I. THE FALLACY EMPHATICALLY STATED. Up to this point in the conversation the woman has not the slightest idea that religious matters are in question; but immediately on concluding that Jesus is a Prophet, she proceeds to show that she can talk about religion as well as other people. Jesus seeks to fasten her up in a corner where she may be dealt with according to her individual sin and individual need, and so she tries to escape away into a general discussion on an old point of difference that was altogether beside the question that should have had most interest for her. The fallacy of holy places is emphatically illustrated in the experience Jesus had of them. We see that he had experience of two places reckoned specially holy, Gerizim and Jerusalem. Truly the holiness of Gerizim had done little for this Samaritan woman; and the holiness of Jerusalem did little for those priests and Law expounders who, in their fanaticism, put Jesus to death. Here is the paradox of a woman apparently unconcerned about her own misdoing, but very much concerned about the rightful localization of Deity.
II.. IT IS A FALLACY WHICH PREVAILS WIDELY AND DEEPLY STILL. Jerusalem and. Gerizim are still reckoned holy places, and to them, in the name of Jesus, how many more have been added! Special places, special forms, special symbols, special words, have been slowly exalted unto an honour and an influence they were never meant to obtain. Many who on no account would bow before an image, yet act as if Deity had a special dwelling and special surroundings. We do not make a sufficient distinction between what is necessary to us and what is acceptable to God. Holy buildings, holy forms, may have in them much value; but the value is for us, and not for God. If one can think of God esteeming some spots of earth holler than others, surely they are those where most has been done for the renewal and sanctification of men. We may learn a lesson from the obscurity into which the ark of the covenant fell. How it vanishes away with the departure of Jehovah's people into the Babylonian captivity!
III. A FALLACY WHICH IS ONLY TO BE REMOVED BY A CONTINUAL REMEMBRANCE OF THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GOD AND MEN. God is pure Spirit. A thousand things which in themselves serve and gratify human beings because of their correspondence with human nature cannot serve and gratify God. The whole position is placed before us in the question, "Can I eat the flesh of bulls, and drink the blood of goats?" Incense from Sheba, and sweet cane from a far country, became abominable to Jehovah because the people who offered them did not hearken to his words, and rejected his Law (Jeremiah 6:20). We who have bodies must to some extent be served even as the beasts are served; but if we got nothing more we should soon be miserable. The higher and peculiar part of our nature has also to be amply served. That which is invisible in us is the most important thing; and that which we value most from others comes from what is invisible in them. How much more, then, when we are dealing with that Being who has in him no mixture of the bodily! We do give human berets something when we give to their bodies; but unless we give God the spiritual we give him nothing at all.-Y.
I know that Messias cometh... I... am He.
The stricken deer tries once more to wrench the arrow from the wound; the wanderer thus caught amid the entangling thorns makes yet one other effort to escape the pursuing shepherd; the bold transgressor, unable to discuss these high spiritual themes, tries to stifle her convictions by the new plea of procrastination, wishing to break off the conversation in the spirit of conscious-stricken Felix.
I. POSTPONING THE QUESTION OF SALVATION TO AN INDEFINITE CONVENIENT SEASON, THE CRY OF THE CONVICTED SOUL IS "GIVE ME THIS WATER!" — BUT NOT YET.
1. "Give me this water!" is the cry of youth — but not yet. Disturb not my bright sunny morning; wait till I reach the threshold of manhood.
2. "Give me this water!" is the cry of ripening manhood — but not yet. Disturb me not in the burden and heat of the day; wait till I have leisure and breathing-time; wait till the eventide sets in, and the shadows are lengthening, and the drawers of water stand with their pitchers around life's fountains.
3. "Give me this water!" is the cry of old age — but not yet. Though far advanced in the pilgrimage journey, my strength is yet firm. I have a long evening ere the sunset hour. I may linger yet a while amid these olive-glades ere the flagon be let down for a draught.
4. "Give me this water!" is the cry of the dying. But postponement cannot be pled now; procrastination merges into despair. "Give me this water!" but it is too late.
II. IN HER ATTEMPTS AT EVASION THE WOMAN HAD NOT BEEN ABLE TO SHAKE OFF HER CONVICTIONS THAT SHE STOOD BEFORE A SUPERIOR BEING.
1. She had called Him prophet. The Jews looked for a kingly Messiah, the Samaritans for a prophetic. As she listened to His wondrous disclosures did the thought flash across her mind, "Can this be He?" The world was then expecting a Divine advent. Besides the prediction of Moses, her own Pentateuch had told her of the prophet who fifteen hundred years before had lifted up his voice on the hills on which she could now gaze. Caravans passing daily Jacob's well must have brought tidings of John's testimony.
2. The crisis of her life had come. Will the Saviour abandon her to her procrastination and say, as was said of her tribe, "Ephraim is joined to his idols, let him alone?" or will He disclose His Divine Person? Such a disclosure may be fraught with peril. But the destiny of a human soul depends upon it; He will save others, but not Himself.
III. WHAT A REJOINDER TO HER QUESTION — "Art Thou greater than our father Jacob?" Yes, I am the Shiloh of whom he spake, the ladder he beheld, the angel with whom he wrestled. The Baptist's words have their first echo and fulfilment, "He will gather His wheat into the garner." She understands all now — the penetrating revelations, the living water, salvation. The Giver of all stands by her and offers them to her. She requires no miracles.
IV. THE IMMEDIATE SEQUEL IS UNRECORDED. Her feelings are left to our imagination. She may have been dumb with silence or tears. But angels rejoiced over this returning sinner as she starts on an errand of mercy to her native town. Lessons:
1. Christ stands at the door of every heart.
2. None need despair; the first may be last and the last first; for Samaritan as well as Jerusalem sinners may find mercy.
3. Christ speaks in many ways — in the mercies He bestows, in the blessings He withholds; in life's storms and sunshine.
4. Christ speaks at every season.
(1)Early in the morning to His disciples on the lake shore — to youth in life's early morning.(2)At midday as here — in the hot noon of day to manhood and womanhood.(3)At eventide on the way to Emmaus — in life's evening to the aged.(4)At night to Nicodemus — to the dying.()
Messias
The Hebrew, Messias in the Syriac, and Christ in the Greek, means "the Anointed One." Anointing with oil was the ancient form of consecration. Christ was anointed with the Holy Ghost.I. THE PROOFS OF CHRIST'S MESSIAHSHIP.
1. He was generally expected.(1) Among the Jews.(2) Among the Gentiles, as attested by the visit of the Magi and the testimony of classical writers. This is due to the settlement of the Jews among the heathen.
2. The miracles of Christ were the proof to which He always referred. These were —
(1)Performed in public.(2)Wrought in different places.(3)Many in number.(4)Not denied by His enemies.3. The prophecies of the Old Testament were fulfilled in Him and in no one else.(1) These were too jealously guarded for the evangelists to tamper with them.(2) An impostor could not have fulfilled them. A man cannot arrange the place of his birth and his family, and would not have been diligent to fulfil prophecies which related to persecution and death.
4. The character of our Lord. "Which of you convinceth Me of sin?" Some have thought that if Virtue were to walk on earth all men would immediately worship her. Plato knew better. He says the good man "would be tortured, spit upon, have his eyes put out, and be crucified."
II. THE NATURE AND BLESSINGS OF CHRIST'S MESSIAHSHIP.
1. He is the true prophet.(1) Note the characteristics of His teaching.
(a)How weighty His lessons — life and immortality, faith, self-denial, prayer, humility, love.(b)How beautiful His illustrations — cornfields, lilies, leaven, fishing.(c)How kind His manner — what tenderness to young and afflicted, what encouragement to the timid.(d)How faithful His warnings. "Never man spake like this man."(2) He taught by example as well as precept.(3) What is the testimony of believers to His teaching?(a)When He spoke to our hearts it was with power.(b)We learned more from Him in five minutes than in all our lives from others.2. Christ is High Priest.(1) The priests were washed in water and anointed with oil. Christ was baptized and imbued with the Spirit.(2) The priestly functions were sacrifice, intercession, benediction. Christ" offered Himself"; "ever liveth to make intercession for us"; "gives the Spirit."
3. Christ is King.
(1)By personal right.(2)By donation from the Father.(3)By purchase.(4)By conquest.(5)By voluntary surrender.()
And in bringing a man to this state, we may observe that, commonly, some one particular sin, gross in its nature, and to which he has been addicted, is charged home upon the conscience. But a broad surface is not likely to penetrate; it must be pointed to enter. The indictment which arraigns this criminal, like every other, exhibits some specific charge; and the man exclaims, "O my swearing, my lying, my Sabbath-breaking, my prayerless life!" "Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither." But she exclaims, "Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet. Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship." Two reasons may be assigned for her proposing this question so instantly and abruptly. It has been supposed —1. That it was by way of diversion. But it has also been supposed —
2. That her aim was to seize the present moment to gain information as to what was deemed important, and which she concluded this know- ing one might afford. Herein two things are observable —(1) That it should cool us, in many of our contests, to remember that the things we are contending about are of short duration; and that while we are disputing, they are vanishing away. There are "things which cannot be shaken, but must remain."(2) The best way to make up differences in little things is to be zealous about great ones. To these, therefore, the Scripture always directs our regards, knowing that if these supremely occupy the mind, we shall have neither time nor inclination for comparative trifling.
1. Observe the omniscience of our Lord, and bring it home to yourselves.
2. Let us worship the Lord, " in the beauties of holiness"; and in order to this, never forget the information which our Saviour has given us.
3. Let us inquire whether He has manifested Himself to us.
()
The eagle has to strive hard and swoop round a great deal before he soars above the clouds, the weight of his body being a disadvantage to him to ascend. The lark, however, though smaller of stature and feebler of wing, soars up with rapidity and ease, the slightness of her body greatly facilitating her ascent. Thus minds of powerful calibre, heavily equipped with native and educational endowments, find it difficult to make their way up to the calm presence of God, their very ability being an impediment to them. Seeing every difficulty and feeling the force of every objection, they have to turn round and round and ascend laboriously in spiral columns. But many souls, small as larks, shoot up easily and gracefully, almost in a straight line, carolling all the way as they go, to the pure serene blue of the Divine Presence. To the Samaritan woman, and not to the learned Pharisees, did Christ openly avow His Messiahship, and present Himself in the majestic nakedness of His Divine mission.()
The Samaritans still expect a Messiah to whom they give the name of Assaief (from שׁרב, to return), which means "he who brings back" or converts, or else, "he who returns"; because the waiting of the Samaritans being founded on Deuteronomy 18:18, the Messiah is in their view a Moses who returns. At the present day they call him El-Muhdy. There is a remarkable contrast between this woman's notion and that of the worldly and political Jews. The Samaritan idea was incomplete; the Messiah was a prophet, not a king. But it did not contain anything else; and hence Jesus can appropriate itself to Himself, and here declare Himself the Christ, which He never did in Israel till the last moment (chap. John 17:3; Matthew 26:64).()
No sooner do we think of Christ with the least true desire after Him, but He is presently with us. He invited Himself to Zaccheus' table.()
People
Jacob, Jesus, John, JosephPlaces
Cana, Capernaum, Galilee, Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, SycharTopics
Christ, Clear, Declare, Explain, Messiah, Messias, Named, Replied, SaysOutline
1. Jesus talks with a woman of Samaria, and reveals his identity to her.
27. His disciples marvel.
31. He declares to them his zeal for God's glory.
39. Many Samaritans believe on him.
43. He departs into Galilee, and heals the ruler's son that lay sick at Capernaum.
Dictionary of Bible Themes
John 4:4-29 8428 example
John 4:4-30
7560 Samaritans, the
John 4:7-26
8497 witnessing, approaches
John 4:7-30
5745 women
John 4:24-26
2012 Christ, authority
John 4:25-26
2206 Jesus, the Christ
2363 Christ, preaching and teaching
7730 explanation
8402 claims
Library
August 23 Morning
I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.--JER. 31:3. We are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth: whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.--God . . . hath saved us, and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according …
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily PathSeptember 18 Evening
En-hakkore. (Or, The well of him that cried.)--JUDG. 15:19. If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith unto thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.--If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. This spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive. Prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room …
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path
September 29 Morning
Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us.--I JOHN 3:16. The love of Christ, which passeth knowledge.--Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.--Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.--Be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as …
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path
May 24 Morning
Grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.--EPH. 4:30. The love of the Spirit.--The Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost.--In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old. But they rebelled, and vexed his holy Spirit: therefore he turned to be their enemy, and he fought against them. Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and …
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path
September 16 Morning
The Lord pondereth the hearts.--PROV. 21:2. The Lord knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.--The Lord will shew who are his, and who is holy.--Thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly. Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.--There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear. Lord, all my desire is before thee; and my groaning …
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path
February 1 Morning
Whom having not seen, ye love.--I PET. 1:8. We walk by faith, not by sight.--We love him, because he first loved us.--And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.--In whom ye trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise.--God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among …
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path
March 1 Morning
The fruit of the Spirit is love.--GAL. 5:22. God is love: and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.--The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.--Unto you . . . which believe he is precious.--We love him, because he first loved us.--The love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: and that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto …
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path
April 17 Evening
Draw me, we will run after thee.--SONG 1:4. I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.--I drew them with cords of a man, with bands of love.--I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.--Behold the Lamb of God.--As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon …
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path
June 6 Morning
He will rest in his love.--ZEPH. 3:17. The Lord did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people: but because the Lord loved you.--We love him, because he first loved us.--You . . . hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our …
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path
July 5 Morning
We have known and believed the love that God hath to us.--I JOHN 4:16. God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: that in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten …
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path
November 22 Morning
Praying in the Holy Ghost.--JUDE 20. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.--We . . . have access by one Spirit unto the Father. O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. The Spirit . . . helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth …
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path
October 17 Evening
Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever.--MATT. 6:13. The Lord reigneth, he is clothed with majesty: thy throne is established of old: thou art from everlasting. The Lord is . . . great in power.--If God be for us, who can be against us?--Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us, and he will deliver us.--My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.--Greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. …
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path
November 8 Evening
The children of Israel pitched before them like two little flocks of kids; but the Syrians filled the country.--I KGS. 20:27. Thus saith the Lord, because the Syrians have said, the Lord is a God of the hills, but he is not God of the valleys; therefore will I deliver all this great multitude into thine hand, and ye shall know that I am the Lord. And they pitched one over against the other seven days; and so it was, that in the seventh day the battle was joined: and the children of Israel slew of …
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path
August 30 Morning
The king held out . . . the golden sceptre. So Esther drew near, and touched the top of the sceptre.--ESTH. 5:2. It shall come to pass, when he crieth unto me, that I will hear; for I am gracious. We have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth …
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path
May 13 Morning
Pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.--I TIM. 2:8. The true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.--Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am.--When ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any. Without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh …
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path
February 23 Evening
Who knoweth the power of thine anger?--PSA. 90:11. From the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying,Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?--The Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus.--Being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.--Christ hath redeemed …
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path
December 25 Morning
The kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared.--TIT. 3:4. I have loved thee with an everlasting love. In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. When the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under …
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path
February 1. "A Well of Water Springing Up" (John iv. 14).
"A well of water springing up" (John iv. 14). In the life overflowing in service for others, we find the deep fountain of life running over the spring and finding vent in rivers of living water that go out to bless and save the world around us. It is beautiful to notice that as the blessing grows unselfish it grows larger. The water in the heart is only a well, but when reaching out to the needs of others it is not only a river, but a delta of many rivers overflowing in majestic blessing. This overflowing …
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth
The Gift and the Giver
'Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith unto thee, Give Me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of Him, and He would have given thee living water.'--JOHN iv. 10. This Gospel has two characteristics seldom found together: deep thought and vivid character-drawing. Nothing can be more clear-cut and dramatic than the scene in the chapter before us. There is not a word of description of this Samaritan woman. She paints herself, and it is not a beautiful …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture
The Springing Fountain
'The water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water, springing up into everlasting life.'--JOHN iv. 14. There are two kinds of wells, one a simple reservoir, another containing the waters of a spring. It is the latter kind which is spoken about here, as is clear not only from the meaning of the word in the Greek, but also from the description of it as 'springing up.' That suggests at once the activity of a fountain. A fountain is the emblem of motion, not of rest. Its motion is derived …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture
The Second Miracle
'This is again the second miracle that Jesus did, when He was come out of Judaea into Galilee.'--JOHN iv. 54. The Evangelist evidently intends us to connect together the two miracles in Cana. His object may, possibly, be mainly chronological, and to mark the epochs in our Lord's ministry. But we cannot fail to see how remarkably these two miracles are contrasted. The one takes place at a wedding, a homely scene of rural festivity and gladness. But life has deeper things in it than gladness, and a …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture
The Wearied Christ
'Jesus therefore, being wearied with His journey, sat thus on the well.... He said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of.'--JOHN iv. 6,32. Two pictures result from these two verses, each striking in itself, and gaining additional emphasis by the contrast. It was during a long hot day's march that the tired band of pedestrians turned into the fertile valley. There, whilst the disciples went into the little hill-village to purchase, if they could, some food from the despised inhabitants, …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture
'Give Me to Drink'
'... Jesus saith unto her, Give Me to drink.... Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am He.'--JOHN iv. 7, 26. This Evangelist very significantly sets side by side our Lord's conversations with Nicodemus and with the woman of Samaria. The persons are very different: the one a learned Rabbi of reputation, influence, and large theological knowledge of the then fashionable kind; the other an alien woman, poor--for she had to do this menial task of water-drawing in the heat of the day--and of …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture
August the Third Changing Asking into Thirsting
"Go, call thy husband!" --JOHN iv. 16-30. I never supposed that the transformation would begin here. I thought that there were some words which would remain unspoken. But here our Master speaks a word which only deepens the weariness of the woman, and irritates the sore of her galling yoke. What is He doing? He is seeking to change the sense of wretchedness into the sense of sin! He is seeking to change weariness into desire! He wants to make the woman thirst! And so He puts His finger upon …
John Henry Jowett—My Daily Meditation for the Circling Year
Links
John 4:25 NIV
John 4:25 NLT
John 4:25 ESV
John 4:25 NASB
John 4:25 KJV
John 4:25 Bible Apps
John 4:25 Parallel
John 4:25 Biblia Paralela
John 4:25 Chinese Bible
John 4:25 French Bible
John 4:25 German Bible
John 4:25 Commentaries
Bible Hub