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Portrait 5

John 4

Caring, concern, and compassion for others is in short supply these days sometimes even among Christians. When it comes right down to it, many of us are a pretty selfish and self-centered lot. And to behave that way is really an animalistic trait.

Have you ever seen any hungry animal share its food with other animals at the trough? I have not but then maybe there are some rare exceptions. I know animals often eat out of the same dish or trough but I mean do they ever leave any intentionally for others? I do not think so. Do they ever find food and enlist others to share it with them? No!

Recently there have been some happy and welcome exceptions to our normally selfish and self-centered living. For instance, when the 9/11 terrorist attack in 2001 against the United States occurred, there was a widespread response of help regardless of race, color, or creed. After the Tsunami disaster in 2004 many countries gave millions of dollars for relief efforts. More recently, the Katrina hurricane tragedy in New Orleans and neighboring states in August, 2005 brought rescue efforts of all kinds from all across the United States to help the trapped and needy.

Throughout His life on earth Jesus was constantly seeking out people with needs and then meeting those needs for them. This portrait of Jesus is especially prominent in John 4. Here we see how He met the needs of a sinner, some saints, and a seeker.

But before we meet these people and watch Jesus and see how He met their needs, let’s observe where He and John the Baptist were and how He came upon the first needy soul. In the first four verses of John 4 we are told how Jesus became quite popular after John the Baptist introduced Him as the Lamb of God. People who had been following John left him and began following Jesus (v. 1). His disciples were baptizing more people who had believed than John the Baptist baptized. Jesus and His disciples left Judea and headed north to Galilee (v. 3). When traveling between Galilee and Jerusalem Jews usually avoided going through Samaria. Why? Because the people who lived there, the Samaritans, were usually hated and despised because they were not full-blooded Jews.

Jesus, however, “had to pass through Samaria” (v. 4) enroute to Galilee. He “had to”? Samaria was avoided like the plague by going the long way around it. Why then did Jesus “need” to go through Samaria? Was it because He was in a hurry? Was He fleeing from someone? No, it was because He had an important message for the people of the city. They needed to know of God’s love for them. Jesus did not come to earth to minister only to Jews. He came to seek and save the lost—all of them—regardless of color, race, gender, or creed. Later in the story Jesus reminded His disciples that His food was “to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work” (v. 34). This is the key verse for this portrait of Jesus.

A Woman of the World, vv. 5–26

While enroute to Samaria, Jesus came to Sychar, a city in Samaria. This small town was close by some land that years before Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Even more important than that, there was a water well there that Jacob had dug. This well was the divinely appointed place for Jesus and His disciples to stop and rest and be refreshed after a long and tiring day of travel.

Jesus was sitting beside the well resting at about 12:00 noon according to Jewish time. This would have been 6:00 p.m. by Roman time. From what follows in the story, Jesus did not have any way of getting water from the well as it was customarily done. He was so divine that He knew the woman of Samaria’s need yet He was so human that He was tired and thirsty and wanted help to get the water from the well.

We do not know how long He was there before the woman came to get water for her own use. We do know the disciples had been sent into the nearby City of Sychar to buy food, which means Jesus was there alone when the woman came. He said to her, “Give Me a drink” (v. 7). He spoke first and asked a favor of the woman, a Samaritan woman. That was most unusual.

Of course, Jesus was not surprised when the woman came. He, as the Son of God, not only knew she would come. He knew also precisely when she would come. And He knew who she was, a woman of the street who was living an immoral life. It was not therefore an accident or a mere coincidence that Jesus was there and she came there at the same time. This woman had a great need in her life, and Jesus began to meet her need immediately.

A rather lively question and answer session followed Jesus’ request of the woman. She responded in shock and amazement. She said, “How is it that you, being a Jew, ask me for a drink, since I am a Samaritan woman?” (v. 9). The woman and Jesus both knew full well that Jews, for the most part, just had no dealings with the Samaritans. It was understandable for her to raise the issue. After all, what Jesus was doing was most unusual. Two things concerned her deeply. First, she was a Samaritan and He was a Jew. Second, she was a woman and was there alone with the man Jesus and that was not at all normative in that culture.

Jesus’ reply to her related to her need for “living water” (v. 10)—salvation. She needed the gift God would give her for the taking. At this point she, of course, did not know that Jesus the Son of God, the Messiah, was the One who asked her for a drink. It is important to note that Jesus did not scold the woman for her sinful lifestyle but instead presented to her the gift of salvation. Changes in her life were needed but would come after she had received the gift, and they would not hinder her from receiving the gift.

Jesus alone was the One who could give the quality of water which would quench her thirst forever (vv. 10, 14). But how and where could He get this water? The woman must have been thinking of some special kind of physical water. Jesus did not have any means of getting it there. Since He was a Jew and she was a Samaritan, He could not use the bucket and rope she brought with her because the “Jews had no dealings with the Samaritans” (v. 9).

Great as he was, Jacob, who dug the well and who along with his sons and all his cattle drank from it, was far greater than Jesus as far as she was concerned (v. 12). When Jesus, unlike Jacob, said He could and would give her drink that would keep her from ever thirsting again, the woman asked for it. “Give me this water” (v. 15), she said, so I will not need to come here again.

So that she would understand her deepest need, Jesus told her to go and bring her husband. He knew this woman’s heart perfectly. She needed to understand her sin and deep, deep need if she was to receive the gift of God which Jesus offered her. The desire for what Jesus offered her was so great that she did not want to forfeit getting it, so boldly she said, “I have no husband” (v. 17). She in fact did have a man with whom she was living, but he was not her husband.

After Jesus told her He knew of her background, she was shocked and from then on viewed Him as a prophet. She then proceeded to talk about the contrast between Jewish and Samaritan worship (vv. 20–26). Where was the proper place? she wondered. Was it Jerusalem as the Jews believed or was it Mount Gerizim as the Samaritans said? Where one worships, Jesus told her, is not the important thing but one’s relationship with God and attitude toward Him is important. In fact, the Father seeks all those who worship Him in spirit and in truth wherever they live.

This woman with all her need did believe Messiah would come. Her statement about this seems to make clear that she believed when Messiah came, He would declare the truth. Then it was that Jesus revealed Himself to her: “I who speak to you am He” (v. 26). Because she was ready to receive the Messiah, Jesus was quick to reveal His identity. To many members of His own nation Jesus did not at first freely make known His Messiahship. The reason for that hesitancy was because of their unbelief.

The story does not end there. The disciples returned from their trip to the city to buy food. Jesus met their need after the woman left to tell her men friends about Jesus.

Willing Workers, vv. 27–42

Just as this woman of the world heard from Jesus that He was the long-promised Messiah and apparently received Him as such, the disciples returned from the trek to the city. She then left her waterpot and went home to tell the men about Jesus (v. 28).

When the disciples first got back to the well where they had left Jesus, they were shocked and amazed. He had been talking to a woman, and a Samaritan at that. They said nothing to Him about their surprise. Instead, they begged Jesus to eat what they had brought. It seems they were quick to begin eating but Jesus was not joining them. His response to their appeal to Him to eat brought even more amazement. His answer to them was that He had food to eat that they did not know anything about (v. 32).

Upon hearing what Jesus said, the disciples discussed among themselves His meaning. Why was He not hungry, they wondered. “Nobody brought Him food, did they?” the disciples asked each other. Knowing their real need was much greater than to find out why He was not hungry, Jesus quickly told them what they truly needed to hear and learn and should never forget.

What they needed so desperately to know was that the reason He had called them to be His followers in the first place was to herald the good news of God’s saving grace to all people. They were to work with Him spreading the news and reaping the harvest as well. Some of the harvest was before their very eyes and they did not see it. Look on the fields, He urged them (v. 35). They are ready for harvest. The disciples apparently were so anxious to get to Galilee where there were no Samaritans that they were blind to the needs of the Samaritans all around them. There was fruit there to be gathered for life eternal, and they did not see it.

The disciples must have been totally surprised when the woman of Samaria’s men came back with her to the well to meet Jesus. It seems these friends of hers were enamored with Jesus. To begin, they knew Jesus did not look down on them because of their race. At least these men “believed in Him,” and they did so because of the testimony of the woman. There were at least five men, it seems (v. 18).

Jesus accepted their invitation to come to the city and stay with them. They wanted to hear more. The disciples must have gone with Him. Imagine what they said to each other and how they reacted when they all stayed two days. More mind boggling still, there was more harvest. “Many more believed because of His word” (v. 41). They assured the woman that it was not just because of her appraisal of Jesus. They had heard Him for themselves and had no doubt that He was “the Savior of the world” (v. 42).

A Worried Official, vv. 43–54

After His two-day visit in Sychar of Samaria, Jesus returned with His disciples to Galilee. The folks there received Him gladly. We might ask why they did this. It was because they had been to the Passover Feast in Jerusalem and witnessed what Jesus did there when He demonstrated His divine authority in the temple (v. 45). Whether their faith was genuine or not it is hard to discern.

It is interesting to note how two different people approached Jesus. The woman of Samaria was not expecting to meet Jesus at the well. The worried official we will meet shortly sought out Jesus because he had a desperate need. Jesus asked a favor of the woman because He was thirsty. The nobleman, or worried official, asked Jesus to come and heal his son. Both the Samaritan woman and the nobleman were called upon by Jesus to believe Him, to exercise faith in Him.

What was it that brought the nobleman to Jesus? Very likely, He knew that Jesus had turned water into wine at Cana. Also, his son was at the point of death in Capernaum (v. 46). So this minor official of Herod’s court braved whatever might happen to him and he sought out Jesus for help (v. 47).

The nobleman did not flaunt his status in the Roman court. Rather, he implored Jesus to come with him to Capernaum and heal his son. Jesus’ first response to his request was to chide him a bit for being like many others wanting a sign, a miracle before believing in Jesus (v. 48). His remark was not only about the man before Him. He intended His response for any who received Him just because He was a miracle-worker.

This worried official did not try to persuade Jesus that He was sincere in his faith and was an exception. Instead, he said, “Sir, come down before my child dies” (v. 49). With that said, Jesus told him to go back home because his son was not going to die (v. 50). Without any further pleading, the nobleman started off for his home in Capernaum. Capernaum was about 25 miles from Cana which meant it was a long and hard journey.

Enroute, the nobleman was met by some of his servants. They told him that his son is living, he is no longer sick; his fever left him “yesterday at the seventh hour” (v. 52), they said. That did it. No longer was the worried official worried because he knew it was at that very same time Jesus had told him, “Your son lives” (v. 53). Jesus had performed a miracle. He met the worried official’s need without ever seeing or touching the lad. Furthermore, the harvest which Jesus referred to with His disciples extended to the nobleman’s family and very likely included his servants. His “whole house” believed (v. 53).

This was the second of the eight miracles which Jesus performed in John’s record.

Personal Applications

Jesus is still able and willing to meet people’s needs. The woman of Samaria did not come to Jesus for help, but she soon learned that she really did need help. Neither did the disciples realize they needed help, but it did not take long until they understood their role in the harvest Jesus was talking about. On the other hand, the nobleman knew he had a need. His son was dying. With Jesus’ healing of his son the nobleman came to know and believe Jesus was the answer to his spiritual needs also.

All of us have needs many of which we cannot meet or solve ourselves. We all need Jesus. We need Him first for salvation; we need Him as our Savior. He is the only One who can meet this need. We must never be ashamed or afraid to come to Jesus by faith with our needs. The temptation for many is to view the Lord as a sort of sugar-daddy, eager to give us everything we want. No, there is no promise that God will supply all our wants, but He does promise to supply all our needs (Philippians 4:19).

Study Questions

1. Can you think of lessons you can learn from Jesus’ dealing with the woman of Samaria?

2. How does the Jews’ treatment of the Samaritans at that time relate to racial prejudices today?

3. Was it wrong for the disciples to go for food and then to worry because Jesus did not want to eat?

4. What lesson did Jesus teach His disciples on this occasion?

5. What resulted from Jesus’ work with the worried official?

6. Are you planning to change your behavior this week because of this study? How?

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