Third
Sunday in Lent
John 4:5-42
Exegetical Notes by Brian Stoffregen
3 Lent A: John 4:5-42 exegetical notes
This text is about transformations -- a theme that reoccurs throughout
the opening chapters of John. Jesus changes water into wine. Jesus
proclaims a change from the physical temple into the temple of his
body. Jesus teaches that those born of the flesh must be transformed
into those having been born of the Spirit. Now Jesus transforms
conventional expectations and challenges the status quo.
One of the difficulties with this text is that it can be understood at
many levels -- from a simple historical account of a chance meeting
between two people to a parabolic-type story filled with symbolism.
A second difficulty with this text is that there is so much stuff in
the lengthy reading that can lend itself to fruitful preaching. One
can't cover all the themes presented. I will try and highlight some of
them below. One theme I will be suggesting throughout these notes that
this might be a model for a "seeker" situation. Although the woman
wasn't "seeking" Jesus, he made it a seeker situation. He tells her
what she should be seeking. She "finds" what has been revealed to her
by Jesus. Part of her "finding" is to share the news and invite others
into the same experience.
Brown (_John_, Anchor Bible) outlines our text in the following way:
A. Introduction and setting (4:4-6a)
B. Discourse with the Samaritan Woman (4:6b-26)
1. Dialogue about Living Water (4:6b-15)
2.Dialogue about True Worship (4:16-26)
C. Discourse with the Disciples (4:27-38)
1. Connective Between the Two Scenes (4:27-30)
2. Dialogue about Jesus' Food (4:31-34)
3. Parabolic Proverbs of the Harvest (4:35-38)
D. Conclusion: Conversion of the Townspeople (4:39-42)
INTRODUCTION (vv. 4-6a)
Although v. 4 is not part of our lection, it is significant for the
verb _dei_ -- "it is necessary." Normally, it is not necessary to go
through Samaria when traveling from Judea to Galilee. Many Jews would
take the longer route that bypassed the unclean land of Samaria. On a
literal level, we might guess that Jesus was in a hurry and didn't
want to take the longer route. On a symbolic level, the word _dei_ is
often used of God's plan or will = what Jesus must do. Was this a
"chance" meeting or part of God's plan?
The town of "Sychar" is unknown in the OT. It has been suggested that
it is a corrupt spelling of "Sychem" ("Shechem" in Heb.), perhaps
influenced by the "ar" of Samaria. Jacob bought land at Shechem (Gn
33:18-20). Although not mentioned in the OT, there is a "Jacob's well"
near the city -- about 250 ft away -- and both are located near Mt.
Gerazim. (Another suggestion is the modern village of Askar.)
The fact that Jesus was tired from his journey and needed to sit down
to rest indicates his humanness. The same word for "tired out"
(_kopiao_) is used twice in 4:38 in reference to working or laboring
for the harvest. These are the only instances of the word in John.
Evangelism (harvesting?) can be tiring and wearisome work. To use
another evangelical image, the impression I get from many church
people is that they expect the "fish" to just jump into the boat,
rather than working at catching them.
The sixth hour = noon. The heat of the sun may have also contributed
to Jesus' tired state. Normally, water would be drawn in the cooler
morning or evening (Gen. 24:11). The trek to draw water was usually
done as a group of women (1 Sam 9:11). It may be stretching the text a
bit, but the suggestion might be made that the Samaritan woman was in
the habit of sleeping in. She's not a morning person. She was lazy and
couldn't get to the well at the earlier time. Another suggestion is
that because of her immoral behavior (which is not necessarily
indicated by the text), other women did not want to associate with
her, so she had to come when it was likely that no one else would be
around.
There a number of striking contrasts between the woman and Nicodemus
from last week.
male || female
Jew || Samaritan
righteous Pharisee || immoral/idolater?
recognizes Jesus as from God || recognizes Jesus as a Jew, a prophet,
Messiah?
comes at night || comes at noon
unknown response to Jesus || becomes an effective witness
DIALOGUE ABOUT LIVING WATER
Jesus' request: "Give me a drink," was a violation of social customs.
First of all, as the woman indicates, Jews would not drink out of a
Samaritan cup, since they considered all Samaritans unclean and
anything they touched would be unclean. (More about some reasons for
the hatred between Jews and Samaritans later.)
Secondly, it was improper for a man to talk to a woman in public. This
is supported when the disciples return in v. 27. They "were
astonished" (the imperfect of _thaumazo_ implies more than just a
sudden shock or momentary surprise, but ongoing amazement and wonder)
that Jesus was speaking with a woman.
Perhaps more threatening than any of Jesus' other acts, he breaks down
the socially acceptable dividing walls between males and females and
between Jews and Samaritans. He completely transforms the social mores
of his day. Perhaps "being born from above" involves a whole lot more
than just our relationship with God. Paul is clear in Galatians
3:27-28 that baptism (new birth) makes all people equal -- including
Jews and Samaritans, men and women. In addition, their conversation
dealing with marriage, (sexual relationships?), and worship are topics
not usually discussed between strangers.
Jesus issues two challenges to the woman: (1) knowing whom it is who
is speaking to her; and (2) asking him and he would give her living
water.
"Living water" has both an earthly meaning and a deeper, spiritual
meaning. On the literal level, it means running water as opposed to
still water as in a cistern. This is how the woman (mis)understands
the phrase. On the deeper level, there are three possible meanings:
(1) The revelation that Jesus gives. In the OT, water is used of God's
wisdom that grants life (Pr 13:14; Is 55:1; Sir 24:21).
(2) The Spirit whom Jesus gives. In John 7:37-39, a connection is made
between drinking, living water, and the Spirit, which the believers
will receive.
(3) A reference to baptism (or immersion or birth) in water and the
Spirit (4:1-3), that brings a new life and status. 1 Cor 10:1-5
connects baptism with drinking.
I wonder, "Why does the woman need to ask for this gift of living
water? Couldn't Jesus just give it to her?" I get a little
uncomfortable with "asking language" -- it can easily lead to
salvation being based on something I do. On the other hand, the only
reason she would ask -- open herself to this gift -- is because Jesus
has offered the invitation to ask. We don't normally answer the phone
unless it rings, or open the door unless someone knocks. Such
responses are evoked by the ringing or knocking. So also the woman's
response to Jesus was evoked by his words to her. Jesus seeks to turn
her into a seeker, seeking what she didn't even know she needed, and
what, at first, she misunderstands.
In Matthew 6:8b Jesus says: "Your Father knows what you need before
you ask him," which, I think, implies we still need to ask. Why? We
don't ask because God needs our request, because God already knows
what we need. Perhaps God wants us to ask because we need the benefits
of asking. By asking, we recognize our need. By asking, we recognize
the source of our help and can offer the proper praise and
thanksgiving.
As in some other instances in John, the woman utters a truth without
knowing it: "You are not greater than our father Jacob, are you?" She
thinks not. We know he is.
Jesus makes some parallels between the well water and his living
water.
well water is necessary for life and is temporary
living water is necessary for eternal life and is everlasting
I think that we are always in need of earthly images to convey divine
truths -- ways to try and understand the incomprehensible through what
we do comprehend.
He helps her ask for the water, which she does. This was the second of
Jesus' challenges. She still doesn't know who he is and continues to
have an earthly understanding about the water. Her desire for the
water seems to be motivated by the thought that she wouldn't have to
come to the well anymore. Some people will do anything to get out of
working. What does Jesus do with our requests that are wrongly
motivated?
I think related to this is the Church's attempt to offer its good
treasure from God to the world. Our language about what God offers:
justification, sanctification, forgiveness, grace, etc., may be just
as confusing to the world as "living water" was to this woman (or
"born from above" was to Nicodemus). What will "speak" to this woman?
What will speak to the unbelieving world? How do we help the world
know what to ask for?
LIVING WATER AND WITNESSING
I note that right after she asks for living water, Jesus tells her to
go and to invite and to bring others to him. Could this be the living
water? Going and inviting and bringing others to Jesus? Could it be
that the way we receive living water is by giving it away? Water that
we try to keep is no longer living water. It becomes like still and
stale water in a cistern. Only water that is flowing out is "living
water".
DIALOGUE ABOUT TRUE WORSHIP
Jesus pushes her towards his first challenge and begins to help her
understand who he is. He asks her to invite her husband. On one level,
I find this a strange comment. What does her husband(s) have to do
with asking for living water or eternal life? Jesus special knowledge
of her situation, leads her to see Jesus as a prophet. (A similar
situation occurred with Nathanael in 1:48.) This may be all that is
intended by Jesus' question.
However, in addition, this woman could be an example of someone who
has come to the light, and whose deeds are exposed (3:20).
Contrary to popular perceptions, neither the text nor Jesus seems to
indicate that she was an immoral person.
What if each of those marriages ended when the husband died. She would
have buried five husbands. She would have gone through five funerals.
The pain and suffering and loss in her life would be great -- perhaps
too great for her to commit herself in marriage to another man. Maybe
this is why she wants to come to the well alone. Her pain is too great
to talk about it with anyone else. Maybe this is what has sapped the
life out of her.
What if each of those marriages ended when an abusive husband got
tired of her and threw her out of the house and divorced her. What if
she had spent her life being victimized by these men and then was
discarded like garbage? Maybe she had become so distrustful of
marriage that she wouldn't go through the ritual with the sixth man.
Could the bruises on her body keep her from associating with other
people? Could the terror in her mind keep her from talking to anyone
about her suffering? Is that why she is alone? Is that what has sapped
the life out of her?
On another level, there may be great symbolism in her answer of five
husbands.
2 Kings 17:24 indicates that after the fall of the Northern Kingdom:
"The king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva,
Hamath, and Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria in
place of the people of Israel; they took possession of Samaria, and
settled in its cities." People from five nations were resettled in
Samaria.
A little later in 17:29, we are told "every nation still made gods of
its own and put them in the shrines of the high places that the people
of Samaria had made, every nation in the cities they lived". Could the
five husbands symbolize the five nations and their gods? [Note that
17:30-31 lists seven gods worshiped by the five nations.] The sixth
"man" of the Samaritan woman could symbolize their worship of the
LORD, who was not really their god because they continued to worship
and serve these other gods. They weren't "married" to the LORD -- they
were just "fooling around" with the LORD as well as other gods.
In addition, the Hebrew word for "husband" is "ba`al," which also
means "god" as well as the specific god, "Baal". However, this is not
the word used in 2K 17:29, but "elohim".
If such symbolism is meant, then the sin is idolatry -- a topic that
often produced oracles from a prophet, and would naturally lead to
discussion about proper worship.
As another approach, I have often had people, when they learned I was
a minister, suddenly become "religious" in their conversation. E.g.,
"I try to keep the Ten Commandments." "I know I should go to church
more often." Etc. This is what the woman does after recognizing Jesus
as a prophet. Also, the proper place to worship is a less personal
topic than talking about her husbands. It indicates a growing
awareness of who Jesus is -- he is one who can offer an authoritative
decision on this divisive issue. The proper place of worship was just
one of the issues that separated the Jews and Samaritans. Another
issue was the inter-marriage of the leftover Jews and the five
imported nationalities. Related to this is the issue of their idolatry
after conquest by the Assyrians. The Samaritans, according to the Jews
had perverted the race and the religion. The Jewish high priest burned
the Samaritan temple on Gerizim in 128 BC. That didn't help smooth
over relationships between the people.
The word for worship (_proskuneo_) is used 11 times in John. Nine of
those are in 4:20-24. Another instance is in the text for next week
9:38, where the formerly blind man, whose great sin was thought to
have caused his blindness, believes and *worships* Jesus. The final
occurrence is 12:20 where some Greeks have come up to *worship* at the
festival. They approach Philip about meeting Jesus. One aspect of the
worship in spirit and truth is that it includes sinners, Samaritans
and Greeks.
Especially if the five husbands represent idolatry, the main worship
issue is not *where*, but *whom*. Three times Jesus mentions "the
Father" (vv. 21, 23) -- a term the woman had used of Jacob (v. 12).
(Prior to these uses, the term occurred at 1:14, 18; 2:16; 3:35 -- all
in reference to God as Jesus' father.) How does God become our
Father -- the one we are to worship? Last week's text tells us that we
need "to be born from above" or changing the passive to an active
verb: "God becomes our father." The transformation from being of flesh
to being of spirit needs to take place for us to worship "the Father".
This is true for the Pharisee Nicodemus, other Jews, the
immoral/idolatrous Samaritan woman, and for all of us.
The time of this transformation is coming and is now (4:21, 23). We
still have our favorite "places" of worship -- Lutheran churches,
Presbyterian churches, Baptist churches, etc., but I see a movement
towards recognizing that we are all worshiping *our* heavenly father.
How is worshiping in "spirit and truth" different other types of
worship? (Both "spirit" and "truth" are possible understandings of
"living water".) Can one worship God in "flesh" and "dishonesty"?
Probably. My bias would interpret "fleshly" worship as something we
do -- and if worship is centered on our actions, then we are more
likely to be dishonest -- trying to hide our true, sinful selves from
the righteous God -- or turning our emotional contrition for sins into
a new work to win God's favors. Spiritual worship is centered on what
God has done, is doing, and will do for us. Whether or not we "feel"
anything, if we had heard the Word and if we have received the
sacrament; God has come to us with divine love and forgiveness. The
"requirement" for receiving God's forgiveness is to be truthful about
our sinfulness -- our unworthiness to receive anything from God -- our
inability to earn anything from God; and believe the truth about God's
love for the world that sent Jesus not to condemn us but to save us.
How should we understand 4:22? Who are the "you" (plural) who worship
what they don't know? Who are the "us" who worship what they do know?
Is John saying that the Jews worship what they know and the Samaritans
are the ignorant ones? Does John mean to imply that the Christians
worship what they know and all others, Jews and Samaritans, are
ignorant of the true worship?
If we make the "you" the Samaritans, their ignorance may come because
they used only the five books of the Torah. They did not accept the
prophetic books or the other writings. Thus, their picture of the
coming one is incomplete. The promise of the savior is given to the
Jewish people -- and from them, Jesus Christ came. Our savior is
Jewish -- (not a northern European Lutheran <g>).
Early in the gospel there was ignorance. John did not know (_oida_, as
in v. 22) who Jesus was (1:31, 33) until the Spirit revealed Jesus to
him. Is the same true for all of us? We can't really know Jesus
without the revelation of the Spirit? Without that Spirit and
knowledge, we are unable to properly worship the Father?
John also has Jesus saying: "Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what
we know and testify to what we have seen; yet you do not receive our
testimony" (3:11). What we are to know also comes from Jesus' words.
The woman begins to recognize who Jesus is -- possibly the coming
Messiah. However, the Samaritans did not expect a Messiah in the sense
of an anointed king of the house of David. These promises were given
in the writings the Samaritans did not accept. Brown (_John_) writes
about their beliefs: "They expected a Ta'eb (= the one who returns),
seemingly the Prophet-like-Moses" [p. 172].
It is questionable whether a Samaritan would have used the term
"Messiah" or "Christ". However, these certainly are terms of John's
confession about Jesus.
In v. 26, Jesus responds with _ego eimi_ = "I am". Jesus, who is
speaking to her is the "I am" -- possibly referring to the name of God
in Exodus 3:14 -- part of scriptures accepted by both Jews and
Samaritans.
DISCOURSE WITH DISCIPLES
Earlier we were told that the disciples had gone into the city to buy
food (4:8). This presents a little bit of a problem, considering that
the only cities around them were Samaritan towns and I don't know if a
Jew would be willing to buy from a Samaritan -- or a Samaritan to sell
to Jews. That would be just as radical as Jesus asking the Samaritan
woman for a drink. Their "shopping trip" may indicate that Jesus asks
his followers to do things that are not always socially acceptable.
The disciples return. They are astonished at Jesus' talking to a
woman, but they don't bother to ask him why or what they were talking
about. Such pre-judging, without asking proper questions wouldn't
happen in our day and age, would it? <g>
We can only guess why the woman left her water pot in v. 28, but it
could lend it self to the interpretation that she was so excited about
Jesus, she just couldn't wait to tell the whole town -- just like the
evangelical excitement people have when leaving our worship
services -- NOT. Although her (Greek) words are different from 1:46,
the invitation is the same, "Come and see." Considering that she also
confesses that he told her everything she had ever done, (Jesus as the
exposing light of the world), coming and seeing could be a frightening
experience.
Her question (expecting a negative answer) about Jesus being the
Christ may be a question readers might wonder after his socially
unacceptable actions of talking to a woman in public and asking to
drink from a Samaritan's cup. Would God act like that? Answer: Yes,
God did. We would also have to assume, "Yes, God does."
BREAD
The disciples are just in the dark about Jesus' bread as the woman was
about living water. Certainly no one in a Samaritan area would have
brought Jesus, a Jew, bread to eat. 4:34 is quite similar to Dt 8:3,
which Jesus quoted during his temptation: "One does not live by bread
alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD." I
don't know if it is exactly the same, but I have found that when I get
totally immersed in something, it is easy to go without eating -- and
I usually like to eat, as my girth illustrates. Are we to be so
absorbed in doing God's will that food becomes secondary?
I think that John is clear that for Jesus "to complete his work"
refers loving his disciples and the world so much that he will die on
the cross for them. The word for "complete" is _teleioo_. Some other
uses of this and closely related words: John 13:1b: "Having loved his
own who were in the world, he loved them to the end (_telos_)." John
19:28, 30: "After this, when Jesus knew that all was now finished
(_teleo_), he said (in order to fulfill [_teleioo_] the scripture), 'I
am thirsty.' ... When Jesus had received the wine, he said, 'It is
finished (_teleo_).' Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit."
That completed the work God gave him to do.
HARVEST SAYINGS
Jesus says, "Look around you, and see how the fields are ripe for
harvesting." If they took that literally and looked around, whom would
they see? About then we are told that many Samaritans from the city
come to Jesus. Are they the field the disciples are to be harvesting?
They are ripe!
Who are the others who have labored so that the disciples might reap
the harvest? Maloney (_John_, Sacra Pagina) believes that they are
John the Baptist and Jesus [p. 141]. However, within the immediate
context, I wonder if Jesus and then the woman might be looked at as
the sowers. She has gone into town and sowed the word that she had
received (or experienced) from Jesus. She has done the work of
inviting people to Jesus (and the disciples who were now with him).
Did the disciples also stay with the Samaritans for those two days,
teaching them, telling stories about Jesus, etc.? Was that part of
their harvesting the seeds that others had planted?
This reminds me a little of the analogy William Easum gives in
_Dancing with Dinosaurs_. He suggests that the dinosaurs ate only the
vegetation that was right at their eye level. With their massive
appetites, they quickly devoured all the food they could easily see.
Then he writes: "Still, food was plentiful if the dinosaur merely bent
down to reach the vegetation. But perhaps the dinosaur's neck was too
stiff to bend down to the vegetation, or the dinosaur was too
nearsighted to see the vegetation. Perhaps dinosaurs became extinct
because of their unwillingness or inability to see what was happening
all around them" [p. 15]. Do you think that he could be making an
analogy to the church?
If the harvest is plentiful and ripe as Jesus says, and if our
population is continually increasing, then why are the numbers
decreasing in so many congregations? Perhaps we haven't been willing
to look around and see what is right outside our doors. Perhaps we
haven't been willing to put forth the labor and share the labors
(4:38) to bring in the harvest. Whatever the reasons, the one
Samaritan woman who has just met Jesus, who misunderstands what he
says, who has questions about his identity, brings more people to
Jesus than the (relatively) long-time disciples do. A statement that I
have raised before and will probably do again stresses that it's not
just what we believe, but what difference it makes that we believe.
Another question I ask congregational members, "If you aren't inviting
people to church, why not?" There are ways we can help you become more
comfortable in talking about your faith and church with others. Are
you willing to learn? Is there something we need to change about the
way we worship so that you will invite others?
Related to the ripe harvests, Rick Warren (_Purpose Driven Church_)
presents an interest twist to our thinking about the ripe harvest:
The problem with many churches is that they begin with the wrong
question. They ask, "What will _make_ our church grow?" This is a
misunderstanding of the issue. ... The question we need to ask
instead is, "What is _keeping_ our church from growing?" What
barriers are blocking the waves God wants to send our way? What
obstacles and hindrances are preventing growth from happening? [pp.
15-16]
In one of the congregations I served with roughly 300 members, I
asked, "Why don't we have 800 or 1000 members?" One answer was, "There
aren't enough people around for us to grow that large." My response:
"There are 17,000 unchurched people in the county. There are lots of
prospective members around." Another answer, "We're too new. We've
only been here for 25 years." My response: "Another church in our
conference began the same year. They have a smaller population base,
and they have over 900 members." (The reason for the other church's
growth, according to some of the members was, "They are closer to
South Dakota where there are more Lutherans.")
At another congregation with about 200 members; they say that a major
goal is membership and spiritual growth. However, I have asked
members, "How would you like to part of a 1000 member congregation?"
All the responses have been negative. "I don't think I'd like that."
"No, we don't want to grow that large." It is clear that their mission
is not spreading the gospel to an unbelieving world, but survival.
Their main concern is about themselves and feeling comfortable in a
"not-too-large" congregation. It is likely that with such an attitude,
they will sabotage any efforts to grow into a 1000- or even a
300-member congregation.
I believe that the biggest hindrance to the growth God wants to give
our congregations is that there aren't enough workers like the
Samaritan woman -- willing to tell the whole city about Jesus. Willing
to invite the people to "come and see." Willing to testify to what
Jesus had done for her. I had a council president tell me that the
members of the congregation will not invite others to come to church.
How do we change such attitudes? How can our members help an
unbelieving world know what questions they should ask? How can we help
seekers know what they should be seeking for?
CONCLUSION
Faith is believing the word -- the woman believes something about
Jesus because of what he has said to her. The town's people believe
something about Jesus because of the woman's words. They then come to
believe much more about Jesus from his own words (vv. 39, 41). I
wonder what Jesus would have said to them over the two days he stayed
with them -- or what the other disciples might have said. We aren't
told. Perhaps we might ask, "What would we need to have Jesus to tell
us, so that we might believe that he is truly the savior of the world?
What would we need to have Jesus tell us so that this belief would
make a difference in our lives? What would we need to have Jesus tell
us so that we are passionate about telling others and inviting others
to experience the power of the savior of the world?"
Brian Stoffregen
Faith Lutheran Church, 2215 S 8th Ave., Yuma, AZ 85364
e-mail: brian.stoffregen@gmail.com