John Chapter 4

John Chapter 4

The Pharisees heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John, although Jesus himself did not baptize anyone, only his disciples did. Hmm, what’s the matter JC, too good to baptize us mere mortals. I thought John the Baptist prophesied that he would baptize with the holy spirit whereas he could only baptize with lousy water.

Again, something that probably doesn’t matter, but really needles me.

Jesus left Judaea and to go to Galilee but he had to go through Samaria first. They reach the city of Sychar near the land parcel that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. But, of course. Jacob’s well was on this section of the land and JC was feeling a bit tired from his journey so he took a break and sat on the well. I was around the sixth hour. Either they get up really early or they’re saying it was six at night or the eighteenth hour of the day according to our modern standards. I can’t be certain.

He was all alone because his disciples had gone into the city to buy meat. A woman from Samaria approached to the well to draw water and Jesus said, “Give me to drink.” This to my ears sounds like he’s saying he’d like to become an alcoholic, but, I think, we are meant to interpret as he would like her to draw him a bit of water. Of course, we’ve already see how he talks to his mother, so you can bet he wouldn’t say something civil like, “I’m so tired, would you mind sharing some of your water?” No, give me to drink, is all we get.

The woman is confused and says so. You’re a Jew and I’m a Samarian, Jews never deal with us. What’s up with you?

Jesus in his infinite understanding and compassion for the world around him says, If you knew the gift of God, and who just asked you for a drink, you would have asked him instead and he would have given you living water. Okay JC.

The woman is now completely befuddled, um, sir, you don’t have anything to use to get water from the well, and it’s very deep (meaning simply using your hands is out), so how do you think you’d get this…uh… “living” water. Are you greater than our father Jake who gave us the well, and even used it himself, in fact, not just him, but his children and his cattle, too. Wow! Cattle, too!

Jesus says that whoever drinks from this well will never thirst again. Even better whoever drinks of the water that I give with never thirst again, either. BUT, the water I give him will be a well inside of him that springs up into everlasting life. Woo hoo.

Well, the Samaritan seems only partially concerned with the everlasting life deal, what she really wants is a solution to her everyday practical problem of having to constantly draw water from this well. She says to JC, give me this magic water so I don’t ever get thirsty again, and equally importantly so that I don’t have to come here to get it.

Jesus is rarely overly concerned with the ladies so he tells her to go get her husband and come back. She tells him that she doesn’t have a husband. Well it turns out that it was a word trap that JC had lain for her, well said he tells her. JC knew that she had had five husbands and she was with a man now who was not her husband.

Amazing. The woman perceives that he is a prophet. She says that the fathers of Samaria worship in the mountains but she thinks that Jesus tells people to worship in Jerusalem.

JC says (after referring to her no by her name, but as Woman. I don’t like how it’s fine for them to refer to women that way, but he never goes around talking to his disciples like that. Man, I’m going turn this one loaf into enough bread for the twelve of you. Maybe he just doesn’t want to sound like a surfer… I doubt it, but maybe) that the hour is coming when you’ll worship the Father neither in the mountains or in Jerusalem. He tells her that she doesn’t even know what she worships because salvation is of the Jews. The hour is coming and in fact is now when the true believes will worship in spirit and in truth, the place presumably does not matter. He tells her that those are the types of people his dad is looking for.

Wait, wait, it bears repeating, there are so few things that don’t… God is a spirit and everyone that worships him must do so in spirit and truth. Thank you John (the author) we really did get it already.

The lady’s like, I know that the Messiah’s coming and I heard he’s going to tell us everything when he gets here.

Jesus is like… yeah, uh… p.s. that’s me!

Then his disciples came traipsing along and they were sure surprised to find him chit chatting with this chica, but they didn’t ask what he was doing.

The woman left her waterpot and went to the city to find some men. Of course, what good are women? She invited them to come see a man who told her all the things she ever did. (Uh, well, he told her she’d been married a few times, is that really “all the things she ever did”?) She tells them she’s pretty sure this guy is the Christ that they’ve all heard so much about.

All the dudes go and find JC.

In the mean time, JC’s disciples were encouraging him to eat. But, he says that he has meat to eat that they don’t know anything about.

I think this is going to be just like the water situation… what do you all think? And by the way, don’t you think it was kind of annoying of Jesus to ask for a glass of water then proceed to lecture that woman. I don’t care for people like that.

Anyway, the disciples are confused and ask each other who might have brought meat to him.

Jesus clarifies by telling them that his meat is to do the will of his father and finish his work. He says, don’t tell me there are four months until harvest. I say the fields are already in harvest. He that reaps will receive wages and gather fruit into eternal life (I can be a migrant laborer forever? Wow, thanks). Not just that, but he that plants fruit and he that picks it can celebrate together. Hurray farmers! Oh yeah, this is a metaphor for believing and converting, I should point out.

More on sowing and reaping…

Here’s a saying that’s true says JC, one sows and one reaps. (And never the twain shall meet???)

He sent you to harvest things that you did not labor for, other men labored and you are the beneficiaries of that. Fabulous, I guess.

Many of the Samaritans believed him and now believed that unnamed woman. They asked him to stay awhile with them, so he hung out for two days. Many more were converted. They came to the woman and said, wow, you sure were right.

After two days he went to Galilee. Jesus testified that “a prophet hath no honor in his own country.” Now we know from Matthew and Mark that he’s referring to the way the people he grew up with treated him in Nazareth, but Author John doesn’t put that in any context for us.

The Galileans received him at a grand feast and again JC made some water into wine. Yeay! That’s my favorite magic trick!

There was a nobleman whose son was sick in Capernaum. He found JC and begged him to come and heal his son who was near death. Jesus said, you won’t believe in me unless you see these signs.

This poor guy tells him that his kid is dying. Please help!

Jesus can’t be bothered so he just tells him to get out of here, his kid will be fine. And the man believed in Jesus, and must have taken his word that his son was healed. I took that a little more harshly, but I have to say the Jesus of John is even less friendly than the JC of Matthew, Mark and probably Luke.

Well, it turns out the guy’s servants came running to tell him that the kid was okay. He asked them when it happened and they told him it was the seventh hour which was the same time he’d petitioned Jesus so now he REALLY believed it.

That was JC’s second miracle when he came out of Judaea and into Galilee. Thanks for keeping track of that for us Johnny.