John 4

John 4 is the fourth of the twenty-one chapters of the Gospel of John and belongs to the opening section that covers the early period of Jesus' public ministry. The end of Chapter 3 describes both Jesus' disciples and John the Baptist baptizing. Chapter 4 follows from this, opening with Jesus leaving Judea for Galilee and passing through Samaria on the way.

Outline

• Verses 1–6 The Pharisees hear that Jesus is making more disciples than John. Jesus leaves Judea for Galilee and, at about the sixth hour, sits down by Jacob's well at the town of Sychar in Samaria. Verse 2 adds that it was not Jesus himself but his disciples who baptized.
• Verses 7–15 Jesus asks a Samaritan woman who has come to draw water for a drink, then speaks of "living water," after which one will never thirst again.
• Verses 16–26 Jesus speaks of the woman's five husbands and of the man she is now living with. When the woman asks whether the proper place of worship is "this mountain" or Jerusalem, Jesus speaks of the hour when people will worship in spirit and in truth, and reveals that he is the Messiah.
• Verses 27–30 The disciples return and marvel at the scene. The woman leaves her waterpot, goes into the town, and tells the people what has happened.
• Verses 31–38 Jesus says that his "meat" is to do the will of him that sent him, and tells the disciples to look on the fields, which are white already to harvest.
• Verses 39–42 Many Samaritans believe because of the woman's testimony. Jesus stays there two days, and the people confess him as "the Saviour of the world."
• Verses 43–45 Saying that a prophet has no honor in his own country, Jesus goes on to Galilee, where the Galileans receive him.
• Verses 46–54 At Cana, Jesus heals by his word alone the son of a royal official; the boy lies ill in Capernaum. The fever left the boy "yesterday at the seventh hour," and the official's whole household believes. The text calls this the second sign.

Key Verses

• John 4:14 "Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst": The heart of the dialogue on living water, this saying likens the eternal life that Jesus gives to water.
• John 4:24 "God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth": One of the verses most often quoted in discussions of the essence of Christian worship. Where the older Korean Revised Version reads sillyeong-gwa jinjeong-euro, the New Korean Revised Version renders the phrase yeong-gwa jilli-ro ("in spirit and truth").
• John 4:42 "This is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world": Here Samaritans, who were not Jews, confess faith in Jesus.

People and Places

• Jesus
• The Samaritan woman: A woman living in Sychar; the text does not give her name.
• The Pharisees: The group who heard the report that prompted Jesus to leave Judea.
• The royal official: An official whose son lay ill in Capernaum. Many interpreters regard him as an officer in the service of the Herodian house that ruled Galilee.
• Jacob and Joseph: Mentioned in explaining the origin of the well and the land.
• Sychar: A town in Samaria, thought to have been near Shechem.
• "This mountain": The text does not name the mountain, but it is generally identified as Mount Gerizim, the place of worship of the Samaritans.
• Galilee, Cana, Capernaum, Jerusalem

Points for Reflection

• "In spirit and in truth": Some interpreters read "spirit" as the Holy Spirit, others as the human spirit (the inner person). Either way, the emphasis falls on worship as a matter of its true nature rather than of location (John 4:20–23).
• The woman's five husbands: The text does not explain her circumstances. Sermons often portray her as an immoral woman, but some interpretations suppose other circumstances, such as widowhood or divorce. Another view takes the five husbands as a symbol of the gods of the five peoples settled in Samaria (2 Kings 17). Eastern Orthodox tradition honors this woman under the name Photini, a later tradition not found in the biblical text.
• Reckoning of time: By Jewish reckoning, "the sixth hour" is about noon. Some, however, hold that the Gospel of John uses Roman reckoning.
• The royal official's story: Opinions differ on whether this is the same event as the healing of the centurion's servant in Matthew 8 and Luke 7.
• Connections within the New Testament: The phrase "the second sign" links back to the wedding at Cana in Chapter 2 (the seven signs of the Gospel of John). The account of Samaritans coming to faith is also read alongside the evangelization of Samaria in Acts 8.

In the Korean Church

• The scene in which the woman leaves her waterpot and tells the town is frequently used in sermons on evangelism.
• The phrase "in spirit and in truth" is widely quoted in preaching and teaching on worship.
• "Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields" (John 4:35) is often used in sermons on missions.