João 4

Charles Spurgeon · Citado em PreceptAustin

João 4

Spurgeon - Baptismal Regeneration John 4:3 He left Judea and went away again into Galilee. NET John 4:3 he left Judea and set out once more for Galilee. GNT John 4:3 ἀφῆκεν τὴν Ἰουδαίαν καὶ ἀπῆλθεν πάλιν εἰς τὴν Γαλιλαίαν. NLT John 4:3 So he left Judea and returned to Galilee. KJV John 4:3 He left Judaea, and departed again into Galilee. ESV John 4:3 he left Judea and departed again for Galilee. NIV John 4:3 When the Lord learned of this, he left Judea and went back once more to Galilee. ASV John 4:3 he left Judea, and departed again into Galilee. CSB John 4:3 He left Judea and went again to Galilee. NKJ John 4:3 He left Judea and departed again to Galilee. NRS John 4:3 he left Judea and started back to Galilee. YLT John 4:3 he left Judea and went away again to Galilee, NAB John 4:3 he left Judea and returned to Galilee. NJB John 4:3 he left Judaea and went back to Galilee. GWN John 4:3 So he left the Judean countryside and went back to Galilee. BBE John 4:3 He went out of Judaea into Galilee again. left: Joh 3:32 10:40 11:54 Mt 10:23 Mk 3:7 again: Joh 1:43 John 4 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries He left (aphiemi) Judea and went away again into Galilee - Judea was the site of Jerusalem and thus was the religious center of Israel. It was like a "powder keg," so Jesus did not want opposition by the religious leader to escalate too quickly. "He would not precipitate a clash until the right time." (Leon Morris BORROW The Gospel according to John : NICNT) Notice the phrase again into Galilee for He had been there previously (of course He was raised in Galilee, in the town of Nazareth). D A Carson suggests another possible reason why Jesus left Judea -- "Fearful that there might be an attempt to polarize the two ministries, Jesus determines to minimize the potential damage by departing for Galilee." (BORROW The Gospel according to John) The verb left (aphiemi) can also convey the sense of "abandon" and while the literal meaning (go out of, depart) is certainly the most preferred, Morgan (The Gospel according to John -John 4:1-42 Samaria) makes an interesting comment that "We should not misinterpret the thought if we said He abandoned Judaea. He did go back, but very seldom. He had been to Judaea. He had gone to the Temple. He had exercised His ministry in the surrounding country with marvellous success; but hostility was stirring there, and He left Judaea; He broke with it.” John uses aphiemi with the sense of abandon later in this same chapter when "the woman left (abandoned) her waterpot." (Jn 4:28, cf third use Jn 4:52). Plummer (John 4 Commentary) adds “First the Temple, then Jerusalem, and now Judaea has to be abandoned, because He can win no welcome.” Gotquestions - Ancient Israel was divided into three main regions (see map below): Galilee to the north, Samaria in the center, and Judah, later called Judea, to the south. The province of Judea, as distinguished from Galilee and Samaria, included the territories of the tribes of Judah, Benjamin, Dan, Simeon, and part of Ephraim. This area, known as the upper hill country, extended from Bethel in the north to Beth Zur in the south, and from Emmaus in the west to the Jordan River in the east. (What is the significance of Judea in the Bible?) NET Note - The author doesn't tell why Jesus chose to set out once more for Galilee. Some have suggested that the Pharisees turned their attention to Jesus because John the Baptist had now been thrown into prison. But the text gives no hint of this. In any case, perhaps Jesus simply did not want to provoke a confrontation at this time (knowing that his "hour" had not yet come). Left (863)(aphiemi from apo = prefix speaks of separation, putting some distance between + hiemi = put in motion, send) conveys the basic idea of an action which causes separation. It is notable that although the common meaning of forgive (some 47/133 NT uses) is used by John only once in John 20:23 (Twice - “If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them") All uses of aphiemi in John's Gospel - Jn. 4:3; Jn. 4:28; Jn. 4:52; Jn. 8:29; Jn. 10:12; Jn. 11:44; Jn. 11:48; Jn. 12:7; Jn. 14:18; Jn. 14:27; Jn. 16:28; Jn. 16:32; Jn. 18:8; Jn. 20:23. John 4:4 And He had to pass through Samaria. NET John 4:4 But he had to pass through Samaria. GNT John 4:4 ἔδει δὲ αὐτὸν διέρχεσθαι διὰ τῆς Σαμαρείας. NLT John 4:4 He had to go through Samaria on the way. KJV John 4:4 And he must needs go through Samaria. ESV John 4:4 And he had to pass through Samaria. NIV John 4:4 Now he had to go through Samaria. ASV John 4:4 And he must needs pass through Samaria. CSB John 4:4 He had to travel through Samaria, NKJ John 4:4 But He needed to go through Samaria. NRS John 4:4 But he had to go through Samaria. YLT John 4:4 and it was behoving him to go through Samaria. NAB John 4:4 He had to pass through Samaria. NJB John 4:4 He had to pass through Samaria. GWN John 4:4 Jesus had to go through Samaria. BBE John 4:4 And it was necessary for him to go through Samaria. Matthew 10:5,6; Luke 2:49; 9:51,52; 17:11 John 4 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries Enlarge to see Sychar in Samaria Map courtesy of Holman Bible Atlas (digital book; Hardcover) Copyright © 1998 B&H Publishing Group, Used by permission, all rights reserved. The Holman Bible Atlas is one of the best resources for Bible maps. Please do not reproduce this map on any other webpage. A DIVINE NECESSITY! Harris - The reason given for Jesus’ departure from Judea at this particular time is not at all clear—did he fear persecution? (ED: OF COURSE HAD NO FEAR PER SE LIKE WE DO, FOR HE KNEW HIS MISSION WAS TO DIE FOR THE SINS OF THE WORLD.) Certainly he had openly opposed the Jewish leaders before in the Temple.John really doesn’t tell us why Jesus chose this time to return to Galilee. Some have suggested that the Pharisees turned their attention to Jesus because John the Baptist had now been thrown into prison. But the text gives no hint of this. In any case, perhaps Jesus simply did not want to provoke a confrontation at this time (knowing that his “hour” had not yet come). (Exegetical Commentary) And He had (dei) to pass through Samaria - Jesus was ever in communication with His Father to do the Father's will and clearly the will of the Father was for Jesus to pass through Samaria. (Compare John 14:31). THOUGHT - O, to have a heart like Jesus, one that hears and obeys without hesitation, procrastination or argumentation! Indeed, to have as our "daily bread" to do the will of our Father and to accomplish His work as did Jesus. Later in this chapter Jesus reiterates why He had to pass through Samaria, explaining to His dim disciples (a lot like me much of the time!)… “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work." (John 4:34+) THOUGHT: Are you as convicted as I am? Fulfilling His Father's will was more important than filling His stomach! Ouch! Would I (you) have gone through Samaria knowing the "heat" I would take from the "religious crowd?" How often do we miss God's will, because we judge that it will be fraught with feedback of the negative variety? "I have learned much more from the things I had to do than from the things I chose to do." (Woe!) --- Anonymous Indeed, Jesus perfectly, fulfilled His mission and was able to confidently pray to His Father in heaven “I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do." (Jn 17:4) It is notable that here Jesus is not with the masses in John 4, but is seeking a single person, even a Samaritan woman. Unlike Nicodemus who has sought Him, this woman was not seeking Jesus! Jesus knows the precious value of a single soul (cf Lk 15:10+) THOUGHT- Is there a single soul that God's Spirit has specifically laid on your heart to pray for their salvation or to speak to them of the great Good News? Then pray! Then speak! Accomplish the work for which He has called you to out of darkness and into His marvelous light (1Pe 2:9+), for "the night is coming when no one can work." (Jn 9:4+) NET Note - Travel through Samaria was not geographically necessary; the normal route for Jews ran up the east side of the Jordan River (Transjordan). James Smith - "He must needs go through Samaria." There was a must needs for every word Christ spoke, and for every act that He did. Those Jews, which had "no dealings with the Samaritans," usually avoided going through Samaria when journeying from Judea to Galilee; but Christ's love for sinners constrained Him to go that way (cp Paul - 2Cor 5:14-note). He lived not to please Himself, but to seek and to save the lost. In this He has left us an example that we should follow His steps. Meanwhile let us centre our thoughts on the woman. (John 4-1-30 The Woman Of Samaria) Spurgeon - It is true that it was the nearest way, yet he might have gone round about; but he would not do so, for there were souls in Samaria who were to be blessed by his presence. He had a constraint upon him, an inward impulse, so that “He must needs go through Samaria.” Dear friends, whenever you feel the drawings of the Spirit in any particular direction, do not resist them, but yield yourself entirely to his gracious influence, even as your Lord did. Boa - God has divine appointments. He didn’t necessarily leave Judea with any fixed intention of ministering in Samaria, He just planned to pass through but the Spirit will always blow wherever He wishes. True messengers of God are never subject to fixed programs and to prejudices. We need to keep that in mind for ourselves. You don’t know what you’re called to do. You don’t know what ministry you’re going to have and very often your greatest moment might be something that was not planned- something may appear to be an interruption or something that might not seem very productive. (John - Chapter 4) Rich Cathers makes an interesting comment on going from ministering to many, now to one - Ministry, not numbers It’s easy in ministry to fall into the trap of comparing yourself with other ministries. One of the first ways that pastors measure themselves is by comparing the size of their churches to the other guy. Yet here Jesus purposely pulls out of the “horserace”. He quits the game. Jesus’ priority was actual ministry, actually impacting lives, not being the biggest church on the block. You see this in the life of the early church, as they learned to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. (Ed comment: And although it does not state it in the text, there is little doubt that Jesus is led about by the Holy Spirit - cp Mt 4:1, Lk 4:1, 14, Acts 10:37-39) Philip was an evangelist, having great success in the land of Samaria. (Acts 8:5-6NKJV) Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ to them. {6} And the multitudes with one accord heeded the things spoken by Philip, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. It was during this time of great success that God changed Philip’s direction: (Acts 8:26NKJV) Now an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, "Arise and go toward the south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza." This is desert. God would have an appointment with one person for Philip, just like Jesus will have an appointment with a single individual. We might just miss the boat if we begin to think that success in life or success in ministry is all about big numbers. I think it’s probably more important that we learn to have the heart of God, that we would be willing to do the smaller, quieter thing, even if it only involves one small, seemingly insignificant person. (John 4:1-14) Pritchard on pass through Samaria - Geography is all-important in understanding this story. In Jesus’ day there were three regions stacked on top of one another. There was Galilee in the north, Samaria in the middle, and Judea in the south. The easiest and quickest way to get to Galilee from Judea was to go due north right through Samaria. (The Woman at the Well) Jesus had to go through Samaria —and so must we! Ray

João 4

Spurgeon - From the Lord, as from an independent self-sufficient spring, all creature life proceeds, by Him it is sustained, through Him alone can it be perfected (cp Ro 11:36). Life is in the creature, but the fountain of it is only in the Creator. Of spiritual life, this is true in the most emphatic sense; “it is the Spirit Who gives life,” (Jn 6:63) and " have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” (Col 3:3) Ps 42:1 For the choir director. A Maskil of the sons of Korah. As the deer pants for the water brooks (Heb = aphiq = channel; Lxx = pege), So my soul pants for You, O God. Spurgeon - As after a long drought the poor fainting deer longs for the streams, or rather as the hunted deer instinctively seeks after the river to soothe its smoking flanks and to escape the dogs, even so my weary, persecuted soul pants after the Lord my God. Debarred from public worship, David was heartsick. Ease he did not seek, honor he did not covet, but the enjoyment of communion with God was an urgent need of his soul; he viewed it not merely as the sweetest of all luxuries, but as an absolute necessity, like water to a stag. Like the parched traveler in the wilderness, whose leather bottle is empty, and who finds the wells dry, he must drink or die -- he must have his God or faint. His soul, his very self, his deepest life, was insatiable for a sense of the divine presence. As the deer brays so his soul prays. Give him his God and he is as content as the poor deer which at length slakes its thirst and is perfectly happy; but deny him his Lord, and his heart heaves, his bosom palpitates, his whole frame is convulsed, like one who gasps for breath, or pants with long running. Dear reader, do you know what this is by personally having had this same experience? It is a sweet bitterness. The next best thing to living in the light of the Lord's love is to be unhappy till we have it, and to pant hourly after it -- hourly, did I say? Thirst is a perpetual appetite, and not to be forgotten, and is a continual longing of our heart after God. When it is as natural for us to long for God as for an animal to thirst, it is well with our souls, however painful our feelings. We may learn from this verse that the eagerness of our desires may be pleaded with God, and the more so, because there are special promises for the importunate and fervent. Proverbs 10:11 The mouth of the righteous is a fountain (Heb = maqor = something dug, fountain; Lxx = pege) of life, But the mouth of the wicked conceals violence. Pr 13:14 The teaching (torah = original sense of this Hebrew word is "direction" or "instruction") of the wise is a fountain (Heb = maqor = something dug, fountain; Lxx = pege) of life (NET = like a life-giving fountain), To turn aside from the snares (Hebrew = moqesh = bait or lure in a fowler's trap; Lxx = pagis) of death (Death is "personified" as a hunter, a fowler if you will, who lays bait to tempt us and cause us to fall unexpectedly and suddenly as do wary wild animals when they are suddenly ensnared by the noose! Oh my, if they with their finely honed instincts can be trapped, how much great is our danger. Praise God for passages like 1Pe 1:5-note) Note: How are the teachings a fountain of life? He tells that they (their "instruction" or "directions") turn us aside from the snares of death, which is the opposite of life! When you do your morning Bible reading (you do read your Bible EVERY morning, do you not? See Jesus' loving instruction - Mt 4:4), do you walk away from the "mirror" of the Word, into your workplace, your school, etc, immediately forgetting (Read James 1:21-24-note and contrast with the promise in James 1:25-note) what the wise teaching has told you about yourself and the deceptive snares of the world that lies in the power of the evil one (1Jn 5:19) Charles Bridges - "Reverence (holy filial fear) for God's commands have just been highlighted (Pr 13:13). Now the blessing of the law or instruction, the teaching of the wise, is shown. It is a fountain of life to a teachable and thirsty heart. There is no safe path to tread except God's way." (Oh, to have that last statement emblazoned on the heart of all God's children, and begin with me!) "Where there is no actual law given, let the spirit of the law keep your heart and life. Do not do anything that is questionable in the law. Think of everything that upsets your praying and your communion with God as unlawful. Never go into any company, business, or situation in which the presence and blessing of God cannot be conscientiously asked and expected. “By the help of these … rules, I soon settle all my doubts and find that many things I have hitherto indulged in are, if not utterly unlawful, at least inexpedient, and I can renounce them without many sighs” (Dr. Payson). Such rules are the spirit of the law and are well worth adopting." Pr 14:27 The fear of the LORD is a fountain (Heb = maqor = something dug, fountain; Lxx = pege) of life, That one may avoid the snares of death. Pr 16:22 Understanding is a fountain (Heb = maqor = something dug, fountain; Lxx = pege) of life to him who has it, But the discipline of fools is folly. Isa 49:10 “They will not hunger or thirst (Note: Every human thirst, so this is metaphorical and in context Isa 49:11-12] describes the supernatural, spiritual provision during the Millennium [see description]! Maranatha! Come Quickly!), Nor will the scorching heat or sun strike them down; For He who has compassion on them will lead them And will guide them to springs (Heb = mabbua = spring; Lxx = pege) of water. Jer 2:13 “For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, The fountain (Heb = maqor = something dug, fountain; Lxx = pege) of living waters (Lxx = hudatos zoes), To hew for themselves cisterns, Broken cisterns That can hold no water. Comment: Yahweh is here referred to metaphorically as the fountain (or spring in Lxx) of living water. Spurgeon - If a man should change for the better, his selfishness might be a little excuse for leaving his old love, but when he changes for the worse —leaves a fountain for a cistern — a flowing fountain for a broken cistern that holds nothing — why, there is madness in his sin. “Be astonished, O ye heavens and be horribly afraid.” Henry

João 4

Spurgeon - But our Lord did not come to maintain these distinctions of race and caste. It is altogether foreign to the spirit of Christianity for nationalities to be despised. We sometimes hear people say of a person, “Oh, he is only So-and-so!” mentioning some nation that happens to be in the background. Christ was cosmopolitan, he loved men of every nation, and tribe, and tongue, and people. To him, there was neither Jew nor Samaritan; all such distinctions were banished from his mind. The woman might well say what she did, but her words would have sounded strangely out of place from the lips of Christ. Generous Receivers - How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman? —John 4:9 - In today’s Bible reading, we see Jesus weary, hungry, and thirsty. He was just as human as we are. He was also God and could have met all His own needs. But Jesus didn’t insist on doing everything without the help of others. On this occasion He graciously (and no doubt gratefully) allowed His disciples to go and buy food while He sat by the well to rest and wait. And when a Samaritan woman of questionable character came to draw water, He did what many of us might hesitate to do—He asked her for a drink. O to be like Thee! Lord, I am coming Now to receive the anointing divine; All that I am and have I am bringing— Lord, from this moment all shall be Thine. —Chisholm Be as gracious in receiving as you are in giving. A Matter of the Heart - How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman? —John 4:9 - I have a confession to make. From time to time old feelings of prejudice and intolerance well up within me. Even though I seldom express them, and never want to, these sinful thoughts still spring up in my heart. I grew up as a white, lower middle-class, midwestern, blue-collar American. My prejudices came from hearing such absurd statements as: “Rich people are arrogant snobs.” “Minorities just want a handout.” “Women are weak and can’t think rationally.” “Management is out to rip off the working man.” “Jews can’t be trusted in business dealings.” Lord, cleanse me from all prejudice, Remove its subtle lie; Then help me share Your love with those For whom You came to die. —Fasick Wisdom For Witnessing - The woman of Samaria said to Him, "How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?" —John 4:9 - We can learn a lot about effective witnessing by examining our Lord’s encounter with the woman at the well (John 4:5-26). He broke all social protocol by talking to this Samaritan woman. And asking her for a drink of water was a compliment of sorts. Later, He had a perfect opportunity to condemn her sinful lifestyle, but He didn’t. Author Paul Little points out that unlike Jesus we are quick to condemn. He writes, “Often we have the mistaken idea that if we don’t condemn a certain attitude or deed, we will be condoning it.” He adds, “Not only must we avoid condemning people, we need to learn the art of legitimate compliment.” He then related an encounter that writer Charles Trumbull once had on a train. A profanity-spewing, drunken man boarded and lurched into the seat next to him. When the man offered him a drink from his flask, Trumbull didn’t condemn his condition. Instead he replied, “No thank you, but I can see you are a very generous man.” The man’s eyes lit up. As they talked, he heard about the One who offers the satisfying water of life. Later, he gave his life to Christ. Lord, help us show compassion To a world that's lost in sin, So when we share the gospel, Hungry souls for Christ we'll win. —Sper Loving the lost is the first step in leading them to Christ. John 4:10 Jesus answered and said to her, "If you knew the gift of God, and Who it is Who says to you, 'Give Me a drink,' you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water." BGT John 4:10 ἀπεκρίθη Ἰησοῦς καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῇ· εἰ ᾔδεις τὴν δωρεὰν τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ τίς ἐστιν ὁ λέγων σοι· δός μοι πεῖν, σὺ ἂν ᾔτησας αὐτὸν καὶ ἔδωκεν ἄν σοι ὕδωρ ζῶν. NET John 4:10 Jesus answered her, "If you had known the gift of God and who it is who said to you, 'Give me some water to drink,' you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water." NLT John 4:10 Jesus replied, "If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water." ESV John 4:10 Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, 'Give me a drink,' you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water." NIV John 4:10 Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water." GNT John 4:10 ἀπεκρίθη Ἰησοῦς καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῇ, Εἰ ᾔδεις τὴν δωρεὰν τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ τίς ἐστιν ὁ λέγων σοι, Δός μοι πεῖν, σὺ ἂν ᾔτησας αὐτὸν καὶ ἔδωκεν ἄν σοι ὕδωρ ζῶν. KJV John 4:10 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. YLT John 4:10 Jesus answered and said to her, 'If thou hadst known the gift of God, and who it is who is saying to thee, Give me to drink, thou wouldest have asked him, and he would have given thee living water.' ASV John 4:10 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. CSB John 4:10 Jesus answered, "If you knew the gift of God, and who is saying to you, 'Give Me a drink,' you would ask Him, and He would give you living water." NKJ John 4:10 Jesus answered and said to her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you,`Give Me a drink,' you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water." NRS John 4:10 Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, 'Give me a drink,' you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water." NAB John 4:10 Jesus answered and said to her, "If you knew the gift of God and who is saying to you, 'Give me a drink,' you would have asked him and he would have given you living water." NJB John 4:10 Jesus replied to her: If you only knew what God is offering and who it is that is saying to you, 'Give me something to drink,' you would have been the one to ask, and he would have given you living water. GWN John 4:10 Jesus replied to her, "If you only knew what God's gift is and who is asking you for a drink, you would have asked him for a drink. He would have given you living water." If - Jn 3:16; Isaiah 9:6; 42:6; 49:6-8; Luke 11:13; Romans 8:32; 1 Corinthians 1:30; 2 Corinthians 9:15; Ephesians 2:8 Who - Jn 4:25,26; 9:35-38; 16:3; 17:3; 1 John 5:20)(2 Chronicles 33:12,13,18,19; Ps 10:17; Isaiah 55:6-9; Luke 11:8-10; 18:13,14; Luke 23:42,43; Acts 9:11; Revelation 3:17,18 Living - Jn 4:14; 6:35,51; 7:37-39; Exodus 17:6; Ps 36:8,9; 46:4; Isaiah 12:3; 35:6; Isaiah 41:17,18; 43:20; 44:3; 49:10; 55:1-3; Jeremiah 2:13; Ezekiel 47:1-9; Zechariah 13:1; 14:8; 1 Corinthians 10:4; Revelation 7:17; 21:6; 22:1,2,17 JESUS OFFERS LIVING WATER D L Moody - This woman was not interested in the gospel, but she was interested in the water business; so Christ spoke to her about that. If - This introduces a condition of the second class, determined as unfulfilled. It strikes me that many people I have shared the Gospel with knew the gift (because I stated it plainly) and even knew (about) the Giver (Jesus), but they, unlike this Samaritan woman, refused to ask for a drink of the only gift that would ever quench their dead, dry soul - living water! It is interesting to note the role reversals - At first Jesus was the one asking the woman for physical water, but now He becomes the one able to give supernatural water, regarding which He encourages the woman to ask. If you knew the gift (dorea) of God - She knew neither the Gift or the Giver! How many nameless souls, like this Samaritan woman, stand on the brink of eternity knowing neither the Gift nor the Giver, for they have never even heard the Name "Jesus" by which they must be saved (Acts 4:12). The Gift (dorea) primarily refers to the Living Water or salvation, but in a real sense Jesus is the ultimate Gift from the Father. This gift however was not free to God for He first had to pay in sinless blood before He could say "Finished! (Tetelestai!) Paid in Full!" (Jn 19:30+) This Gift cannot be earned by depraved sinners, but only received from God by grace through faith (Eph 2:8-9+, Jn 1:11-13). THOUGHT - Consider praying daily for the thousands of thirsting, unreached people groups, for Jesus wants to offer them a drink through you! I highly recommend the daily prayer devotional Joshua Project which each day prays for a different unreached people group. Make it part of your daily devotional time - your eternity (and those you pray for) will be richer for so doing (see 1Th 2:19-20+) Beloved, gather much fruit for eternal life and you will be eternally grateful you did! (Jn 4:36+). Notice how Jesus drew out the Samaritan woman's curiosity -- (1) He made her curious about the things of God (If you knew the gift of God); (2) He made her curious about who Jesus is (who it is who says to you). (3) He made her curious about what He could give her (He would have given you living water). (From David Guzik) Spurgeon on if you knew… you would have asked - Holy knowledge is very advantageous; it often is the means of breeding prayer: “If you knew… you would have asked… and he would have given.” Therefore, beloved, let us teach the truth to all who come in our way, for it may be that we, too, shall meet with many of whom it can be said that, if they know what the gift of God is, they will ask for it; and if they ask for it, Christ will give it to them. New things in John - The new wine, John 2, the new birth, John 3, the new water and the new worship, John 4. It is the great ‘I AM’ (Jn 4:26) Who is the Supreme Supplier and Who makes ALL THINGS NEW (Rev 21:5+)! Hallelujah!, Pritchard - Ponder those three little words: “If you knew.” “If you knew who I was, you would ask and I would give you eternal life.” Do you know who He is? If so, will you ask Him for Living Water? If you want to go to heaven, all you have to do is ask. That’s how simple salvation is. It’s like asking for a refreshing drink of cool, clear water. (The Woman at the Well) Hendricksen has an interesting comment - When Jesus spoke about "the gift of God," he meant "living water." But "living water" could mean spring-water (Gen. 26:19), which bubbles up by itself, in distinction from rain water, which must be collected in a cistern or reservoir. Of course, it happens at times that a shaft is sunk into the earth until a spring is reached. Jacob's Spring illustrates the point exactly. Hence, when Jesus said, "he would have given you living water," the woman interprets this to mean, "he would have given you not the water which has for some time been standing in the well but the spring-water at the bottom of it. (BNTC-John) As with His interaction with Nicodemus in John 3, Jesus immediately shifts the conversation from the literal physical to the metaphorical spiritual! Jesus uses this statement to draw the woman deeper into the conversation. Who wouldn't want a gift from God? Ultimately Jesus was speaking of Himself as the Divine Gift (Jn 3:16), the inexpressible gift (2 Corinthians 9:15, Eph 4:17+)! James Smith - A Carnal Reasoner. Jesus answered the woman's inquiry with a revelation of Himself, as the Giver of "living water." He sought to make her conscious of her need of the "Gift of God" (Jn 4:10). Her answer shows that she was in total darkness as to spiritual things. "Sir," she said, "Thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep" (Jn 4:11). As if this life-giving water was to come out of Jacob's well. But she was not more blind than Nicodemus was when he said, "How can a man be born when he is old?" Through sin, the descent of man from God is so great that, without a miracle of grace he cannot receive the things of the Spirit of God (1Cor. 2:14). Carnal reason has never yet understood the Word of God. (John 4:1-30 The Woman Of Samaria) James Smith on if you knew the gift of God - Out of the great depths of UNFATHOMABLE LOVE. God so loved the world that He gave His Son. This stream gushing out from the heart of God is as broad as the world, and as deep as human need for time and eternity. College Press NIV Commentary - What was the gift of God? Numerous answers have been offered to this question: (1) For the Jews God’s greatest gift was the Torah or law. (2) In Gnostic thought the gift of God was the life-giving revelation, e.g., Corpus Hermeticum 4:5.28 (3) The gift of God is Jesus himself and his ability to transmit eternal life to those who receive him (see 2 Cor. 9:15). This verse thus is identical with the thought of John 3:16. Some refer the gift to the Holy Spirit but it is Jesus who gives the Spirit (Acts 2:33). David

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Spurgeon - The Samaritan woman "had caught the Lord’s meaning so far as the perpetuity of the water was concerned, but still she did not know what the living water was. It was all a riddle to her, as I am afraid it is to some of you. There is many a Doctor of Divinity who cannot explain what the living water is."… Oh, that I might be like a well of living waters in my speech at all times; and that you, my beloved brethren and sisters in Christ, whenever you are dealing with others, might be a well of living waters to every thirsty soul! Speak of Jesus wherever you go; talk of Jesus whenever you can. You have been shut up, and Christ has been in you; now be opened to give forth to others what he has given you… Hence he will always be contented. He who has grace in his heart is a happy man; he grows more and more satisfied with the grace as it wells up increasingly in living power in his character and life. Oh, if you have never received that living water, may God give it to you just now! You shall never regret receiving it; but you shall rejoice over it evermore. Jesus was clearly speaking metaphorically, accusing the Jews in Jeremiah of forsaking and foregoing the "spiritual water" that gives true life in lieu of putrid "religious water" that only brings death to one's soul! So here in John 4 Jesus is stating to the woman that He Himself is the Source of this life giving water, but she misunderstood Him to be speaking of fresh, flowing, physical water as from a spring or fountain (Gk = pege). As an aside some Rabbinic teachings associated the provision of water in the OT passages with the coming of the Messiah: “As the former redeemer made a well to rise [cf. Nu. 21:17–18], so will the latter Redeemer bring up water” (Eccl. Rab. 1:9). Henry Alford on living (zao) water - Designedly used in a double sense by our Lord, that the woman may lay hold of the material meaning, and by it be awakened to the higher (spiritual) one. The words bring with them, and in our Lord’s inner meaning involved, the performance of all such prophetic promises as Ezekiel 36:25; Zechariah 13:1 (cp Jer 2:13); but, as regarded the woman, the ordinary sense was that intended for her to fasten on, which she does accordingly. On the question, how this living water could be now given, before Jesus was glorified, see John 7:38-39-note. (Greek Testament Critical Exegetical Commentary) Augustine - Water issuing from a spring is what is commonly called living water. Water collected from rain in pools and cisterns is not called living water. It may have originally flowed from a spring; yet if it collects in some place and is left to stand without any connection to its source, separated, as it were, from the channel of the spring. It is not called “living water.” Water is designated as “living” when it is taken as it flows. This is the kind of water that was in that fountain. Tractates on the Gospel of John 15.12.21 A T

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Spurgeon - Morning, October 6 Go To Evening Reading - “Whosoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst.” — John 4:14 - He who is a believer in Jesus finds enough in his Lord to satisfy him now, and to content him for evermore. The believer is not the man whose days are weary for want of comfort, and whose nights are long from absence of heart-cheering thought, for he finds in religion (Christ) such a spring of joy, such a fountain of consolation, that he is content and happy. Put him in a dungeon and he will find good company; place him in a barren wilderness, he will eat the bread of heaven; drive him away from friendship, he will meet the “friend that sticketh closer than a brother.” Blast all his gourds, and he will find shadow beneath the Rock of Ages; sap the foundation of his earthly hopes, but his heart will still be fixed, trusting in the Lord. The heart is as insatiable as the grave till Jesus enters it, and then it is a cup full to overflowing. There is such a fulness in Christ that he alone is the believer’s all. The true saint is so completely satisfied with the all-sufficiency of Jesus that he thirsts no more—except it be for deeper draughts of the living fountain. In that sweet manner, believer, shalt thou thirst; it shall not be a thirst of pain, but of loving desire; thou wilt find it a sweet thing to be panting after a fuller enjoyment of Jesus’ love. One in days of yore said, “I have been sinking my bucket down into the well full often, but now my thirst after Jesus has become so insatiable, that I long to put the well itself to my lips, and drink right on.” Is this the feeling of thine heart now, believer? Dost thou feel that all thy desires are satisfied in Jesus, and that thou hast no want now, but to know more of him, and to have closer fellowship with him? Then come continually to the fountain, and take of the water of life freely. Jesus will never think you take too much, but will ever welcome you, saying, “Drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved.” (Morning and Evening) Quenching the Eternal Thirst - Many years ago, a crew of Peruvian sailors were heading up the Amazon River when they happened upon an unusual sight. A Spanish ship was anchored off the coast and all the sailors were stretched out weakly on the deck of the ship. As the Peruvians drew closer, they saw that the Spaniards were in terrible physical condition. They looked as if they were one step away from death, their lips parched and swollen. Here, in this ship, these Spanish sailors were literally dying of thirst. "Can we help you," shouted the Peruvians? The Spaniards cried out, "Water! Water! We need fresh water!" The Peruvian sailors, surprised at this request, told them to lower their buckets and help themselves. The Spaniards, fearing they'd been misunderstood cried back, "No, no we need FRESH water!" Again the Peruvians told the Spanish sailors to lower their buckets. Finally, the sailors did as the Peruvian sailors commanded and when their buckets were brought up to the surface, they discovered fresh water. Little did they know that they were at the mouth of the fresh-water Amazon River. All they had to do was take a drink and their thirst would be quenched. Jesus Christ offers Living Water to quench man's spiritual thirst. Man doesn't have to do anything but drink this Water. Sadly, many will die thirsty, because they do not know about Jesus Christ, the Living Water. It is our job to tell them. (James Scudder - Living Water) Oswald Chambers - Springs of benignity - The water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water. John 4:14. The picture Our Lord gives is not that of a channel but a fountain. ‘Be being filled,’ and the sweetness of vital relationship to Jesus will flow out of the saint as lavishly as it is imparted to him. If you find your life is not flowing out as it should, you are to blame; something has obstructed the flow. Keep right at the Source, and—you will be blessed personally? No, out of you will flow rivers of living water, irrepressible life. We are to be centres through which Jesus can flow as rivers of living water in blessing to everyone. Some of us are like the Dead Sea, always taking in but never giving out, because we are not rightly related to the Lord Jesus. As surely as we receive from Him, He will pour out through us, and in the measure He is not pouring out, there is a defect in our relationship to Him. Is there anything between you and Jesus Christ? Is there anything that hinders your belief in Him? If not, Jesus says, out of you will flow rivers of living water. It is not a blessing passed on, not an experience stated, but a river continually flowing. Keep at the Source, guard well your belief in Jesus Christ and your relationship to Him, and there will be a steady flow for other lives, no dryness and no deadness. Is it not too extravagant to say that out of an individual believer, rivers are going to flow? ‘I do not see the rivers,’ you say. Never look at yourself from the standpoint of—‘Who am I?’ In the history of God’s work you will nearly always find that it has started from the obscure, the unknown, the ignored, but the steadfastly true to Jesus Christ. James Denney - The decay of the outward man in the godless is a melancholy spectacle, for it is the decay of everything; in the Christian it does not touch that life which is hid with Christ in God, and which is in the soul itself a well of water springing up to life eternal. J R Miller on a well of water springing up to eternal life -Thus every Christian becomes a fountain of blessing in this world. As from the great Fountain, Christ, all the streams of life flow—so from the little fountain in the heart of each believer, flows a stream of the water of life to give drink to those who are thirsty. Blessed ourselves, our thirst quenched, our life stratified—we become in turn centers or sources of blessing to others. Are we indeed wells of water at which others quench their thirst? Does our life make us a blessing to all who come near to us? Do we give forth kindness, patience thoughtfulness, gentleness and all helpful influences? Or do we pour out bitterness, impatience, angry words, ill temper, selfishness, and thoughtlessness? (Devotional Hours with the Bible) Springs of Living Water - In 1896, Sherwood Eddy enthusiastically began his ministry as a missionary to India. But after just a year he was ready to quit—his energy depleted, his spirit broken. One morning after a sleepless night he begged God for help. Then he remembered the promise of Jesus to the woman at Jacob’s well, “The water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life” (Jn. 4:14). Eddy wrote, “I resolved to stop drawing on myself so constantly and begin instead drawing on God.” From then on he daily set aside time for prayerfully drinking from the well that never runs dry—the inexhaustible, soul-renewing wellspring of God’s grace. “Since that day,” Eddy said, “I have known not one hour of darkness and despair. The eternal God has been my refuge, and underneath me I have felt the everlasting arms.” (Dt 33:27) You may have to lose everything to find that God is everything you need. Woodrow Kroll - The importance of water can never be underestimated. Sixty percent of a lean, adult body is composed of water. A person can fast from food for 40 days or longer, but the human body can go only for about 7 days without water even under ideal circumstances. It's no wonder, then, that the Israelites were getting desperate. The wilderness was far from ideal. It was a hot, desert-like stretch of land dotted with huge rocks but little vegetation. Without water they would quickly perish. So God instructed Moses to strike a rock, and out of this flinty hardness flowed sufficient water to meet the needs of all the people and their livestock. The Bible writers later saw this rock as a symbol of Christ (1Cor 10:4). In the midst of a sin-parched life, Christ offers a well of living water that never runs dry, no matter how often we drink from it. Have you received Christ as your Savior? If not, trust Jesus today and you will never thirst again. If you want eternal water, come to Jesus who said, "Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life" (John 4:14). Spurgeon - The seasons change and thou changest, but thy Lord abides evermore the same, and the streams of his love are as deep, as broad and as full as ever. The heats of business cares and scorching trials make me need the cooling influences of the river of His grace; I may go at once and drink to the full from the inexhaustible fountain, for in summer and in winter it pours forth its flood… The tracks of ancient rivers have been found all dry and desolate, but the streams which take their rise on the mountains of divine sovereignty and infinite love shall ever be full to the brim. Spurgeon - “I in them.” — John 17:23 If such be the union which subsists between our souls and the person of our Lord, how deep and broad is the channel of our communion! This is no narrow pipe through which a thread-like stream may wind its way, it is a channel of amazing depth and breadth, along whose glorious length a ponderous volume of living water may roll its floods. C I Scofield offers an interesting spiritualized interpretation of these events, but the reader needs to be a good Berean - "The heart of this lesson is to be found in the contrast between Jacob’s well and the upspringing fountain. Jacob’s well is the Law, the old order of laborious ceremonial, the old legal system of personal merit by obedience. The water in the well was good, but the well was deep (Jn 4:11). Every drop gained from that well cost effort. Bucket by bucket, a little at a time—that was the law of the Well at its very best. But Jacob’s well had come to stand for mere traditionalism in religion, for mere intolerance of new light. “Art thou greater than our father Jacob?” was the woman’s answer to him who was speaking of the upspringing water. As a matter of fact, Jacob was the father of the Samaritans in no real sense. The Samaritans of our Lord’s time were a hybrid race, outside of real Judaism. Jesus was careful to set that right: “Ye worship ye know not what; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews.” Spiritually, the Samaritans drawing water from Jacob’s well were precisely in the position of modern Gentile believers who put themselves under the Law; conceiving that as Christians, the Law is their rule of life. That is the very error against which the Spirit by Paul wrote the Epistle to the Galatians. The upspringing fountain is, first of all, the Holy Spirit Himself, indwelling the believer; and then the nine-fold “fruit of the spirit,” which is “love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.” And that fruit of the Spirit is Christian character. Under the Law, character is sought to be formed by habits of obedience to a rule of life—thou shalt, and thou shalt not. The formula is: “Our choices make our habits, and our habits form our characters.” That is drawing water out of Jacob’s well. It is that “other” Gospel, of which the Apostle speaks in Galatians. It is Samaritanism—that is, neither pure Judaism nor pure Christianity. Christianity is not a kind of pump in Jacob’s well, helping us to draw life out of the law; it is the Spirit of life, and the life of the Spirit implanted in, and outflowing from the believer himself. That is the least understood fact of Christianity to-day, after nineteen hundred years of preaching. “The water that I shall give shall be in him a fountain of water, springing up into everlasting life.” The contrast between Jacob’s well and the upspringing fountain is just the contrast between Romans 7 and the Romans 8. In the former, a believer is in an agony of effort to do something under the law of merit, the goodness of God. In the later, a believer is, by the indwelling Spirit, made “free from the law,” and so finds that the righteous ness of the law is fulfilled (not “by,” but) “in” him as he walks after the Spirit. It is very remarkable that the Epistle to the Ephesians, after stating in the first three chapters the exalted position into which the believer is brought by grace through faith, in turning to the walk that should characterize one in such a position, gives as the test of the walk, and as that which gives it its distinctive character, not the law, but the new position: “Walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called”; “For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth.” The transformation of Christian experience from the average one of painfully drawing blessings out of Jacob’s well, to the triumphant one of bearing the fruit of the Spirit, is effected by two acts, one of faith, one of the will. The act of faith is just to believe that the Spirit does dwell within (1Cor 6:19). The act of the will is just to live in yieldedness to the Spirit. (Things New and Old: Old and New Testament Studies) John 4:15 The woman said to Him, "Sir, give me this water, so I will not be thirsty nor come all the way here to draw" BGT John 4:15 λέγει πρὸς αὐτὸν ἡ γυνή· κύριε, δός μοι τοῦτο τὸ ὕδωρ, ἵνα μὴ διψῶ μηδὲ διέρχωμαι ἐνθάδε ἀντλεῖν. NET John 4:15 The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water." NLT John 4:15 "Please, sir," the woman said, "give me this water! Then I'll never be thirsty again, and I won't have to come here to get water." ESV John 4:15 The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water." NIV John 4:15 The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water so that I won't get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water." GNT John 4:15 λέγει πρὸς αὐτὸν ἡ γυνή, Κύριε, δός μοι τοῦτο τὸ ὕδωρ, ἵνα μὴ διψῶ μηδὲ διέρχωμαι ἐνθάδε ἀντλεῖν. KJV John 4:15 The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw. YLT John 4:15 The woman saith unto him, 'Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come hither to draw.' ASV John 4:15 The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come all the way hither to draw. CSB John 4:15 "Sir," the woman said to Him, "give me this water so I won't get thirsty and come here to draw water." NKJ John 4:15 The woman said to Him, "Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw." NRS John 4:15 The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water." NAB John 4:15 The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water, so that I may not be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water." NJB John 4:15 'Sir,' said the woman, 'give me some of that water, so that I may never be thirsty or come here again to draw water.' GWN John 4:15 The woman told Jesus, "Sir, give me this water! Then I won't get thirsty or have to come here to get water." Jn 6:26,34; 17:2,3; Ps 4:6; Romans 6:23; 8:5; 1Corinthians 2:14; 1John 5:20; James 4:3 John 4 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries STILL SEEING LITERAL WATER The woman said to Him, "Sir, - Her response was reasonable, because this meant she would not have to come daily to draw water from the well. She is still looking at things from a physical perspective. Her eyes were blind to the spiritual truth Jesus was speaking.

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Spurgeon adds that "Thirst is an insatiable longing after that which is one of the most essential supports of life. There is no reasoning with it, no forgetting it, no despising it, no overcoming it by stoical indifference. Thirst will be heard; the whole man must yield to its power; even thus is it with that divine desire which the grace of God creates in regenerate men; only (Jesus) Himself can satisfy the craving of a soul really aroused by the Holy Spirit." Commenting on "a dry and thirsty land, where there is no water" he adds that "A weary place and a weary heart make the presence of (Jesus) the more desirable: if there be nothing below and nothing within to cheer, it is a thousand mercies that we may look up and find all we need (Heb 12:2, 1Pe 1:13, Col 3:1-2). How frequently have believers traversed in their experience this dry and thirsty land, where spiritual joys are things forgotten! And how truly can they testify that the only true necessity of that country is the near presence of their (beloved Jesus)! The absence of outward comforts can be borne with serenity when we walk with God; and the most lavish multiplication of them avails not when He withdraws. Only after God, therefore, let us pant. Let all desires be gathered into one. Seeking first the kingdom of God--all else shall be added unto us (Mt 6:33). (Ref) Nothing can quench our spiritual thirst but Jesus (Thus He says "come to ME!") The dirty wells of this world can never satisfy the deepest need of our soul, which can only be satiated by Jesus. As Augustine said You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you. Are you thirsty? The words of Horatius Bonar's great hymn beautifully testify of Christ the Smitten Rock and the Living Waters that flowed forth His pierced side on Calvary's Cross… I HEARD THE VOICE OF JESUS SAY “Behold, I freely give The living water; thirsty one Stoop down and drink and live.” I came to Jesus and I drank Of that life-giving stream; My thirst was quenched, my soul revived, And now I live in Him. Or listen to Michael Card's Version of "I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say" Are You Thirsty? - How simply our Lord presented the gospel. He often depicted the sinner's response to the salvation He offered in terms of everyday activities like eating, drinking, and receiving. During a gospel meeting in a town in Ohio, a man was greatly convicted of his need of the Lord Jesus. He concealed his feelings even from his wife, who was a lovely Christian. One evening when she was away, he became so anxious about his condition that he began pacing the floor. His daughter, noticing her father's agitation, asked him what was wrong. "Oh, nothing," he replied, trying in vain to relieve his pangs of conviction. The youngster, with the profound simplicity of childhood, said, "Daddy, if you were thirsty wouldn't you go and get a drink of water?" Her words startled the father. He thought of his thirsty soul, so parched and empty. Then he remembered what he had heard in the meeting—that the gospel was like a freely flowing fountain. He resisted no longer. That night he asked Jesus to save him. No matter how much we drink from the wells of wealth and achievement, we will only become more thirsty. Jesus, Thou Joy of loving hearts, Thou Fount of life, Thou Light of men, From the best bliss that earth imparts We turn unfilled to Thee again. Yes, Christ alone is the Water that quenches our parched spirit. He alone is the Bread that nourishes our hungry heart. He alone is the Truth that answers our mind’s deepest questionings. Real soul-satisfaction is found only in Christ. When Jesus is our sole satisfaction, We will have true satisfaction in our soul. J R Miller - The first desire of our hearts should be to receive the grace of Christ, that we many no longer be dependent upon the world's pleasures and comforts. It is a weary life which those live who have no source of good, save the little springs of earth which soon dry up. Cathy Miller has a wonderful discussion on the Jesus way of sharing the Good News entitled "Lessons at the Well" - Jesus’ encounter with a Samaritan woman shows us how to reach our unbelieving friends. Jesus’ motive was love. - "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life" (Jn. 3:16). Jesus knew why He had left heaven’s glory. It was to bring the good news of God’s unfailing love to a lost and lonely world. He came to "seek and to save what was lost" (Lk. 19:10). Motivated by His abounding love, Jesus entered into the conversation with the Samaritan woman. How can I check my motives in sharing with unbelievers? Here’s a short checklist that helps me examine my heart before God: •Am I trying to "fix" this person or love her? •Do I feel "puffed up" after spending time sharing my Bible knowledge with her? •What is my goal in meeting with her? •Who will get the glory for this effort? Jesus did not allow fear to stop Him - Jesus’ perfect love overshadowed any fear that might have kept Him from sharing His life with the woman at the well. Jesus had come to do God’s will (Jn. 6:38) and was willing to lay down His life for the salvation of the world. That commitment enabled Him to love boldly and openly… Why are we afraid to share our faith with unbelievers? Three fears top the list for many: personal rejection, not knowing the answers to their questions or challenges, or sounding like an unpolished salesperson. I’ve found that most of my fears in this area have to do with how I will look to others or how they will respond to me. When I’m available to God, I can take my eyes off myself and trust Him to love others through me in ways that are meaningful and lasting. Jesus came to the Samaritan woman. Jesus could have waited for this woman to seek Him out, but instead He took the initiative to relate to her. Though the woman’s heart was far from God and her life was entangled in sin, Jesus had a love message to deliver. Nothing would stop Him. The whole story of the Bible is one of God reaching out in love to His people and drawing close to meet with them. Are we watching for opportunities to share our faith one on one? Not everyone will be interested in learning about Jesus. But for some, the opportunity to meet in this way will feel like a cup of cold water on a simmering summer day. If we’re motivated by God’s love and have put aside our fears, we’ll be more likely to take a step closer to the unbelievers God places in our path. Jesus initiated the conversation with a question. Jesus asked, "Will you give me a drink?" (Jn. 4:7). He didn’t plunge into a complicated lecture, full of criticism or condemnation. He gently drew out the Samaritan woman by asking her for a drink of water. It can take time to establish trust and begin a meaningful dialogue with another person. Good questions draw nonbelievers into conversation and relationship. When we share our faith with unbelievers, do we ask questions that cause them to think and respond? Sometimes a direct question (asked in love!) can best stimulate deeper thinking. Do our neighbors see us as bulldozers for Christ, or do we trust God to gently lead the conversations we have with unbelievers? Jesus met with the Samaritan woman one on one. It’s amazing to us, with our jam-packed daily planners, that Jesus spent one-on-one time with anyone. It doesn’t seem to be the wisest use of His time. Why didn’t He rent the local outdoor amphitheater and throw together a mass gathering? Jesus was not concerned with efficiency but with individuals. His interaction with the woman at the well was a personal act of love. He saw the opportunity, took the time, humbled Himself, and gave of Himself sacrificially to reach one person with God’s love. Will we lay down our lives—or busy schedules—for one person? How would we have to reorder our time to carve out an hour for coffee with an unbelieving friend? Creating a safe place for unbelievers to explore their questions and God’s answers takes time, prayer, and heart. Jesus saw the unique value of the woman. The first thing the Samaritan woman noticed about Jesus was that He was a Jew. "You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?" (Jn. 4:9). But what Jesus saw was a woman whose value was not defined by race and culture or even by her immorality. This woman, who’d had five husbands and was living with another man, was surely rejected by her own culture as immoral. Lonely and hardened by sin, she had little or no value to the world. Jesus, however, was undeterred. There is no partiality with God (Ro. 2:11). He values each of us equally… Jesus spoke at the woman’s level. Jesus used language that conveyed the lifesaving gospel message in terms the woman at the well could readily understand. Watch how He tailored His words for her. The Samaritan woman said to him, "You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?" … Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water." "Sir," the woman said, "you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? … " Jesus answered, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water." Jn. 4:9–15 Using word pictures instead of theological jargon or Christianeze can help people understand unfamiliar concepts. When I talked to Laura about Jesus, I used the analogy of driving on the freeway. Life is like a freeway. You’re cruising along with everyone else, changing channels on your radio, feeling frustrated with the traffic, other drivers, and the sameness of it all. Then you notice an exit sign ahead that says, "Jesus." You’re interested in taking the "Jesus" exit, but in order to do so, you need to put on your turn signal, change lanes, and move your car to the exit. Knowing that the exit is ahead isn’t enough. Taking action is necessary… Jesus lovingly confronted the woman’s need and left the results with God. Jesus didn’t water down His message to make it more acceptable. He pointed out the woman’s sin. But because He did it without malice, she could agree with Him. "I can see that you are a prophet" (Jn. 4:19). Though she did not immediately profess her faith, the Samaritan woman later recounted her encounter with Jesus in public, influencing the whole town. Many from the town believed in Jesus because of the woman’s testimony. They urged Jesus to stay on and teach them, too. In the end, the townspeople said to the woman, "We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world" (Jn. 4:42). How can we share the full message of the Bible, including God’s view of sin and the possibility of eternal separation from Him, without driving away our listeners? While this is an important and natural question to ask, we must remember God’s promise to draw unbelievers to Himself. Jesus said, "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him" (Jn. 6:44). Our part in God’s work is to love unbelievers and hold out the truth to them. We may not see the results of our sharing. God, however, does see the continuing process in each life. He reveals Himself in His Word and through those who are willing to share His Word and His love with unbelievers. Only He knows how each individual heart responds to Him. We can trust God to do His part perfectly. (From Discipleship Journal, Issue 109 - January/February 1999 John 4:16 He *said to her, “Go, call your husband and come here.” BGT John 4:16 λέγει αὐτῇ· ὕπαγε φώνησον τὸν ἄνδρα σου καὶ ἐλθὲ ἐνθάδε. NET John 4:16 He said to her, "Go call your husband and come back here." NLT John 4:16 "Go and get your husband," Jesus told her. ESV John 4:16 Jesus said to her, "Go, call your husband, and come here." NIV John 4:16 He told her, "Go, call your husband and come back." GNT John 4:16 Λέγει αὐτῇ, Ὕπαγε φώνησον τὸν ἄνδρα σου καὶ ἐλθὲ ἐνθάδε. KJV John 4:16 Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither. YLT John 4:16 Jesus saith to her, 'Go, call thy husband, and come hither;' ASV John 4:16 Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither. CSB John 4:16 "Go call your husband," He told her, "and come back here." NKJ John 4:16 Jesus said to her, "Go, call your husband, and come here." NRS John 4:16 Jesus said to her, "Go, call your husband, and come back." NAB John 4:16 Jesus said to her, "Go call your husband and come back." NJB John 4:16 'Go and call your husband,' said Jesus to her, 'and come back here.' GWN John 4:16 Jesus told her, "Go to your husband, and bring him here." Go: Joh 4:18 1:42,47,48 2:24,25 21:17 Heb 4:13 Rev 2:23 John 4 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries JESUS THREE COMMANDS "HIT THE TARGET!" As Brian Bell says "He pulls out a full length mirror, forcing her to take a good hard look at herself!" Like the sobering reflection that greets you when you first wake up! The woman’s glimpse of herself makes her flush w/ embarrassment. She’ll try to tilt the mirror away, but Jesus makes her look head-on to face the emptiness of her heart. We all know the story of the Good Samaritan...this is the story of the Bad Samaritan! Jesus now goes for the heart of the woman's problem, the problem of her heart, and in so doing He begins to bring about conviction of her sin (cf role of Spirit in Jn 16:8) As Spurgeon says "Up till now she has not imbibed a single idea from Christ. The Lord has spoken to her in parables, but she has not seen through the thin veil, so she has missed his meaning. Now he fires another shot, and deals with her in another fashion. It was needful to arouse this woman to a sense of her sinfulness. It was no use putting on plasters where there was no knowledge of a sore, and no use attempting to fill the void where there was no feeling of emptiness. So first she must be brought low, she must be made to see herself in the glass of truth, and then she would begin to understand her need of salvation. Oftentimes, in seeking to bless people, the kindest way is not to build them up, but to pull them down; not to begin to encourage their hopes, but to let them see how hopeless their case is apart from sovereign grace." As John

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Spurgeon - Jesus about his Father’s business John 4:34 Satan took him to the brow of a hill, and offered him all the kingdoms of this world—a mightier dominion even than Caesar had—if he would bow down and worship him. That temptation was substantially repeated in Christ’s life a thousand times. You remember one practical instance as a specimen of the whole. “They would have taken him by force and would have made him a king.” And if he had but pleased to accept that offer, on the day when he rode into Jerusalem upon a colt, the foal of an ass, when all cried “Hosanna!” when the palm branches were waving, he had needed to have done nothing but just to have gone into the temple, to have commanded with authority the priest to pour the sacred oil publicly upon his head, and he would have been king of the Jews. Not with the mock title which he wore upon the cross, but with a real dignity he might have been monarch of nations. As for the Romans, his omnipotence could have swept away the intruders. He could have lifted up Judaea into a glory as great as the golden days of Solomon: he might have built Palmyras and Tadmors in the desert: he might have stormed Egypt and have taken Rome. There was no empire that could have resisted him. With a band of zealots such as that nation could have furnished, and with such a leader capable of working miracles walking at the head, the star of Judaea might have risen with resplendent light, and a visible kingdom might have come, and his will might have been done on earth, from the river unto the ends of the earth. But he came not to establish a carnal kingdom upon earth, else would his followers fight: he came to wear the thorn-crown, to bear our griefs and to carry our sorrows. Bob Gass (A Fresh Word for Today) - Be a Finisher “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.” (John 4:34NIV) Jesus was a “finisher,” and He wants you to be one, too. (See Hebrews 12:2.) His obsession was to complete His assignment. He thought it, He talked it, He lived it. He even said, “No man, having put his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the Kingdom of God” (Luke 9:62). Look out! Satan will always attack when something important is about to be birthed in your life. It may be the birth of a ministry, a revelation, or even a child that God will use. Your difficult child may be a child of destiny; that’s why they come under attack more often than your other children. They have an assignment which the enemy has discerned. Satan has tried to destroy me many times because he discerned my future. I just heard that the first Spanish edition of The Word for Today has been published. Again I’m reminded of his strategy—destroy the author, and the book will never be born. The battle is always over your future. Discern what the struggle in your life is about, and you’ll take a giant step towards victory. Sometimes you’ll be tempted to give up. Listen: “From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more” (John 6:66). You may have lost a few battles but the war is not over! You may have been wounded, but He’ll restore you and give you the grace to get back on your feet again. This time you’ll win. If you quit, God can do nothing more for you. STAND AND FIGHT, AND HE’LL COME TO YOUR AID. HE’LL GIVE YOU STRENGTH AND BRING YOU THROUGH IN TRIUMPH. HIS WORD TO YOU TODAY IS “BE A FINISHER!” William Arnot - THE FOOD THAT JESUS LOVED AND LIVED ON “Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.”—JOHN 4:34. A CERTAIN woman who lived in the Samaritan town of Sychar went out one day at noon to the well for water. Although the path between the town and the well was trodden by multitudes every day, the woman on this occasion had it all to herself. She seems to have had nobody in her company, and to have met nobody by the way. All the well-ordered households had laid in their supply of water early in the morning, or late in the evening of the previous day; for none who can otherwise arrange their plans will bear a burden through an unsheltered plain when the Syrian sun is high. Matters were not well arranged in this woman’s house: she led an irregular life in a disreputable home. On this account, probably, she came to the well at noon. Had she been ready when her neighbours came, she would have missed the living water. How deep are God’s purposes both in creation and providence, and how exactly wheel fits into wheel as the vast machinery moves majestically round! It is intimated at the beginning of the chapter that Jesus must needs go through Samaria. The necessity for taking this route lay deeper than the geography of Palestine. In the counsels of Eternal Mercy he must needs go through Samaria, that he might meet a sinner there; and she must needs go out to the well at noon, because only at that hour could she find on the well’s brink the Saviour of her soul. As she approaches the well-known spot, alike venerated for its hallowed associations and valued for its continued usefulness, she espies a way-worn stranger resting on the stones at the well’s mouth. Either suspecting him to be a Jew, and therefore avoiding intercourse, or bent only on her own errand without regarding his presence, she proceeded in the usual way to let down her bucket and to draw it up full from the cool depths. Ere she had time to transfer her treasure to her shoulder, in order to bear it to her home, the weary stranger accosted her with a simple request for a drink of water. Now that the ice was broken, and the intercourse begun, she enters freely into conversation; and, as the subject that came easiest to hand, plunged into the feud between Jews and Samaritans. So far from replying to her argument, the Lord instantly glided from the water with which he was refreshing his own parched lips, to the water which would be the life of her soul. He has requested the woman to give him drink. He has applied his parched lips to the vessel which she presents, and, perhaps in the pauses of his panting draughts, looking into her careworn, uneasy countenance, he mysteriously says, “I will give thee living water.” At a later stage of this episode the disciples, having brought some food from a shop in the town and offered it to their master, knowing that he must by this time be hungry, are surprised when he declines their offer. To account for his unexpected abstinence, they suggest the thought that some person during their absence might have given him food. Gliding off that common theme, What shall I eat?—rising and lifting them with himself up from earth to heaven, he replied, “My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.” Consider Messiah’s ministry of salvation, first, simply as a work which he performed; and next, as the food in which he delighted. I. His work:—“To do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.” He speaks here in his capacity of Son and servant. He has been sent to execute the Father’s will. In his essential nature he is one with the Father, and the purpose of redeeming lost men is his own as well as the Father’s; but here the Son speaks in accordance with his place as Mediator. From Father, Son, and Spirit, the one purpose issued; and to Father, Son, and Spirit, will the glory return, when many sons are brought into glory; but in the actual execution of the divine purpose, and during the currency of redemption, the Son of God, the Saviour, stands in a low place, and speaks as a servant charged with a specific mission, and engaged in performing a specific work. He is doing the will of the Father that sent him. What is the will—the desire of the Sender? You may learn it best by looking to the Sent. Look unto Jesus, if you would know the mind of God. He meant not evil to a fallen world when he sent his Son to dwell amongst us, clothed in our nature. The Gift reveals the Giver’s heart. Well may we take up the bright, blessed argument of Manoah’s wife, as we meditate on the incarnation, ministry, death, and resurrection of our Lord—well may we adopt faith’s strong argument, “If the Lord had meant to kill us, he would not have shown us such things as these.” Jesus himself has said, “No man can come unto me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him.” The Christ sent into the world is fitted to draw men to God, not to drive them away. The will of the Father toward the world corresponds with the Messenger who has been sent to accomplish it. God is love; and Christ came to embody divine love in the actual redemption of the lost. Oh, when will the thought spring up in the heart of a prodigal race, “I will arise, and go to my Father”? By the gift of the Son the Father has revealed his own heart; and they are without excuse who still count him hard, and keep at a distance. “To do the will of him that sent me:” the desire of God could not be carried into effect without Christ sent, the Saviour. As God made the world by his Word, he makes the world anew by the Word made flesh, and dwelling amongst us. The incarnation and dying of the Lord Jesus became the accomplishment of the Father’s merciful design. Intention was turned into fact. How precious are God’s thoughts towards us! But his thoughts found body in Christ crucified. Here lies the power to carry into effect the love that lay in the eternal covenant. “And to finish his work.” The work is not left half done. His work is perfect. Creation was completed ere God gave over his work and rested. It was all very good ere it left his hands. His next and more glorious work will be finished too. There will be no patches added after the children assemble in the Father’s house. This earth was complete as a habitation for humanity, ere the children were brought to it as their home. The mountains were all raised up, and the rivers all flowing in the valleys, and the sea confined within its capacious basin, and the air mixed and made up, suitable as breath for living creatures, clasping the globe round all its circumference. Then, and not sooner, did God make man in his own image. The home of the holy will be perfect when its inmates enter. All things are ready ere the message is sent round to bid the guests assemble. God’s works are all finished works. At the time that Jesus talked with the woman and with his disciples at Jacob's Well , the work which he had undertaken was not finished. The agony in the garden lay before him, and lay full in view; the hiding of the Father’s face, the cup of wrath; all the bearing for his people’s sin, and the Father’s righteousness, lay before him. This baptism he must yet be baptized with, and he was straitened till it should be accomplished. He hastened to the end. For the joy that was set before him, he endured the cross, despising the shame. II. His food:—To do the Father’s will and finish his work, he counted his bread. It is not enough to learn from the evangelic histories what Jesus did and suffered. It is not enough to examine his acts; we must look, as far as the Scriptures present an opening, into the secret motives that wrought in his heart. At Jacob's Well he was carrying forward his great mission as the Saviour of lost men: the twelve looked on, but they looked on as little children look on their father while he is preparing to accomplish some great work of skill. They saw each separate movement, but they could not comprehend the design. Not understanding the whole, they were baffled by the sight of the separate parts. “They marvelled that he talked with the woman.” Knowing full well all that the redemption of his people would bring upon himself, he longed for the work as for his daily bread. It is my meat to do his will, and finish his work. This word we can in some measure understand; for we know what the pain of hunger is, and what the delight of satisfying hunger with convenient food. I can in some measure comprehend the desire that burned in the breast of Jesus that day at Jacob's Well; for I have been hungry, and when hungry have been satisfied with bread. In this glass I can see reflected the nature and intensity of the Saviour’s eagerness to save. On one occasion Jeremiah was commanded to go down to the potter’s house, that he might there receive a message from the Lord; and the prophet soon learned the reason why the message was not communicated to him in his own house. It regarded the sovereignty of God in appointing the lot of his creatures, and Jeremiah could more easily understand the lesson while he stood by the potter’s wheel, and saw him making from one piece of clay a vessel unto honour and a vessel unto dishonour. Some lessons which God gives us can be more fully taken up in one position than in another. Some texts of Scripture may be most profitably read in a dark night, some beside a stormy sea, and some at the brink of an open grave. You can enter into the spirit of some texts more easily when you are young, and of others when you are old,—of some while you are joyful, and of others when you weep. Methinks this word of the Lord should be thought of when we are hungry, and anticipating the pleasure of enjoying our food. Like hunger was Christ’s appetite for saving work—like the satisfying of hunger is his joy when he is winning souls. What an agony is unappeased hunger! What contrivances will you adopt, what efforts will you make, what pain endure, in order to obtain bread! “Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life;” and food is life—the want of it death. A traveller lost his way in an Eastern desert. His provisions were exhausted, and he had already wandered about for several days without food, when he descried under a palm-tree on his track the marks of a recent encampment. He approached the spot tremulous with hope. He found a bag which the travellers had left behind, filled with something that appeared to be dates. He opened it eagerly, expecting to satisfy his hunger, when lo, it contained only pearls! He sat down and wept. What are pearls to a man who is dying for want of bread? Jesus is Lord of all. Those glorious stars that stud the heavens are all his. They are the jewels which belong to his crown. He values them; but they do not satisfy his soul. To Christ, these shining orbs are like the pearls to the fainting traveller in the desert. They are precious and pure, but he cannot live on them. Christ does not need to redeem those bright worlds and those unfallen angels, and they cannot therefore satisfy his appetite. To seek the strayed; to redeem the lost; to renew the fallen; to lay down his life for them,—this is his meat: and for this food he must pass those shining worlds. He must leave them, like the ninety-nine unstrayed sheep upon the mountain pastures, and go after the lost one, that when he gets it on his shoulders he may rejoice, with a joy unspeakable and full of glory. “Blessed are they that hunger; for they shall be filled.” This he said: this he felt. He experiences the truth of this saying to-day in the midst of the throne, while ten thousand times ten thousand of the saved are ministering before him. That fainting, hungry traveller by Jacob’s well, obtained a foretaste of his joy when the Samaritan woman received life from his hands; and his joy will be full when all the ransomed shall rise and reign with him upon his throne. Behold the man, fainting, hungry, under a midday sun at Jacob’s well! Behold the man, crowned with thorns and mocked at Jerusalem! Behold the man, as he bows his head upon the cross,—what has brought him to this? His appetite: it is that hunger for the doing of his Father’s loving will, and the finishing of his Father’s mighty work. It was his unquenchable appetite for saving, as for the bread of his life, that brought him to a fallen world, and left him under the curse that was due to sin. This appetite burned in his breast like fire. With this appetite unsatisfied, he would have counted heaven unhappy. Under the control of his own divine love, he left his throne, took upon himself the form of a servant, and suffered unto death, that he might feast upon the work of winning souls. The same feature of his character appeared when he stood on the Mount of Olives, and wept over Jerusalem. Son of God, why weepest thou? He weeps for hunger. He is like a hungry man in sight of food, but not within reach of it. It is in such a case that hunger gnaws like a worm in the breast. Oh, how he loves! How deeply and how persistently do the guilty misinterpret and misrepresent the heart of Christ! Men take the devils’ opinion of him, “Art thou come to torment us?” instead of the view which the true One gives of himself. It is difficult for us to take in the conception of Christ’s passionate desire to save, and yet retain a due sense of his omnipotence as God. We are apt to think that in such a case his power might have been put forth, as the immediate instrument of accomplishing all his desire. Might not the Almighty Deliverer have made short work with the saving of Jerusalem that day? Might he not have seized a whole cityful, as the angels seized Lot by the hand, and hurried them up to heaven? But this would not satisfy his soul; this is not food convenient for him. It is not pure. It was a gross and carnal conception that the prosperous man entertained, when he tried to feed his soul with the goods that he had laid up in a barn. Material acquisitions cannot satisfy and sustain spirit. Though the Lord Jesus has all power committed to him in heaven and in earth, he will not command stones to be made bread by a miracle to satisfy his hunger; neither will he lift a multitude to heaven by mere omnipotence. They who are drawn up to him for the satisfying of his soul, rise as the clouds rise from the sea, spontaneous and pure. Nothing shall enter that defileth. He hungers, and saving work is his food; but as with his servant Peter so with the Master himself,—nothing common or unclean hath at any time entered his lips. He must needs go through Samaria, not only because that province lay in his way, but because he was hungry, and in poor half-heathen Samaria lay the savoury meat which his soul loved. In the same manner he must needs pass through our nature and our world, as he goes from the glory of the eternity past to the glory of the eternity to come. It was not any physical necessity; for the Maker of all worlds might have found another path from glory to glory without visiting this shooting star. But he must needs pass through the abode of fallen humanity on his way to the throne of the kingdom, because he longed to save the lost with a longing like hunger, and here only could be found the food that would satisfy his soul. His own sovereign love laid the necessity upon himself. The sun, his creature, is under an inherent necessity of giving out light; so Christ, the light of the world, must needs give out the light of life, and therefore he casts himself in the way of a dark world, as the hungry seeks food and the thirsty makes his way towards water-springs. The Ethiopian found Christ in the desert, and went on his way rejoicing; but also Christ found the Ethiopian in the desert, and went on his way rejoicing that he had tasted his sweetest food. Within the limits prescribed by our capacity and our condition, the appetite of the Master may be experienced by the servants too, and they after their own way may be satisfied with the food that he loved so well. Our spiritual hunger is first a desire to get and then a desire to give salvation. It is in the second part of the process that the disciple enters in some measure into the joy of his Lord. Out of his own fulness the Lord gives. At first we are empty; but when we have obtained mercy, we shall experience a desire like an appetite to publish it. Oh that we were inoculated with that appetite for doing good that burned in the breast of the man Christ Jesus! We try to do some good, and then we slacken and leave off. When some providential call awakens us, we start into activity again for a season. This is not the way to work deliverance in the earth. The work is not effectually done unless we do it as the Master did it. When saving work is our meat, and idleness gnaws like the pain of hunger, we shall be sent unto our task and kept at it. An appetite is the unslumbering, faithful, effective task-master appointed by our Creator, in the material department, to see that we take our necessary food. When a task-master of the same order keeps our spirits on the stretch for saving work, the work will be vigorously prosecuted, and we shall never be long out of employment. (The Lesser Parables of our Lord) Jn 4:34 "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work." DUTY ALONE IS DRUDGERY; DUTY WITH LOVE IS DELIGHT. CONSCIENCE IS A SAFE GUIDE ONLY WHEN GUIDED BY GOD. John 4:35 “Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest. TLB Do you think the work of harvesting will not begin until the summer ends four months from now? Look around you! Vast fields of human souls are ripening all around us, and are ready now for reaping. BGT John 4:35 οὐχ ὑμεῖς λέγετε ὅτι ἔτι τετράμηνός ἐστιν καὶ ὁ θερισμὸς ἔρχεται; ἰδοὺ λέγω ὑμῖν, ἐπάρατε τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς ὑμῶν καὶ θεάσασθε τὰς χώρας ὅτι λευκαί εἰσιν πρὸς θερισμόν. ἤδη NET John 4:35 Don't you say, 'There are four more months and then comes the harvest?' I tell you, look up and see that the fields are already white for harvest! NLT John 4:35 You know the saying, 'Four months between planting and harvest.' But I say, wake up and look around. The fields are already ripe for harvest. ESV John 4:35 Do you not say, 'There are yet four months, then comes the harvest'? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest. NIV John 4:35 Do you not say, 'Four months more and then the harvest'? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. GNT John 4:35 οὐχ ὑμεῖς λέγετε ὅτι Ἔτι τετράμηνός ἐστιν καὶ ὁ θερισμὸς ἔρχεται; ἰδοὺ λέγω ὑμῖν, ἐπάρατε τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς ὑμῶν καὶ θεάσασθε τὰς χώρας ὅτι λευκαί εἰσιν πρὸς θερισμόν. ἤδη KJV John 4:35 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. YLT John 4:35 do not say that it is yet four months, and the harvest cometh; lo, I say to you, Lift up your eyes, and see the fields, that they are white unto harvest already. ASV John 4:35 Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh the harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields, that they are white already unto harvest. CSB John 4:35 "Don't you say, 'There are still four more months, then comes the harvest'? Listen to what I'm telling you: Open your eyes and look at the fields, for they are ready for harvest. NKJ John 4:35 "Do you not say,`There are still four months and then comes the harvest '? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest! NRS John 4:35 Do you not say, 'Four months more, then comes the harvest'? But I tell you, look around you, and see how the fields are ripe for harvesting. NAB John 4:35 Do you not say, 'In four months the harvest will be here'? I tell you, look up and see the fields ripe for the harvest. NJB John 4:35 Do you not have a saying: Four months and then the harvest? Well, I tell you, look around you, look at the fields; already they are white, ready for harvest! GWN John 4:35 "Don't you say, 'In four more months the harvest will be here'? I'm telling you to look and see that the fields are ready to be harvested. for : Joh 4:30 Mt 9:37,38 Lu 10:3 John 4 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries CULTIVATING A "SPIRITUAL HARVEST MINDSET" Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, and then comes the harvest’? - NIV = "ripe for harvest." CSB = "ready for harvest." Some think this was a quote of a current proverb (Tenny-EBC, Morris-NICNT-Jn, Barrett, Kostenberger, Carson, Comfort, Dods, et al). Some (Hendriksen) think the disciples had just made a statement about the grain fields around them and Jesus is responding to their comment. Either way the main point this statement makes is that in farming there is a period of waiting between the time the seed is sown and the time the crop is harvested. In other words there is a delay. Trail writes "What is the point of this verse? The point of the verse is to contrast the proverb/saying with the present situation—there was no period before harvest, the harvest was right now [EGT, TRT, WBC]. (An Exegetical Summary of John) HCSB says it this way - In agriculture there is always a considerable separation in time between sowing and harvesting. The disciples needed to realize that with the coming of Jesus, sowing (preaching) and reaping (conversions) coincided. The immediate reference ("white for harvest") may be to the approaching Samaritans (Jn 4:39-42). (BORROW HCSB Study Bible)

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Spurgeon - Fields white for harvest ‘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.’ John 4:35 Grind your sickles; you must go to work with such cutting truths as justification by faith, as the total ruin of mankind, as the hope that is laid up in the cross, as the energy of the Holy Spirit; and when you know these truths, and know how to use them, you shall then be made great reapers in the Master’s harvest. It is idle to say, ‘I will go,’ and then go with no tool in your hand. Get the truth; get a hold of it well, get it sharp and in good order, and who knows, under the blessing of God the Holy Spirit, what you may do! The next want of harvest is some close binders. When the wheat is cut down you must tie it up with sheaves. We want some of you who cannot preach, who cannot use the sickle, to go and gather up the wheat which falls under the sickle when it is used by others. Invite them to come into church fellowship; talk to them, get them into union with the people of God. And if you happen to be in the church yourselves, try to keep the church knit together in love. Bind the sheaves together. We cannot have good harvest work without loving hands to bind the people of God in one. Then we want beside these some to take the sheaves home. The church of God is the barn; it is the Master’s garner here; he has another garner yonder on the hill-top in heaven, but here we want you to assist in bringing them into the church of Christ. When God has saved them, try if you can get them to practise the ordinances of God, and to be joined with his people. And we want some of you, if you cannot do anything yourselves either in reaping, or binding, or bringing the sheaves home, at least by kind words and loving speeches to bring refreshments to the reapers. Charles Stanley - DISTURBING YOUR COMFORT ZONE Do you not say, “There are still four months and then comes the harvest”? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest! John 4:35 Francis Schaeffer, the late Christian thinker and theologian, said the two greatest enemies of the modern church in America are “personal peace and affluence.” He was describing the prevailing indifference that envelops the body of Christ today. Christians become complacent when they are preoccupied with meeting only their needs instead of reaching out to others. The church in America is wealthy and prosperous. But believers in many countries are imprisoned for their faith or punished with loss of their jobs. Christians in Africa and developing countries are poor. Wherever we live, there are emotional, spiritual, and physical needs, but we must first lift our eyes to the fields (John 4:35). Complacency is also nurtured when we settle for the wisdom of our age instead of becoming “fools for Christ’s sake” (1 Cor. 4:10 NASB). Paul said he had “become as the scum of the world, the dregs of all things” (1 Cor. 4:13). Following Christ calls for radical discipleship—denying self and discarding the wisdom of this world for the wisdom of God. Have you allowed God to disturb your comfort zone? Father, disturb my comfort zone. Change my focus from personal peace and affluence to the harvest fields of the world. Make me a radical disciple. Vance Havner - Get Your Head Up! It is a day of drooping heads and discouraged hearts. Apart from divine intervention, the world situation is absolutely hopeless. No one knows what to do. Even Christians are infected with the mood. "Why doesn't God do something? There are more heathen than ever. The gospel is not winning the world. It is going to the Communists." Even stout hearts fail for fear and many, like John the Baptist in prison, feel like asking our Lord: "Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?" (Matthew 11:3). We ought to get our heads up. Our Lord said: "And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh" (Luke 21:28). But have we not seen all these signs before? Yes, many of them separately and at different times, but never have they all converged simultaneously as now. Our Lord also said: "So also when you see these signs all taken together coming to pass, you may know of a surety that He is near, at the very doors" (Matthew 24:33, amplified new testament). The frightening headlines today mean one thing to this poor world and something entirely different to the Christian. He does not rejoice in the world's misery but he lifts up his head because he knows it means the redemption of this earth, racked with all the ravages of sin. It means that our bodies, with all their aches and pains, will soon be exchanged for new bodies like our Lord's. It means the sons of God will soon come into their own. Get your head up, brother! The wise men of this world shake their heads in perplexity, but the humblest Christian with a dollar Bible knows what time it is. He is not too excited over Communism and astronauts and nuclear war and the population explosion and all the passing fads that come and go. He knows that they are the dying gasps of an expiring age and that, when the kingdoms of this world have knocked each other out, the Lord will set up His rule. For that, the Christian lives every moment. He is not looking for something to happen; he is looking for Someone to come. We have another reason for getting our heads up. Our Lord said: "Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest" (John 4:35). It is not enough to watch the skies for His return. We have work to do. The returning Lord is also the reaping Lord and there are souls to be won. All around us are men and women who are strangers to the grace of God. There is an academic interest in prophecy that glories in our coming redemption but does nothing about the redemption of men and women today. We still have time to snatch some brands from the burning. The night has not yet come when no man can work. "Soon will the season of rescue be o'er" when men will say, "The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved" (Jeremiah 8:20). Get your head up! Communism, cocky and confident, has its head up, drunk with the wine of success and sure that it can conquer the world. The church is too often behind closed doors in fear. I am grieved to read and hear so much pessimism from Christian sources, so much hand-wringing among Christian leaders, as though our cause were doomed. Our Lord is doing what He came to do, but we are not doing what we were saved to do. We are not being conformed to the image of God's Son and we are not making disciples. It is redemption time and reaping time! Heads up to the challenge of the hour and the call of the harvest! "... it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed" (Romans 13:11). Jon Courson - John 4:35 See with me in your mind’s eye the Samaritan men to whom the woman had witnessed coming towards Jesus dressed in turbans and robes of white. What harvest was white and ready to reap? To which field was Jesus referring? The field of the Samaritans. The same is true today. The people in our culture who are ignored and forgotten, the ones no one else wants to be around, the ones others pass by—those are the ones who are ripe for the picking. We say, ‘How can we win the quarterback of the high school football team or the president of the company?’ when the real action lies with the Samaritans—the people that others aren’t interested in, the people who won’t help our business or gain us a reputation in ministry. I am not negating the importance of sharing with those whom the world esteems highly, but here we see our Lord’s wisdom in gleaning from a field which was already ripe. If you find witnessing difficult, reach out to the unlovely, to the unlovable, to the ignored person where you work, at your school, in your neighborhood. Talk to them about Jesus, and you’ll see they’re prime for harvest. Rick Renner - The Fields Are White Unto Harvest John 4:35 Once Denise and I and our team traveled by bus to conduct massive evangelistic campaigns in eight of the largest cities in the nation of Ukraine. Because we had been on television for many years in those particular eight cities, we were anticipating that thousands of people would attend these meetings. As we drove through the vast wheat fields in eastern Ukraine, the golden wheat waved this way and that as the gentle, late-summer winds blew across the landscape. It was so beautiful that Denise and I asked the driver to stop so we could get out of the bus and walk through the beautiful golden fields. As we stood in the midst of those gorgeous shelves of golden grain, we thought of the vast, spiritual harvest fields of the former Soviet Union where God had called our family and ministry. Of course, we were especially thinking about the harvest of souls we were praying to see in those upcoming meetings. As we stood in the middle of those beautiful fields of wheat, we looked at each other and quoted Jesus' words in John 4:35, which says, "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." When Jesus spoke these words, He was just outside the city of Sychar in Samaria. His disciples had gone to the city to find food, and Jesus had just met the woman at the well ( see John 4:1-27). Jesus' encounter with this woman was life-transforming. He spent a significant amount of time talking to her about her personal life, answering her spiritual questions, and treating her with a level of dignity that had rarely been afforded to her. It was the first seed Jesus ever sowed into the heart of a Samaritan. The woman was so moved by His compassion that when she returned to her village, she told the people, "Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?" (John 4:29). This woman so enthusiastically shared her testimony of Jesus that the entire village of Sychar went out of the city to find Him (John 4:30). Thus, from the moment Jesus first sowed His seed into the heart of this Samaritan woman to the time He reaped His first major harvest among the Samaritans would only be a matter of hours. This was indeed quite remarkable. Certainly it often takes quite a period of time to reap a sizable harvest of souls in any new region of the world. As the village of Sychar went out to meet Jesus, He and His disciples were on the outskirts of the city, where He was speaking to them about doing the work of God. From Jesus' words, it seems likely that He and His followers were standing near a wheat field at the time, similar to the one my wife and I stood in that day in the nation of Ukraine. As Jesus was speaking to His disciples, He was apparently standing in a position that enabled Him to have a wide view of the nearby wheat fields. Meanwhile, His disciples were so focused on what He was telling them that they were unaware of the streams of people coming from the village and making their way through the fields to where they were located. It was at this moment that Jesus told the disciples, "Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest...." Naturally speaking, it should take a minimum of four months for seed to be reaped as a full-grown harvest. But that time frame didn't apply in the case of the Samaritan woman. Seed had been sown into her heart just a short time earlier—yet it was already time to reap! That is why Jesus told his disciples, "... Behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest." When the disciples turned around and looked, they could see multitudes pushing through the vast wheat field as they made their way to Jesus. It must have been an amazing sight to the disciples. After all, this Samaritan woman had gone to her town only a few hours earlier, and already there was such a large response to her testimony! Jesus had only sown seed into one Samaritan woman's heart, but He was already reaping a massive harvest of souls. I want you to notice that Jesus said that "... they are white already to harvest." Jesus was not referring to the unripe wheat fields, but to the people who were coming to see Him. One scholar has noted that workers in small villages were known to wear white workers' garments. This village of workers was so affected by the Samaritan woman's testimony that they dropped what they were doing and immediately went to see Jesus, still dressed in their white workers' garments. When the Lord saw a crowd of people coming toward Him dressed in white, He didn't see white garments; He saw a harvest that was white and ready to be reaped among the Samaritans. As the crowd approached Jesus, He told the disciples, "And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together. And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth" (John 4:36, 37). Jesus was the One who sowed the first seed into the heart of the Samaritan woman, but now it was time to reap—and it requires many more hands to reap than it does to sow. Jesus was the Sower, but the harvest could not be fully reaped and retained without the help of His disciples. Jesus felt great joy as He watched this harvest of souls coming in so quickly. However, now it would also be the disciples' great joy to help Jesus swing the sickle and bring these souls to God. Jesus sowed the seed, but it was essential for the disciples to help Him reap. In John 4:38, Jesus said, "I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours." Jesus alone had sown the seed into the heart of the woman at the well. At the time He did this, His disciples were in the village looking for food. But now the disciples were privileged to participate in a huge reaping extravaganza for which they had done no work at all! They were literally entering into a harvest that was white and ready to be reaped because Jesus had taken the time to sow seed into a single person's heart. Spiritual harvest often comes more quickly than natural harvests. It may take four months for wheat to be ready to be reaped. However, don't think that it will always take a long time before you see people respond to the Word you sow into their hearts. The souls of men are often ready to be reaped for the Kingdom of God very quickly after the initial sowing. Also, please don't think that your role in sowing seed is small and insignificant. Remember, Jesus sowed a single seed into the heart of one person, yet that isolated, solitary event produced a harvest so huge that an entire village came to Jesus Christ. In the same way, the seed you sow into someone's heart today may be the very seed that produces the next massive harvest for the Kingdom of God! So the next time you find yourself talking to someone about Jesus Christ or sharing the truths of God's Word with a stranger, don't allow the devil to tell you that you're wasting your time. You may be planting the very seed that will bring salvation to an entire group of people. And when the harvest is ready to be reaped, don't be threatened by people who join you in the reaping process of what you have sown. Harvests always require more reapers than sowers, so be thankful that one plants and others come alongside to help you reap! As Denise and I finally stood on the stage to preach to the vast crowds that attended those meetings in Ukraine, I thanked God for giving us the awesome privilege of preaching to such huge numbers of people. But I also thanked Him for every single person who uses his or her own private life as a pulpit to share the seed of God's Word with people on the street and at work. Regardless of how or where the seed of God's Word is sown by believers, every seed sown is powerful and has an eternal effect. Never forget that fact as you go through your day using YOUR life as a pulpit for sowing the life-changing seed of the Gospel! MY PRAYER FOR TODAY Lord, I never realized the power that one single seed could make on such a large group of people. I have mistakenly thought that witnessing to one person was not as important as preaching to multitudes. Please forgive me for overlooking the power of a single seed sown into the human heart. Holy Spirit, I want to be ready when the harvest comes in—and that includes having enough friends and coworkers on hand to pitch in and help. So I ask You to dispatch a group of ready and willing workers who can step into the harvest field and assist me in bringing in the sheaves! I pray this in Jesus' name! MY CONFESSION FOR TODAY I confess that the seed I sow into people's hearts has the power to bring great change to entire groups of people. Every time I share the Word of God with people who don't know the Lord, a seed is planted in their hearts and minds that has the power to revolutionize their lives, their families, their friends, and even their entire cities. Every person I touch has the potential of taking the Gospel message further, thus creating a larger harvest for the Kingdom of God. Therefore, I am bold to speak to anyone whenever I see an open door of opportunity to tell the Good News of Jesus Christ! Standing By 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. John 4:35 A recent news story described a woman who drowned while trying to save her young child. What was so shocking was the reaction of the people around the lake. Apparently, no one jumped in to help the woman. Everyone watched. Most had a look of concern on their faces, but no one stopped to help. One man even boasted, "I got the whole thing on tape!" It is incomprehensible how a person could stand by and watch a person die, yet as believers we're often guilty of this same crime. Millions of people around the world are "drowning" in sin. They are powerless to rescue themselves. There is someone who can rescue them from perishing. Yet, we, who know the Savior, often turn a deaf ear to the cries of those in danger. These people are all around us. The gas station attendant where we frequently fill up. The lady at the cleaners. The neighbor next door. The co-worker at the office. The aunt or uncle that visits during the holidays. They are all people within our reach and it is our duty to point them to Christ. Those who aren't saved may not accept the Gospel message. If we present it to them in a clear, concise manner, we have done our duty. We have sown a seed that may or may not be harvested later on. I challenge you today. Are you warning the people in your world who are in peril? Or are you a spectator standing by? The salvation of a single soul is more important than the production or preservation of all the epics and tragedies of the world. C.S. Lewis The New Harvest They are the firstfruits to the Lord. —Leviticus 23:17 I was visiting a friend in a Midwest farming community during harvest season. Huge combines churned through his fields, depositing soybeans into waiting wagons. My friend leaped onto one of the wagons to check out his “firstfruits.” What he saw was encouraging. Despite the worst corn crop in 40 years, the soybeans gave him reason to thank God for a good harvest. Pentecost, which we remember today, has its roots in an agricultural setting. Fifty days after Passover, Jewish farmers celebrated the Feast of Weeks (Lev. 23:15-22), in which they recognized the hand of God who gave the crops. Centuries later, the Lord chose the Day of Pentecost to celebrate a new harvest. Fifty days from Passover, the Holy Spirit came on a small group of believers and moved through Jerusalem, bringing in a different kind of crop. These firstfruits were men, women, and children added to the church (Acts 2:38-46). Pentecost’s historical farming connection reminds us that a world of lost souls is ready for harvest (John 4:35). As believers in Christ, we are God’s fruit, but we are commanded to be His farmers as well. Without the Holy Spirit there would be no harvest. Message For All Seasons By Joanie Yoder Lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest! —John 4:35 I’m a novice at growing flowers. But I’ve learned to appreciate the difference between annuals and perennials. Every spring I usually buy trays of annual bedding plants. Once in the ground, they immediately take root. Their brief life always ends with the autumn frosts, and the soil lies barren until my next annual spring planting. I prefer to plant perennial flowers. They go on living from year to year, and regularly bloom, flower, and reproduce. Writer Eugene Harrison describes the evangelistic efforts of New Testament believers as “perennial” in nature. They didn’t pour all their energies into once-a-year evangelistic efforts. Instead, according to Harrison, sharing the good news of Christ was “the supreme concern of every believer, every day in the year, in every place.” In Acts 5:42 and 8:4, the scope of their witness is clear: They shared Christ and the gospel in the temple, in their homes, and in the marketplace, using the Spirit-given methods of preaching, teaching, and personal testimony. Jesus taught that the season for spiritual harvest is always today (John 4:35). And the apostle Paul said that “now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2). Help us, Lord, to be a lifeline To a dying world today, Bringing hope to hopeless people As we share salvation's way. —Sper Witnessing for Christ is never out of season. John 4:27-39 We Need Eyes To See By Joanie Yoder Lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest! —John 4:35 A business executive, after hearing an inspiring sermon, said to the preacher, “Your sermon was excellent. However, if you were one of my employees, I would have to fire you.” Then he explained, “You’ve sold me completely, but you didn’t close the deal.” The preacher was convincing, but he didn’t call for a commitment. Writer Jill Briscoe had a similar experience in the Bible study she was leading. A shy young mother had been coming to the study for weeks. Jill would pray every time she drove this woman home: Lord, don’t let me rush her into making a decision. Help me to give her time to understand. One day, in exasperation, the woman asked, “Jill, when are you going to help me find Christ? I’ve been praying that you would have the courage to speak to me!” With Jill’s help, the woman tearfully confessed her sin and asked Christ to be her Savior. A week later, her husband received Christ and they began serving the Lord together. Jesus taught that harvest time can be anytime (John 4:35). He demonstrated this as He helped a Samaritan woman trust Him as her Savior. Lord, lay some soul upon my heart, And love that soul through me; And may I nobly do my part To win that soul for Thee. —Tucker The next person you meet may need to meet Jesus. John 4:36 “Already he who reaps is receiving wages and is gathering fruit for life eternal; so that he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. TLB - The reapers will be paid good wages and will be gathering eternal souls into the granaries of heaven! What joys await the sower and the reaper, both together!

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Spurgeon - The nobleman’s faith’ John 4:46–47, 50 Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, though only a spark, yet influenced this nobleman. It led him to take a considerable journey to find our Lord. From Capernaum he went up the hills to Cana to plead with Jesus. And he went personally. This is the more remarkable because he was a man of rank and position. I do not know whether he was Chuza, Herod’s steward. I should not wonder if he was, because we do not hear of any other noble family being on the side of Christ, but we do hear of ‘the wife of Chuza Herod’s steward,’ as amongst those that ‘ministered unto him of their substance.’ We hear also of Manaen, foster-brother to Herod. It may have been one of these; noblemen were scarce birds in the church then, as indeed they are now. We expect, therefore, to hear of such a person as this again; as we have honourable mention of those two, we are not rash in conjecturing that this nobleman may have been one of them. Now noblemen do not, as a rule, think of taking journeys themselves while they have so many servants at their disposal, but this nobleman came himself to Christ and personally ‘besought him that he would come down, and heal his son’. If your faith is weak in some respects, yet strong enough in others to drive you personally to Christ to pray to him, it is faith of an acceptable order. If it leads you to pray to our Lord with all your heart, beseeching him, then your faith is of the right sort. If it leads you to beseech Christ to have mercy upon you, it is the faith which saves the soul. It may be little ‘as a grain of mustard seed’, but its importunity shows that there is pungency in it; it is true mustard. Spurgeon - The hospital of waiters visited with the gospel John 4:46–54 A crowd of waiters are waiting for dreams and visions. Perhaps you think these are very few, but they are not so few as you may imagine. They have a notion that perhaps one of these nights they will have such a vivid dream of judgment that they will wake up alarmed, or such a bright vision of heaven that they will wake up fascinated by it. They have been reading in somebody’s biography that he saw something in the air, or heard a voice, or had a text of Scripture ‘laid home to him’, as it is called; they are waiting until the like signs and wonders shall happen to them. I bear them witness that they are very anxious for this thing to happen, but their mistake is that they want it at all or expect it to happen, and they lie there by the Pool of Bethesda waiting and waiting and waiting, as though they could not believe God, but they could believe in a dream. They could not confide in the teaching of Holy Scripture, but they could believe in a voice which they imagined to be sounding in their ears, though it might be the chirp of a bird or nothing at all. They could trust their imagination, but they cannot trust the word of God as it is written in the inspired volume. They want something over and above the sure word of testimony; the witness of God is not enough for them. They demand the witness of fancy, or the witness of feeling, and they are waiting in the porch by the pool until that comes. What is this but an insulting unbelief? Is not the Lord to be believed until a sign or a wonder shall corroborate his testimony? Such waiting provokes the Most High. John 4:47 When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and was imploring Him to come down and heal his son; for he was at the point of death. BGT John 4:47 οὗτος ἀκούσας ὅτι Ἰησοῦς ἥκει ἐκ τῆς Ἰουδαίας εἰς τὴν Γαλιλαίαν ἀπῆλθεν πρὸς αὐτὸν καὶ ἠρώτα ἵνα καταβῇ καὶ ἰάσηται αὐτοῦ τὸν υἱόν, ἤμελλεν γὰρ ἀποθνῄσκειν. NET John 4:47 When he heard that Jesus had come back from Judea to Galilee, he went to him and begged him to come down and heal his son, who was about to die. NLT John 4:47 When he heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went and begged Jesus to come to Capernaum to heal his son, who was about to die. ESV John 4:47 When this man heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went to him and asked him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. NIV John 4:47 When this man heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea, he went to him and begged him to come and heal his son, who was close to death. GNT John 4:47 οὗτος ἀκούσας ὅτι Ἰησοῦς ἥκει ἐκ τῆς Ἰουδαίας εἰς τὴν Γαλιλαίαν ἀπῆλθεν πρὸς αὐτὸν καὶ ἠρώτα ἵνα καταβῇ καὶ ἰάσηται αὐτοῦ τὸν υἱόν, ἤμελλεν γὰρ ἀποθνῄσκειν. KJV John 4:47 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. YLT John 4:47 he, having heard that Jesus is come out of Judea to Galilee, went away unto him, and was asking him that he may come down and may heal his son, for he was about to die. ASV John 4:47 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. CSB John 4:47 When this man heard that Jesus had come from Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and pleaded with Him to come down and heal his son, for he was about to die. NKJ John 4:47 When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and implored Him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. NRS John 4:47 When he heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went and begged him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. NAB John 4:47 When he heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea, he went to him and asked him to come down and heal his son, who was near death. NJB John 4:47 hearing that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judaea, he went and asked him to come and cure his son, as he was at the point of death. GWN John 4:47 The official heard that Jesus had returned from Judea to Galilee. So he went to Jesus and asked him to go to Capernaum with him to heal his son who was about to die. he heard : Mk 2:1-3 6:55,56 10:47 that he: Joh 11:21,32 Ps 46:1 Lu 7:6-8 8:41 Ac 9:38 John 4 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries Healing the royal official's son by Joseph-Marie Vien, 1752. THE OFFICIAL HUMBLES HIMSELF INSISTENTLY BEGGING The official's perseverance in prayer (so to speak) recalls Jesus' words in Mt 7:7+ "Ask (present imperative - keep on asking!), and it will be given to you; seek (present imperative ), and you will find; knock (present imperative ), and it will be opened to you." This royal official gives us all a good pattern we should seek to emulate! When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee - Jesus clearly had a reputation as a Healer. "He had heard the people talk about the miracles in Jerusalem and the first one in Cana." (Robertson John 4 Word Pictures in the NT) He went to Him and was imploring Him to come down and heal his son - The royal official traveled what is estimated to be about 20 miles (some sources say 16 mi) because he was desperate and as we often say "at the end of his rope." He has a need and sees Jesus as the One Who can fill that need. Imploring (erotao) is in the imperfect tense indicating again and again he was begging, making earnest appeal for Jesus to come to his son's aid (began to beg and kept it up). Come down (in aorist tense) conveys the idea of come down at once. "God blessed the nobleman because he was also persistent." (Mattoon)

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Spurgeon - A word with those who wait for signs and wonders Luke 11:29 Some of you who are not believing are seeking signs which others have never had. I will give you an instance or two. There stood the prodigal son feeding the swine, so hungry that ‘he would fain have filled his belly with the husks’; the thought crossed his mind, ‘I will arise and go to my father’. What sign had he? He sets off to seek his father’s face. What sign had he, I say? There does not appear to have been even an invitation sent, but he sought his father and he found forgiveness. Take another case. Christ has likened seeking souls to the widow who sought help of the unjust judge. She cried to him; she continued to cry to him, until she gained her suit; but what sign had she? If any sign, it was all negative, all from the opposite quarter, yet on she went. Look at the Canaanitish woman. She desired that her daughter might be healed. What sign had she? Christ said, ‘It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs’. Instead of a sign to help her it was a hard word to discourage her, but yet she won her suit. And why not you, my hearers, why not you? The poor woman who touched the hem of Christ’s garment in the crowd, what sign had she of his willingness to help her? It was her own earnest, intense desire, and her faith in Jesus that made her touch the hem out of which the virtue came. Wait not then for signs to be given to you when they have not been given to others, but do as others have done, and obtain the like blessing. Larry Richards - The Dilemma of Faith (John 4:43–54) Nobody ever said having faith was easy. Certainly the Apostle John didn’t say so. In fact, this story shows just how difficult it is. Just glance through the story and you see first of all a frantic father hurrying to find Jesus. His son was close to death, and the only one who could possibly save him was Jesus! When he finally did find Jesus, Christ didn’t seem very sympathetic. “Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders,” He said, “you will never believe.” The saying wasn’t a rebuke. Jesus didn’t question the frantic father’s motives. In fact, the saying is intended to stimulate faith! For when the father begged Him again to come, Jesus simply said, “You may go. Your son will live” (v. 50). This is the dilemma of faith. God, in response to our desperate appeals, speaks to us and says, “You may go.” In other words, “It’s done. Go home and you’ll find the sick healed.” And what is there for us to do? If we keep begging Jesus to come with us, we display unbelief. But to go means to head home with no evidence at all that the promised healing has taken place! How terrifying a choice. Do we keep asking after Jesus has said, “You may go”? Or do we leave, trembling, believing despite the lack of proof? The royal official made the choice of faith. On the way excited messengers met him. His son was recovering. The fever had broken—at the exact hour Jesus had told him, “You may go.” Faith is still very much the same. We come to God desperate for salvation. And all He says is, “You may go.” The work is done, your healing accomplished. And, though we lack evidence then, if we are wise we turn, in faith, and walk away as Jesus said. But later we discover to our joy just how completely Jesus has performed His miracle within. Personal Application Believe. And go. Quotable “It is the heart that senses God, and not the reason. That is what faith is. God perceptible to the heart and not to reason.”—Blaise Pascal (Borrow The 365 day devotional commentary page 768) James Smith - Handfuls of Purpose - SEEING AND BELIEVING “Then said Jesus unto him, Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe” (John 4:48). This does seem a strange way of treating a wealthy man who had travelled twenty-five miles to seek healing for his son! Fancy, hastening all that distance in an effort to secure the aid of the Healer, and then to meet with such a rebuff! It was a nobleman that was in distress—the rich have afflictions as well as the poor; it was a boy who was sick unto death—illness is no respecter of persons, coming to young and old alike; it was a father in dead earnest about bringing the Saviour and his son into touch with one another. Oh, that all parents were as anxious and determined to do the same. Yes, we must admit that there does seem a certain amount of severity in our Lord’s reply. But there was a needs-be for such conduct. What was wrong with the nobleman? Some think the gentle Saviour was severe because He came to the Lord not for the Lord’s sake, but for his son’s sake, driven there by the strong constraint of an outward need, rather than drawn by the desire of the soul. No doubt there is a little truth in this explanation, yet it does not fully meet the difficulty. The satisfying answer is our Lord’s anxiety to purify and strengthen faith. The rich man possessed faith in the Lord Jesus, but only a faith in His presence, and not in His Word; it was a faith which rested only on the miraculous. The Lord was seeking to show His pupil that His word was as effectual as His presence, and to lead him into the deep meaning of the Old Testament utterance, “He sent His Word and healed them.” Thus our Lord’s conduct was designed, not to extinguish that little spark of faith, but to blow it into a fierce flame; and the method adopted had the desired result. “If God wants me to believe, why does He not put a sign in the sky?” That is how some speak and think. Our Lord’s treatment of this nobleman is the answer. True faith is a matter of the heart, and not merely of the head; and real faith is called into being not by any miraculous sign but by the Word of the Lord. Besides, as a very eminent writer so forcibly points out: “If belief was to depend upon a visible sign in the sky, a standing miracle would have to be worked in each generation to give that generation a fair chance with the others—a supposition which is contrary to all of God’s ways of working. It is, further, extremely doubtful whether such a sign would accomplish its object. ‘If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rose from the dead.’ We can imagine without much effort, the brilliant article in the next magazine, which would prove that it was a comet; and even if the explanation did not satisfy the intellect, such a mere ‘nine days’ wonder’ would have no effect upon the heart.” How precious then is faith in the estimation of the Lord, and what pains He takes to produce, purify, and strengthen it. That may be one explanation of many of His strange dealings with the sons of men. His great longing is to lead us deeper into the life of faith. “But what is faith?” Strange that, though folk exercise faith every day of their lives, yet they are frequently making this inquiry. The first occurrence of the word “Believe” is in Genesis 15:6. Abraham “Believed in the Lord; and He counted it to him for righteousness.” According to a competent authority, the word “believed” literally means “to steady oneself by leaning on something or someone.” This gives a vivid illustration of what faith really is—“as a man lays his trembling hand on a staff, so we lay our weak and changeable selves on God’s strength.” Pray notice (1) that true faith has God for its origin and object. “Abraham believed God.” In John 6 the Lord calls it a “work of God,” hinting at a deep thought that it is God who gives the true inclination of mind to trust. Then (2) notice that faith is an act and not a mere sentiment. It is not something that comes to a man apart from himself, and outside of himself, without reference to him. There is a very close connection between faith and the will. In the strictest sense of the word faith is the exercise of our most inmost nature—it is an effort of the will. Three stages may be discerned in faith, for faith is a progressive act or series of acts. The first stage is a belief in Him, a mere acceptance of His revelation. But there is no saving element in it. It is possible for a person to have this kind of faith and yet be lost. True faith is something more than this. It is imperative that the next stage be reached, viz., a belief on Him. This is where the saving element comes in. If I am weary and tired and believe that the chair is able to bear my weight, merely believing that will not rest me, I must believe on it, let it take my weight. And what then? There is a third stage, believing into the Lord. I may believe on a chair or staff, and be rested, but the chair and staff and I remain separated and distinct. Not so with Christ and the soul. Believing on Him will lead to believing into Him, becoming one with Him, united to him by ties of life and love. What a blessed union is this! Words cannot describe it fully. Let us pray: “My faith looks up to Thee, Thou Lamb of Calvary, Saviour Divine.” Robert Neighbor - The Sign of the Healing of the Nobleman's Son "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" (John 4:50). Cana of Galilee was the location of the first sign; it was there that Christ turned the water into wine. The second sign recorded by John was given also while Christ was at Cana. 1. The sickness of the nobleman's son. The nobleman lived in Capernaum; his son was sick. When Christ had come into Galilee, the nobleman besought Him that He would come down and heal his son, for he was nigh unto death. "Then said Jesus unto him, Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe" (vs. 48). The nobleman, however, continued to plead: "Sir, come down ere my child die" (vs. 49). 2. The son restored. Jesus did not answer the nobleman's request by going down with him to Capernaum, He simply said: "Go thy way; thy son liveth" (vs. 50). The nobleman's faith remained unshaken. Evidently it had not occurred to him that Christ could heal his son unless He went down to Capernaum, where his son was sick. In answer to Christ's command, however, he obeyed, and as he went his way, his servants met him, and said: "Thy son liveth" (vs. 51). As a result of his healing, the nobleman himself believed, and also his whole house. 3. The sign set forth. This miracle, following as it does the miracle of the turning of the water into wine, is the more significant. The empty waterpots, as we have before seen, set forth the hollowness, the lifelessness of the Jew's religion. As a result, we read in John 4, of how Christ turned to Samaria, and of how the city of Sychar heard His Word. Christ testified unto the Jews saying: "A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country" (Matt. 13:57; see John 4:44). The Jews had refused Him; the Gentiles had received Him, Israel was sick; the nobleman's son was healed. The type may be used to typify the wonderful power of Christ to save the Gentiles. (1) Christ turned from Israel. He was refused, rejected, and despised of His own people. (2) Christ turned to the Gentiles. During this age, the time of Israel's temporary setting aside, God is reaching out His hand to the lost of every nation. The healing of the nobleman's son must have stirred the hearts of the Jews to jealousy. So also must the fact that Christ has turned to the Gentiles, provoke the Jews to jealousy. The sign proclaims the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God; it demonstrates that they who believe in Him receive life through His name. The signs to follow, clearly show Christ turning again to Israel and her final redemption. Spurgeon - Characteristics of faith John 4:48 Trust in the Lord; wait patiently for him; cast all thy confidence where he put all thy sins, namely, upon Christ Jesus alone, and thou shalt be saved, with or without any of these signs and wonders. I am afraid some Christians in London have fallen into the same error of wanting to see signs and wonders. They have been meeting together in special prayer-meetings to seek for a revival; and because people have not dropped down in a fainting fit, and have not screamed and made a noise, perhaps they have thought the revival has not come. Oh that we had eyes to see God’s gifts in the way God chooses to give them! Where the Spirit works in the soul, we are always glad to see true conversion, and if he chooses to work in the church in London, we shall be glad to see it. If men’s hearts are renewed, what matter it though they do not scream out. If their consciences are quickened, what matters it though they do not fall into a fit; if they do but find Christ, who is to regret that they do not lie for five or six weeks motionless and senseless. Take it without the signs and wonders. For my part I have no craving for them. Let me see God’s work done in God’s own way—a true and thorough revival, but the signs and wonders we can readily dispense with, for they are certainly not demanded by the faithful, and they will only be the laughing-stock of the faithless. Spurgeon - Evening - A craving for miracles was a symptom of the sickly condition of men’s minds in our Lord’s day; they refused solid nourishment and longed for mere wonders. The Gospel that they so greatly needed they would not have; the miracles that Jesus did not always choose to give they eagerly demanded. Even today there are many who must see signs and wonders or they will not believe. Some have said in their heart, “I must feel deep horror of soul or I never will believe in Jesus.” But what if you never should feel it, as probably you never will? Will you go to hell out of spite against God because He did not treat you like someone else? One has said to himself, “If I had a dream, or if I could feel a sudden jolt of something, then I would believe.” You undeserving mortals dream that my Lord is to be dictated to by you! You are beggars at His gate, asking for mercy, and you are drawing up rules and regulations as to how He will give that mercy. Do you think that He will submit to this? My Master has a generous spirit, but He also has a royal heart. He rejects all orders and maintains His sovereignty of action. Why, dear reader, if this is your case, do you crave signs and wonders? Isn’t the Gospel its own sign and wonder? Isn’t this the miracle of miracles, that “God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish”? Surely that precious word, “Let the one who desires take the water of life without price” and that solemn promise, “Whoever comes to me I will never cast out”2are better than signs and wonders! A truthful Savior ought to be believed. He is truth itself. Why will you ask the One who cannot lie for proof? The devils themselves declared Him to be the Son of God; will you mistrust Him? John 4:49 The royal official *said to Him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” BGT John 4:49 λέγει πρὸς αὐτὸν ὁ βασιλικός· κύριε, κατάβηθι πρὶν ἀποθανεῖν τὸ παιδίον μου. NET John 4:49 "Sir," the official said to him, "come down before my child dies." NLT John 4:49 The official pleaded, "Lord, please come now before my little boy dies." ESV John 4:49 The official said to him, "Sir, come down before my child dies." NIV John 4:49 The royal official said, "Sir, come down before my child dies." GNT John 4:49 λέγει πρὸς αὐτὸν ὁ βασιλικός, Κύριε, κατάβηθι πρὶν ἀποθανεῖν τὸ παιδίον μου. KJV John 4:49 The nobleman saith unto him, Sir, come down ere my child die. YLT John 4:49 The courtier saith unto him, 'Sir, come down before my child die;' ASV John 4:49 The nobleman saith unto him, Sir, come down ere my child die. CSB John 4:49 "Sir," the official said to Him, "come down before my boy dies!" NKJ John 4:49 The nobleman said to Him, "Sir, come down before my child dies!" NRS John 4:49 The official said to him, "Sir, come down before my little boy dies." NAB John 4:49 The royal official said to him, "Sir, come down before my child dies." NJB John 4:49 'Sir,' answered the official, 'come down before my child dies.' GWN John 4:49 The official said to him, "Sir, come with me before my little boy dies." come: Ps 40:17 88:10-12 Mk 5:23,35,36 John 4 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries THE OFFICIAL'S PERSISTENT APPEAL The royal official *said to Him, “Sir, come down before my child dies - Child is paidion a diminutive meaning literally "my little one" which adds a touch of tenderness. Sir is kurios a respectful greeting which is found 4 times in John 4 (Jn 4:11, 15, 19, 49). Merrill Tenney - The use of the aorist tense of “die” (apothanein) to describe the impending crisis is in contrast with the present tense in Jn 4:47 (apothnēskein), which describes the progress of the illness. This indicates that the case was desperate. (EBC) Grant Osborne comments that "the official demonstrated only a desperate hope that a miracle might save his son—not true faith in Jesus. Unlike the centurion in Matthew 8:8, he thought Jesus could only heal if he came to the boy; there was no faith in Jesus’ healing word. As in Jn 2:23–25, Jesus denounced those who only believe when they “see miraculous signs and wonders.” Wonderment centered on the sensational will never suffice for genuine faith in the “Savior of the world” (Jn 4:42). This was also a call to the official to find true faith. (See The Gospel of John) Rod Mattoon - This father urges Jesus to accompany him to his home, lest his son should die. He has a confident faith in Christ. The father makes two mistakes in his thinking. (1) He felt Jesus had to go to Capernaum to save his son. (2) If the boy was already dead, he felt it would be too late. We would have made the same assumptions too. This nobleman demonstrated more faith than many today. Many Christians show little confidence in the Lord they claim as their God. This nobleman is confident that the Lord can heal his son. Do you have a confident faith? Do you have the kind of faith which says, "The Lord can do it! He can take care of it!" W E Vine - The Second Sign After the two days He goes to Galilee, where the people received Him because they had seen the things He did in Jerusalem. It did not mean that they honored Him. He knew they would not (v. 44), but He did not go there to get that, He went to bear witness. And He bore witness by another sign. The “second sign” which Christ did in Galilee, the healing of the “nobleman’s” son, has at least this significance, that it marks a striking difference between the ground upon which faith was now exercised and that which created faith in the heart of the Samaritan woman and her fellow townsfolk. This nobleman (or rather, king’s officer, R.V., margin, an official under Herod Antipas, a tetrarch who held his father’s title of king) urged Him to come and heal his dying son. His faith rested upon the signs and wonders wrought by Christ, news of which had reached him from Judaea (v. 47). That this was so is clear from the Lord’s remonstrance, “Except ye see signs and wonders ye will not believe.” A faith based on miracles was not of such value as that manifested by the woman, which was the result, not of news of His wonder workings in Judaea, but of His own testimony and teaching. She and the other Samaritans believed because of the truth He spoke; the officer rested his hopes upon Christ’s miraculous acts. The Lord would not reject his faith, but He found less pleasure in that which rested on His power to deliver from calamity than in that which rested in His own person, and was established by His character and teaching. Christ did not go to the sickbed to accomplish the healing and receive acknowledgment as acting in the capacity of a healer. He simply said, “Go thy way, thy son liveth,” and the man departed believing. The different words used to describe the sick lad are characteristic: the father speaks of him as his paidion (v. 49), a term of endearment; the servants use the word pais, a boy, a term of ordinary familiarity (v. 51); the Lord and the writer John call him huios, “son,” a term of dignity. John 4:50 Jesus *said to him, “Go; your son lives.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and started off. BGT John 4:50 λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ Ἰησοῦς· πορεύου, ὁ υἱός σου ζῇ. ἐπίστευσεν ὁ ἄνθρωπος τῷ λόγῳ ὃν εἶπεν αὐτῷ ὁ Ἰησοῦς καὶ ἐπορεύετο. NET John 4:50 Jesus told him, "Go home; your son will live." The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and set off for home. NLT John 4:50 Then Jesus told him, "Go back home. Your son will live!" And the man believed what Jesus said and started home. ESV John 4:50 Jesus said to him, "Go; your son will live." The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went on his way. NIV John 4:50 Jesus replied, "You may go. Your son will live." The man took Jesus at his word and departed. GNT John 4:50 λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ Ἰησοῦς, Πορεύου, ὁ υἱός σου ζῇ. ἐπίστευσεν ὁ ἄνθρωπος τῷ λόγῳ ὃν εἶπεν αὐτῷ ὁ Ἰησοῦς καὶ ἐπορεύετο. KJV John 4:50 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. YLT John 4:50 Jesus saith to him, 'Be going on; thy son doth live.' And the man believed the word that Jesus said to him, and was going on, ASV John 4:50 Jesus saith unto him, Go thy way; thy son liveth. The man believed the word that Jesus spake unto him, and he went his way. CSB John 4:50 "Go," Jesus told him, "your son will live." The man believed what Jesus said to him and departed. NKJ John 4:50 Jesus said to him, "Go your way; your son lives." So the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and he went his way. NRS John 4:50 Jesus said to him, "Go; your son will live." The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and started on his way. NAB John 4:50 Jesus said to him, "You may go; your son will live." The man believed what Jesus said to him and left. NJB John 4:50 'Go home,' said Jesus, 'your son will live.' The man believed what Jesus had said and went on his way home; GWN John 4:50 Jesus told him, "Go home. Your son will live." The man believed what Jesus told him and left. Go (KJV): Joh 11:40 1Ki 17:13-15 Mt 8:13 Mk 7:29,30 9:23,24 Lu 17:14 Ac 14:9,10 Ro 4:20,21 Heb 11:19 John 4 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries Jesus said to him, “Go (present imperative) your son lives.” - Jesus did not agree to return to Capernaum with the official, but would do an even more powerful miracle. “Thy son is living,” and will not now die, Jesus means. Words too good and gracious to be true. His son is healed without Jesus even going to Capernaum, “absent treatment” so to speak, but without the cure being absent." (Robertson John 4 Word Pictures in the NT)

João 4

Spurgeon - It is a rare sight to see the great ones of the earth coming to Jesus; but they must come as well as the poorest, if they would be blest. Related Resource: Are faith healers for real? What did Jesus mean when He told people, “Your faith has made you well”? Stephen Olford - “The man believed the word.” – John 4:50 Here is certainly a good example of expectant faith. The Lord simply said to him, “Your son lives” (v. 51) and he believed the Word. The result was that his son was healed. (ED: DO NOT MISUNDERSTAND, HIS SON WAS HEALED BY THE POWER OF JESUS, NOT BY THE MAN'S FAITH.) This is the source of real spiritual blessing – namely, believing and claiming the promises of God. There must be expectant faith, however. James says, “Let not that man [who wavers in the prayer of faith] suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord” (James 1:7). Expectant faith is the key to the verse which says, “Ask, and you will receive” (John 16:24). O Lord help me, I pray, to believe Your Word even as this man did. Amen. Vance Havner - "Go Thy Way" John 4:43-54 THE healing of the nobleman's son (John 4:43-54) brings to us certain precious truths that apply along the entire range of experience. Our Lord was a prophet without honor in His own country (a statement declared in each of the Gospels), so we may take heart if we fare similarly. So He comes into Galilee, and a nobleman besought Him for the healing of his son. Our Lord tests him by saying: "Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe." It is a mark of most of us today that we are "from Missouri" and still demand visible evidences before we believe. How much more blessed, our Lord told Thomas, are they who have not seen, yet believe (John 20:29). The man continues to plead for help, and Jesus tells him, "Go thy way; thy son liveth." That probably was not the way the man expected it to be done, but he believed and went his way—and the miracle took place at that moment. There are times when we do not see our prayer answered as we expected, visibly, right before our eyes. We are merely told to go our way and trust God for the rest, like the lepers who, as they went, were cleansed (Luke 17:14). We wanted things to happen at once, but our orders are to go trusting and leave the rest with God. Can you so trust Him, going on when to all appearances nothing has changed, "yet believing"? The nobleman reaches home and finds the wonder wrought—and wrought at the same moment that the Lord said, "Go thy way." Observe that we read twice that the nobleman believed—once in verse 50, when our Lord sent him on his way, and again in verse 53, when he reached home and found the boy healed. He believed first because of Christ's word, as we are plainly told, and the second time because of Christ's work. There is a faith that takes God at His word before we see any wonder wrought; then there is a deeper faith, a surety, that comes when we behold His work. The first faith depends upon promise; the second grows out of performance. If we have enough faith to do His will, we shall know of the doctrine. We shall be as the Samaritans who first believed the word of the woman, then believed upon their own experience (John 4:42). I have thought of that nobleman on his way home. What doubts may have assailed him! How he might have said: "Suppose I am mistaken? How do I know this will take place: I certainly do not feel any different!" It seems hard that our Lord did not go along with this troubled man, but He was teaching him to know that to believe is to see. Many times we wish the Lord would "go along" with us when we are in trouble—in some visible sign of His love and care—but, as with Martha and Mary, He tarries in the same place where He is. Ah, it is only that we might know that His word is enough to go our way upon... and that when He gives us His word, He surely will follow it with His work. Do you believe Him enough to "go your way" though no sign is given, trusting the evidence to await you at the end of the venture of faith rather than at the beginning? Mind you, the miracle was performed when the man believed, and so it ever is, but the visible evidence often lies further on. Believe God's Word, and you will believe again in the certainty of His work. Streams in the Desert - (John 4:50.) “When ye pray, believe.” (Mark 11:24.) WHEN there is a matter that requires definite prayer, pray till you believe God, until with unfeigned lips you can thank Him for the answer. If the answer still tarries outwardly, do not pray for it in such a way that it is evident that you are not definitely believing for it. Such a prayer in place of being a help will be a hindrance; and when you are finished praying, you will find that your faith has weakened or has entirely gone. The urgency that you felt to offer this kind of prayer is clearly from self and Satan. It may not be wrong to mention the matter in question to the Lord again, if He is keeping you waiting, but be sure you do so in such a way that it implies faith. Do not pray yourself out of faith. You may tell Him that you are waiting and that you are still believing Him and therefore praise Him for the answer. There is nothing that so fully clinches faith as to be so sure of the answer that you can thank God for it. Prayers that pray us out of faith deny both God’s promise in His Word and also His whisper “Yes,” that He gave us in our hearts. Such prayers are but the expression of the unrest of one’s heart, and unrest implies unbelief in reference to the answer to prayer. “For we which have believed do enter into rest” (Heb. 4:3). This prayer that prays ourselves out of faith frequently arises from centering our thoughts on the difficulty rather than on God’s promise. Abraham “considered not his own body,” “he staggered not at the promise of God” (Rom. 4:19, Rom. 4:20). May we watch and pray that we enter not into temptation of praying ourselves out of faith.—C. H. P. Faith is not a sense, nor sight, nor reason, but a taking God at His Word.—Evans. The beginning of anxiety is the end of faith, and the beginning of true faith is the end of anxiety.—George Mueller. You will never learn faith in comfortable surroundings. God gives us the promises in a quiet hour; God seals our covenants with great and gracious words, then He steps back and waits to see how much we believe; then He lets the tempter come, and the test seems to contradict all that He has spoken. It is then that faith wins its crown. That is the time to look up through the storm, and among the trembling, frightened seamen cry, “I believe God that it shall be even as it was told me.” “Believe and trust; through stars and suns, Through life and death, through soul and sense, His wise, paternal purpose runs; The darkness of His Providence Is starlit with Divine intents.” GOD’S MEDICINE JOHN 4:50 WHAT BENEFITS AFFLICTION CAN CONFER on the soul! We read that anxiety about a son led the nobleman to Christ, in order to obtain help in time of need. Once brought into Christ's company, he learned a lesson of priceless value. In the end, "He believed, and his whole house." All this, be it remembered, hinged upon the son's sickness. If the nobleman's son had never been ill, his father might have lived and died in his sins. Affliction is one of God's medicines. By it He often teaches lessons which would be learned in no other way. By it He often draws souls away from sin and the world, which would otherwise have perished everlastingly. Let us beware of murmuring in the time of trouble. Let us settle it firmly in our minds that there is a meaning, a needs-be and a message from God in every sorrow that falls upon us. There are no lessons so useful as those learned in the school of affliction. Christ's word is as good as Christ's presence. We read that Jesus did not come down to Capernaum to see the sick young man, but only spoke the work: "Thy son liveth." Almighty power went with that little sentence. That very hour the patient began to amend. Christ only spoke and the cure was done. Christ only commanded and the deadly disease stood fast. The fact before us is singularly full of comfort. It gives enormous value to every promise of mercy, grace and peace which ever fell from Christ's lips. He that by faith has laid hold on some word of Christ has got his feet upon a rock. What Christ has said, he is able to do, and what he has undertaken, he will never fail to make good. The sinner who has really reposed his soul on the word of the Lord Jesus Christ is safe to all eternity. He could not be safer, if he saw the book of life and his own name written in it. J. C. RYLE John 4:51 As he was now going down, his slaves met him, saying that his son was living. BGT John 4:51 ἤδη δὲ αὐτοῦ καταβαίνοντος οἱ δοῦλοι αὐτοῦ ὑπήντησαν αὐτῷ λέγοντες ὅτι ὁ παῖς αὐτοῦ ζῇ. NET John 4:51 While he was on his way down, his slaves met him and told him that his son was going to live. NLT John 4:51 While the man was on his way, some of his servants met him with the news that his son was alive and well. ESV John 4:51 As he was going down, his servants met him and told him that his son was recovering. NIV John 4:51 While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living. GNT John 4:51 ἤδη δὲ αὐτοῦ καταβαίνοντος οἱ δοῦλοι αὐτοῦ ὑπήντησαν αὐτῷ λέγοντες ὅτι ὁ παῖς αὐτοῦ ζῇ. KJV John 4:51 And as he was now going down, his servants met him, and told him, saying, Thy son liveth. YLT John 4:51 and he now going down, his servants met him, and told, saying -- 'Thy child doth live;' ASV John 4:51 And as he was now going down, his servants met him, saying, that his son lived. CSB John 4:51 While he was still going down, his slaves met him saying that his boy was alive. NKJ John 4:51 And as he was now going down, his servants met him and told him, saying, "Your son lives!" NRS John 4:51 As he was going down, his slaves met him and told him that his child was alive. NAB John 4:51 While he was on his way back, his slaves met him and told him that his boy would live. NJB John 4:51 and while he was still on the way his servants met him with the news that his boy was alive. GWN John 4:51 While the official was on his way to Capernaum, his servants met him and told him that his boy was alive. Thy (KJV): Joh 4:50,53 1Ki 17:23 John 4 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries THE BLESSING OF OBEDIENCE As he was now going down - "Going to Capernaum from Cana, one must go east across the Galilean hills and then descend to the Sea of Galilee. The twenty-mile journey could not be made in a single day. The use of the description "he was now going down" shows the author was familiar with Palestinian geography." (Mattoon) His slaves (doulos) met him, saying that his son was living - His slaves (more than one) indicates he was a rich man. Despite his riches and his position, he had sought Jesus, humbled himself, believed Jesus and obeyed Jesus and he was rewarded for his faith. John 4:52 So he inquired of them the hour when he began to get better. Then they said to him, “Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.” BGT John 4:52 ἐπύθετο οὖν τὴν ὥραν παρ᾽ αὐτῶν ἐν ᾗ κομψότερον ἔσχεν· εἶπαν οὖν αὐτῷ ὅτι ἐχθὲς ὥραν ἑβδόμην ἀφῆκεν αὐτὸν ὁ πυρετός. NET John 4:52 So he asked them the time when his condition began to improve, and they told him, "Yesterday at one o'clock in the afternoon the fever left him." NLT John 4:52 He asked them when the boy had begun to get better, and they replied, "Yesterday afternoon at one o'clock his fever suddenly disappeared!" ESV John 4:52 So he asked them the hour when he began to get better, and they said to him, "Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him." NIV John 4:52 When he inquired as to the time when his son got better, they said to him, "The fever left him yesterday at the seventh hour." GNT John 4:52 ἐπύθετο οὖν τὴν ὥραν παρ᾽ αὐτῶν ἐν ᾗ κομψότερον ἔσχεν· εἶπαν οὖν αὐτῷ ὅτι Ἐχθὲς ὥραν ἑβδόμην ἀφῆκεν αὐτὸν ὁ πυρετός. KJV John 4:52 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. YLT John 4:52 he inquired then of them the hour in which he became better, and they said to him -- 'Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him;' ASV John 4:52 So he inquired of them the hour when he began to amend. They said therefore unto him, Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him. CSB John 4:52 He asked them at what time he got better. "Yesterday at seven in the morning the fever left him," they answered. NKJ John 4:52 Then he inquired of them the hour when he got better. And they said to him, "Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him." NRS John 4:52 So he asked them the hour when he began to recover, and they said to him, "Yesterday at one in the afternoon the fever left him." NAB John 4:52 He asked them when he began to recover. They told him, "The fever left him yesterday, about one in the afternoon." NJB John 4:52 He asked them when the boy had begun to recover. They replied, 'The fever left him yesterday at the seventh hour.' GWN John 4:52 The official asked them at what time his son got better. His servants told him, "The fever left him yesterday evening at seven o'clock." John 4 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries THE TIMING OF THE MIRACLE So he inquired of them the hour when he began to get better. Then they said to him, “Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.” - Fever left him is literally "sent him away." If Roman time seventh hour would have been 7 PM but 1 PM if by Jewish time. Clearly this was no accident but a miracle wrought by the words of Jesus some 20 miles away!

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Spurgeon - It is true that it was the nearest way, yet he might have gone round about; but he would not do so, for there were souls in Samaria who were to be blessed by his presence. He had a constraint upon him, an inward impulse, so that “He must needs go through Samaria.” Dear friends, whenever you feel the drawings of the Spirit in any particular direction, do not resist them, but yield yourself entirely to his gracious influence, even as your Lord did. Boa - God has divine appointments. He didn’t necessarily leave Judea with any fixed intention of ministering in Samaria, He just planned to pass through but the Spirit will always blow wherever He wishes. True messengers of God are never subject to fixed programs and to prejudices. We need to keep that in mind for ourselves. You don’t know what you’re called to do. You don’t know what ministry you’re going to have and very often your greatest moment might be something that was not planned- something may appear to be an interruption or something that might not seem very productive. (John - Chapter 4) Rich Cathers makes an interesting comment on going from ministering to many, now to one - Ministry, not numbers It’s easy in ministry to fall into the trap of comparing yourself with other ministries. One of the first ways that pastors measure themselves is by comparing the size of their churches to the other guy. Yet here Jesus purposely pulls out of the “horserace”. He quits the game. Jesus’ priority was actual ministry, actually impacting lives, not being the biggest church on the block. You see this in the life of the early church, as they learned to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. (Ed comment: And although it does not state it in the text, there is little doubt that Jesus is led about by the Holy Spirit - cp Mt 4:1, Lk 4:1, 14, Acts 10:37-39) Philip was an evangelist, having great success in the land of Samaria. (Acts 8:5-6NKJV) Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ to them. {6} And the multitudes with one accord heeded the things spoken by Philip, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. It was during this time of great success that God changed Philip’s direction: (Acts 8:26NKJV) Now an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, "Arise and go toward the south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza." This is desert. God would have an appointment with one person for Philip, just like Jesus will have an appointment with a single individual. We might just miss the boat if we begin to think that success in life or success in ministry is all about big numbers. I think it’s probably more important that we learn to have the heart of God, that we would be willing to do the smaller, quieter thing, even if it only involves one small, seemingly insignificant person. (John 4:1-14) Pritchard on pass through Samaria - Geography is all-important in understanding this story. In Jesus’ day there were three regions stacked on top of one another. There was Galilee in the north, Samaria in the middle, and Judea in the south. The easiest and quickest way to get to Galilee from Judea was to go due north right through Samaria. Jesus had to go through Samaria —and so must we! Ray

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Spurgeon - What does a thirsty man do to get rid of his thirst? He drinks. Perhaps there is no better representation of faith in all the Word of God than that. To drink is to receive-to take in the refreshing draught-and that is all. A man’s face may be unwashed, but yet he can drink; he may be a very unworthy character, but yet a draught of water will remove his thirst. Drinking is such a remarkably easy thing, it is even more simple than eating.” (Good News for Thirsty Souls) LIQUID WATER VS LIVING WATER Living water - Jesus uses this phrase again in John 7:38 to refer to the Holy Spirit flowing into, through and out from (so to speak) the believer. In the context of the arid water starved nation of Israel (and Samaria) the expression "living water" conveys the highly desirable water flowing fresh from springs (as it "bubbled" from the ground it seemed alive!), in contrast to the still, stagnant water in cisterns (cp this sense in Ge 26:19 = "flowing water" where Hebrew for "flowing" = chay = alive, life, live and Lxx = zao = living; Lev 14:6 = "running water" - also chay and zao.) In the Wilderness Wanderings, God (Jesus) had provided living water from a rock (which Paul says was a "spiritual rock" = Christ - 1Cor 10:3) as in Nu 20:8-11. A Jew familiar with the OT Scriptures would have (or should have) understood that the Lord Himself was the spiritual fountain or source for in Jeremiah, Jehovah lamented the poor "water" choices of His people declaring “My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain (Lxx = pege = same word for "well" Jesus used in Jn 4:14) of living waters, to hew for themselves cisterns, Broken cisterns That can hold no water." (Jer 2:13) Again in Jeremiah we read words Jews should have been familiar with - "O LORD, the hope of Israel, All who forsake You will be put to shame. Those who turn away on earth will be written down, Because they have forsaken the fountain (Lxx = pege = same word for "well" Jesus used in Jn 4:14) of living water, even the LORD." (Jeremiah 17:13) Spurgeon - The Samaritan woman "had caught the Lord’s meaning so far as the perpetuity of the water was concerned, but still she did not know what the living water was. It was all a riddle to her, as I am afraid it is to some of you. There is many a Doctor of Divinity who cannot explain what the living water is."… Oh, that I might be like a well of living waters in my speech at all times; and that you, my beloved brethren and sisters in Christ, whenever you are dealing with others, might be a well of living waters to every thirsty soul! Speak of Jesus wherever you go; talk of Jesus whenever you can. You have been shut up, and Christ has been in you; now be opened to give forth to others what he has given you… Hence he will always be contented. He who has grace in his heart is a happy man; he grows more and more satisfied with the grace as it wells up increasingly in living power in his character and life. Oh, if you have never received that living water, may God give it to you just now! You shall never regret receiving it; but you shall rejoice over it evermore. Jesus was clearly speaking metaphorically, accusing the Jews in Jeremiah of forsaking and foregoing the "spiritual water" that gives true life in lieu of putrid "religious water" that only brings death to one's soul! So here in John 4 Jesus is stating to the woman that He Himself is the Source of this life giving water, but she misunderstood Him to be speaking of fresh, flowing, physical water as from a spring or fountain (Gk = pege). As an aside some Rabbinic teachings associated the provision of water in the OT passages with the coming of the Messiah: “As the former redeemer made a well to rise [cf. Nu. 21:17–18], so will the latter Redeemer bring up water” (Eccl. Rab. 1:9). Henry Alford on living water - Designedly used in a double sense by our Lord, that the woman may lay hold of the material meaning, and by it be awakened to the higher (spiritual) one. The words bring with them, and in our Lord’s inner meaning involved, the performance of all such prophetic promises as Ezekiel 36:25; Zechariah 13:1 (cp Jer 2:13); but, as regarded the woman, the ordinary sense was that intended for her to fasten on, which she does accordingly. On the question, how this living water could be now given, before Jesus was glorified, see John 7:38-39-note. (Greek Testament Critical Exegetical Commentary) Augustine - Water issuing from a spring is what is commonly called living water. Water collected from rain in pools and cisterns is not called living water. It may have originally flowed from a spring; yet if it collects in some place and is left to stand without any connection to its source, separated, as it were, from the channel of the spring. It is not called “living water.” Water is designated as “living” when it is taken as it flows. This is the kind of water that was in that fountain. Tractates on the Gospel of John 15.12.21 A T

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Spurgeon - Morning, October 6 Go To Evening Reading - “Whosoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst.” — John 4:14 - He who is a believer in Jesus finds enough in his Lord to satisfy him now, and to content him for evermore. The believer is not the man whose days are weary for want of comfort, and whose nights are long from absence of heart-cheering thought, for he finds in religion (Christ) such a spring of joy, such a fountain of consolation, that he is content and happy. Put him in a dungeon and he will find good company; place him in a barren wilderness, he will eat the bread of heaven; drive him away from friendship, he will meet the “friend that sticketh closer than a brother.” Blast all his gourds, and he will find shadow beneath the Rock of Ages; sap the foundation of his earthly hopes, but his heart will still be fixed, trusting in the Lord. The heart is as insatiable as the grave till Jesus enters it, and then it is a cup full to overflowing. There is such a fulness in Christ that he alone is the believer’s all. The true saint is so completely satisfied with the all-sufficiency of Jesus that he thirsts no more—except it be for deeper draughts of the living fountain. In that sweet manner, believer, shalt thou thirst; it shall not be a thirst of pain, but of loving desire; thou wilt find it a sweet thing to be panting after a fuller enjoyment of Jesus’ love. One in days of yore said, “I have been sinking my bucket down into the well full often, but now my thirst after Jesus has become so insatiable, that I long to put the well itself to my lips, and drink right on.” Is this the feeling of thine heart now, believer? Dost thou feel that all thy desires are satisfied in Jesus, and that thou hast no want now, but to know more of him, and to have closer fellowship with him? Then come continually to the fountain, and take of the water of life freely. Jesus will never think you take too much, but will ever welcome you, saying, “Drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved.” (Morning and Evening) ><>><>><> Quenching the Eternal Thirst - Many years ago, a crew of Peruvian sailors were heading up the Amazon River when they happened upon an unusual sight. A Spanish ship was anchored off the coast and all the sailors were stretched out weakly on the deck of the ship. As the Peruvians drew closer, they saw that the Spaniards were in terrible physical condition. They looked as if they were one step away from death, their lips parched and swollen. Here, in this ship, these Spanish sailors were literally dying of thirst. "Can we help you," shouted the Peruvians? The Spaniards cried out, "Water! Water! We need fresh water!" The Peruvian sailors, surprised at this request, told them to lower their buckets and help themselves. The Spaniards, fearing they'd been misunderstood cried back, "No, no we need FRESH water!" Again the Peruvians told the Spanish sailors to lower their buckets. Finally, the sailors did as the Peruvian sailors commanded and when their buckets were brought up to the surface, they discovered fresh water. Little did they know that they were at the mouth of the fresh-water Amazon River. All they had to do was take a drink and their thirst would be quenched. Jesus Christ offers Living Water to quench man's spiritual thirst. Man doesn't have to do anything but drink this Water. Sadly, many will die thirsty, because they do not know about Jesus Christ, the Living Water. It is our job to tell them. (James Scudder - Living Water) Oswald Chambers - Springs of benignity - The water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water. John 4:14. The picture Our Lord gives is not that of a channel but a fountain. ‘Be being filled,’ and the sweetness of vital relationship to Jesus will flow out of the saint as lavishly as it is imparted to him. If you find your life is not flowing out as it should, you are to blame; something has obstructed the flow. Keep right at the Source, and—you will be blessed personally? No, out of you will flow rivers of living water, irrepressible life. We are to be centres through which Jesus can flow as rivers of living water in blessing to everyone. Some of us are like the Dead Sea, always taking in but never giving out, because we are not rightly related to the Lord Jesus. As surely as we receive from Him, He will pour out through us, and in the measure He is not pouring out, there is a defect in our relationship to Him. Is there anything between you and Jesus Christ? Is there anything that hinders your belief in Him? If not, Jesus says, out of you will flow rivers of living water. It is not a blessing passed on, not an experience stated, but a river continually flowing. Keep at the Source, guard well your belief in Jesus Christ and your relationship to Him, and there will be a steady flow for other lives, no dryness and no deadness. Is it not too extravagant to say that out of an individual believer, rivers are going to flow? ‘I do not see the rivers,’ you say. Never look at yourself from the standpoint of—‘Who am I?’ In the history of God’s work you will nearly always find that it has started from the obscure, the unknown, the ignored, but the steadfastly true to Jesus Christ. ><>><>><> James Denney - The decay of the outward man in the godless is a melancholy spectacle, for it is the decay of everything; in the Christian it does not touch that life which is hid with Christ in God, and which is in the soul itself a well of water springing up to life eternal. ><>><>><> J R Miller on a well of water springing up to eternal life -Thus every Christian becomes a fountain of blessing in this world. As from the great Fountain, Christ, all the streams of life flow—so from the little fountain in the heart of each believer, flows a stream of the water of life to give drink to those who are thirsty. Blessed ourselves, our thirst quenched, our life stratified—we become in turn centers or sources of blessing to others. Are we indeed wells of water at which others quench their thirst? Does our life make us a blessing to all who come near to us? Do we give forth kindness, patience thoughtfulness, gentleness and all helpful influences? Or do we pour out bitterness, impatience, angry words, ill temper, selfishness, and thoughtlessness? (Devotional Hours with the Bible) ><>><>><> Springs of Living Water - In 1896, Sherwood Eddy enthusiastically began his ministry as a missionary to India. But after just a year he was ready to quit—his energy depleted, his spirit broken. One morning after a sleepless night he begged God for help. Then he remembered the promise of Jesus to the woman at Jacob’s well, “The water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life” (Jn. 4:14). Eddy wrote, “I resolved to stop drawing on myself so constantly and begin instead drawing on God.” From then on he daily set aside time for prayerfully drinking from the well that never runs dry—the inexhaustible, soul-renewing wellspring of God’s grace. “Since that day,” Eddy said, “I have known not one hour of darkness and despair. The eternal God has been my refuge, and underneath me I have felt the everlasting arms.” (Dt 33:27) You may have to lose everything to find that God is everything you need. ><>><>><> Woodrow Kroll - The importance of water can never be underestimated. Sixty percent of a lean, adult body is composed of water. A person can fast from food for 40 days or longer, but the human body can go only for about 7 days without water even under ideal circumstances. It's no wonder, then, that the Israelites were getting desperate. The wilderness was far from ideal. It was a hot, desert-like stretch of land dotted with huge rocks but little vegetation. Without water they would quickly perish. So God instructed Moses to strike a rock, and out of this flinty hardness flowed sufficient water to meet the needs of all the people and their livestock. The Bible writers later saw this rock as a symbol of Christ (1Cor 10:4). In the midst of a sin-parched life, Christ offers a well of living water that never runs dry, no matter how often we drink from it. Have you received Christ as your Savior? If not, trust Jesus today and you will never thirst again. If you want eternal water, come to Jesus who said, "Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life" (John 4:14). ><>><>><> Beth Moore - Christ's encounter with the woman at the well introduces us to some realities of life we desperately need to remember: 1) Our insatiable need or craving for too much of anything is symptomatic of unmet needs or “empty places.” 2) Salvation does not equal satisfaction. You can be genuinely saved and still be unsatisfied. 3) Satisfaction comes only when every empty place is filled with the fullness of Christ. 4) While salvation comes to us as a gift from God, we find satisfaction in Him as we deliberately surrender all parts of our lives to Him. (Breaking free day by day: a year of walking in liberty) ><>><>><> Spurgeon - The seasons change and thou changest, but thy Lord abides evermore the same, and the streams of his love are as deep, as broad and as full as ever. The heats of business cares and scorching trials make me need the cooling influences of the river of His grace; I may go at once and drink to the full from the inexhaustible fountain, for in summer and in winter it pours forth its flood… The tracks of ancient rivers have been found all dry and desolate, but the streams which take their rise on the mountains of divine sovereignty and infinite love shall ever be full to the brim. Spurgeon - “I in them.” — John 17:23 If such be the union which subsists between our souls and the person of our Lord, how deep and broad is the channel of our communion! This is no narrow pipe through which a thread-like stream may wind its way, it is a channel of amazing depth and breadth, along whose glorious length a ponderous volume of living water may roll its floods. ><>><>><> C I Scofield offers an interesting spiritualized interpretation of these events, but the reader needs to be a good Berean - "The heart of this lesson is to be found in the contrast between Jacob’s well and the upspringing fountain. Jacob’s well is the Law, the old order of laborious ceremonial, the old legal system of personal merit by obedience. The water in the well was good, but the well was deep (Jn 4:11). Every drop gained from that well cost effort. Bucket by bucket, a little at a time—that was the law of the Well at its very best. But Jacob’s well had come to stand for mere traditionalism in religion, for mere intolerance of new light. “Art thou greater than our father Jacob?” was the woman’s answer to him who was speaking of the upspringing water. As a matter of fact, Jacob was the father of the Samaritans in no real sense. The Samaritans of our Lord’s time were a hybrid race, outside of real Judaism. Jesus was careful to set that right: “Ye worship ye know not what; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews.” Spiritually, the Samaritans drawing water from Jacob’s well were precisely in the position of modern Gentile believers who put themselves under the Law; conceiving that as Christians, the Law is their rule of life. That is the very error against which the Spirit by Paul wrote the Epistle to the Galatians. The upspringing fountain is, first of all, the Holy Spirit Himself, indwelling the believer; and then the nine-fold “fruit of the spirit,” which is “love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.” And that fruit of the Spirit is Christian character. Under the Law, character is sought to be formed by habits of obedience to a rule of life—thou shalt, and thou shalt not. The formula is: “Our choices make our habits, and our habits form our characters.” That is drawing water out of Jacob’s well. It is that “other” Gospel, of which the Apostle speaks in Galatians. It is Samaritanism—that is, neither pure Judaism nor pure Christianity. Christianity is not a kind of pump in Jacob’s well, helping us to draw life out of the law; it is the Spirit of life, and the life of the Spirit implanted in, and outflowing from the believer himself. That is the least understood fact of Christianity to-day, after nineteen hundred years of preaching. “The water that I shall give shall be in him a fountain of water, springing up into everlasting life.” The contrast between Jacob’s well and the upspringing fountain is just the contrast between Romans 7 and the Romans 8. In the former, a believer is in an agony of effort to do something under the law of merit, the goodness of God. In the later, a believer is, by the indwelling Spirit, made “free from the law,” and so finds that the righteous ness of the law is fulfilled (not “by,” but) “in” him as he walks after the Spirit. It is very remarkable that the Epistle to the Ephesians, after stating in the first three chapters the exalted position into which the believer is brought by grace through faith, in turning to the walk that should characterize one in such a position, gives as the test of the walk, and as that which gives it its distinctive character, not the law, but the new position: “Walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called”; “For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth.” The transformation of Christian experience from the average one of painfully drawing blessings out of Jacob’s well, to the triumphant one of bearing the fruit of the Spirit, is effected by two acts, one of faith, one of the will. The act of faith is just to believe that the Spirit does dwell within (1Cor 6:19). The act of the will is just to live in yieldedness to the Spirit. (Things New and Old: Old and New Testament Studies) John 4:15 The woman said to Him, "Sir, give me this water, so I will not be thirsty nor come all the way here to draw": legei (PAI) pros auton e gune, Kurie, dos (AAM) moi touto to hudor, hina me dipso (PAS) mede dierchomai (PMS) enthade antlein. (PMN): Jn 6:26,34; 17:2,3; Ps 4:6; Romans 6:23; 8:5; 1Corinthians 2:14; 1John 5:20; James 4:3 The woman - Her response was logical, but not spiritual. As Spurgeon says "Up till now she has not imbibed a single idea from Christ. The Lord has spoken to her in parables, but she has not seen through the thin veil, so she has missed his meaning. Now he fires another shot, and deals with her in another fashion. It was needful to arouse this woman to a sense of her sinfulness. It was no use putting on plasters where there was no knowledge of a sore, and no use attempting to fill the void where there was no feeling of emptiness. So first she must be brought low, she must be made to see herself in the glass of truth, and then she would begin to understand her need of salvation. Oftentimes, in seeking to bless people, the kindest way is not to build them up, but to pull them down; not to begin to encourage their hopes, but to let them see how hopeless their case is apart from sovereign grace."

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Spurgeon adds that "Thirst is an insatiable longing after that which is one of the most essential supports of life. There is no reasoning with it, no forgetting it, no despising it, no overcoming it by stoical indifference. Thirst will be heard; the whole man must yield to its power; even thus is it with that divine desire which the grace of God creates in regenerate men; only (Jesus) Himself can satisfy the craving of a soul really aroused by the Holy Spirit." Commenting on "a dry and thirsty land, where there is no water" he adds that "A weary place and a weary heart make the presence of (Jesus) the more desirable: if there be nothing below and nothing within to cheer, it is a thousand mercies that we may look up and find all we need (Heb 12:2, 1Pe 1:13, Col 3:1-2). How frequently have believers traversed in their experience this dry and thirsty land, where spiritual joys are things forgotten! And how truly can they testify that the only true necessity of that country is the near presence of their (beloved Jesus)! The absence of outward comforts can be borne with serenity when we walk with God; and the most lavish multiplication of them avails not when He withdraws. Only after God, therefore, let us pant. Let all desires be gathered into one. Seeking first the kingdom of God--all else shall be added unto us (Mt 6:33). (Ref) Nothing can quench our spiritual thirst but Jesus (Thus He says "come to ME!") The dirty wells of this world can never satisfy the deepest need of our soul, which can only be filled by Jesus. As Augustine said "You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you." Are you thirsty? The words of Horatius Bonar's great hymn beautifully testify of Christ the Smitten Rock and the Living Waters that flowed forth His pierced side on Calvary's Cross… I HEARD THE VOICE OF JESUS SAY “Behold, I freely give The living water; thirsty one Stoop down and drink and live.” I came to Jesus and I drank Of that life-giving stream; My thirst was quenched, my soul revived, And now I live in Him. Or listen to Michael Card's Version of "I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say" ><>><>><> Are You Thirsty? - How simply our Lord presented the gospel. He often depicted the sinner's response to the salvation He offered in terms of everyday activities like eating, drinking, and receiving. During a gospel meeting in a town in Ohio, a man was greatly convicted of his need of the Lord Jesus. He concealed his feelings even from his wife, who was a lovely Christian. One evening when she was away, he became so anxious about his condition that he began pacing the floor. His daughter, noticing her father's agitation, asked him what was wrong. "Oh, nothing," he replied, trying in vain to relieve his pangs of conviction. The youngster, with the profound simplicity of childhood, said, "Daddy, if you were thirsty wouldn't you go and get a drink of water?" Her words startled the father. He thought of his thirsty soul, so parched and empty. Then he remembered what he had heard in the meeting—that the gospel was like a freely flowing fountain. He resisted no longer. That night he asked Jesus to save him. No matter how much we drink from the wells of wealth and achievement, we will only become more thirsty. ><>><>><> Jesus, Thou Joy of loving hearts, Thou Fount of life, Thou Light of men, From the best bliss that earth imparts We turn unfilled to Thee again. Yes, Christ alone is the Water that quenches our parched spirit. He alone is the Bread that nourishes our hungry heart. He alone is the Truth that answers our mind’s deepest questionings. Real soul-satisfaction is found only in Christ. When Jesus is our sole satisfaction, We will have true satisfaction in our soul. ><>><>><> J R Miller - The first desire of our hearts should be to receive the grace of Christ, that we many no longer be dependent upon the world's pleasures and comforts. It is a weary life which those live who have no source of good, save the little springs of earth which soon dry up. ><>><>><> Cathy Miller has a wonderful discussion on the Jesus way of sharing the Good News entitled "Lessons at the Well" - Jesus’ encounter with a Samaritan woman shows us how to reach our unbelieving friends. Jesus’ motive was love. - "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life" (Jn. 3:16). Jesus knew why He had left heaven’s glory. It was to bring the good news of God’s unfailing love to a lost and lonely world. He came to "seek and to save what was lost" (Lk. 19:10). Motivated by His abounding love, Jesus entered into the conversation with the Samaritan woman. How can I check my motives in sharing with unbelievers? Here’s a short checklist that helps me examine my heart before God: •Am I trying to "fix" this person or love her? •Do I feel "puffed up" after spending time sharing my Bible knowledge with her? •What is my goal in meeting with her? •Who will get the glory for this effort? Jesus did not allow fear to stop Him - Jesus’ perfect love overshadowed any fear that might have kept Him from sharing His life with the woman at the well. Jesus had come to do God’s will (Jn. 6:38) and was willing to lay down His life for the salvation of the world. That commitment enabled Him to love boldly and openly… Why are we afraid to share our faith with unbelievers? Three fears top the list for many: personal rejection, not knowing the answers to their questions or challenges, or sounding like an unpolished salesperson. I’ve found that most of my fears in this area have to do with how I will look to others or how they will respond to me. When I’m available to God, I can take my eyes off myself and trust Him to love others through me in ways that are meaningful and lasting. Jesus came to the Samaritan woman. Jesus could have waited for this woman to seek Him out, but instead He took the initiative to relate to her. Though the woman’s heart was far from God and her life was entangled in sin, Jesus had a love message to deliver. Nothing would stop Him. The whole story of the Bible is one of God reaching out in love to His people and drawing close to meet with them. Are we watching for opportunities to share our faith one on one? Not everyone will be interested in learning about Jesus. But for some, the opportunity to meet in this way will feel like a cup of cold water on a simmering summer day. If we’re motivated by God’s love and have put aside our fears, we’ll be more likely to take a step closer to the unbelievers God places in our path. Jesus initiated the conversation with a question. Jesus asked, "Will you give me a drink?" (Jn. 4:7). He didn’t plunge into a complicated lecture, full of criticism or condemnation. He gently drew out the Samaritan woman by asking her for a drink of water. It can take time to establish trust and begin a meaningful dialogue with another person. Good questions draw nonbelievers into conversation and relationship. When we share our faith with unbelievers, do we ask questions that cause them to think and respond? Sometimes a direct question (asked in love!) can best stimulate deeper thinking. Do our neighbors see us as bulldozers for Christ, or do we trust God to gently lead the conversations we have with unbelievers? Jesus met with the Samaritan woman one on one. It’s amazing to us, with our jam-packed daily planners, that Jesus spent one-on-one time with anyone. It doesn’t seem to be the wisest use of His time. Why didn’t He rent the local outdoor amphitheater and throw together a mass gathering? Jesus was not concerned with efficiency but with individuals. His interaction with the woman at the well was a personal act of love. He saw the opportunity, took the time, humbled Himself, and gave of Himself sacrificially to reach one person with God’s love. Will we lay down our lives—or busy schedules—for one person? How would we have to reorder our time to carve out an hour for coffee with an unbelieving friend? Creating a safe place for unbelievers to explore their questions and God’s answers takes time, prayer, and heart. Jesus saw the unique value of the woman. The first thing the Samaritan woman noticed about Jesus was that He was a Jew. "You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?" (Jn. 4:9). But what Jesus saw was a woman whose value was not defined by race and culture or even by her immorality. This woman, who’d had five husbands and was living with another man, was surely rejected by her own culture as immoral. Lonely and hardened by sin, she had little or no value to the world. Jesus, however, was undeterred. There is no partiality with God (Ro. 2:11). He values each of us equally… Jesus spoke at the woman’s level. Jesus used language that conveyed the lifesaving gospel message in terms the woman at the well could readily understand. Watch how He tailored His words for her. The Samaritan woman said to him, "You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?" … Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water." "Sir," the woman said, "you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? … " Jesus answered, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water." Jn. 4:9–15 Using word pictures instead of theological jargon or Christianeze can help people understand unfamiliar concepts. When I talked to Laura about Jesus, I used the analogy of driving on the freeway. Life is like a freeway. You’re cruising along with everyone else, changing channels on your radio, feeling frustrated with the traffic, other drivers, and the sameness of it all. Then you notice an exit sign ahead that says, "Jesus." You’re interested in taking the "Jesus" exit, but in order to do so, you need to put on your turn signal, change lanes, and move your car to the exit. Knowing that the exit is ahead isn’t enough. Taking action is necessary… Jesus lovingly confronted the woman’s need and left the results with God. Jesus didn’t water down His message to make it more acceptable. He pointed out the woman’s sin. But because He did it without malice, she could agree with Him. "I can see that you are a prophet" (Jn. 4:19). Though she did not immediately profess her faith, the Samaritan woman later recounted her encounter with Jesus in public, influencing the whole town. Many from the town believed in Jesus because of the woman’s testimony. They urged Jesus to stay on and teach them, too. In the end, the townspeople said to the woman, "We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world" (Jn. 4:42). How can we share the full message of the Bible, including God’s view of sin and the possibility of eternal separation from Him, without driving away our listeners? While this is an important and natural question to ask, we must remember God’s promise to draw unbelievers to Himself. Jesus said, "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him" (Jn. 6:44). Our part in God’s work is to love unbelievers and hold out the truth to them. We may not see the results of our sharing. God, however, does see the continuing process in each life. He reveals Himself in His Word and through those who are willing to share His Word and His love with unbelievers. Only He knows how each individual heart responds to Him. We can trust God to do His part perfectly. (From Discipleship Journal, Issue 109 - January/February 1999)