John 4:3-6 - Samaria

4:3

So Jesus returned to Galilee. Maybe because of the action of the Pharisees, or because of His apparent success. Jesus knew what His mission was really about. He did not want men taking control of it in anyway. Note the different ways that Jesus dealt with opposition and conflict in His ministry.There were times when He confronted it head on, in fact even seemed to court it and deliberately provoke it. At others He took a much softer approach, doing all He could to avoid it. If as a church we always seek conflict, or we always seek to appease conflict then we can be pretty sure that we are not following the Spirit. There is a time to confront and a time to withdraw.

4:4

The shortest route from Judea to Galilee went through Samaria. However, it was not the only route, and because the Jews so despised the Samaritans they would sometimes take the longer route. Jesus, however, did not share this hatred and His mission was to all peoples. Note also that elsewhere He says He must go first to the house of Israel (Matt 10:6). The reason the Jews despised the Samaritans is that they were not “pure” Jews, being racially mixed. Jesus’ mission goes beyond ethnic barriers. Mount Gerizim was the centre of worship for the Samaritans.

4:5,6

Despite their hatred of the Samaritans, Jewish history actually had many roots in Samaria. Jacob had bought some land near a small village called Sychar (Gen 33:18,19) and this had been given to Joseph (Gen 48:21,22).

There is a well today near Sychar that might well be Jacob’s well, though there is no other mention of “Jacob’s well” in the Bible.

Jesus was tired from the journey and sat down by the well. Notice how this demonstrates His humanity. The previous sections have focused more on the divinity of Jesus. So it is very appropriate, and probably quite deliberate, that John now stresses the humanity of Jesus. However, as the story unfolds we will see that His divinity is clearly woven into this as well.

It was noon. This is about the hottest time of the day, and a time when most people would not go out to get water.