners. See also.
[Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the] Jews-Strong’s G2435. Indeed it is for Yeshua is Salvation amen ( John 1:11, Romans 9:3-5). Please see also, and also.
[But the hour cometh, and now is, when the] true-Strong’s G228 [worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him]. Please note the redundancy by Jesus: “…true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth. We like true as in genuine and sincere. Not a lot of flash and flattery, not a lot of lip service, but plenty of confession of sins prior to the worship—a mirror in one hand, the other raised to heaven. The fruit of true worship can’t help but issue from true worshipers. True worshipers know their great need for Salvation and weary themselves praising and thanking God for the Salvation He extended to them through our Savior Jesus praised be His gracious Name. See also.
[But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in] spirit-Strong’s G4151 [and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him]. The text literally has the Greek PNEUMA, so we must closely look at that. A human being is created with three very special natures. (1) There is a corporeal, or bodily nature, often referred to by God as “the flesh.” (2) There is an emotional and intellectual nature, a function of human brain activity, thus a function of the flesh and a subset of point (1). And there is (3) a spiritual nature, true nonphysical reality. Points (1) and (2) cease as a state of being upon decease; the flesh, like all physical reality, runs its course and then is found no more. Point (3), subsumed by spiritual reality, persists ad infinitum. It must be stressed that point (3) is not a manifestation of human brain activity; it is not “human consciousness” (that would fall under points (1) and (2)). The human spirit is to human brain activity as human brain activity is to guiding thinking and voluntary and involuntary body functions—the human spirit is superior to human brain activity (and quite distinct from it), just as human brain activity is superior to and distinct from the body functions it guides. The human spirit is…the human being. Most plausibly, point (3) is seated in the divine, it issues from the Creator Jehovah (Genesis 2:7). See also. Compare our kindred spirit with the Spirit of God.
[But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in] truth-Strong’s G225. Truth. What is truth once asked an ambitious, spineless, Roman procurator (John 18:37-38 ‘…I find no fault, but nevertheless go ahead do whatever you want since I am a spineless, climber-coward who toys with the Truth before my eyes of which I just quipped by way of query…’). Truth is quintessential reality; clearly, it is God’s reality. Can that be known? Of course, Truth, God’s reality, is precisely Jesus Christ (John 14:6), even the Word of God (John 1:1-3). It is a short step to see that true worshipers worship God tightly tethered to Jesus Christ. This is radically new to these hearers (the woman, John, whoever else might have been there) and will be developed by Jesus as His ministry unfolds, but here He lays the groundwork for what is to come: worship unfettered in space (spirit-Spirit going forward), in Truth (The Word of God). The upshot is that when Jesus speaks of Truth here, He is referencing Himself. That is the trajectory the Gospel just now blossoming will take, namely, a trajectory of Truth burdened by Jesus that takes off in the land of sin and sorrow and lands in heaven and eternal worship of God with the heavenly hosts similarly worshiping God.
[But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father] seeketh-Strong’s G2212 [such to worship him]. To search for here, so as to find something. But more, to seek indicates a lack, thus one seeks. Why would God lack, sounds sort of impossible for God to lack anything whatsoever? God lacks here because all are not on board yet, and until that number is met, He seeks (Luke 19:10). Not surprisingly, the verbal usage is Present, active, indicative; please note the present tense.
[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. We look at the verb again to highlight the verbal usage, which is Present, active, participle. Ongoing action in the ever present now.
[God [is a] Spirit-Strong’s G4151 [and they that worship him must worship [him] in spirit and in truth]. Please notice that God here uses the same word He used in note fifty-six, again highlighting our kindred spirits He and we. O the infinite worth of a human being! See also.
[The woman saith unto him, I know that] Messias-Strong’s G3323 [cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things]. Anointed (One) of God. From the Hebrew MASHIYACH. In this context Jesus, anointed, but for what, what does it all mean practically? Jesus anointed unto the offices of Priest, Prophet, Redeemer, Ruler, Savior, Steward, for the purpose of doing a very specific Job: SALVATION. Salvation perfected, by, this, most, qualified, One. He Jesus thus anointed unto the Task. See also,
[The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias] cometh-Strong’s G2064 [which is called Christ when he is come, he will tell us all things]. “Is coming” is good. Arrival any moment now is what she is saying (lo and behold He was standing right in front of her—"any moment now” became that moment), and the verbal usage is accordingly Present, passive, indicative. (Messiah is coming again by the way, present, passive, indicative, amen.)
[The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called] Christ-Strong’s G5447 [when he is come, he will tell us all things]. This is the Greek form of Messiah discussed in the previous note. See also.
[The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will] tell-Strong’s G312 [us all things]. Declare, explain fully. See also.
[Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee] am-Strong’s G1510 [he]. What an amazing statement by Jesus—one does not say that unless one can back it up for sure. I am that I am that I am, even the great I Am amen, amen, amen. Verbal usage is the ever present now, indicative. See also.
[And upon this came his disciples, and] marvelled-Strong’s G2296 [that he talked with the woman: yet no man said, What seekest thou? or, Why talkest thou with her?]. Filled with astonishment and wonder, instant shock given the aorist: verbal usage is Aorist, active, indicative. (If this were in the Hebrew we would likely find the Piel here.)
[And upon this came his disciples, and marvelled that he talked with the woman: yet no man said, what] sleekest-Strong’s G2212 [thou or, why talkest thou with her?] We had this verb before in a different context in note fifty-eight, in this context what is meant is the “with her” part: “…what sleekest thou with her…”, same thing was on their mind in the last part of the text: “…why talkest thou with her…”. It is hard to imagine in this modern age just how radical this barrier breaking move by Jesus was, not only He a Jewish Rabbi talking to a Samaritan but a woman no less. Some of the Jewish rabbis would not even look upon a woman, or they would cross over to the other side of the way if one was coming their way and so on. That Jesus spoke with this Samaritan woman in that day and that culture was radical and that is an understatement. Jesus clearly went out of His way to do this, He purposed to do it, and He made sure that it was recorded praised be His way above and beyond Name.
[The woman then left her] waterpot-Strong’s G5201 [ and went her way into the city, and saith to the men, Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?] Clay/earthen pot for carrying water. Gathering water for short term storage required two aids, a goatskin “bucket” to draw the water, and a waterpot to pour it into. The waterpot was conveniently shaped for transport not least with large handles. See also.
[In the mean while his disciples] prayed-Strong’s G2065 [him, saying, Master, eat. But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of]. Verbal usage is Imperfect (repeated action in past time, “looking back on the thing”), active, indicative. Jesus’ concerned disciples asked, and asked, and asked, and kept on asking. This repeated action is very telling. Why does Jesus not want to eat here? He answers the question Himself just next when He says that His very food is to do the will of God. What a snippet of insight this gives us to the passion with which Jesus must have approached His ministry day after day, He was consumed with it. A holy zeal set before us as an example, particularly to His ministers. Jesus subordinated His ministry to absolutely nothing. (It would be fair to extrapolate this example out to other so-called “needs” our incarnate Lord faced down here in the land of sin and sorrow; He was not caught up in any of that stuff.) Did Jesus ever eat? Of course He ate, and drank, and rested as we saw earlier. But not here, not right at this moment; there was ministry work that the Eternal Mind fixed on right now that satisfied His hunger, else He would have eaten we can be sure, in keeping with His health, and in deference to His disciples’ loving concern for Him.
[In the mean while his disciples prayed him, saying] Master-Strong’s G4461, [eat. But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of]. Rabbi. A title of honor and respect. See also, and also.
[In the mean while his disciples prayed him, saying, Master, eat. But he said unto them, I have] meat-Strong’s G1035 [that ye know not of]. Food; in a wider sense, that which nourishes and sustains. What meat specifically? We think it was spiritual, precisely the Holy Spirit, of whom our Lord had within without measure (Isaiah 11:1-2); it would be Living Waters usward; the Holy Spirit had not been given yet, hence the disciples knew not of Him, Luke 24:49. (The Holy Spirit was given at Pentecost Acts 2:1-4.) See also.
[Therefore said the disciples one to another, Hath any man brought him [ought] to eat? Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the] will-Strong’s G2307 [of him that sent me, and to finish his work.] In this context it is a judgment upon which God decides to initiate action. See also, and also.
[Therefore said the disciples one to another, Hath any man brought him [ought] to eat? Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to] finish-Strong’s G5048 [his work]. Finish, complete, fully complete, fully and thoroughly complete, perfectly complete; in the negative, not a whit left undone. Verbal usage is Aorist (the cumulative aorist here without question), active subjunctive (we move from the subjunctive to the indicative on the Cross, John 19:28-30—same verb, but Perfect (!), passive, indicative here!! We praise you Master, amen).
[Therefore said the disciples one to another, Hath any man brought him [ought] to eat? Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his] work-Strong's G2041. To get humankind from here to there, and that is a mouthful, and bespeaks a divine energy behind it, else “she’s goin’ anywhere but there partner” if you please... The great Work here is of course Redemption | Salvation, a Job but for God alone and thank God He condescended to do it for us in order to actually get us from here to there come harvest time.
[Say not ye, There are yet four months, and (then) cometh] harvest-Strong’s G2326 [behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest]. Taken literally, four months to harvest would suggest it is somewhere in the December | January timeframe (Tevet) if the barley harvest is in view, itself occurring at the Feast of the Passover (April/Nisan 15), or February | March (Adar), if the wheat harvest is in view, itself occurring at the Feast of Weeks (Pentecost, fifty days after Passover, not quite two months hence), or maybe it is May | June (Sivan) if the fruit harvest is in view, itself occurring at the Feast of Tabernacles or Ingathering (Tishri 15). This was maybe a late spring/early summertime excursion to Sychar by Jesus and the disciples, and if so, Jesus may have had in view the Tabernacles/Ingathering harvest, and by that reckoning it was possibly May | June (Sivan) when our Savior uttered these words. (Summer in Israel runs from about June to early September; there are three major harvests, spring-grain, summer-fruit, autumn-olive.) See also, and also.
[Say not ye, There are yet four months, and (then) cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the] fields-Strong’s G5561 [ for they are white already to harvest]. An area of open land planted with crops in this context. Given the plenteous water (springs, streams), the Valley of Shechem was olive clad and of prodigious fertility (mission fields are like that). See also.
[Say not ye, There are yet four months, and (then) cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are] white [already to harvest]. The Samaritans wore what resembled a djellaba (or gallabea), a loose-fitting, long-sleeved, unisex outer robe that was white. It is possible, not pressing this to hard, that the Samaritans are in view by Jesus, and of course the term “harvest” our Lord used just earlier takes on a completely spiritual meaning in that case, which it does in general anyway, as does the term “fields” He used.
[And he that] reapeth-Strong’s G2325 [receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together]. To “put in the sickle.” To bring in the harvest; to bring souls into the Kingdom of God, which assumes that sowers had been at work before and not least God Himself was involved all along the way. Sowers sowing what? The Word of God. Harvesting is the back end of this two-step work for God. It can take a long time for seeds to germinate and sprout and mature before the finished product is there rich, ripe, and ready for harvesting. Verbal usage is Present (it must needs persist in the ever present now), active, participle. See also.
[And he that reapeth] receiveth-Strong’s G2983 [wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together]. Verbal usage is Present, active, indicative. Note the present tense! It means payment in the ever present now day after day, indeed as long as the work for God proceeds, even on into eternity after the work is completed when cometh the Big Payout: life eternal in the presence of God in His heaven, a payment so great it cannot be put into words. Thus God’s sundry laborers rejoice in their reward, the greatest part of which is to enjoy God forever and ever, and of course they rejoice in the work of their hands, all that hard work lovingly sacrificed for God and others, ever “going the extra mile” in that regard, they rejoice knowing that God actually used THEM to eternally bless others, and we can be sure that the latter is second only to the blessedness of enjoying God forever in His heaven. Imagine spending eternity in heaven with a soul that God brought to Salvation through your sowing or reaping efforts; imagine the fellowship, the long conversations with that soul and whatnot, knowing “what might have been”… The blessed satisfaction of that is so great.
[And he that reapeth receiveth] wages-Strong’s G3408, [ and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together]. It is what an employer pays and employee on a regular basis is the key, as long as that employee is employed, which picture the Great Grammarian connected so beautifully to the present tense “receiveth” verb of the previous note. See also.
[And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and] gathereth-Strong’s G4863 [fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together]. If reaping is to “put in the sickle,” then gathering is simply collecting that which was sickled. Verbal usage is consistent with the reapeth antecedent: Present, active, indicative. It is that which is gathered that counts in the end. Gathering is the goal. Gathering | assembling, the Gathering | the Assembly.
[And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth] fruit-Strong’s G2590 [unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together]. This is what it is all about—fruit, no matter the walk of life under consideration, fruit is it. In this context fruit is souls, dear ones, beloved ones of God, for whom He has gone to the uttermost to ingather to Himself. Fruit here is not a trophy, it is Salvation, eternal joy unimaginable, for the sower, the harvester, and the harvest per se (Philippians 4:17). See also.
[And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that] soweth-Strong’s G4687 [ and he that reapeth may rejoice together]. Like unto sowing seeds, the seeds of the Gospel in this context. Sowers “set the table” for Team Heaven. See also.
[And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may] rejoice-Strong’s G5463 [together]. Rejoice! What a terrific word. Imagine rejoicing eternally with nary a lag at any time! Thus is Salvation for the Harvest, for the harvester, for the sower. In the aggregate including Jehovah God let’s call them “Team Heaven.” Team Heaven ever rejoices in the presence of God, who similarly rejoices in our midst. Heaven is going to be a wonderful place to be when it is all said and done… Verbal usage is Present (!), active, subjunctive. Turn that subjunctive into an indicative Father God and straightaway send us our Savior. All eyes in heaven and on earth are on you Papa God, we are waiting for you! Do hasten the End and come quickly we pray. Amen.
[And herein is that] saying-Strong’s G3056 [true, One soweth, and another reapeth. I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours]. Here is Team Heaven in shoe leather. Literally, we have here “a word,” LOGOS. Not only is Jesus Christ the LogoS (John 1:1-3), in this context all the action issues from Him, hence this “saying” must be considered to be more than proverbial, it is a fact, and must be attributed to precisely Jesus. See also.
[And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth. I] sent-Strong’s G649 [you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours]. APESTEILA is utilized. Thus are apostles sent (the twelve chief disciples of Jesus Christ in their day as also the rest of us in our day). Verbal usage is Aorist, active, indicative. ‘…Whom shall I send He saith unto Team Heaven? Here I am, send me saith Team Heaven. And He saith unto Team Heaven: GO…’.
[I sent you to reap that whereon ye] bestowed no labor-Strong’s G2872 [other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours]. This verb (the labor part of the highlight) in the Greek is explicit, it conveys the sense of throughgoing labor, toilsome, unto fatigue (KEKOPIAKATE in situ). Verbal usage is appropriately Perfect (completed action), active indicative. It is in the negative here in context, as saying no toilsome labor on the back end in context (on the gathering end for some on Team Heaven).
[I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour other men laboured, and ye] are entered into- Strong’s G1525 [their labours]. Some sowed the seed in their day/generation, others reaped and gathered in the harvest, thus entering into the labors of the former and the end of it all is for the common good of Team Heaven. A compact and descriptive sort of compound verb/word in the Greek. Verbal usage is Perfect (fully, completely entered therein), active, indicative.
[And many of the Samaritans of that city] believed-Strong’s G4100 [on him for the saying of the woman, which testified, He told me all that ever I did]. She is on the sidelines with the sowers of Team Heaven as we speak. Just later when the Sychar Harvest came to Team Captain Jesus He sickled and gathered them into His blessed arms, some cradled in His arms, others slung over His shoulders. Okay, belief here IS the Harvest. Verbal usage is aorist (bang, they believed straightaway, thus compelling was her testimony having encountered Team Captain Jesus).
[And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him for the saying of the woman, which] testified-Strong’s G3140 [He told me all that ever I did]. To bear witness of the thing, affirm it, without reserve in this context. Verbal usage is Present (she hung it out there and left it hanging for a while in her exuberance over engaging Messiah), active, participle.
[So when the Samaritans were come unto him, they] besought-Strong’s G2065 [him that he would tarry with them: and he abode there two days]. Asked. Verbal usage is Imperfect (continuous action in past time, i.e., past action that was in progress but was not completed back then—they basically kept asking Jesus to stay, maybe forever, maybe a few weeks, days, they just kept asking). Amazing, since Jesus was a Jew, apparent by His own testimony earlier, His speech probably, His dress, and so on. But then again, Jesus is the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6, John 14:27), so we should not be surprised.
[So when the Samaritans were come unto him, they besought him that he] would tarry-Strong’s G3306 [with them: and he abode there two days]. Abide, remain, tarry. Verbal usage is Aorist (complements the besought imperfect in the cumulative sense), active, infinitive (untethered, inflection-free).
[So when the Samaritans were come unto him, they besought him that he would tarry with them: and he] abode-Strong’s G3306 [there two days]. Verbal usage is again Aorist (in the cumulative sense), active, indicative this time (simple declaration, statement of fact).
[And] many-Strong’s G4183 [more believed because of his own word; And said unto the woman, Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard (him) ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world]. Many, much, great. Whatever the population was around Sychar at that time, what is conveyed here is that much of it believed.
[And many more believed because of his own word; And said unto the woman, Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we] have heard-Strong’s G191 [(him) ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world]. The verb has reach in the Greek—to hear with the ear and understand with the mind. Verbal usage is Perfect (they “got it,” the complete picture), active, indicative.
[And many more believed because of his own word; And said unto the woman, Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard (him) ourselves, and] know-Strong’s G1492 [that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world]. Greek OIDAMEN is utilized. Perceive, understand, on the one hand, without doubt on the other. Thus convinced were they upon hearing Jesus Himself give testimony to His Messiahship. And what was that? He was anointed to be precisely the Savior of Israel, and to the ends of the world from there—that was the Plan from the beginning, but Israel did not hold up its end, spurning very Messiah, but the Samaritans are right on in their claim upon hearing very Messiah’s preaching. They spurned Him not here. Small wonder He dropped by and paid them a salvific visit: prototypical Salvation at Sychar here, and the Sychar-Samaritans’ claim comes as no big shock. Verbal usage is Perfect (!), active, indicative.
And many more believed because of his own word; [And said unto the woman, Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard (him) ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the] Saviour-Strong’s G4990 [of the world]. Just for clarity’s sake, this is the One who wears a huge S on His chest. The Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost did He not (Luke 19:10)? See also.
[Now after two days he departed thence, and went into] Galilee-Strong’s G1056. [For Jesus himself testified, that a prophet hath no honour in his own country]. Judea-> Samaria-> Galilee (Fig. 1). See also.
[Now after two days he departed thence, and went into Galilee. For Jesus himself] testified-Strong’s G3140 [that a prophet hath no honour in his own country]. Verbal usage is Aorist, active, indicative. We had this verb in note ninety in a different context in the present tense expressing ongoing action, participle mood (consistent with ongoing action), here it is as a simple past in the dress of an aorist, indicative mood—the indicative, a declaration, is key.
[Now after two days he departed thence, and went into Galilee. For Jesus himself testified, that a] prophet-Strong’s G4396 [hath no honour in his own country]. A prophet is someone who speaks for God under the influence of the Holy Spirit, one who proclaims the will of God and is His mouthpiece to humankind. See note forty-five, and also.
[Now after two days he departed thence, and went into Galilee For Jesus himself testified, that a prophet hath no] honour-Strong’s G5092 [in his own country]. Respect, regard with respect. See also.
[Then when he was come into Galilee, the Galilaeans] received-Strongs G1209 [him, having seen all the things that he did at Jerusalem at the feast: for they also went unto the feast]. The Greek paints a picture of taking with the hand, to take with the hand. Verbal usage is Aorist, middle (as folding back on self—a beautiful picture is communicated).
[Then when he was come into Galilee, the Galilaeans received him, having seen all the things that he did at Jerusalem at the] feast-Strong’s G1859 [for they also went unto the feast]. Probably Passover. See also, and also.
[So Jesus came again into] Cana--Strong’s G2580 [ of Galilee where he made the water wine. And there was a certain nobleman, whose son was sick at Capernaum]. “Place of Reeds.” Home of Nathanael. See also, and also, figure 2.
[So Jesus came again into Cana of Galilee, where he made the water wine. And there was a certain] nobleman-Strong’s G937, [whose son was sick at Capernaum]. The rendering “nobleman” is okay but not the best, the Greek is BASILIKOS, which bespeaks “kingly,” of a king, royal. What is no doubt meant here is courtier, an officer in a king’s court, in particular, an officer in Herod Antipas’ court (not officially a king, but “tetrarch” of Galilee and Perea; his father was Herod the so-called Great, and his mother was the Samaritan Malthace). Some argue that the “nobleman” in view here is Antipas’ steward Chuza (Luke 8:3). See also, and also.
[So Jesus came again into Cana of Galilee, where he made the water wine. And there was a certain nobleman, whose son was] sick-Strong’s G770 [at Capernaum]. The sense of the word indicates weakness, feeble, consequential to some disease/illness it can be inferred. Verbal usage is Imperfect (continuous/habitual, going back when), active, indicative. This person was feeble, weak, and sick, and the imperfect clues us in that his condition was chronic.
[So Jesus came again into Cana of Galilee, where he made the water wine. And there was a certain nobleman, whose son was sick at] Capernaum-Strong’s G2584. So Jesus is at Cana, the courtier and his sick son are at Capernaum (Fig.2). See also.
47 [When he heard that Jesus was come out of Judaea into Galilee, he went unto him, and] besought-Strong’s G2065 [ him that he would come down, and heal his son: for he was at the point of death]. We had this verb before but are interested in its verbal usage here, which is Imperfect, active, indicative. This man came to Jesus as a beggar is what the imperfect means to us. How tender and touching this scene is.
[When he heard that Jesus was come out of Judaea into Galilee, he went unto him, and besought him that he would come down, and] heal-Strong’s G2390 [his son: for he was at the point of death]. Cure, make whole, restore to health. IAOMIA is utilized by the blessed beggar, over against THERAPEUW. See also.
[Then said Jesus unto him] Except-Strong’s G3361 [ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe. The nobleman saith unto him, Sir, come down ere my child die]. Please notice the Greek MH is utilized by the Great Physician, it is a particle of absolute denial. What is going on here? Faith 101 at the University of Real Life.
[Then said Jesus unto him, Except ye] see-Strong’s G3708 [signs and wonders, ye will not believe. The nobleman saith unto him, Sir, come down ere my child die]. To literally see with the eyes. Verbal usage is Aorist, active, subjunctive. Why an aorist? Jesus is saying, lest ye see NOW, at this instant; slang: ‘show me now, or no go…’.
[Then said Jesus unto him, Except ye see] signs and wonders, [ye will not believe]. A miracle in this context. The blessed beggar wants Jesus to hustle on over to Capernaum and do some sort of whatever right there on the spot because in his truncated thinking about the power of the Great Physician a miracle of healing could not possibly be done any other way. But miracles are not constrained by space or time. The blessed beggar’s thinking is typically human here. Textual criticism in the positive is really happy here.
[Then said Jesus unto him, Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not] believe-Strong’s G4100. We have had this verb before, verbal usage here is Aorist, active, subjunctive, entirely consistent with the conditional, negating MH particle, and the calming satisfaction of instant seeing related by the aorists in this short verbal chain.
[The nobleman saith unto him, Sir] come down [ere my child die]. The elevation around Capernaum today is approximately –682 feet | -208 meters, and the elevation around the presumed Cana location is approximately 1150 feet | 350 meters. Thus one “goes down” to Capernaum from Cana.
[The nobleman saith unto him, Sir, come down ere my child die. Jesus saith unto him] Go-Strong’s G4198 [thy way; thy son liveth. And the man believed the word that Jesus had spoken unto him, and he went his way]. ‘…Get thee going yon beggar, go ahead on, all is well for the lad…’. Verbal usage is Present, passive, imperative.
[The nobleman saith unto him, Sir, come down ere my child die. Jesus saith unto him, Go thy way; thy son] liveth-Strong’s G2198. [And the man believed the word that Jesus had spoken unto him, and he went his way]. But speak the word Eternal LogoS, and it is done (John 6:68). Verbal usage is Present, active, indicative. Note the present tense.
[The nobleman saith unto him, Sir, come down ere my child die. Jesus saith unto him, Go thy way; thy son liveth. And the man] believed-Strong’s G4100 [the word that Jesus had spoken unto him, and he went his way]. We wish to highlight the verbal usage of this verb we had before, and it is Aorist, active, indicative. The aorist indicates that the blessed beggar’s belief was instant upon Jesus’ word.
[And as he was now going down, his servants met him, and told (him), saying, Thy son liveth. Then enquired he of them the hour when he] began to amend-Strong’s G2866. [ And they said unto him, Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him. So the father knew that (it was) at the same hour, in the which Jesus said unto him, Thy son liveth: and himself believed, and his whole house]. Get better, “turn the corner.” Verbal usage is Aorist (inceptive), active, indicative.
[Then enquired he of them the hour when he began to amend. And they said unto him, Yesterday at the seventh hour the] fever-Strong’s G4446 [left him. So the father knew that (it was) at the same hour, in the which Jesus said unto him, Thy son liveth: and himself believed, and his whole house]. PURETOS is utilized, which bespeaks fire.
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