John 4 Revisited
I continue to be amazed at the lessons Jesus taught during his encounter with the Samaritan woman as recorded by John. Just when I think I have figured it all out, I see new concepts and thoughts and have a better understanding of what Jesus was trying to get across to the woman, the disciples and us. I believe that God will continue to reveal His will through the word.
I used to think that the passage in John 4 was broken up into several thoughts that didn't have much to do with each other. Now, I am convinced that the thoughts presented are part of a continuous theme that Jesus seeks for man to understand about our relationship with God.
The woman first has a discussion with Jesus about the physical water she is drawing versus the spiritual water that God has provided for her. While this may seem only preparatory for the later discussion on worship, Jesus wants the woman to understand that the spiritual water that God provides is where her reliance should be. This spiritual water does not come from wells dug by man but is the gift of God. Jacob's labor in digging the well and man's labor of lifting out the physical water to sustain his life are the results of man's separation from God. The woman had spent her life having to make the trek to fetch the water from the well. Her labor was routine and repeated time and again to replenish her supply. Just like those before her, her life was dependent on her own labor. Jesus offered her water that required no effort from her. To receive this water, she did not have to come again to draw from Jacob's well or any other well. This water was spiritual and a gift of God. God made the effort to provide this water and it was made possible by the gift of His only son.
Now, realizing that Jesus is of God, she turns her attention to her question of worship. Like the physical drawing of water, she routinely treks to the mountain time and time again to sustain her relationship with God and her question is about the proper venue for her efforts. Jesus, continuing the theme of the spiritual instead of the physical, shows her that worship, like the living water, is now a gift of God. The relationship with God will not be dependent on her own efforts on the mountain or in Jerusalem where the Jews worshipped. Like the spiritual water Jesus had to offer her, worship would be offered for her by Jesus himself. He would become the sacrifice for her. She would only have to accept this offer of mediation by believing that Jesus was the son of God. And, she did. And, so did many others. Jesus remained there to see them grow in faith.
And then the disciples returned with food. Jesus continues on the theme of the spiritual verses the physical when they present him with the food that they had gone to purchase. His message to them was that the food that sustained him was of a spiritual nature. Like the message that he had given Satan during his time of temptation, Jesus wanted the disciples to understand that his food was taking the very words of God and transforming his life to do them. He wanted them to see that this food was God's gift and not something that they could attain on their own. Spiritual food, to do the will of God, would sustain them. Jesus knew that these were the things that must be sought and that God would provide the rest as he did for the birds of the air.
So, what a great lesson. God provides. He gave us Jesus, the water welling up to eternal life within us, the bread of life, sustaining us when we are weak, and the true sacrifice for our sins that puts us into a spiritual and everlasting relationship with God who now resides in us through His spirit. We no longer are required to go to a place to worship, time and time again, offering to God what has already been offered by Jesus for us. Now, that's good news! We are now free to do God's will by serving others and it's by this service that God is glorified because we look like His son.
1 John 3:23 - 24 "And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us."
I used to think that the passage in John 4 was broken up into several thoughts that didn't have much to do with each other. Now, I am convinced that the thoughts presented are part of a continuous theme that Jesus seeks for man to understand about our relationship with God.
The woman first has a discussion with Jesus about the physical water she is drawing versus the spiritual water that God has provided for her. While this may seem only preparatory for the later discussion on worship, Jesus wants the woman to understand that the spiritual water that God provides is where her reliance should be. This spiritual water does not come from wells dug by man but is the gift of God. Jacob's labor in digging the well and man's labor of lifting out the physical water to sustain his life are the results of man's separation from God. The woman had spent her life having to make the trek to fetch the water from the well. Her labor was routine and repeated time and again to replenish her supply. Just like those before her, her life was dependent on her own labor. Jesus offered her water that required no effort from her. To receive this water, she did not have to come again to draw from Jacob's well or any other well. This water was spiritual and a gift of God. God made the effort to provide this water and it was made possible by the gift of His only son.
Now, realizing that Jesus is of God, she turns her attention to her question of worship. Like the physical drawing of water, she routinely treks to the mountain time and time again to sustain her relationship with God and her question is about the proper venue for her efforts. Jesus, continuing the theme of the spiritual instead of the physical, shows her that worship, like the living water, is now a gift of God. The relationship with God will not be dependent on her own efforts on the mountain or in Jerusalem where the Jews worshipped. Like the spiritual water Jesus had to offer her, worship would be offered for her by Jesus himself. He would become the sacrifice for her. She would only have to accept this offer of mediation by believing that Jesus was the son of God. And, she did. And, so did many others. Jesus remained there to see them grow in faith.
And then the disciples returned with food. Jesus continues on the theme of the spiritual verses the physical when they present him with the food that they had gone to purchase. His message to them was that the food that sustained him was of a spiritual nature. Like the message that he had given Satan during his time of temptation, Jesus wanted the disciples to understand that his food was taking the very words of God and transforming his life to do them. He wanted them to see that this food was God's gift and not something that they could attain on their own. Spiritual food, to do the will of God, would sustain them. Jesus knew that these were the things that must be sought and that God would provide the rest as he did for the birds of the air.
So, what a great lesson. God provides. He gave us Jesus, the water welling up to eternal life within us, the bread of life, sustaining us when we are weak, and the true sacrifice for our sins that puts us into a spiritual and everlasting relationship with God who now resides in us through His spirit. We no longer are required to go to a place to worship, time and time again, offering to God what has already been offered by Jesus for us. Now, that's good news! We are now free to do God's will by serving others and it's by this service that God is glorified because we look like His son.
1 John 3:23 - 24 "And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us."
posted by Don Campbell at
4:17 PM
2 Comments:
Great analysis, Don!
It's right on and gives us THE MESSAGE of what the "good news" is.
Bruce
By
Anonymous, At
7:00 PM
Don,
Dad sent me your blog site in an email the other day so this is the first time I have seen it. As much as I agree with your analysis of John 4, I am more impressed at the moment to read the statement you make with the title of this site. I think all those that were raised in the Church of Christ were bombarded with tradition and dogma to a point where it almost reverts back to the Catholic Church of old that Martin Luther protested. Every belief on every issue was taken blindly not through faith in God but through some sort of indoctrination into a thought pattern. There were answers for all the major questions yet many of those answers were taken out of context. I'm not saying that the Church of Christ has been wrong this whole time but what I am saying is that it is a relief that many COC's are waking up and rethinking what they have been raised to believe. Not questioning faith in God but rethinking the dogmatic attitude that went with the "old" COC. This is what I see in this blog; someone who was raised in a conservative COC that wants to make sure on his own that he really understands what God wants of him because God showed him the Way and nobody else.
If you ever have time, you should look up John Hus if you don't know who he is. He predated Martin Luther and was martyred because he tried translating the bible into the native language of the people instead of Latin so that the people of the church could read God's word for themselves. Jesus came to be our intercessor and we should always take advantage of the fact that we can have that direct connection.
Sorry for the wordiness of this comment!
Philip
By
Anonymous, At
9:59 PM
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