Jesus is making and baptizing more disciples than John (indeed, Jesus JESUS PREACHES TO THE SAMARITAN WOMAN Such are the grand emphatic points to which the Lord leads. Now, it is no longer a question of nature, but of relationship; and hence it is not said simply the Word, but the Son, and the Son in the highest possible character, the only-begotten Son, distinguishing Him thus from any other who might, in a subordinate sense, be son of God "the only-begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father." A greater work was in hand; and this, as the rest of the chapter shows us, not a Messiah lifted up, but the true bread given He who comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world; a dying, not a reigning, Son of man. In John He is One who could be described as Son of man who is in heaven; but He belonged to heaven, because He was divine. (Ver. Samaria. But there was a man who had been infirm for thirty and eight years. No such sounds, no such realities were ever heard or known in Israel. The chapters we have had before us (John 1:1-51; John 2:1-25; John 3:1-36) are thus evidently an introduction: God revealed not in the Word alone, but in the Word made flesh, in the Son who declared the Father; His work, as God's Lamb, for the world, and His power by the Holy Ghost in man; then viewed as the centre of gathering, as the path to follow, and as the object even for the attendance of God's angels, the heaven being opened, and Jesus not the Son of God and King of Israel only, but the Son of man object of God's counsels. Before the manner of His manifestation comes before us in verse 14, we have the secret explained why some, and not all, received Christ. 29) on which, as it were, Jesus speaks and acts in His grace as here shown on the earth. "John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This is he of whom I spake: He that cometh after me is preferred before me, for he was before me." 4. In this story of the Samaritan woman in John 4:4 Jesus depicts Himself In it we see: THE FIRST VISIT TO SAMARIA This brings in the great counterpart truth, that even God present on earth and made flesh is not enough. that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John, (Though Jesus did the 27-42 The disciples wondered that Christ talked thus with a John 4:1-41. 31 CONTENTS: Jesus and the Samaritan woman. "He must, increase, but I decrease." John 4:31-38. This is the more striking, because, as we have seen, the world and Israel, rejecting Him, are also themselves, as such, rejected from the first. writer of the Universal Gospel, mentions any Ver 35. I. John 5:19-29), It is evident, then, that the Lord presents life in Himself as the true want of man, who was not merely infirm but dead. It is not simply the new birth such as a saint might, and always must, have had, in order to vital relations with God at any time. Samaritan. John 4:27-38 THE FIRST VISIT TO SAMARIA I SENT YOU - In the commission given you to preach the gospel. The same God who did not leave Himself without witness among the heathen, doing good, and giving from heaven rain and fruitful seasons, did not fail, in the low estate of the Jews, to work by providential power at intervals; and, by the troubled waters of Bethesda, invited the sick, and healed the first who stepped in of whatever disease he had. I SENT YOU - In the commission given you to preach the gospel. How could the Samaritans, who SENT. CHARACTERS: Jesus, Holy Spirit, John the Baptist, Pharisees, Jacob, The Jews, with all their privileges, were strangers here. Nothing in the slightest degree detracted from His own personal glory, and from the infinitely near relationship which He had had with the Father from all eternity. And, The Saviour himself, who by his personal ministry taught the people, and prepared them for the success which was to attend the preaching of the apostles. THE WORK AMONG SAMARITANS There He supposes His full rejection and death. No doubt there are intervening applications; but such is the ultimate result of His work as the Lamb of God. have laboured. (1) The verb "sent" is past, and refers to some event before the present He is viewed as retaining the same perfect intimacy with the Father, entirely unimpaired by local or any other circumstances He had entered. He could be declared only by One who was a divine person in the intimacy of the Godhead, yea, was the only-begotten Son in the bosom of the Father. One of the peculiarities of our gospel is, that we see the Lord from time to time (and, indeed, chiefly) in or near Jerusalem. The indwelling Spirit. Truth and grace were not sought nor found in man, but began to subsist here below by Jesus Christ. "He" saw comparatively little fruit of his ministry. Greek. We begin with the usual Analysis of the passage which is to be before John 3:1-36 follows this up. Without sign, prodigy, or miracle, in this village of Samaria Jesus was heard, known, confessed as truly the Saviour of the world ("the Christ" being absent in the best authorities, ver. He said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not. The pro JOHNNOTE ON JOHN 4:37 The OTHERS who have labored are Jesus and his in the next clause. (Psalms 132:1-18) Then they wanted to make Him a king. I SENT YOU TO REAP THAT WHEREON YE BESTOWED NO LABOR; OTHER MEN I SENT YOU - In the commission given you to preach the gospel. It was not intended for other beings it was God's free gift to man, to the believer, of course. What does John 4:38 mean? Here was a meeting, indeed, between such an one and Him, the Son, true God and eternal life. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotes are taken from the New King James Version.) He gave them title to take the place of children of God, even to those that believe on His name. THE STORY ITSELF. It is no question here of every man, but of such as believe. I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men Granted He was the Son of man; but as such, He had all judgment given Him, and would judge. for he knew He was the Christ. none, but his disciples,) (John 4:1) This is the marked effect on the third day (ver. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him. which God Himself ever gave in employing the pen of man; not only the being sent to the jews, who had the writings of the prophets, and were versed in them; and had learned from them that the messiah was to come, and were now in general expectation of him; so that they had nothing more to do, than to declare to those persons who were cultivated by the prophets, and were like to ground tilled and manured, Deeper questions demanded solution. The aorist tense points back to the mission of the disciples as involved in their original call. The rejection of Christ is the contempt of God Himself, in that of which He is most jealous, the honour of the Saviour, His Son. _When our Lord knew that the Pharisees heard that "For God sent not his Son into the world to judge the world; but that the world through him might be saved." Grace begins, glory descends; "Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink." but He, who is the Word made flesh, is the only-begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father, and so competent to declare, as in fact He has. So in the baptism with the Holy Ghost, who would pretend to such a power? It was but preliminary, of course; still it was a deep reality, the then present grace in the person of the Son, the Saviour of the world, who filled their once dark hearts with light and joy. _ (G649) (Verse John 7:39), Nothing can be simpler than this. No charge could be remoter from the truth. Jesus is the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world, but withal, as he had said, the eternal One, yet in view of His manifestation to Israel (and, therefore, John was come baptizing with water a reason here given, but not to the Pharisees in verses 25-27). I SENT The brethren of the Lord Jesus, who could see the astonishing power that was in Him, but whose hearts were carnal, at once discerned that it might be an uncommon good thing for them, as well as for Him, in this world. Not unfrequently does the Bible represent the great work of the moral Jesus knew all about this woman. But it is important we should know how He entered the world. On _a priori_grounds. The I is emphatic. (Ver. active indicative of common in John for to It is there that we found the Lord, in the other synoptic gospels, fulfilling His ordinary ministry. I sent Jesu . But here these streams of the Spirit are substituted for the feast of tabernacles, which cannot be accomplished till Christ come from heaven and show Himself to the world; for this time was not yet come. Greek. Rest is not the question now at all; but the flow of the Spirit's power while Jesus is on high. Resurrection will be the proof; the two-fold rising of the dead, not one, but two resurrections. 3. _Ye have laboured_. to His baptizing more disciples than John. There is difference of manner for the world and His own ignorance and rejection. How singularly is the glory of the Lord Jesus thus viewed, as invested with the testimony of God and its crown! most glorious in point of theme, but in the profoundest point And now Jesus, being driven away by the jealousy of the Jews, begins It seemed natural: He had fed the poor with bread, and why should not He take His place on the throne? (John 4:16) Her response was, "I have no _aor. John 4:27-38 Evang., Just as in John 4:1-54, so here it is a question of power in the Holy Ghost, and not simply of Christ's person. Thus we have here the other side of the truth: not merely what God is in life and light, in grace and truth, as revealed in Christ coming down to man; but man is now judged in the very root of his nature, and proved to be entirely incapable, in his best state, of seeing or entering the kingdom of God. our water pots. Thus it is a kind of transitional fact for a most important part of our gospel, though still introductory. How were they not enjoyed in despised Samaria those two days with the Son of God among them! But when the Lord speaks of His cross, and not God's judicial requirements only, but the gift of Himself in His true personal glory as the occasion for the grace of God to display itself to the utmost, then, and not till then, do we hear of eternal life, and this connected with both these points of view. Did the dead (for so men are treated, not as alive under law) did they hear the voice of the Son of God? Her life is laid before her by His voice, and she confesses to Him that God Himself spoke to her in His words: "Sir [said she], I perceive that thou art a prophet." Also one of the two thus drawn to Him first finds his own brother Simon (with the words, We have found the Messiah), and led him to Jesus, who forthwith gave him his new name in terms which surveyed, with equal ease and certainty, past, present, and future. (ver. Therefore, it seems to me, He adds verse 24. The first phase of the public ministry of Jesus is ended. Man is morally judged. The indwelling Spirit. The disciples come; the woman goes into the city, leaving her waterpot, but carrying with her the unspeakable gift of God. This is indispensable; for God is a Spirit, and so it cannot but be. But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not. They had eyes, but they saw not; ears had they, but they heard not, nor did they understand His glory. It was impossible that there should not be righteous dealing with human evil against God, in its sources and its streams. of the Word of God. Alas! indic John 4:1. John 4:31-42 3. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God." His was an errand incomparably deeper, more worthy of God, and suitable to One "full of grace and truth." (Ver. Except one were born of water and of the Spirit, he could not enter the kingdom of God. . aorist tense points back to the mission of the disciples as involved teachers said: Do not prolong conver EXPOSITION But here it was not God's purpose to record it. God does not here condescend to call it His, though, of course, it was His and holy, just, and good, both in itself and in its use, if used lawfully. Did they charge Jesus with self-exaltation? The "I" here is emphatic: I, the Lord of the whole harvest. There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data. (Ver. XXI. So only is man born of God. (SeePsalms 2:1-12; Psalms 2:1-12) But the Lord tells him of greater things he, should see, and says to him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, henceforth (not "hereafter," but henceforth) ye shall see the heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of man. Jesus, therefore, answered, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise. the pronouns and are emphatic. (Ver. Whereupon Jesus says (John 4:34-38): My food is to do the will of Him who sent me, and to finish His work. Do any believe on His name? incident. Here the unlimited scene is in view; not Israel, but the world. The I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men John 7:25-31) He is going where they cannot come, and never guessed (for unbelief thinks of the dispersed among the Greeks of anything rather than of God). Heavenly things are set in evident contradistinction, and link themselves immediately here, as everywhere, with the cross as their correlative. But He, being God, was manifesting and, on the contrary, maintaining the divine glory here below. No doubt Jesus Himself had the Holy Ghost given to Him, as it was meet that He in all things should have the pre-eminence; but it shows yet more both the personal glory of Christ and the efficacy of His work, that He now gives the same Spirit to those who receive His testimony, and set to their seal that God is true. John 7:24) They reason and are in utter uncertainty. ( ). 33 Then his disciples said to each other, "Could someone have brought him food?". THE REWARDS OF SERVICE JESUS IN SAMARIA. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment; but is passed from death unto life. THE SAMARITAN WOMAN (JOHN 4:4). (3) John the Baptist, who came to prepare the way. incident. (Verses John 4:20-30), The disciples marvelled that He spoke with the woman. THE STORY ITSELF. 2. 32 * The CHAPTER 4 had baptized huge crowds John 4:1), so huge that John the Baptist's How withering the words! Study Johano 4:38 - 'Esperanto Bibl' translation - Mi vin sendis, por rikolti tion, kion vi ne prilaboris; aliaj laboris, kaj vi eniris en ilian laboron. They had stumbled before, and the Lord brought in not alone His person, as the Word made flesh, presented for man now to receive and enjoy; but unless they ate the flesh, and drank the blood of the Son of man, they had no life in them. But if the Spirit speaks of the Son of God, the law dwindles at once into the smallest possible proportions: everything yields to the honour the Father puts oil the Son. Two resurrections, one of life, and another of judgment, would be the manifestation of faith and unbelief, or rather, of those who believe, and of those who reject the Son. . The question really is, whether man would trust God. This will be the rule throughout; _sic I HAVE SENT YOU. John 3:19; John 3:19) Other things, the merest trifles, may serve to indicate a man's condition; but a new responsibility is created by this infinite display of divine goodness in Christ, and the evidence is decisive and final, that the unbeliever is already judged before God. "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." In vain did any come to the Baptist to report the widening circle around Christ. (Ver. Jesus spoke about different roles in the process of trying to produce a harvest. His death on the cross included much more, clearly answering to the first; His baptizing with the Holy Ghost followed His going to heaven. But He Must Needs Pass Through Samaria. good end. "Come, see a man that told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?" . In the meanwhile the disciples prayed him, saying, Rabbi, eat. The passage should be read as follows: _"He FIELDS WHITE UNTO HARVEST THE RETURN OF THE DISCIPLES. reformation of the world by th _When therefore the Lord knew_ Nevertheless the Son had taken the place of being the sent One, the place of subordination in the earth, in which He would say, "My Father is greater than I." ind. us. One needs no more than to read, as believers, these wonderful expressions of the Holy Ghost, where we cannot but feel that we are on ground wholly different from that of the other gospels. Had it been meant, it was no wonder that Nicodemus did not know how these things could be. All others are more or less fully reapers, though in the CHAPTER 11 Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that John 4:27. He said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not. John 3:17; John 3:17) This decides all before the execution of judgment, Every man's lot is made manifest by his attitude toward God's testimony concerning His Son. (1) On a _priori_ grounds. The Lord meets him at once with the strongest assertion of the absolute necessity that a man should be born anew in order to see the kingdom of God. His earthly rights are just where they should be; but not here, where the only-begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father has His appropriate place. His exaltation there is not without notice in the gospel, but exceptionally. He said to her, "Go, call thy Compare Joshua 24:13. I he Lord of the whole harvest, have sent you He had employed act. In John 6:1-71 our Lord sets aside Israel in another point of view. harvest? But c._ 18), for John was now in prison. I SENT YOU TO REAP THAT WHEREON YE HAVE NOT TOILED: OTHERS The Woman's Witness and the Believing Samaritans. First, a new nature is insisted on the Holy Ghost's quickening of each soul who is vitally related to God's kingdom; next, the Spirit of God takes an active part not as source or character only, but acting sovereignly, which opens the way not only for a Jew, but for "every one." But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not. We have had his name introduced into each part of the preface of our evangelist. It is here we learn in what condition of His person God was to be revealed and the work done; not what He was in nature, but what He became. (Ver. 38. SENT YOU TO REAP THAT WHEREON YE BESTOWED NO LABOR. If He judges, it is not without full warning. The words, "He must needs pass through Samaria" are arresting. OTHER MEN LABORED; spoken of all the preparation made by Christ and Jesus saw the man, and knowing that he was long thus, prompts the desire of healing, but brings out the despondency of unbelief. Pirke Aboth,_ i. have laboured. send.WHEREON YE HAVE NOT LABOURED I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours." His joy was that of a friend of the Bridegroom (to whom, not to him, the bride belonged), and now fulfilled as he heard the Bridegroom's voice. The addition of "unto him" detracts, to my mind, from the exceeding preciousness of what seems to be, at least, left open. _ (G649) Meanwhile, for Christian worship, the hour was coming and in principle come, because He was there; and He who vindicated salvation as of the Jews, proves that it is now for Samaritans, or any who believed on account of His word. He that believes on the Son has everlasting life; and he that disobeys the Son, in the sense of not being subject to His person, "shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him" Such is the issue of the Son of God present in this world an everlasting one for every man, flowing from the glory of His person, the character of His testimony, and the Father's counsels respecting Him. Nor was it yet complete. he might be; and this, too, as the expression of the true and full grace of God in His only-begotten Son given. The Lord Jesus did, without question, take humanity in His person into that glory which He so well knew as the Son of the Father. Her testimony bore the impress of what had penetrated her soul, and would make way for all the rest in due time. I sent [ ]. The Jews, then, who could not help, and pitied not their fellow in his long infirmity and disappointment, are scandalized to see him, safe and sound, carrying his couch on that day. It is not John's business here to call attention to His Messiahship, not even when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask, Who art thou? 42). He confined his labors to Judea, and even there he was occupied in sowing seed which chiefly sprang up after his death. Man might pull Him down destroy Him, as far as man could, and surely to be the basis in God's hand of better blessing; but He was God, and in three days He would raise up this temple. This question is raised, or rather settled, by the Lord in Jerusalem, at the passover feast, where many believed on His name, beholding the signs He wrought. have not laboured, have laboured, have entered, I have sent you, and am now sending you, to reap that whereon ye have not toiled to weariness, Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers. THE WORK AMONG SAMARITANS For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him." 33 I. But this, however worthy of God, and indispensable for man, could not of itself give an adequate expression of what God is; because in this alone, neither His own love nor the glory of His Son finds due display. And they which were sent were of the Pharisees. (VerseJohn 4:1; John 4:1) It was strange to her that a Jew should thus humble himself: what would it have been, had she seen in Him Jesus the Son of God? Thus we all not only receive of His fulness, (and what fulness illimitable was there not in Him!) Thus, as in the former case the Lord's dealing in Galilee was a type of the future, this appears to be significant of His then present path of grace in that despised quarter of the land. As soon as Jesus opens the living spring within our hearts, we abandon JESUS PREACHES TO THE SAMARITAN WOMAN (Verses John 7:40-53). Whosoever denieth the Son hath not the Father; he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also. greatly aroused, s And he must needs go through Samaria. * He says, One was among them of whom they had no conscious knowledge, "that cometh after me, the thong of whose sandal I am not worthy to loose." The dreadful truth comes out: the Lord did not trust Himself to them, because He knew all men. It was about the sixth hour: By the reckoning John used, this was about noon, during the heat of the day. MARVELLED.The disciples evidently thought that Jesus , Thus solemnly does the meek Lord Jesus unfold these two truths. Natural birth had nothing to do with this new thing; it was a new nature altogether in those who received Him: "Who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." But they learn that it was his divine Physician who had not only healed, but so directed him. (vs.1-26) Nothing less than everlasting life in Christ can deliver: otherwise there remains judgment. All disciplinary action, every probationary process, disappears. This is the truth; but the Jews had the law, and hated the truth. THE REWARDS OF SERVICE Your IP: baptized more disciples than John, (though Jesus himself baptized In short, the riches of God's grace are here according to the glory of the Son, and in the power of the Holy Ghost. In truth, Christian baptism did not yet exist, but only such as the disciples used, like John the Baptist; it was not instituted of Christ till after His resurrection, as it sets forth His death. As the new birth for the kingdom of God, so the cross is absolutely necessary for eternal life. ex 542. I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours. Here (John 5:1-47) the first view given of Christ is His person in contrast with the law. through "sin." Art thou that prophet? From this we may learn: 1. It was not so. The Father and the Son were at work. For thes _EXPLANATORY AND CRITICAL NOTES_ How was this? He who inspired them to communicate His thoughts of Jesus in the particular line assigned to each, raised up John to impart the highest revelation, and thus complete the circle by the deepest views of the Son of God. (VersesJohn 3:7-8; John 3:7-8), It is hardly necessary to furnish detailed disproof of the crude, ill-considered notion (originated by the fathers), that baptism is in question. _aor._ (Verses John 1:44-51). _When therefore Jesus knew_, &c. _than John_, that is, than John At Sychar's Well; Jesus and the Samaritan Woman. Jesus speaks of some point in the past. John the Baptist and the Lord. _I sent you_, &c. The pronouns are again emphatically opposed, as in _The ministry and revelation of the Lord to those beyond the AND HE THAT REAPETH, &C. As the disciples laboured together with We should not be discouraged if we do not meet with immediate success. I SENT YOU, [ egoo (G1473) apesteila (G649)]. You It was no longer a moot-point whether God could trust man; for, indeed, He could not. For in this the saying OTHER MEN. Besides this, goodness overflows, in that the Father is gathering children, and making worshippers. We have seen already that thus light was shed on men. Nathanael's call is just as clearly typical of Israel in the latter day. So we see in the attractive power, afterwards dealing with individual souls. It is His person as incarnate first, then in redemption giving His flesh to be eaten and His blood to be drank. 36. "He came unto his own [things], and his own [people] received him not. John 1:17; John 1:17) The law, thus given, was in itself no giver, but an exacter; Jesus, full of grace and truth, gave, instead of requiring or receiving; and He Himself has said, It is more blessed to give than to receive. John 4:32. Theme: The Lord Jesus encourages us to enter into His joyous work of harvesting souls for His kingdom by teaching what the work of the harvest is like. (6) Now Jacob's well was there. This the Lord refuses, and goes up the mountain to pray, His disciples being meanwhile exposed to a storm on the lake, and straining after the desired haven till He rejoins them, when immediately the ship was at the land whither they went. And Jesus answers, "I that speak unto thee am he." What more glorious proof than that the Holy Ghost is given not a certain defined power or gift, but the Holy Ghost Himself; for God gives not the Spirit by measure! Sons they might have been in bare title; but these had the right of children. Click to reveal How truly it is man under law! Accordingly, if the law raised the question of righteousness in man, the cross of the Lord Jesus, typifying Him made sin, is the answer; and there has all been settled to the glory of God, the Lord Jesus having suffered all the inevitable consequences. It is the final setting aside of Judaism then, whose characteristic hope was the display of power and rest in the world. At Sychar's Well; Jesus and the Samaritan Woman. narrative of an eyewitness: of the Synoptists S. Luke alone, the In itself, it is a radiant revelation of His method as He l By these words our Saviour testifies to his disciples, that the AND HE THAT REAPETH, &C. As the disciples laboured together with had baptized huge crowds John 4:1), so huge that John the Baptist's Jesus not only could go up, as He did later, but He had come down thence, and, even though man, He was the Son of man that is in heaven. Theme: The Lord Jesus encourages us to enter into His joyous work of harvesting souls for His kingdom by teaching what the work of the harvest is like. This gives occasion to Jesus to teach us the lesson that conscience must be reached, and sense of sin produced, before grace is understood and brings forth fruit. * The CHAPTER 4 "And this is the judgment, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. (Verse John 3:10). Blessed servant he of an infinitely blessed and blessing Master! "No man hath seen God at any time: the only-begotten Son," etc. Doubt has been thrown on this narrative in four different John 7:37) It is not a question of eating the bread of God, or, when Christ died, of eating His flesh and drinking His blood. For nothing can be more observable than the way in which He becomes the centre round whom those that belong to God are gathered. The resurrection of the Lord is not more truly a demonstration of His power and glory, than the only deliverance for disciples from the thraldom of Jewish influence. LABOURED. No man hath seen God at any time. THEIR: i.e. John 4:28 (5) Then cometh he to a city of And he who reaps receives wages and gathers fruit for . THE SPIRITUAL CULTURE OF THE WORLD What can be conceived more notably standing out in contrast with the governmental system God had set up, and man had known in times past? For though the Son (that eternal life who was with the Father) was a man, in that very position had the Father given Him to have life in Himself, and to execute judgment also, because He is Son of man. The fourth chapter of John contains one of the most marvelous stories The exemplification in our Lord's mind is given in John 4:38, where Other men. Expressly had He told the man to take up his couch and walk, as well as to rise. At once their malice drops the beneficent power of God in the case, provoked at the fancied wrong done to the seventh day. As a present fact, the Lord justifies the judicial act before their eyes by His relationship with God as His Father, and gives the Jews a sign in the temple of His body, as the witness of His resurrection power. (Verses John 5:17-18). final explanation must be found in His dealing with the woman of The passage should be read as follows: _"He FIELDS WHITE UNTO HARVEST JOHN 4:1 Thus it is not only the person of our Lord viewed as divine, and coming down into the world. No mere man, nor angel, not the highest, the archangel, but the Son. But how precious the grace, in presence of their hatred and proud self-complacency! CONTENTS: Jesus and the Samaritan woman. Thus in one way or the other all must honour the Son. (Ver. It was meet that so it should be; for, as a question of right, none could claim; and grace surpasses all expectation or thought of man, most of all of men accustomed to a round of religious ceremonial. John 1:35-40) Our Lord acts as One fully conscious of His glory, as indeed He ever was. JOHN 4:1 That the man who is crowned with eminent success has no cause of "boasting" over others, any more than the man who reaps a field of grain should boast over the man who sowed it. The impression produced upon the mind of the woman was that which which God Himself ever gave in employing the pen of man; not only the Here there is no John proclaiming Jesus as the One who was about to introduce the kingdom of heaven. have bought. I sent But let them beware how they perverted it. 7. His corporeal presence was not necessary; His word was enough. SOWING AND REAPING Here was One on earth who knew all secrets. ", To report dead links, typos, or html errors or suggestions about making these resources more useful use the convenient, Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology, Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament, The Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary. behold, I say to you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the (Delivered Sunday, December 7, 2003 at Bethany Bible Church. The Woman's Witness and the Believing Samaritans. All others prove not only that they are bad, but that they hate perfect goodness, and more than that, life and light the true light in the Word. The chapter pursues this subject, showing that it is not only God who thus deals first, with the necessity of man before His own immutable nature; next, blessing according to the riches of His grace but, further, that man's state morally is detected yet more awfully in presence of such grace as well as holiness in Christ. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotes are taken from the New King James Version.) He that comes from above from heaven is above all. Hence, then, we have the Lord Jesus alluding to this fresh necessity, if man was to be blessed according to God. It finds, of course, a present application, and links itself with that activity of grace in which God is now sending out the gospel to any sinner and every sinner. In a certain sense, the principle of John 4:1-54 was made true in the woman of Samaria, and in others who received Christ then. _ 1. LABOURED. The man that sows is not disheartened because he does not see the harvest "immediately" spring up. But this is not the question of grace: not what she was, but what He is who was there to win and bless her, manifesting God and the Father withal, practically and in detail. (2) the teachers among the Jews, who have read and explained the law and taught the people. not the Jews only; for, as far as intelligence went, it was little better with the disciples till He rose from the dead. This only secures His honour in those that believe God's testimony to Him, the Son of God; and to these He gives life, everlasting life now, and exemption from judgment, in this acting in communion with the Father. THE SAMARITAN WOMAN Jesus said to her, "Give Me a drink." Now this can mean one of t 1 Peter 1:11; 1 Peter 1:12; 2 Chronicles 36:15; Acts 10:37; Acts 10:3. would conduct Himself outwardly as did the Jewish rabbis. In itself, it is a radiant revelation of His method as He l By these words our Saviour testifies to his disciples, that the Still, such is the effect on man under law, that he could not take advantage of an adequate remedy. But all that is historically related of the Lord Jesus inJohn 1:1-51; John 1:1-51; John 2:1-25; John 3:1-36; John 4:1-54. was before the imprisonment of the Baptist. prophets had sown the seed in order to bring men to believe in Christ. Man, under law, proved powerless; and the greater the need, the less the ability to avail himself of such merciful intervention as God still, from time to time, kept up throughout the legal system. Jesus, being tired and hot, would have wanted a refreshing drink. He who owns the reality of Christ's incarnation, receives most thankfully and adoringly from God the truth of redemption; he, on the contrary, who stumbles at redemption, has not really taken in the incarnation according to God's mind. (Delivered Sunday, December 7, 2003 at Bethany Bible Church. 4. the part of the masses, faith on the part of a few, public attention SAY NOT YOU, THERE ARE YET FOUR MONTHS, AND THEN COMES The whole section is peculiar to S. John, and is evidently the The great fact of the incarnation is brought before us "The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only-begotten of the Father"). If His time was not yet come, their time was always ready. _the_ Sower. It was sabbath-day. It is our evangelist's way of indicating His Galilean sojourn; and this miracle is the particular subject that John was led by the Holy Ghost to take up. 3. The effect is thus final, even as His person, witness, and glory are divine. The surprising request (John 4:7). Jesus speaks of some point in the past. fields, because they are already white for the harvesting. Though He could not, would not deny Himself (and He was the Son, and Word, and God), yet had He taken the place of a man, of a servant. I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the THE SECOND SIGN IN GALILEE. It becomes a question of man's own condition, and how he stands in relation to the kingdom of God. Those The prophets, who long labored to prepare the way for the coming of the Messiah. None but a divine being could thus deal with the world. The memorable halt (John 4:1). The disciples return with the food they You As to Himself, He does not go at that time to the feast of tabernacles; but later on He goes up "not openly, but as it were in secret" (verseJohn 7:10; John 7:10), and taught. In Him was life for this scene of death; and it is of faith that it might be by grace. How can such have relationship with God? So on the last day, that great day of the feast (the eighth day, which witnessed of a resurrection glory outside this creation, now to be made good in the power of the Spirit before anything appears to sight), the Lord stands and cries, saying, "If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink." prophets had sown the seed in order to bring men to believe in Christ. The one, like the other, contributes to this great end, whether the Son of man necessarily lifted up, or the only begotten Son of God given in His love. The Here, accordingly, it is not so much the means by which life is communicated, as the revelation of the full blessing of grace and communion with the Father and His Son by the Holy Ghost, in whom we are blessed. the pronouns and are emphatic. I sent you to Verse John 1:29 opens John's testimony to his disciples. another._ 38. The pronouns, as in John As there is an absolute necessity on God's part that man should be thus born anew, so He lets him know there is an active grace of the Spirit, as the wind blows where it will, unknown and uncontrolled by man, for every one that is born of the Spirit, who is sovereign in operation. For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son: that all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. "Master, eat," said they. If a man looks at the Lord Jesus as One who entered the world in a general way, and calls this the incarnation, he will surely stumble over the cross. Indeed, it is the total eclipse, not merely of law and remedial mercies, but even of promised Messianic glory, by everlasting life and resurrection at the last day. 30 They came out of the town and made their way toward him. It is not only the nature, but the model and fulness of the blessing in the Son, who declared the Father. Thus when particular difficulties occur in the word and providence of God, it is good to satisfy ourselves that all is well that . They should have understood more about Him those that were specially favoured. Yet before a miracle, as well as in the working of those which set forth His glory, it is evident that so far from its being a gradual growth, as it were, in His mind, He had, all simple and lowly though He were, the deep, calm, constant consciousness that He was God. This was the end of the law, this the fruit which the prophets lo CHAPTER 10 "He" saw comparatively little fruit of his ministry. 1. The opening verses (John 1:1-18) introduce the most glorious subject This last is the figure of a truth deeper than incarnation, and clearly means communion with His death. They entered not into His words more than His grace, but thought and spoke, like the Samaritan woman, about things of this life. This brings all to a point; for the woman says, "I know that Messiah cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things." JOHNNOTE ON JOHN 4:37 The OTHERS who have labored are Jesus and his ( John 4:7-9) Jesus speaks with a Samaritan woman. You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked. behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest. They would fall a prey to Antichrist, and meanwhile are accused of Moses, in whom they trusted, without believing him; else they would have believed Christ, of whom he wrote. The memorable halt (John 4:1). "Christ represents Himself as the Husbandman [rather the Lord of the laborers], who has the direction both of the sowing and of the harvest, who commissions all the agentsthose of the Old Testament as well as of the Newand therefore does not stand on a level with either the sowers or the reapers" [Olshausen]. The opened vista (John 4:10). the part of the masses, faith on the part of a few, public attention It is not denunciation, but the most solemn sentence in the calmest manner. MISSIONS IN THE GOSPELS (VersesJohn 7:33-36; John 7:33-36) Jesus was returning to Him that sent Him, and the Holy Ghost would be given. , (VersesJohn 6:1-21; John 6:1-21). John 1:29; John 1:29John 1:34; John 1:34) of John Baptist's testimony here named; the first day (ver. This was necessary for the kingdom of God; not for some special place of glory, but for any and every part of God's kingdom. 2 _, de cons. This statement (verse John 1:15) is a parenthesis, though confirmatory of verse John 1:14, and connects John's testimony with this new section of Christ's manifestation in flesh; as we saw John introduced in the earlier verses, which treated abstractly of Christ's nature as the Word. The disciples theref EXPOSITION OF THE GOSPEL OF JOHN The Not that the Lord Himself The Light, on coming into the world, lightens every man with the fulness of evidence which was in Him, and at once discovers the true state as truly as it will be revealed in the last day when He judges all, as we find it intimated in the gospel afterwards. I SENT YOU TO REAP The pronouns are again emphatic. John the Baptist, who came to prepare the way. reap. When? Judgment is the alternative for man: for God it is the resource to make good the glory of the Son, and in that nature, in and for which man blind to his own highest dignity dares to despise Him. Samaritan. As soon as Jesus opens the living spring within our hearts, we abandon ways. (Verses John 7:19-23) What judgment could be less righteous? For them, Israel, or the world, all is over. (Ver. Nay, the Father has given all judgment to the Son. ( ). Read John 4:38 - 'Webster's Bible' translation - I sent you to reap that on which ye bestowed no labor: other men labored, and ye have entered into their labors. But the chapter does not close without a further contrast. . RE _THIS CAN BE THE CHRIST BECAUSE HE KNOWS ALL THINGS -- JOHN 4:27-38:_ THEIR: i.e. So it must be now; for God is revealed; and the Father in grace seeks true worshippers (be they Samaritans or Jews) to worship Him. in their original call. So does his confession: Rabbi, thou art the Son of God: thou art the King of Israel. 2. SENT YOU TO REAP THAT WHEREON YE BESTOWED NO LABOR. Jesu 1-54 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! in chap. It is not a message or a sign, however significant at the moment, which passes away as soon as heard or seen. Thus when particular difficulties occur in the word and providence of God, it is good to satisfy ourselves that all is well . John 1:26-27; John 1:26-27) For himself he was not the Christ, but for Jesus he says no more. As this chapter sets forth the Lord Jesus with singular fulness of glory, on the side both of His Godhead and of His manhood, so it closes with the most varied and remarkable testimonies God has given to us, that there may be no excuse. _When our Lord knew that the Pharisees heard that to His baptizing more disciples than John. The contrasts are as strong, at least, as the resemblance with the healing of the centurion's servant in Matthew 13:1-58 and Luke 7:1-50, which some ancients and moderns have confounded with this, as they did Mary's anointing of Jesus with the sinful woman's in Luke 7:1-50. I sent you, [ egoo (G1473) apesteila (G649)]. strict compass of the theocracy. THE SECOND SIGN IN GALILEE. There was sentence of death pronounced on their system, and they felt accordingly. position in the dealings of God. And worship is viewed both in moral nature and in the joy of communion doubly. reap. When? c._ 18), for John was now in prison. JESUS IN SAMARIA. prophetical books, and were such bitter enemies of the Jews, be The disciples return with the food they They knew what they worshipped, but not the Father, nor were they "true." There is no other way in which the new nature is made good in a soul. (Verse John 1:9) The world therefore surely ought to have known its Maker. Compare 1 Corinthians 3:6. In the mean while the disciples prayed Him, saying, Rabbi, eat. John 1:11-12; John 1:11-12) It was not a question now of Jehovah and His servants. husband, and come hither." send.WHEREON YE HAVE NOT LABOURED Man was judged: another Man was there, the Lord from heaven, soon to stand in resurrection. himself did not _For herein is the saying true: The sower is one and the reaper The "I" here is emphatic: I, the Lor. (Verses John 3:11-13) He (and He was not alone here) knew God, and the things of God, consciously in Himself, as surely as He knew all men, and what was in man objectively. What is there in God more truly divine than grace and truth? The Spirit of God uses that word; it is thus invariably in conversion. Then said they unto him, Who art thou? I HAVE SENT YOU. infinite truth! The law works no deliverance; it puts a man in chains, prison, darkness, and under condemnation; it renders him a patient, or a criminal incompetent to avail himself of the displays of God's goodness. It would not suit God, if it would suit man, that He, seeing all, should just pronounce on man's corruption, and then forthwith let him off with a bare pardon. our water pots. And. John 4 - Vision for Harvest A. husband, and come hither." Even now faith knows, that instead of sin being the great object before God, ever since the cross He has had before His eyes that sacrifice which put away sin. The Father seeks worshippers. INTRODUCTORY WORDS How could either light or love rest in a scene of sin, darkness, and misery? Unbelief on Here the Lord was really owned by the multitudes as the great Prophet that should come; and this in consequence of His works, especially that one which Scripture itself had connected with the Son of David. final explanation must be found in His dealing with the woman of )_ An inchoate and destined, not a completed, action laboured, and ye are entered into their labours. Each had his own; all are harmonious, all perfect, all divine; but not all so many repetitions of the same thing. And such was Jesus. John 4:35-36. Was this false and blasphemous in their eyes? The general object aimed at in the relation of the story of Nicodemus So bright was His glory, so concerned was the Father in maintaining it, so immense the blessing if received, so tremendous the stake involved in its loss, that God vouchsafed the amplest and clearest witnesses. _other men_ Christ, the Sower; but put in the plural to balance -ye" Thus the Holy Ghost, given by the Son in humiliation (according to God, not acting on law, but according to the gift of grace in the gospel), was fully set forth; but the woman, though interested, and asking, only apprehended a boon for this life to save herself trouble here below. himself baptized not, but his disciples), he left Judaea, and d John 4:1. our Lord in this spiritual harvest,to encourage them, he put them Here the Lord introduces the cross. 33 The fourth chapter of John contains one of the most marvelous stories How, indeed, could it be stayed within narrow limits? On this basisJohn 7:1-53; John 7:1-53 proceeds. Nor would the rejected Christ, the Son of man; for if lifted up on the cross, instead of having the throne of David, the result would be not merely earthly blessing for His people according to prophecy, but eternal life for the believer, whoever. position in the dealings of God. (Verse John 3:16), Let it not be passed by, that while the new birth or regeneration is declared to be essential to a part in the kingdom of God, the Lord in urging this intimates that He had not gone beyond the earthly things of that kingdom. (See on [1780]Joh 4:42). Look you! It was an extraordinary birth; of God, not man in any sort, or measure, but a new and divine nature (2 Peter 1:1-21) imparted to the believer wholly of grace. (VerseJohn 4:10; John 4:10) Infinite grace! The And he saith, I am not. Governmental healing even from Him might only end in "some worse thing" coming. His ministry outside that people, while still acknowledging their true So rich and transparently divine was the grace: not some souls, more meritorious than the rest, rewarded according to a graduated scale of honour, but "of his fulness have all we received." (Verses John 4:31-38). and the more manifest from His lips to one who was a real impersonation of sin, misery, blindness, degradation. will come'? John 3:31-36) he speaks of His person in contrast with himself and all; of His testimony and of the result, both as to His own glory, and consequently also for the believer on, and the rejecter of, the Son. others labouredReferring to the Old Testament laborers, the Baptist, and by implication Himself, though He studiously keeps this in the background, that the line of distinction between Himself and all His servants might not be lost sight of. 1-42. _This passage describes an incident He is a divine person; His manhood brought no attainder to His rights as God. John gives us this point of contact with them, though in an incident peculiar to himself. To reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour - meaning that much of their future success would arise from the preparation already made for them. A second and wholly new man appears the bread of God, not of man, but for men. He Must Needs Pass Through Samaria. Art thou Elias? broader sense this includes all the OT writers and prophets. OTHER MEN. 3. Here we see Him accepting, not as fellow-servant, but as Lord, those souls who had been under the training of the predicted messenger of Jehovah that was to prepare His way before, His face. This will be displayed in the millennium, when the marriage will be celebrated, as well as the judgment executed (Jerusalem and its temple being the central point then). All this clearly goes down to millennial days. alongside Explanation of John 4 and The New Jerusalem and its Heavenly Doctrine (Whitehead translation) #292 Nobody had gone up to heaven: God had taken more than one; but no one had gone there as of right. [ See verse text ] narrative of an eyewitness: of the Synoptists S. Luke alone, the 72.52.197.117 AND HE THAT REAPS good end. In John 4:37 both are put in th John 2:13 TO JOHN 11:57. in mind of the reward. Nevertheless, Christ did come to His own things, His proper, peculiar possession; for there were special relationships. It was not that they were better than their neighbours. Other men laboured; the prophets, and John the Baptist: and ye are entered into their labours; to finish the work they had begun, and which was almost done to their hands. THE SAMARITAN WOMAN The Lord Jesus presents Himself as putting an end to all this now for the Christian, though, of course, every word God has promised, as well as threatened, remains to be accomplished in Israel by-and-by; for Scripture cannot be broken; and what the mouth of the Lord has said awaits its fulfilment in its due sphere and season. See also John 4:38 in other biblical comments: Albert Barnes' Bible Commentary. Christ in Samaria. Christ was the true sanctuary, not that on which man had laboured so long in Jerusalem. In a it was no lack of testimony; their will was for present honour, and hostile to the glory of the only God. Other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours.Or, others have laboured. Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of judgment." If He spoke the truth, they were blasphemers. "The law was given by Moses." The labor of both is equally necessary, and the labor of both would be useless if God did not give the increase. It was worldliness in its worst shape, even to the point of turning the glory of Christ to a present account. All is in the character of the Son of man. have not labored or toiled in preparing the way for the great harvest in mind of the reward. They are surprised that Jesus is talking with a woman (Ver. As He said, "One sows and another reaps" (4:37). of the Word of God. John 4:38, NLT: I sent you to harvest where you didn't plant; others had already done the work, and now you will get to gather the harvest.' John 4:38, CSB: I sent you to reap what you didn't labor for; others have labored, and you have benefited from their labor." What does John 4:38 mean? For the astonishing thought is, not merely that Jesus receives the Holy Ghost without measure, but that God gives the Spirit also, and not by measure, through Him to others. Let them learn, then, that as Son of man (for which nature they despised Him, and denied His essential personal glory) He will judge; and this judgment will be no passing visitation, such as God has accomplished by angels or men in times past. The healing of the courtier's son, sick and ready to die, is witness of what the Lord was actually doing among the despised of Israel. There was purpose in it. Thus, in fact, we have the Lord setting aside what was merely Messianic by the grand truths of the incarnation, and, above all, of the atonement, with which man must have vital association: he must eat yea, eat and drink. Nevertheless, the heavenly part is little dwelt on, as John's gospel displays our Lord more as the expression of God revealed on earth, than as Man ascended to heaven, which fell far more to the province of the apostle of the Gentiles. (Verses John 7:3-5) The Lord intimates the impossibility of anticipating the time of God; but then He does it as connected with His own personal glory. In the five porches, then, of this pool lay a great multitude of sick, blind, lame, withered, waiting for the moving of the water. CHAPTER 4 Could they, then, reject the Son, and merely miss this infinite blessing of life in Him? The Those Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page. (John 4:6 .) He is ever See also John 4:38 in other biblical comments: Albert Barnes' Bible Commentary. Yet they knew it was for some good reason, and for some good end. The truth is, the design of manifesting His glory governs all; place or people was a matter of no consequence. LABORED, AND YE ARE ENTERED INTO THEIR LABORS. Plural _of allos._ Now it is that the great question is decided; now it is that a man receives or refuses Christ. For were it not God Himself in the person of Jesus, it had been no glory to God, but a wrong and a rival. I SENT YOU; spoken in anticipation of the mission of his apostles, After this we have, suitably to this gospel, John's connection with the Lord Jesus. Nor will the full force of this expression be witnessed till the glorious result of His blood shedding sweep away the last trace of sin in the new heavens and the new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. THE SAMARITAN WOMAN (JOHN 4:4). He said to her, "Go, call thy The result immediately follows. The Prophets, and teachers of the Law, and such as they 1-54 Evang., Spite of the most express signs, and the manifest finger of God that wrote the ten words on tables of stone, the law sinks into comparative insignificance. In the meanwhile the disciples prayed him, saying, Rabbi, eat. He saw him under the fig tree. Here there could not be more, and He would not give less: even "grace upon grace." For He who spoke was divine. He acts as such. The first four chapters of John precede in point of time the notices of His ministry in the other gospels. John 4:38 - Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours. The disciples theref EXPOSITION OF THE GOSPEL OF JOHN "I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours.". 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