The Place of Baptism (Verses 1-4)

We ought to take note of what the Lord Jesus Christ said about baptism in these verses. We read in verse 2 that our Lord and Saviour did not baptise, but left that to his disciples. We can conclude from this that baptism is not the chief part of Christianity, and that to baptise is not the main work of Christian leaders. We read about Christ praying, preaching and teaching. We have not a single record in all of Scripture of Christ baptising anyone. Baptism is an honourable ordinance and ought to be done by followers of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The chief work and ministry of the Church is to preach the Gospel. The words of St. Paul in 1 Corinthians 1:17 ought to encourage us, “For Christ has not sent me to baptise, but to preach glad tidings; not in wisdom of word, that the cross of the Christ may not be made vain.”

In verse 6 we read that Jesus was weary. We can see from the text that Jesus travelled from Judea to Galilee which is 70 miles. The journey would have taken about two and a half days. This ought to be a comfort to the people of God because in this verse we learn that our Lord and Saviour had a body that was subject to everything that our bodies are, except in the case of sin. Like ourselves Jesus grew from a baby to a child and then to full adulthood. Like ourselves he knew what it is like to feel hungry, to feel pain and for the need of sleep. He had a real human nature.

Here is good news. Our Saviour is man as well as God. One of the names for Jesus is Emmanuel which means, “God with us.” In the person of Christ, the fullness of the Godhead dwells in human form. All who believe and follow Him haves everything that a sinner can possibly need for peace, hope and eternal joy.

Jesus and the Samaritan Woman (Verses 5-26)

The story of the Samaritan woman in these verses is one the most interesting and informative in the Gospel of John. The Apostle John now shows us how the Lord Jesus Christ deals with ignorant and carnal-minded sinners. The woman in the story had a colourful past. She was married at least five times, and it appears from the text that she was in some sort of a relationship with a man to whom she was not married. The fact that Jesus knew her past teaches us that Christ knows all-things.

Our Lord was sitting by Jacob’s well when a woman of Samaria came to drink water. For a man to speak to a woman in public and for a Jew to converse with a Samaritan was not a common custom. History tells us that people from the area of Samaria were despised by the Jews. The Samaritans and Jews did not agree about where God’s people should worship. The Jews worshipped in the Temple at Jerusalem and the Samaritans did not. They disagreed about the world’s holiest site. For the Jews it was the Temple Mount at Jerusalem. For the Samaritans it was Mount Gerizim near Shechem in modern day Nablus.

In verse 7 Jesus said to the woman, “Give me to drink.” He does not begin by rebuking her sins. He opens the conversation by asking for a drink of water. This simple request opened the door for a spiritual conversation that led to the conversion of her soul. The conduct and manner of Christ ought to be remembered. Jesus went to the woman and started a conversation about a very natural subject such as the need to drink water.

We should also note the willingness of Christ to be merciful to sinners. He tells the Samaritan woman (verse 10), that “he would give her living water.” Salvation is a gift from God. Notice how Christ asked the woman to receive Him and His Gift. She had to receive the gift. If she received it her way of living would be changed forever.

The Lord Jesus Christ is far more ready to hear than we are to pray. Christ has thoughts of grace and mercy towards sinners, even when they have no thoughts of Him. Let us keep in mind the promise, “Ask and ye shall receive, seek and ye shall find” (Matthew 7:7-8). The lost will discover on the Day of Judgment that they had not because they asked not. They did not seek the Savior; they did not ask the Saviour to forgive them. They will discover that their eternal damnation is because they sought not the Saviour and were not prepared to come to the Son of God for the forgiveness of their sins.

The Lord tells the Samaritan woman, “He that drinketh of this water shall thirst again: but he that drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst.” There is not heart-satisfaction in this world until we believe on Christ. Jesus alone is the living water that the thirsty soul needs. The peace that Christ gives is a fountain which never goes dry.

In verse 16 the Lord says, “Go, call thy husband, and come hither.” The Samaritan woman seems to be unmoved until the Lord brings to her attention the fact that she has broken the seventh commandment. The heart-searching words of Christ in verse 16 appear to have pierced her conscience like an arrow. From that moment on the woman speaks like a sincere seeker of truth.

Till men and women are brought to a knowledge of sin and to an understanding of their need for a Saviour they can never be saved. Men and women need to know why they are sinners and what they need to be saved from. A Gospel without law preached is no Gospel. A Gospel that does not speak of personal sinfulness cannot save. A Gospel that does not point to the Saviour of sinners is no Gospel but vain and empty words. This is the chief way to do good for the lost. Never does a soul value the Gospel until it feels its need. Never does a soul see any beauty in Christ as Saviour, until it sees the ugliness of sin.

When the Samaritan woman was awakened to spiritual matters, she started to ask questions regarding the Samaritan and Jews ways of worshipping God. Our Lord tells her (verse 21), “The hour cometh when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.” Our Lord and Saviour tells her that true and acceptable worship of God does not depend on the place in which it is offered but the condition of the worshipper’s heart. True worshippers of God worship Him in spirit and in truth. “The Lord looketh on the heart” declares 1 Samuel 16:7.

Note the words of Christ in verse 22. He said, “salvation is of the Jews.” The Saviour was a Jew, and the first messengers of the Gospel were Jews. Our Lord declared in verse 24 that, “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” God is Spirit, this is his nature. The English word “worship” was originally spelled “worth-ship” and means to recognise the worth of the object of one’s worship. We must acknowledge God’s worth.

We must also acknowledge from the text Christ’s willingness to reveal Himself to sinners. He concludes His conversation with the Samaritan woman by telling her openly that he is the Messiah and the Saviour of the world. In verse 25 the woman said that she knew that the Messiah which is called Christ is coming. Jesus said to her, “I that speak unto thee am he.” Here we have one of the clearest verses in all of Scripture where Jesus declares Himself as the promised Messiah.

This story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman teaches us many things. Whatever you have done in your past life, there is hope and a remedy in Christ. You only need to be willing to come to the Saviour and receive Him. Embrace the gift on offer to all. Embrace the Saviour. Embrace salvation today, for tomorrow could be too late. Let us only ask, and He will give us living water.

Come and see Christ (Verses 27-30)

Christ’s dealings with man are marvellous. He is gracious to all who come to Him. We are told in this passage that Christ’s disciples were amazed that He spoke to a woman. This act of mercy by Christ was wonderful to the disciples because it was very uncommon for a man to talk to a woman in this way, even more so to a Samaritan woman.

We are told that after our Lord had told the woman He was the Messiah she left her water-pot and went her way into the city and told the people, “Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?” She left her home with the intention of drawing water, but she found at the well a new heart, a new object of interest. She found Christ and her life changed forever. She could think of nothing else, but the grace she found in Christ and the truths He told her.

A converted soul no longer cares about the things they once did. All things have become new. It was so with Peter, James, John and Andrew as soon as they were converted, they left their nets and fishing boats to follow Christ (Mark 1:19-20). The attitude of the Samaritan woman was the same. She had found complete fulfilment in her Saviour.

Rarely do we see a person so entirely taken up with spiritual matters as we find in this passage. This world’s affairs are secondary to those we meet in the text. Why is this so unusual? It is simply because true conversions to Christ are uncommon. Few people these days feel the deadness of their sins and flee to Christ. Few really pass from spiritual death to spiritual life and become new creatures. Happy are those who know something of this woman’s feelings, and can say with the Apostle Paul, “But surely I count also all things to be loss on account of the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, on account of whom I have suffered the loss of all, and count them to be filth, that I may gain Christ” (Philippians 3:8).

The last thing that this passage draws our attention to is the zeal of a truly converted person in doing good to others. The good that the converted soul does is to tell of the Saviour. We are told in the text that the Samaritan woman went into the city and spoke of the grace and mercy she found in her Saviour. In the same day as her conversion, she became a missionary for the Lord. She used no abstruse arguments. She did not attempt any deep reasoning about Christ’s claims regarding Him being the Messiah. She simply said, “come and see.” Out of the abundance of her heart her mouth spoke. That which the Samaritan woman did here, all true Christians ought to do. The Church needs it, the state of society depends on it, and the future of the Church demands it.

Where is our faith if we believe that all men will one day stand before the judgement seat of Christ and we do nothing to prepare and warn them of that day? Where is our love if we callously see souls passing into eternity without saving faith? Do we ever talk about the Gospel to the lost? If not, what is the value of our faith? Let us be zealous for Christ. Let us be active preachers of the Gospel. Let us be loving and gracious to all who pass our way. May a day never pass us by when we did not speak of Christ.

Christ, the Saviour of the World (Verses 31-42)

Our Lord and Saviour declares, “My meat is to do the will of Him that sent me, and to finish His work.” To do good was not merely duty and pleasure to Christ. He regarded it as His meat and drink. Do we do any work for God? Do we labour to promote that which is good? The world may mock and sneer, and call us all manner of names, yet do we stand for truth before a watching world? Let us be unmoved. Whatever men and women may say about us, we are walking in the steps of the Lord Jesus Christ.

We also see in this passage strong encouragement for those who labour for the Lord. He described the world as a “field white for harvest.” Jesus also said, “He that reapeth, receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal.” When we labour for the benefit of others it can be very discouraging as many do not appreciate our efforts. The hearts of men are often very hard. The Bible teaches us that the carnal mind is at enmity and against the things of God (Romans 8:7). We may see little fruit for our labours. We may see no fruit at all in our lifetime.

However, we are told by the Lord to labour on and to work for the Kingdom. We will never know the true impact of our work till we depart this world and enter God’s Kingdom above. Our labour will outlive us. We can share the Gospel with lost souls and the fruit of that may come after we have left this world.

The Bible tells us that “few there be that find the narrow way!” The many will not turn to Christ. These are discouraging facts, but nonetheless they are facts. However, there are wages laid up for faithfulness to Christ. There are rewards awaiting the loyal obedient servants of the Lord. Only what is done for Christ will last. Only what is done for Christ will pass the test of 1 Corinthians 3:13. Our labour is not in vain if we labour for Christ. One soul saved shall outlive and outweigh all the kingdoms of the world. Mark 8:36 says, “For what shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and suffer the loss of his soul?” Nothing in this world can match the joy of knowing Christ as your Lord and Saviour.

Nothing in this world can satisfy your longing and desire like Christ can. What a great joy and blessing it is to know that your sins are forgiven in Christ.

Lastly in this passage we learn about various ways in which souls are led to believe in Christ. We read that many more Samaritans believed on Him because of the words of the woman. Some were led to Christ by the testimony of the woman and others were led by hearing Christ Himself. The Holy Spirit always leads God’s people to Christ who is The Way. However, the circumstances by which they are brought to a saving knowledge are often very different. In some cases, the conversion is sudden: while in other cases their hearts are gently opened, like Lydia. We all have different experiences and are saved at different times in life. However, it is the same Gospel that brings a soul to the Lord. All are brought to a state of faith in the Saviour and repentance for sins.

The question we need to ask ourselves is this. Are we converted? Are we trusting in Christ alone for salvation? Our experience may not be the same as other believers, but do we have saving faith in the Saviour of sinners? Do we feel the weight of our sin? Do we flee to Christ? Do we find rest in Jesus? Are we bringing forth fruits of the spirit? If these things are so, we may thank God and delight in Him. Trust and obey for there is no other way to be satisfied in life than to trust and obey the Saviour.

Affliction is a blessing (Verses 43-54)

There are four key truths we learn in this passage. We learn firstly that the rich have afflictions just like the poor. Afflictions in life are not only for the poor, but the rich too also have their afflictions. We read about a nobleman in deep distress because his son was weak and at the point of death. The lesson needs to be impressed on our minds. To think that the rich have no cares or sickness is an error. The rich are just as prone to sickness and death as the lowest of society. Their money, wealth, and influence are no protection against sickness and death.

May the children of God avoid desiring riches. May the children of God pray for the rich and not envy them. In truth we have no reason to envy them. The soul that is trusting in Christ is rich. The soul that rests on the Lord is far better off than a man with vast wealth who does not trust in Christ. There are no greater riches in this life than those found in the Lord Jesus Christ. If you have Christ, you have all that your soul needs. He is only truly rich who has riches in Heaven.

The second truth we learn in the portion of Scripture is that sickness and death come to the young as well as the old. We see the natural order of things turned around here. The elder is obligated to care and minister to the younger, and not the younger to the older. The child in the text is drawing near to death. Generally speaking, parents die before their children, but here we see a child entering the final stages of his earthly life before his parents. The gravestones in every cemetery in the country testify to the truth declared in the passage. If you walk around the average churchyard or cemetery in your area, you will see the names of children and young people who have passed into eternity when they seem to have just begun their earthly journey.

Long and carefree life is not promised to anyone. We never know what a day may bring forth. The strongest and weakest are often cut down in the same hour. At times the strongest are cut down in a few hours while the weakest last for many years. The only true wisdom here is that we are to be prepared to meet God. Do not put off the day when you come to Christ for salvation for if you do that day may never come and one day it will be too late. The lives of many departed lost souls testify to this. They were too busy; they were putting that day off. Until one day it was too late, and they passed from this life without Christ and without hope. Do not be one of the countless numbers of whom it can be said, “It was too late”.

We learn thirdly in the text the benefits affliction can bring to the soul. Sometimes it can take sickness and life changing events to cause us to think about God. Many souls would never have thought about spiritual and eternal matters if it was not for their sufferings. Sickness has a strange way of causing us to think about the state of our soul and our own mortality.

In the text we read that the condition of the nobleman’s son led the father to Christ. When in the presence of Christ, he learns a valuable lesson and truth which ended with him believing and his whole house. All this hinged upon the son’s sickness. If the nobleman’s son had never been ill, his father might have lived and died in his sins.

Affliction is one of God’s medicines, although it can be a bitter pill to swallow. By suffering we learn lessons that which could be learned in no other way. By suffering God often draws us closer to Him, drawing us away from sin and the world. Health is a great blessing, but sickness teaches us things that we would never have learnt if we had good health all our life. Psalm 119:71 says, “It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I might learn thy statutes.” When the day comes for the people of God to leave this world, they will find that many of their losses were, in reality, great eternal gains.

The fourth and final truth we learn from the passage is that Christ’s word is as good as His presence. We read in the text that Jesus did not come down to Capernaum to see the sick young man but only spoke the word: “Thy son liveth.” Christ only spoke and the boy was healed. Christ said he will not cast out any who come to Him. We often say that seeing is believing, but in matters of the Gospel believing is as good as seeing. John 20:29 says, “Jesus says to him, Because thou hast seen me thou hast believed: blessed they who have not seen and have believed.”