The Book of John - 22

Introduction - We are now in the fourth chapter of John we once again turn our attention to the chosen witnesses of the Word.

I say these are chosen witnesses, because these witnesses have been selected by the Holy Spirit for our understanding.

We began with John’s marvelous testimony, The Revelation of the Word.

Really, as I consider this gospel record, the testimony of the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ culminates in the book of Revelation.

As we consider that thought, we have been studying the events of the Coming of the King.

It is interesting to consider these two subjects together.

We have both the bookends, His first coming and His second coming.

You and I are living in the in between time--- this mystery age, where the Lord Jesus Christ is building His church.

Paul gives light to this subject when he speaks about the church in Ephesians chapter 3 and chapter 5.

In Romans chapter 11, Paul also gives light to the mystery of Israel’s blindness in relation to the spreading of the Gospel to the Gentiles.

Then in I Corinthians 15, Paul explains the end of the mystery age, which will be when the church is caught away, forever to be with the Lord.

He states, I Corinthians 15:51 “51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,”

So this is where we are, looking once again at the far bookend on the left---the Lord’s first coming and His witnesses.

Notice once again our outline:

I. Prologue – The Revelation of the Word 1:1-14

II. The Chosen Witnesses of the Word 1:19-4:54

III. The Coming Rejection of the Word 5-6:71

IV. The Conflict with the Word 6:60-12:50

V. The Comfort from the Word 13-17

VI. The Condemning of the Word 18-20

VII. The Epilogue 21:1-25

Right now, we are in this second section where God has given us record of specific witnesses.

We have had in recent days, instances of people being saved.

I. Prologue – The Revelation of the Word 1:1-14

II. The Chosen Witnesses of the Word 1:19-4:54

A. John the Baptist 1:19-36

B. Andrew 1:37-40

C. Peter 1:41-42

D. Philip 1:43-44

E. Nathanael 1:45-51

F. Nicodemus 3

G. The Woman of Sychar 4:1-42

Let’s read together this chapter.

As we come to this chapter, we need not forget the previous witness Nicodemus.

As John Philips stated in his commentary, “The contrast could hardly be greater between Nicodemus and the woman at the well. One was man, the other a woman; one was a Jew the other a Samaritan; the one was a respected ruler, the other a social outcast; the one was seen as a moral man, the other an immoral woman; the one came to Jesus by night; the other came at mid-day; the one had no arguments, only a wondering how, the other was full of questions and debate; the one was cautious, the other was bold; the one did not seem to know what he wanted, the other knew only too well; the one fades out of the story unnoticed, the other went back to her crown and brought them all to Jesus; the one we hear of again (7:50; 19:39), the other into women’s usual invisibility in patriarchal society.”

Notice with me the introductory verses found in verses 1-4.

We see in these first few verses the explanation of what is taking place.

1. The explanation.

In verse 1-3, the Bible shows us the underlying conflict that would reemerge down the road the Pharisees.

We already have seen some of the confusion also of John the Baptists’ disciples.

The Lord Jesus Christ, being fully God and fully man, made every move according to God’s plan.

We can maybe guess that if the Lord stayed where He was there may have been premature increase in conflict with the Pharisees.

Regardless of any of these theories, we can know one thing for sure. And that is that the Lord went to Samaria on purpose.

I take great comfort in the fact that God’s plan is perfect. His ways, certainly are higher than my ways and His thoughts are higher than my thoughts. And that is a good thing, because my plans are almost always full of holes and faulty.

The goal really for me, is to walk according to His plan and according to His ways.

Sometimes, we may get the idea that God’s actions are just arbitrary. Verse number 4 does away with that idea.

The Bible tells us that the Lord Jesus Christ went through the region of Samaria on purpose.

John 4:4 tells us, “4 And he must needs go through Samaria.”

And so we have this explanation.

Merrill C Tenney stated this, “A strange phrase introduces this episode: “He must needs pass through Samaria.” The word “must” implies logical necessity rather than personal obligation. It is the term one would use in saying, “A triangle must have three sides.” Why it should be used here is not immediately clear, since there were other roads that Jesus could have taken to Galilee. In the light of the general tenor of the Gospel, the word suggested that His reason was not geographical necessity nor social pressure, but the underlying compulsion of the Divine Will that sought out the lost Samaritan sheep.”

Merrill C. Tenney, John: The Gospel of Belief, The New International Commentary on the Old and New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1976), 91–92.

We should understand that the city we will be dealing with is Sychar, whereas Samaria is the geographical area.

Today, we may think of counties and cities (Or even states and cities). The county being the larger area in which a city may be partially or fully located in.

Samaria is in between Galilee and Judea.

Within this tract of land there were three major routes used for travel.

One went along the sea coast and was referred to as the coastal route.

Another went up through the central area sometimes called the ‘water parting route’ because of the mediterranean sea on the west and the Jordan on the east.

The last route went east of the Jordan into Perea up to Damascus called the King’s Highway.

According to Tenney, Sychar “stood at a fork of the road, one branch of which went toward Capernaum and the other branch to Nazareth. The well of Jacob was located about one half mile from the village.

Merrill C. Tenney, John: The Gospel of Belief, The New International Commentary on the Old and New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1976), 92.

That gives us some insight into verse 5-6a.

Notice what the Bible states, “Then cometh he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Now Jacob’s well was there.”

Oftentimes, as has been mentioned by others, the Jews avoided the lands of Samaria because the Samaritans were considered defiled.

We will see some of this dissension involved in the discussion that takes place between the woman of Sychar and the Lord.

When we go back and look at the Old Testament, we can understand where this conflict arose.

The Samaritans were a mixture of people dating back to the Assyrian captivity of the northern tribes of Israel.

When the Jews were decreed to return to Jerusalem, they encountered resistance from those living in the land.

Turn over to Ezra chapter 4.

“The Samaritan Pentateuch differs from the Jewish Torah primarily in that it emphasizes Mount Gerizim rather than Jerusalem as the proper place of worship.”