The Gospel of John: Division in Jerusalem 7:1 – 52

 At the start of the last chapter, chapter six, Jesus was a superstar, surrounded by thousands. At the end many have left him. It wasn’t a happy ending. And it gets much worse in the next two chapters. The language becomes violent, Jesus is called illegitimate, He calls his opponents the children of Satan; the soldiers try to arrest Jesus, five times we read the people want to kill Jesus; and at the end the crowd try to stone him.

Apart from the opening conversation with his brothers in Galilee, all of the action in Chapter 7 is in Jerusalem. Here the Festival of Tabernacles is happening, a festival which remembered the time when the Israelites were in the wilderness, living in tents; and also it is a time when people gave thanks for the harvest. It is a festival where the people show they are dependent on God. And so two great gifts of God are celebrated: water and light. Some background about water and light in this festival is helpful.

For water, every day of the festival the priests would walk in procession down from the temple to the pool of Siloam. There they would fill a pitcher of water and walk back. Thousands would be watching. Then in the temple they would walk round the altar, and finally pour out the water. On the last day of the feast they went around the altar seven times. They are giving thanks for the water – and they are acting out what they hope they will see happening that a river will flow from the temple. This is prophesied in Ezekiel 47. This helps us understand the significance of what Jesus says on the last day of the feast.

For light, on the first day of the festival candlesticks were lit in the court of the women, and then at night – and every night – a huge bonfire was lit. So for that week there was always light coming from the temple. People loved this.

Right at the start of these chapters we are told that the Jews in Judea want to kill Jesus. That’s because of the healing of the lame man on the Sabbath and the trial that happened in Chapter Five. So Jesus was staying Galilee, in the north. This is safer. But there is pressure to journey south because the popular Festival of Tabernacles was near and every Jewish man had to attend.

 Jesus’ brothers are getting ready to go to the festival and they want Jesus to go because they think this will be a fantastic opportunity for people to see his miracles. That’s what happened when Jesus was at the Passover in Chapter Two, this made him famous in Galilee, that’s in Chapter Four, so the brothers want this to happen again. Even though they do not believe, they want their brother’s cause to be successful. So they say, ‘Show yourself to the world’. And that means, show yourself to be master of Jerusalem. They do not understand their brother. His work is much more than just showing himself to Jerusalem.

In Jesus’ reply there is much irony. Twice he tells his brothers that his time has not come. We know that his time, his hour, means when he suffers, when his cross is lifted up. As Jesus explained to Nicodemus, this is when everyone will see Him. So, Jesus will show himself to the world, but not at all in a way they expect.

Jesus has a time; the word here is ‘kairos’. It means a specific God time, when something should happen. His brothers do not have this sort of ‘Kairos’ time, because they do not belong to God as Jesus does, they belong to the world. So they can live normally. They are not hated by the world like Jesus is. They can go when they want. He though can only go when God wants him to. Jesus rejects their request and stays in Galilee. He will move when God tells him to, not when his brothers do. The life and movements of Jesus are very different from others; the same is true for His followers. Jesus probably used this time alone to pray, to find out whether He should go or not go to Jerusalem. He does go, and He never returns. He will be saying good-bye to his home in Galilee forever

The writer explains that Jesus goes up to Jerusalem incognito. If he had not, there was a real danger the crowd would have turned the pilgrimage to Jerusalem into a victory procession for their Galilean king. The writer also explains how much division Jesus is causing. Some say he is a good man, some say he is leading people astray, that he is a charlatan. Everyone is talking in whispers because the Jewish authorities are on the lookout for Jesus supporters.

 Jesus’ brothers wanted Him to come to the Feast to work miracles. Jesus does not do that. But He does teach – in the temple, right in the heart of things. The people were impressed, but they wanted to know how this son of a carpenter was able to teach so well without mentioning the names of other Rabbis. For that was the way the traditional teaching was. When a Rabbi spoke, he would cite the name of another Rabbi. But Jesus cites no other Rabbi, and so the people are questioning his authority. And Jesus answers that He is teaching on God’s authority, and He is not interested in their applause or acceptance. He is only interested in God’s glory. He then explains that if there is anyone listening who wants to obey God, you will know that this is true. He said exactly the same in Chapter 6, ‘Anyone who is taught be God, will be drawn to Christ’. (6:45)

 Jesus senses that these people are rejecting His authority because their hearts are not submissive towards God. So in v. 19 the temperature goes up. Jesus attacks his listeners by telling them that they do not keep the law of Moses. That is a terrible thing to say to a Jew who has come all the way to Jerusalem because they think they do keep the law of Moses. How are they not keeping Moses’ law? The answer for Jesus is simple: they want to kill him. Moses’ law says ‘Thou shalt not kill.’

The crowd do not like that and the language gets more and more aggressive They tell Jesus he has a demon. They will say the same again in 8:48. They ask Jesus who wants to kill him, and Jesus answers them. People want to kill him because he healed the lame man on the Sabbath – look at v. 22. They say He is a sabbath breaker. But he is not – and He proves it by saying that they circumcise on the Sabbath. If that is not breaking the Sabbath, how can healing a man be breaking the Sabbath.

There is one group in the crowd that definitely do not like Jesus. They are upset that He has not been arrested yet, and they suggest it is because the authorities think that this Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ. This group is pleased with their knowledge. Look at v.27, ‘We know where He comes from’ That means He can’t be the Christ because when the Christ comes we will not know where he comes from.

In v. 28 Jesus mocks the idea that this group know where He comes from, for He has been sent by God. He comes from God. And then Jesus bluntly says – ‘You don’t know God’. That, again, is a terrible thing to say to Jews. They thought they were the only ones on the planet who did know God.

It is not surprising they try and arrest him, to take him along to the authorities. But they cannot. We do not know how Jesus got away from them, but we do know that His hour had not come. When it came for Jesus to be arrested, this would be God’s decision, not men.

 There are some then who want to harm Jesus; but in v. 31 there are others who have concluded that Jesus is the Messiah. The talk of both groups reaches the leaders who have authority over the temple police. So now in v. 32, they are sent to arrest Jesus.

Watch the soldiers come for Jesus, and as they approach He says, ‘No, not now. I am going to be with you a little longer – then I will go to God who sent me.’ Jesus is saying that at that time you will arrest me and kill me, so I will go to God. And there you will not be able to find me, and there you cannot come.’ As so often happens in this Gospel, Jesus is misunderstood. They think that Jesus will leave not just Jerusalem, but all of Israel and go to the Jews in the Dispersion who were living in places like Alexandria among the Greeks.

And, as is usual in this Gospel, there is much irony, because though this is not what Jesus meant, and though this did not happen – His apostles, especially Paul, did go to the Jews in the Dispersion and they did teach the Greeks.

Now we come to the last day of the feast. This is a very dramatic scene. Jesus is standing somewhere near the temple – they have not been able to arrest him – and there are thousands of people watching the priests process down to the pool of Siloam and return with a pitcher of water. As they re-enter the temple there are trumpet blasts. Then, because this is the last day of the feast, they walked around the altar in the temple seven times, and the choir sang the Psalms, from 113 – 118.

Then the water is poured out and there was silence. It was probably at this point the crowd of thousands heard the voice of Jesus crying out.

 ‘If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink, whoever believes in me, as the Scripture as said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’

The Scriptures Jesus has in mind are probably those about the water that came from the rock in the desert (Exodus, and Numbers, and also Ezekiel 47, where living water comes from the temple.

What Jesus does is very brave. It is much more than his brothers were expecting. As said, they wanted Jesus to perform miracles. Here he is doing something much more. He is challenging the whole temple system. He is saying that there is no water flowing from this temple. The water will flow from Him, and the writer explains to us that this outpouring of the Holy Spirit is connected to Jesus’ glory, the cross, v. 39.

 After this very dramatic proclamation by Jesus the division becomes even more intense. Some believed – yes, this is the Prophet, i.e. the Prophet Moses talked about; this is the Christ; but others questioned, the focus being where Jesus comes from. It’s the same issue that came up in v. 27.

This is their problem. The Messiah was meant to be a descendant of David and born in Bethlehem. They assume that Jesus was born in Galilee, and is not a descendant of David. They say they know - but in fact they do not know. They do not know that Jesus is a descendant of David and that he was born in Bethlehem.

 There is division, with some wanting to arrest Jesus. But they cannot. And the temple guards who could have arrested Jesus, they did not. Remember they were Levites They had some religious discernment. And when they heard Jesus speaking they were enthralled

They had never heard anything like it. So – they didn’t arrest him. This of course makes the Pharisees angry and we find out exactly what they think of Jesus. He is a deceiver. He is a charlatan. He is a fake. They think these Levite police should know better.

 They dismiss the opinions of the crowd, the ones who believe in Jesus, because they have not studied. And then they tell the soldiers that none of the leaders or the Pharisees have believed in him – and this means – here is the pride – that Jesus must be a fake. It is not about what is true or not; it is about what we think, that is what matters.

There was one religious leader there who wanted to help Jesus. This is Nicodemus. And he asks a very good question. Is it right to judge someone without first looking at the evidence? Nicodemus is answered harshly, the Pharisees showing they are deeply prejudiced against Galilee. And they are wrong. They say that Jesus must be a charlatan because He comes from Galilee, and no prophet comes from Galilee. So Nicodemus, keep quiet. You are wrong, we are right.

But they were very wrong. There were five prophets who came from Galilee: Jonah, Nahum, Hosea, perhaps these were minor prophets, but how about the next two - Elijah, and Elisha?

 This is a chapter full of antagonism and division. And irony.

There is irony about what it means to show yourself to the world. Jesus’ brothers think it is all about having people say ‘wow’. That doesn’t take much courage. What takes courage is to show yourself to the world so the world wants to kill you. That is what Jesus does on the last day of the feast.

There is irony about where Jesus comes from. The Jews say, ‘We know…he’s from Galilee, that means he’s nobody special’. They don’t know what they should know, that Jesus was born in Bethlehem. And they certainly don’t know where Jesus was originally from. They have not read the prologue of this Gospel.

And finally there is a lot of irony with the word, ‘man’. All through this chapter Jesus is referred to as a man. It’s there eight times: – he is a good man (v.12), how does this man have this learning (v.15), Is this not the man they want to kill (v. 25), we know this man (v.27), when Christ appears, will he do more than this man (v.31), where does this man intend to go (v. 35), no one spoke like this man (v. 46), does our law judge a man (v.51). But Jesus is not just a man. He is God. Every time we read this word ‘man’, the narrator’s eyebrows go up, asking us to remember the prologue. This is not just a man in this story. This is God – so of course He is good, of course He has learning, of course nobody speaks like Him. And of course God God causes division, even hostility.

What is our spiritual food in this chapter?

It must be verses 37 and 38. They are well worth memorizing. Life can get dusty, we can get tired, thirsty. Go to Jesus, go to His cross, and drink of the Holy Spirit that flows from his broken body.

And what lessons?

Avoid being like Jesus’ brothers, just wanting religious popularity. Jesus didn’t want to show himself to the world by doing miracles. But he did show himself to the world by suffering. We must follow Him.

And let’s be very careful of thinking that ‘We know’. Jesus’ enemies thought they knew, but they didn’t.

All the antagonism surges ever stronger in chapter 8, so much so that the Jews do try and kill Jesus.

The Gospel of John: Feeding The Five Thousand 6: 1 - 70

 It’s the epic chapter six, the feeding of the five thousand. And something else. Jesus’ relationship with the crowd and the disciples nose dives. At the start of the chapter Jesus is a picture of royal authority coming down from the mountain for the waiting crowds. At the end, the crowd has left, and there was a lot of tension between Jesus and his disciples. So much so that Jesus asked if they too wanted to leave. Peter says they don’t, and then Jesus says that one of them is a traitor.

 It’s not the sort of happy ending we expected at the start of the chapter. What’s happened? Like chapter five, this chapter also has two sections. There are the miracles of the feeding of the five thousand, followed by the walking on the water. However it would be a mistake to assume that the camera is fixated on the miraculous in these accounts. The focus is actually on Jesus’ relationship with the disciples. This is followed by a long discourse, a very unsuccessful sermon which sees most people leaving Jesus.

 The miracles and Jesus’ relationship with his disciples.1 – 24

 Jesus is in Galilee, and in the Synoptics, he hears about the execution of John the Baptist and wants to get away. The crowds see him, and while he crosses the lake by boat, they walk, or perhaps even run around the lake and are there when the boat arrived. So, this is the same story as in the Synoptics. But, as said in my introduction, the camera tells it very differently. Here we see how Jesus is like a new Moses sitting with his twelve disciples, the new leaders of a new Israel, on a mountain; here we find out that this is all happening under the shadow of the Passover; here we find out the actual names of the disciples Jesus engages with, Philip and Andrew. In the Synoptics we are not given any names. And here we are told there was a lot of grass. That detail is also not in the Gospels. And there is a very different angle at the end of the miracle. In the Synoptics Jesus sends the disciples away on a boat, presumably the one they arrived in. Here Jesus escapes from the crowd who want to make him a king and heads for the mountains to pray. There is no dismissal of the disciples.

 This is a story for would be disciples to read carefully. In v. 5 it is bluntly stated. Jesus tests Philip. And Philip fails, miserably. Rather than stop and think, it’s an impossible situation, but Jesus is here – Jesus who has turned water into wine. Philip doesn’t think like that. He just says – thousands of people, we don’t have enough money. Period.

 Andrew does a lot better than Philip. He introduces the boy who has the five loaves and two fish. Here there is some faith. The loaves are of barley, which means it’s the bread eaten by the poor. At least Andrew realises that it’s worth mentioning because Jesus was there. But this isn’t strident faith. He immediately says his suggestion is silly. His faith is very small, but it is enough for Jesus.

 Jesus acts. The disciples have to go and ask everyone to sit down. If you have ever tried to get people to sit down, you will know that this was tiring work. It’s a good place for them to sit down because, as mentioned, there is a lot of grass there. It’s green, meaning it’s spring, and that’s when the Passover was.

 Jesus wants the people to sit not just because they are going to eat, but because he wants them to see what is going to happen. He will raise the bread and give thanks to God. This emphasis on being seated is there in v. 11. The only people who were fed were the people who were seated.

 Then Jesus gives thanks. The word for thanksgiving here in Greek is Eucharistesas. Which is why in many churches Holy Communion is called the Eucharist. The miracle happens. Neither the bread nor the fish run out. The disciples finish giving out the food, and maybe they are hungry. But Jesus has another order for them – go and collect the rubbish. And they return with twelve baskets full of broken bits of bread. It’s fairly obvious what they are meant to eat.

 This was problematic for them. Then things get really bad when in v. 14 the people declare that Jesus is the Prophet. He is the one Moses said would come in Deuteronomy So, they want to make him king.

 But what does Jesus do when the people want to make him king. He disappears up the mountain. He knows that they are only interested in victory over the Romans. His victory is much bigger.

 So we have a very sad v.16. When evening came – that means the approach of darkness. In fact the Greek uses the word ‘descended’, making it more ominous.

 The writer is signalling that something difficult is going to happen. And it does. All the disciples get into the boat and go. It feels as if the disciples have been hanging about all afternoon waiting for Jesus and so eventually got fed up and left. This is very different from the account in the Synoptics where Jesus dismisses the disciples after the miraculous feeding. For more about that see here - https://sternfieldthoughts.blogspot.com/2013/05/after-feeding-of-five-thousand-did.html

It is bad enough that is the disicples left Jesus;  but what is worse is that they just had one boat. They are not just leaving Jesus. They are leaving Jesus to walk back to Capernaum. It almost feels like they want to teach Jesus a lesson.

 Why? Perhaps when they came down from the mountain they felt they were the courtiers of a new king. So when they saw all the people they were expecting to be served. But they ended up serving the people. Perhaps they expected to get the best food. They got the worst food. And almost certainly they wanted Jesus to become king. We know that from the Synoptics and Acts. They were furious when he disappeared and left them waiting. And eventually one of them said, ‘It’s time there was a bit more democracy in this group. Jesus just does whatever He likes. Now He has gone, just leaving us. We have no idea where He is. Let’s go by ourselves back to Capernaum. He will be fine, and when we meet again let’s explain that things need to change.’

 We can’t be sure this happened, but when we get to the end of the chapter you will see it is very possible.

 As soon as they abandon Jesus, the skies darken, the sea rises, the wind blows. And the disciples are making zero progress. It is a dismal situation. Moreover, there is a danger they could be swallowed up by the sea. And for the Jew, the sea is not just salty water. It is man’s enemy, enraged chaos, hell. This is a story like that of Korah in Numbers 16, when an earthquake happens, and Korah, and his family are swallowed up by the earth. This happened because he rebelled against Moses. Now another rebellion against another Moses is underway, and the sea wants to eat up the rebels.

Then they see a figure walking on the sea. The Jews believed that just before death the angel Azrael would come. So now perhaps the disciples thought Azrael had come for them. They are wrong. This is not the angel of death. This is Jesus – the very life of the universe.

 The disciples had left Jesus; but He comes and saves them. No wonder they were very glad to take him into the boat. I don’t think there was any talk of changing the way things were in the group after this. Jesus will never be run by a committee meeting. And as soon as Jesus gets into the boat they arrive at where they want to go.

 The story could move onto the discussion Jesus is going to have in the synagogue in Capernaum. But look at v. 22: the writer stays with the horrible fact that the disciples took the only boat available, and abandoned Jesus. So, thinking that Jesus was on the other side of the lake a crowd of people go looking for him. They go right back to the place where Jesus gave thanks for the bread, where the miracle happened. He’s not there. Jesus is on the move, He is not fixed in one experience. So back they come – seeking Jesus. As well as underlining the horrible thing the disciples did, the author is also emphasizing how people are seeking Jesus. Andrew and his friend – they were seeking Jesus; Nicodemus came looking for Jesus. The royal official was seeking Jesus. Now here we have crowds seeking Jesus. All of this underlines the pain more that at the end of the chapter that Jesus is left alone. They stop seeking Him. Why? It is about something He said.

 Jesus’ teaching in the Capernaum synagogue. 25 - 65

 In a normal conversation the questions and answers are connected. The conversation that starts this section is not normal. The people say to Jesus, ‘When did you come here?’ They want to solve this problem of how Jesus got to Capernaum when they saw the disciples leave in the boat without him.

 Jesus ignores this question and accuses them of only being interested in filling up their stomachs. He then tells them not to worry about physical bread, they need to put their focus on the food that brings eternal life. The crowd are fine with that, and ask what they are meant to do.

 Jesus replies – believe in me. That means believe in all that I say about myself, and we know what this is from Chapter Five –He is the Saviour, He will be the judge, He is God in the flesh.

 To this we have a ridiculous response. Just yesterday many of this crowd were on the other side of the lake, and they ate the food that Jesus miraculously gave them. Feeding fiver thousand with five loaves and two pieces of fish – that is a very big sign.

 But look at their question in v. 30? What sign do you do that we should believe in you? Let’s see the bread from heaven that Moses gave, because if you are the new Moses you should be able to give that and more. Jesus could have got very upset with them – I gave you supernatural bread yesterday. But He doesn’t. Just as with the talk about the temple with the Jews in Jerusalem, the talk with Nicodemus about birth, the talk with the woman of Samaria about water, and now the talk about bread, Jesus takes what is a physical reality and insists there is a spiritual reality that we need to focus on. There is a bread that gives life to the world. This is much more important than manna – which got old and rotten. Just like the woman of Samaria, this group say – ‘Give us the bread’.

 It seems that things are going well. Perhaps now all of these Jews in Capernaum are going to become fantastic witnesses just like the woman of Samaria. Sadly no. We have the wonderful verses 35 – well worth learning off by heart – Jesus is the bread of life that has come down from heaven (33). He sustains us. He satisfies us. He takes away that inner emptiness.

 Also please note this is the first ‘I am’[1] statement in John’s Gospel. I am of course being the name God gave to Moses in the burning bush (story.

This is a great statement. But it’s obvious that Jesus audience does not believe Him. Jesus says that in v. 36. This rebuke annoyed the Jews, but it gets worse. As Jews they thought they were the chosen ones. In their thinking, as long as they didn’t’ commit a terrible crime like murder or adultery, they had a place in heaven. Jesus rejects this. He says – you don’t believe in me, because you are not the chosen ones. The ones who come to Jesus are chosen by the Father – and the Father gives them to Jesus. That’s what is being taught in v. 37 – 40.

 So, it is no wonder the Jews are grumbling in v. 41. They don’t like Jesus saying that he has come from heaven, they don’t like being told that they don’t believe in Him because they are not chosen. By using the word ‘grumble’ the writer takes us back to the Old Testament Israelites when they were in the wilderness. They grumbled, and God did not allow them to see the Promised Land. The same is happening here with this new Moses.

 The relationship is getting bad. It gets even worse in v.42, ‘Isn’t this Jesus, the son of Joseph. We know his mum and dad. This is the carpenter boy. Who does he think He is, saying that He has come from heaven. Come on….’.  They are suggesting that Jesus is a charlatan. He is a local boy who is trying to be a lot more than He really is. Rather than argue with them, Jesus repeats the fact that nobody can believe in Him unless the Father draws them to Christ for salvation.  So, He is not surprised that they are rejecting him. They have not been drawn by God the Father.

 Everyone reading this immediately has this question. So there is nothing we can do for our salvation. The Father must choose us. As immediately as the question comes, Jesus immediately answers it in v.45. This is a very important verse. Here Jesus says that everyone is taught by God, this is from Isaiah 54:13. That is true. Everyone has the witness of creation, everyone has conscience – everyone is taught by God. So everyone can hear and learn from the Father, and if they do – they will come to Jesus. This is an important truth. Our spiritual journey does not begin with Jesus, it begins with our response to the obvious fact that God exists and speaks through creation and conscience. God is taking note of who responds and who doesn’t.

 Jesus’ relationship with this group is becoming problematic. In verses 47 – 51 Jesus again makes it clear that He is more important than the Moses story about the manna. He again offers them eternal life, and  - here is a nose-dive - this involves eating Him as the bread of life, and that bread is the flesh he will sacrifice.

 With some of the questions that people have asked Jesus, like Nicodemus, we don’t have much sympathy, but I think we do have some sympathy for the discussion that starts in v. 52, ‘How are we supposed to eat this man’s flesh?’

 Jesus is of course talking metaphorically but he doesn’t give any explanation. In fact He makes it all worse by now adding his blood. You have to eat my flesh – and drink my blood. He says this in v. 53, v. 54, v. 55 and v. 56. No Jew would ever eat blood. It was forbidden. So, this talk is utterly shocking, offensive.

 The people don’t understand what this means. Later it is clear that for most Christians Jesus here is talking about Holy Communion. There is no reason why that should not be the case. However, when Jesus spoke these words there was no Holy Communion, so what did this mean for his immediate hearers? Given that the writer has told us that we are near the time of the Passover, it is very likely that they would have thought that of this referring to the Passover lamb that they were soon to eat. Jesus was going to replace this.

 And there is something else. In the culture of the day when somebody wanted to say that they had really taken in an idea, they did not just say believe, they said they had ‘eaten’ that idea. It becomes a part of their being. This is what Jesus is saying here. And it is very important. He is saying that to have eternal life, we must completely take in the truth that life is found in his body and in his blood. We must take in the cross, not just as an abstract idea, but as a living truth that permeates our being. This is at the centre of what the Gospel of John is about.

 From v 35 onwards Jesus’ relationship with his listeners sinks to lower and lower depths. We get their summing up in v. 60. ‘It’s a hard saying’. And again, rather than making it easier, Jesus says, ‘What if you were to see me return to heaven?’ In other words, there are much harder things for you to understand. And then He again explains why they are finding it hard. It’s because it has not been granted for them to come to faith by the Father. They are not the chosen ones. His audience have had enough and they leave Him. By the way, please note that these people are also called disciples. It is a mistake to think that when the Bible talks about disciples it’s always talking about the twelve. Jesus had thousands of disciples.

 Before turning to the twelve disciples let’s go back to the question of why Jesus starts the chapter with thousands, and ends with everyone leaving him. The thousands like the physical bread, they like the miracles, they like the Jesus who can make their life better. But there are two things they do not like. One is Jesus claiming to be the bread of life from heaven. They reject his identity. The other is Jesus’ insistence on the centrality of the cross, of his broken body and shed blood. The idea that they have to ‘eat’ his suffering. They reject this. Same then, same now.

 Uneasy atmosphere with the twelve: 66 - 70

 The crowd leave, and Jesus turns to his own disciples. The atmosphere was uneasy. Verse 67 tells us how bad it was. Jesus has to look at them and ask, ‘Do you also want to go?’ In this question we understand that He had not forgotten what had happened after the feeding of the five thousand. And in this question, we understand that they too have their doubts about who Jesus is and what He wants to achieve with His suffering. Before going to Peter’s answer, note that Jesus is not willing to change what He is saying for the twelve. He will stay with what is true whatever the cost, however many people leave him.

 Thankfully Peter steps in. Yes, Peter had gone along with getting into the boat without Jesus, but, with the walking on the water, all his doubts had gone. Perhaps he did not understand all that Jesus was saying, but he understood this. Jesus is from God, and what Jesus is saying will give us eternal life. Peter confirms what Jesus has just said in v.63 – it is the Spirit that gives life, and that life is in the words that you Jesus are teaching.

 Peter is saying that there is no one like you, you are the one– not the Pharisees, not the Sadducees, not the Zealots, and certainly not the disciple who suggested they leave Jesus on the mountain.

 Now in v. 70 we find out who that disciple was. Jesus looks at the twelve, the twelve that he has chosen, and understands which disciple had made the suggestion to leave Jesus on the mountain. One of them was not loyal to Him. One of them was a devil. And he tells them this. It must have been a very awkward moment. They would have all looked at each other. Later of course it became obvious who it was – Judas.

 And so this epic chapter ends.

 What is the spiritual bread for us today?

 That Jesus is the bread of life. We need never be hungry, we need never by thirsty. All that we need is with Jesus – his identity and his cross.

 What are the lessons?

 For would be disciples it must be that even if you enjoy a time on the mountain top with Jesus, we must remember that our ministry is serving others, and eating the left-overs.

For those involved in church work, never compromise on the identity of Jesus or the cross of Jesus, even if people leave.

 And – never go somewhere without Jesus in the boat.

In the next chapter Jesus comes to Jerusalem, and things get ugly. See here - https://sternfieldthoughts.blogspot.com/2025/03/division-in-jerusalem-71-52.html

 

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[1] There are seven ‘I am’ statements in John – I am the bread of life (6:35, 48); light of the world (8:12, 9:5), the good shepherd (10: 11,14), the door (10: 7,9), resurrection and the life (11:25), the way the truth and the life (14:26), the true vine (15:1)

The Gospel of John: The Lame Man 5: 1 – 47

In our passage today we have yet another story about Jesus and an individual, a lame man. 

Before looking at the whole chapter we need to think about 5:4. In most English versions you have a footnote that says that this verse is not found in the earliest manuscripts. It is not considered reliable. To understand how this happened we need to look at how the New Testament came to us

Before printing every New Testament was copied by hand. We have thousands of manuscripts that prove this. Some of them are very early, so we have five verses of John’s Gospel (18:36 – 19:7), dated 100 - 150 in a museum in London. We have ten letters of Paul from around 200 AD. And we have about 300 copies of the entire New Testament from the 4^th C till the 10^th.

What is important to understand is that we have about two thousand copies of the New Testament which were made between the 10^th C and the middle of the 15^th C when printing started.

What is also important to understand is that some very important translations of the New Testament, relied on manuscripts which were from these later copies, from 13^th C. They were copies of many other copies. This means there was more opportunity for there to be a mistake.

At the end of the 19^th C scholars gained access to the earlier copies of the New Testament. John 5:4 was not in any copy of the New Testament before 500 AD. Hence the footnote in our Bibles.

This is what probably happened. In v. 7 the lame man talks about the water being stirred up. When this was being copied, someone decided to put an explanation in margin about the angel that came down. He might have heard of such a story. It was superstition. The reality is that the waters of these springs were not permanent Sometimes waters gushed out, sometimes nothing. Then another copyist  made another mistake, and it came into the text and became verse 4.

This background is important for three reasons. 

Firstly it shows us how much evidence there is for us to trust  the New Testament. There are thousands of manuscripts of the New Testament, and eleven of them go back before the 2^nd C.

Secondly, this shows us that Christianity is not just about accepting things. Right from the start the brother of Jesus said that the ‘wisdom from above’ is open to reason. We can discuss, we can reason about whether John 5:4 is reliable or not. Be wary of the man or woman who is angrily dogmatic.

And finally, there are theological reasons for keeping away from John 5:4.This God who only heals the one who gets into the water first, that is not the God of the Bible, that’s paganism. It’s all about what we can do to get God’s attention. The Bible, and this very story, is all about what God does to get our attention.

Let’s now look at the whole chapter. Here we have two connected stories here.

 The first is Jesus’ encounter with the lame man and his healing. The second is the confrontation Jesus has with the Jews on account of that healing happening on the sabbath.

Let’s first then look at Jesus’ encounter with the lame man (1 – 15)

Jesus visits an area near the temple where there is a multitude of the blind and the lame. It’s a difficult scene. Of the many who are there, Jesus asks one lame man if he wants to be healed.

It seems a strange question because surely the man wants to be healed. But it’s a good question. His disability meant he didn’t have to work. He had no responsibility. He just had to lie there all day, a victim someone we must pity. He might have become comfortable with his situation. Now Jesus asks him if he wants it to change. His answer is a sort of yes, but it sounds like he has given up and is feeling sorry for himself, because for him to be healed means trying to get into the water first when it is stirred and he has nobody to help him do that. Despite this less than enthusiastic answer – Jesus commands the man to get up, take up his bed and walk. And the man was healed.

All the initiative is from Jesus. He finds the lame man. He asks the question. Jesus commands his healing.

We see the man is walking – it’s a happy ending. But at the end of v.9 we read – ‘That day was a Sabbath’. That is ominous. We know there is going to be a problem. According to the Jews, by carrying his bed this man was breaking the sabbath. So the Jews rebuke him.

Now we have difficulties with the lame man. He blames the man who healed him. It his fault. He told me to carry my bed. And he does not know Jesus’ name. He sounds as if he just wants to keep out of trouble rather than witness to the wonderful healing that has happened.

And he should have known it was Jesus of Nazareth, because we know that Jesus had become famous after all the healings in chapter 2. So this makes him look like one of those very self-absorbed types who have no interest in the outside world.

We come to the last part of their encounter and again all the initiative is with Jesus. He finds the man in the temple. It is not surprising he is there because when he was lame he was not allowed in the temple (2 Samuel 5:8). Jesus acknowledges the joy of this occasion – ‘Look you’re well.’ And He warns him, ‘Don’t sin more so nothing worse happens’, which implies that this man sinned and so became lame. Jesus connects sin and suffering. Yes. That is there in this story. And there is another truth in John 9 where Jesus refuses to connect the suffering of the blind man with sin. Truth has two wings.

 Jesus has helped the man, and now the man betrays Jesus. He tells the authorities that the healer is Jesus. Now he has been healed, he wants to make a success of his life and that means getting on the side of the people who are in power, that’s the people who run the temple.

One final thing about this story. You have a simple scene but look a bit further and there is a door and it opens to another room, another level of meaning.

The clue that there is such a secret door in this story is in v. 5. The detail that the lame man had been there for thirty-eight years. We don’t need to know it’s thirty-eight years. The author could have just written ‘a long time’. What does the thirty-eight years do? It takes us back to the story that John moved to the start of his Gospel, the cleansing of the temple in chapter two. Here we are told that the Jews had been building the temple for forty-six years. This means that all the time the man has been lying there, the temple was being built, and, in fact it had not been completed.

So – the door opens. Here we have a story about the temple, the presence of God, and we saw in our last lesson, how water in the Bible flows from God’s presence, especially in Ezekiel 47. Water – for life and healing of the sick. But here we have a temple that is still incomplete, and in its shadow are a ‘multitude of sick’ who are not being healed. One has been there for thirty-eight years. It’s a picture of complete failure

And then Jesus steps into the situation and everything changes. We know from chapter two that Jesus is the true temple. With Jesus there is a sacrifice for sin, in Jesus man meets God – and from Jesus, in chapter four, and again it will be underlined in Chapter 7 – flows rivers of living water.

The secret door opens to a room which says – leave religion, look to Jesus.

That is Jesus’ encounter with the lame man. Now let’s look at the heated discussion Jesus now has with the Jews, v. 16 – 46.

It is clear the Jews have complained about Jesus healing on the Sabbat because in v. 17 Jesus answered them. He could have said, as he does in the Synoptics – the Sabbath was made for man. But here he is much more controversial.

First, he says, ‘My father’. Jews might say, ‘Our Father’, never ‘My Father. Jesus is claiming to have a special relationship with God.

Then He says He is God. My Father is working, so I am working.’

The idea that God worked on the Sabbath, meaning He broke his own rule had caused a lot of talk among Jewish teachers. For if He did not work on the Sabbath, who kept the universe running? Clearly God continued to sustain So God was working on the Sabbath. The Jews rightly take this to mean that Jesus is saying He is God, but they are wrong to say Jesus is making himself equal with God. That implies independence. I am equal, so I can do what I like. Jesus is not saying that. He is saying He is united with God, acting with God. And because He is acting with God, so He can heal on the Sabbath, because, like God, He is also working.

What we have now from is a trial. Perhaps it was not in a court, it is a trial in a street – and in that culture those trials were very serious. In v. 18 we have the accusation and the punishment. Jesus is blaspheming and should be killed.

From v. 19 – 47 we have Jesus’ defence, and that defence is in two sections.

From v.19 – 29 Jesus continues to claim He is working with God.

In v 19 – 20 Jesus explains that He is God’s agent. Jesus is not saying He is another God. And He is emphasizing that though he is divine, He is submissive, dependent. Jesus is showing the Father to the world.

Then Jesus says that He has the same authority as the Father. He has the authority to give life because Jesus has life, in Himself. He too is a source of life (v.21, 26), and the authority to judge (v.22, v. 27.)

However in this context of judgement we are told that it is those who believe in Jesus’ word, who will experience salvation now, this is in 5:24. It is a very important verse, well worth memorizing. Unlike in the Synoptics, Jesus is teaching that salvation, passing from death to life, happens as soon as someone hears Jesus’ word and believes. Theologians call this realised eschatology, when something in the future starts in the present.

This though does not mean that there is not a future judgement, as emphasized in the Synoptics. That is made clear in v. 26. The dead will hear Jesus’ voice, there will be a resurrection – some will be given eternal life, some eternal judgement (v.29)

Jesus is saying here unequivocally. I am God the Saviour. Everything depends on me. So – of course, like my father, I am working.

In Jewish trials one witness was not sufficient. So we move to the second section of Jesus’ defence where he brings into the trial five witnesses who all support what He is saying.

His first witness is John the Baptist, v. 33 – 36). Jesus says John bore witness to the truth. John said, twice, that Jesus was the Lamb of God.

Jesus’ second witness are the miracles. These show that God the Father has sent Jesus. These show that Jesus is divine.

Jesus’ third witness is the voice of the Father. He ‘himself has borne witness’. This is almost certainly talking about what happened when Jesus was baptized. In John the Spirit came down; in the Synoptics God speaks. In John 12:28 God also speaks from heaven about Jesus.

His fourth witness is the Scriptures. The Old Testament tells us where the Messiah will be born (Bethlehem, Micah 5:2), about his teaching in parables (Psalm 78), and especially about his death (Psalm 22, Isaiah 53). People who have looked carefully at this say that Jesus fulfilled over 300 Old Testament prophecies. The Scriptures certainly testify about Jesus of Nazareth being the Messiah.

His final witness is Moses, look at v. 46. Here is irony. His opponents are against Jesus because they say He is not doing what Moses told them to do. That is not true. Moses never said you couldn’t carry a blanket on the Sabbath from one place to another.

Of more importance, Moses said that another, greater prophet would come after him. It’s there in Deuteronomy 18:15. The Lord will rise up another prophet, like me…you must listen to him. Moses is telling the Jews to listen to Jesus

In this trial Jesus does not just defend himself. He also attacks his opponents. He says they do not have God’s word in them. They don’t love God (42). They are not listening, v. 38. So, they follow false witnesses (43) There are all these witnesses, but you refuse to come to me. Why? What is stopping them? The answer is in v. 44. Because they are seeking glory for themselves and from each other. They like the praise of men The opinion of man is more important to them than the opinion of God, and so their ears are not open. So though they say to be following Moses’ writing, in fact they do not believe Moses’ writing. Jesus is saying they are not followers of Moses.

This is a heated trial. The Jews are angry with Jesus because He is claiming to be God; and Jesus is angry with them because they are rejecting his witnesses.

And yet in this heated discussion we see that Jesus is genuinely concerned about the spiritual situation of the people he is talking to. Look at v. 34. He is saying all of this, ‘so that they may be saved’. He wants them to come to Him, so they may have ‘life’, v. 40.

This is another magnificent chapter, with important lessons for our lives today.

From the healing of the lame man the important lesson is this: leave religion, look to Jesus. The water of life and healing flow from him, not a building.

From the discourse with the Jews be encouraged by the fact that Jesus is indeed God. And in Him there is eternal life that begins now.

In John 5 Jesus has many witnesses. We have them too, and more. We have the Bible. We can study the prophecies about Jesus. In our life we too have seen miracles of healing. Some have heard the voice of God. And above all – we have the empty tomb. We have every reason for believing that Jesus is God our Saviour.

The next chapter is truly epic. Click here - https://sternfieldthoughts.blogspot.com/2025/02/the-gospel-of-john-feeding-five.html

 

 

The Gospel of John: The Official’s Son 4: 43 – 54

 In chapter 3 we were with Nicodemus, the religious teacher, in the last lesson we were with an uneducated Samaritan woman; and today, we are with a royal servant who worked for Herod Antipas. the king who executed Jesus’ cousin John the Baptist.

 The writer is saying something here. Jesus gets into conversations with every sort of individual. They are different from each other; and they are different from Jesus and his disciples. Jesus talks to different characters, same then, same today.

 Our passage begins with two welcomes. It all seems quite simple. Jesus left Samaria and arrived in Galilee and the people are happy to see him because they had seen the miracles he had done in Jerusalem. Those are referred to in John 2:23. But we are learning that things are usually not that simple in John’s Gospel.

 Because we have v. 44. Here the author tells us that Jesus had said that a prophet has no honour in his home-town. But then in v. 45 Jesus is honoured. What’s going on? Something very important and the author wants us to take note. The people in Galilee welcomed Jesus because of the miracles, because of his works, not because of his message. We find out that this is not enough when in v. 48 Jesus criticises the official for just wanting a miracle. Real honour means accepting not just what Jesus can do, but – of much more importance – who He is. The Son of God who gave his life for the sins of the world.

 So – two types of welcome in Capernaum two thousand years ago, two types of welcome today. Jesus is popular when He is doing miracles; not so when He says he is the Son of God, the only way to God the father. People reject that.

 This whole idea that faith in a miracle worker is not enough is underlined in the story about the son of the official being healed. 

 In verse 46 Jesus goes to Cana, and we’re told again about the water into wine miracle. Why? The miracle was only in Chapter 2. Perhaps the author is wanting to say – remember that story about water being turned into wine was about Christ’s suffering, his hour - it will be the same here.

 Jesus is in Cana, and about twenty miles away in Capernaum there is an official whose son is very ill. The word used for official here in Greek is basilikos, so someone attached to a basileus, a king. This means this man was working for Herod Antipas who ruled over Galilee. Capernaum wasn’t very large, its population no more than a thousand, but it was important because it was a border town. So, Herod had officials there. This one was certainly Jewish, because Jesus complains in v. 48 that ‘you’ plural will only believe if you see a miracle. That was a complaint for the Jews, not the Romans.

 In verse 47 the situation of this father is grim.  His son is at ‘at the point of death’. No wonder when he hears that Jesus has got back from Jerusalem he sets off on the twenty-mile journey from Capernaum to Cana. This was his last hope. We need to imagine the official arriving from the journey hot and sweaty asking people where Jesus is. Then he is at the door. He has no time for formalities. He just blurts out his request: come with me and heal my son.

 We expected Jesus to be polite to Nicodemus, he wasn’t. We did not expect him to talk to the woman at the well, he does; and now we expect him to be sympathetic to this official. But we’re learning that’s it is not wise to have fixed ideas about what Jesus should say or do. And here Jesus doesn’t seem to show any sympathy; instead he rebukes the man, telling him that he – and all the other Jews – were just interested in miracles. It seems harsh.

 There are two things to say. The first is that this man thinks that the most important thing in his life is the healing of his son. But it’s not. That is reality. The most important thing in life is to understand who Jesus is. It would be unkind for Jesus to heal the son, without asking the man to understand who he was. Jesus is saying to everyone, not just this man, that faith in miracles is not enough. There must be more.

 The second point is that Jesus tests individuals. He wants to know how serious they are. He tested his mother at the wedding. He tested Nicodemus. He tested the woman at the well. And now he is testing this official. If we get near to Jesus, He will test us. It will not be an easy ride.

 In verse 49 the official passes the test. He could have walked away angry and upset. I’ve come all this way, and he just rebukes me. But he is concerned about his son, not his pride. So he just respectfully repeats his request. Its simplicity is moving, ‘Sir, come down before my child dies’.

 Now we are expecting Jesus to get up and go, but Jesus doesn’t move. He just speaks, ‘Go, your son will live.’ And then we read some very powerful words, the official ‘believed the word that Jesus had spoken’.

 For Jesus – this proves that the official believes because He has spoken. That is enough for him. There was probably shock on the faces of those around Jesus as they watched the official leave; but on Jesus’ face I believe there was joy, for this is what brings gladness to his heart, belief, faith in what He says.

 And there was going to be joy for the man. A quick summary would be that he got home and his boy was well. But in this Gospel, there is always more.

 As with the wedding in Cana, we again have servants who know first what has happened. They set out to tell the official that his son is better. As he hears the news the official wants to know the exact hour when this happened. And the servants know. It was yesterday, at the seventh hour. This was exactly the time when Jesus said, ‘Your son will live’. Jesus spoke, and it happened.

 The story then is underlining the authority of Jesus’ word. He does not have to be physically present in Capernaum. He can speak in Cana, and twenty miles away something will happen. The story is reminding us that Jesus is the Word. In Genesis, God spoke and it happened. In the prologue, Jesus is the Word, without Him was not anything made that was made. And – in Him was life. In his word there is literally life.

 But alongside the emphasis on Jesus’ word, is the ‘hour’. We have already learned in Chapter 2 that we must pay attention when we see the word ‘hour’. It connects to Jesus’ hour of suffering. When Pilate sent Jesus to the cross it was the sixth hour (19:14), so when he actually died it would have been the seventh hour. That is when the blood was shed, that is when the water flowed. That is when one Son dies, so other sons can have life. Life and healing for us, death and separation for Jesus.

 We are told that on hearing this the official – and all his household believed. But hadn’t the official already believed? Yes, but in this Gospel, there are steps of faith, and that is what you have here. Perhaps the author is suggesting that the official now did not just believe that Jesus was able to heal his son, but that Jesus was the Messiah, the Lamb of God.

 Let’s remember…

 Faith in Jesus the miracle worker is not enough.

One word from Jesus changes everything, wherever we are in the world.

When you are a servant, you understand more

Jesus brings one son back to life; but He himself would die. That is love.

From a royal offical, we go to a feeble lame man. Click on the link below

https://sternfieldthoughts.blogspot.com/2025/01/the-gospel-of-john-lame-man-5-1-47.html

 

The Gospel of John: The Woman At The Well 4:1 – 42

In the last lesson we were Nicodemus. Today we are with a very different individual: the woman at the well, or the Samaritan woman. Nicodemus is a man, she is a woman. Nicodemus is Jewish, she is Samaritan, Nicodemus is well known; we don’t even this lady’s name. Nicodemus was a well-educated teacher; this lady probably never went to school. Nicodemus was from the city; she was from a village.

 By placing these two characters near each other our artist is underlining something beautiful. Jesus talks to Nicodemus; Jesus talks to this woman. Jesus talks everybody, regardless of their race, or gender or their place in society.

 Right at the start of this Gospel, in 1:19, we know that John the Baptist is a problem for the powers that be in Jerusalem. They don’t like him telling Jews to repent and be baptised. And when they hear that now Jesus is baptizing more people than John, that means Jesus is now their number one enemy. Learning this – Jesus decides to move north, to Galilee where it will be safer, and he chooses to use the most direct route which means going through Samaria even though things were not good between the Jews and the Samaritans. The Jews hated the Samaritans for being half Jewish and half Assyrian, and they hated them for having their own form of Judaism. They had built their own temple on Mt Gezarim. The southern Jews had destroyed this in about 110 BC, but, as we see in this story, the Samaritans still thought this was the place to worship God. And then the Samaritans didn’t accept all the Old Testament, just the first five books of Moses. The tension between Jews and Samaritans was intense and often there was violence. For a Jew like Jesus, Samaria is unclean and unsafe. But Jesus wants to get away from Jerusalem.

 Again we have irony. The place that should be safe for Jesus – Jerusalem – is not safe, and we will find out that the place that shouldn’t be safe – Samaria – is safe.

 The journey begins and we are told that Jesus gets tired and so has a rest by Jacob’s well which is on some land that Jacob gave to his son, Joseph. The disciples go to get some food.

 It has been said that the Gospel of John is full of secret doors. You are in a room and you think there is a just a book-case there, but then you push a little, and you find there is a door in the book case and you can enter another room.

 That is certainly the case here for Jesus is not sitting in an ordinary place. He is around Sychar which in Hebrew means wage, but because workers were sometimes paid in wine, it can also mean drunk. A place called ‘drunk’, perhaps not a good place for Jesus to be.

 And He is sitting on land given by Jacob to Joseph, his favourite son. You can read about this in Genesis 48:21 -22. Now we have Jesus, also a favourite son, who has been given land by his father. And there is a well.

 Joseph and a well. It’s impossible not to think of what happened to Joseph. He was sent to his bothers, and they put him down a well. And here we have another favourite son who has been sent by his father – to his own land – and already his brother Jews have problems with him. That’s why he is in Samaria. The well sits there, a reminder of the suffering that will come to Jesus. That’s the first room, the first level.

 But there is a second room, a second level. For a well is a place for drawing water which brings life. So – Jesus – sent by his father is sitting by a place which will bring suffering and life. Indeed in Acts 2 there is so much life that people think that the disciples are drunk. They have been in Sychar. There is merriment.

 Just to make sure we know there is more to this picture than a tired man sitting by a well, the writer then tells us the time. We don’t need really need to know the exact time, but he tells us. It is the sixth hour. Noon. The hour when Pilate sent Jesus to the cross. That’s in 19:14.

 So, we have gone through the secret doors at the start of this story and seen that again the writer wants us to see that the water of life flows from the suffering of Jesus Christ.

 There is another secret door in this story, but first we have a shock.

 A Samaritan lady arrives by the well to draw water. Jesus is a Jewish man, she is a Samaritan woman. In the Misnah, a book full of Jewish rules, it is said that Samaritan women are always unclean.

 We expect silence. There should be no conversation. But there is – Jesus asks for a drink. With Nicodemus, Jesus should have talked first, but he doesn’t. Now with this lady, he shouldn’t talk – but he does. And he certainly shouldn’t want to drink from the same cup as this Samaritan. Jesus refuses to be locked into a box of cultural rules.

 And there is more.

 If you are a woman watching this, what would you think if a strange man asked you for a drink? You would think – he wants to talk to me, he wants to start a relationship. That is exactly what Jesus wants to do.

 You have probably heard that she is coming at noon to get her water instead of in the evening, the normal time, because she is not too popular in her village. So making Jesus’ willingness to reach out to her more loving.

 The woman is shocked and says so, and then Jesus says something that is very odd. He says there is a gift from God that I can give you – it’s living water.

 I like this woman. She is feisty and she reckons she knows how to deal with mystics like this Jew. She mocks him. ‘You are talking about giving me living water and you haven’t even got a bucket to draw the water with’. Typical man. Fantastic ideas. Wonderful words. Practically useless. And who do you think you are? This is Jacob’s well. This water was good enough for Jacob, his sons, his animals? And you have the nerve to say it’s not good enough? She has a go at Jesus.

 Nicodemus was respectful and polite and ends up getting rebuked by Jesus because he failed to move from the physical to the spiritual. This woman isn’t respectful and polite, and she too fails to move from the physical to the spiritual – but Jesus does not rebuke her. He really does deal with us as individuals.

 He is very patient and explains that with ordinary water, you quickly become thirsty again. But if she drank the water He wanted to give her – she would never get thirsty again. In fact this water would keep on welling up, it would never end, and it would give her eternal life.

 We have to pause here and admire our author. He moved the story of the temple cleansing to the start of the story to emphasize the centrality of Christ’s cross. Jesus is the true temple. This has everything to do with water. When we have God’s presence, we have a river – you can find this in Psalm 46, and in Revelation 22. But especially in Ezekiel 47 – the vision of God’s temple, and what is flowing out of the temple – a river that gives life. First the temple, that’s John 2, and then the water, the Spirit – that in John 3 and now it’s here in John 4.

 So, Jesus the temple is offering the woman the water of life. I love her reaction. Let’s have it. Give it to me. Yes. There is no hesitation – as obviously there was with Nicodemus.

 Again Jesus does not behave in a way that you would expect. Give me the water she says, and what should be next? Here you are. But that’s not what Jesus says. He completely changes the subject, ‘Go and call your husband – and then come here.’ Jesus isn’t saying He won’t give the water; but he wants to talk about her personal life.

 She says she has no husband. She must have thought, well that’s the end of the conversation. He’s asked to see my husband. I haven’t got a husband. So – let’s have this water.

 But it’s not as simple as that, because Jesus knows us. He knows it’s true that she has no husband – and he knows it’s not true. And he tells her. You’ve had five husbands and your present boyfriend isn’t your husband. That must have been hard for the woman.

 Remember we said that Nicodemus’ conversation must have made him uncomfortable – you’re a ruler and you don’t know the basics. Well, it’s the same for this woman for different reasons. Nicodemus needed humbling; this woman needed to own up to her past. Jesus wants them both to enjoy the living water.

 What do we do when a conversation becomes difficult? We change the subject. That’s what this lady does. After acknowledging that Jesus is a prophet, which is more than Nicodemus did, she changes the subject to the major difference between the Samaritans and the Jews. The Samaritans say that God should be worshipped ‘on this mountain’, because this was where Abraham built the first altar. So, we Samaritans, we are nearer the origins of the faith. But you Jews, you say the place to worship is Jerusalem, which was founded long after Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. She has certainly changed the subject, but she is also questioning why she should believe Jesus if he – as a Jew – has got such an important question wrong.

 Jesus could have said – you’re just changing the subject because you don’t want to talk about those five husbands and your boyfriend. But he is kind. He does respond to her question with an argument for Jerusalem. The basis of the argument depends on the assumption that geography is important for the worship of God. Jesus destroys that assumption. He declares that when it comes to worshipping God, geography does not matter. What matters is worshipping the Father – in spirit and truth. Lady, it’s not just a matter of turning up somewhere and saying a few prayers. The Father is looking at our hearts. He wants to see that we are worshipping with all our being – and in truth. We are truthful about who we are, we are ready to confess wrong-doing in our past. In his answer Jesus is again asking the woman to own up to her past sins so she too can worship – in spirit and truth,

 The woman has said that the Jews have got it wrong, and so is implying that what they say about spiritual things cannot be trusted. Jesus refuses to accept this. He is ready to say that geography is not important; he is not ready to say the writings of the Jewish people, all the Old Testament, are not important. The Jewish people are important and so he says, ‘Salvation is from the Jews’. Jesus is saying to her that if she accepts the water this does not mean she will have to come to Jerusalem. But she must accept the whole Bible, the records of the Jews. As a Samaritan, she only accepted the first five books of Moses. Jesus is saying that’s not enough. This principle remains today. When it comes to salvation, geography doesn’t matter, the Bible does. We must accept the whole Bible and the truth that Jesus is a Jew, so salvation is from the Jews.

 One thing that the Samaritans and the Jews agree on is that the Messiah is coming. The Samaritans called him the Taheb, the ‘Restorer’. Unable to answer Jesus, the woman says, well, when the Messiah comes he will give us the definitive answer.

 Then Jesus says, to this Samaritan woman with no name - ‘I am the Messiah’, so I know what I say is true.

 So far, this chapter has been all about Jesus and the woman, now the disciples come on the scene and they are shocked.

 The woman probably sensed they were not happy and that it was time to leave. But she has also sensed Jesus’ love. She has become a believer. This is the Messiah. This is the man who can give me living water. And so we read a beautiful thing in v. 28

 ‘So the woman left her water jar’.

 آShe never filled it up with the old water, the water that which she would drink and get thirsty again. No – she was ready for the living water. And she was ready to testify. She runs back to her village and says what Jesus said to Andrew and his friend, what Philip said to Nathaniel – ‘Come and see’

 She has not become a believer because of the argument about where people should worship. No, she has become a believer because Jesus showed that he knew all about her life. This is mentioned twice – v. 29, and v. 39. Jesus knows about what has happened in our individual lives and He does not condemn us. He invites us to believe and drink His water. That is love. She believes because she is loved.

 Because of her testimony, the other Samaritans get up and they want to see Jesus.

 Meanwhile we have another difficult conversation in 31 – 38, between Jesus and his disciples. The disciples want to eat. They have laid out the picnic cloth, all the food they have bought is sitting there, now they want to start. But of course –– they had to wait till Jesus joined them. But he doesn’t, even though they are urging him to, and even though we know he was tired, so he needed physical food.

 Jesus says he has other food, and so we have another misunderstanding with Jesus’ listeners thinking about something physical – a birth, water, food – and Jesus’ meaning is spiritual. So they say, ‘Has someone given him separate food? Maybe that woman, maybe she has given him some food.’ Jesus now tells them about the food he has eaten. It is the food of doing what the father wants, and what does the father want – it is reap the harvest to bring people to faith. And we don’t have to think we have to wait for the harvest. It is happening now.

 And the harvest has happened because others have sown. He is probably thinking of all the work of the prophets in the Old Testament. Now we have to respect their work and get busy bringing in the harvest so at the end the people who have sown and the people who reap can rejoice together.

 Jesus’ food is God’s work, and God’s work is reaching other people. That must have priority over our physical food. That is what is uncomfortable for these disciples – and for many Christians down the ages. Jesus often asks us to forego food for the harvest.

 In v. 34 Jesus wants the disciples to see that the harvest is already happening. They don’t have to wait four months. He asks them to look up – and what would they see? They would see the Samaritan woman leading all the village out to them. It would have been a big crowd.

 They all come to Jesus and his disciples and the Samaritans believe – because of the woman’s testimony. Then they invite Jesus and his disciples to stay with them, and they do – for two days. And so more people believe, not just now because of the woman, she started things, but because of their own experience with Jesus. So they conclude that Jesus is the Saviour of the world. This expression is only found here, and in the first letter of John 4:14. It is a lovely expression, underlining all that has happened in this story, Jesus is not just the Saviour of the Jews, he is everyone’s Saviour, even the Samaritans.

 There is so much irony here.

 As said, Jesus is not safe with his own people, but he finds safety and welcome with the enemies of his people. And his own people, the Jews, don’t forget this. They obviously get to hear that Jesus has gone and spent time in Samaria, a place where most of them would not go near for fear of becoming ‘unclean’ or drunk – remember the meaning of Sychar. And so when they are later attacking Jesus they bring this up as an accusation, it’s there just before they try to stone him in 8:38 – ‘Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan?’ If Jesus had spent time with the Samaritans, surely, he must really be a Samaritan. He’s not a real Jew. Jesus paid a price for spending time with these Samaritans.

 And then there is so much irony about the lady and Nicodemus. Who should recognise the Messiah swiftly? Why, the educated man who is a teacher of Israel. But Nicodemus is very slow. He only shows he is with Jesus right at the end of the story. Who should understand very slowly? Why, this uneducated woman from a village in Samaria. But it is she who understands very quickly. Who should be the best witness for Jesus? Why an educated man. But Nicodemus never witnesses for Jesus. Who should be a bad witness for Jesus? This uneducated woman. But she is in fact not just a much better witness than Nicodemus. She is the best witness in all of the Gospels. There is no other individual who brings virtually an entire village to faith in Christ. She is the one who does this. What a lady.

 I said there was another secret door in this story, another seemingly simple picture that then has another meaning. I want to end with it.

 Watch the scene of Jesus sitting by a well talking to a woman. That opens a door to the Old Testament where we have three stories of a foreign man visiting another country and then something happens around a well. The first story – and perhaps the most famous – is the story of Abraham’s servant in Genesis 24 going to the city of Nahor to find a wife for Isaac. Rebecca comes out to get water from the well and the servant prays saying that if she offers to give water to his camels then he will know that she is the one. That is what happens. Then in Genesis 29 we have the first meeting of Jacob and his cousin Rachel whom he fell in love with. Again the whole story happens by a well. And finally we have the story of Moses. He flees Egypt, arrives in Midian and sits down – where? By a well. You can check this in Exodus 2:15. While he is sitting there the daughters of Jethro come to get water but they are attacked by some shepherds. Moses jumps up and drives these unpleasant men away and the girls go home with their water. After that Moses is invited to Jethro’s home – and he marries one of those daughters, Zipporah. Three wives of three famous men from the Old Testament, all wives because of a well.

 And just like the servant, Jacob, and Moses, Jesus is a man coming into a foreign country. And he too finds a well. And a woman comes. And after their conversation he goes to stay in the woman’s village for two days, where everyone is happy. It feels like a celebration, almost like a wedding.

 This is quite a door. This is quite another level of meaning. Who is the woman of Samaria? She is Christ’s bride. Yes, the woman who has had five husbands and when she met Christ was living with a boyfriend, this woman becomes Christ’s bride. Isn’t that beautiful?  Doesn’t that give us all hope?

 What spiritual food can we take from this extraordinary story?

 Jesus wants to give us living water, twenty-four hours a day. This water flows from the temple of his broken body. Be like the woman, leave your water jar, and say to Jesus every day – give me this water. He became thirsty for you on the cross; you need never become thirsty.

 And what lessons. From Jesus – never write people off, always be open to start a conversation with people like this woman of Samaria, however unpopular that might make you with your family and friends. And encourage those people to talk about the painful things that have happened in their lives.

From the woman – be ready to want the water, and be ready to testify, however difficult it might be.

 From the disciples – don’t be too worried about food. Look up from your food and you will see there are plenty of people to talk to.

Next up, one of Herod's official - click here - https://sternfieldthoughts.blogspot.com/2025/01/the-gospel-of-john-officials-son-4-43-54.html