When therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John, Ver. 1. _Baptized more disciples_] Baptizing was used by the Jews before John or Christ took it up, from which custom, though brought in without commandment, our Saviour authorizeth a sea... [ Continue Reading ]
(Though Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples,) Ver. 2. _Jesus himself baptized not_] A sweet comfort, that Christ is said not to baptize those whom the disciples baptized. The sacraments administered by ministers are no less effectual than if we had received the same from Christ's own hand... [ Continue Reading ]
He left Judaea, and departed again into Galilee. Ver. 3. _He left Judea_] God must be trusted, not tempted.... [ Continue Reading ]
And he must needs go through Samaria. Ver. 4. _He must needs go_] Happy for them that they lay in our Saviour's way, to be looked upon; his feet drop fatness. Luther had rather be with Christ in hell than in heaven without him, _Malim praesente Christo esse in inferno, quam absente eo in coelo._ Lu... [ Continue Reading ]
Then cometh he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Ver. 5. _Jacob gave to his son Joseph_] Having first won it with "his sword and his bow," Genesis 48:22; that is, with his prayer and supplication (saith the Chaldee paraphra... [ Continue Reading ]
Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with _his_ journey, sat thus on the well: _and_ it was about the sixth hour. Ver. 6. _Jesus therefore, being wearied_] And in that he himself had suffered, he was the more able and apt to help this poor Samaritess. So the apostle bids us pi... [ Continue Reading ]
There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink. Ver. 7. _A woman of Samaria_] A poor cupbearer, such as Festus calls _Canalicolas, quod circa canalem fori consisterent, _ lazy people because they were much about the conduits of the forum. (Becman. de Originib.... [ Continue Reading ]
(For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.) Ver. 8. _To buy meat_] For our Saviour lived not upon alms; but although he became poor to make us rich,2 Corinthians 8:9, yet had he a bag, and that so big as that it required a bearer, John 12:6, his friends and followers supplying him... [ Continue Reading ]
Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. Ver. 9. _Askest drink of me?_] The Samaritans knew that they were slighted by the Jews, and took it ill, _Gens haec_ (saith... [ Continue Reading ]
Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. Ver. 10. _The gift of God_] That is, Christ himself, called by St Paul the benefit, ευεργεσια, 1 Timothy... [ Continue Reading ]
The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water? Ver. 11. _Sir, thou hast no bucket_] See how witty we are naturally, with our armed dilemmas, to reject grace offered, and with both hands as it were, to thrust away fr... [ Continue Reading ]
Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle? Ver. 12. _Our father Jacob_] Josephus tells us that these Samaritans, while the Jews prospered, would needs be their dear cousins; but when they were in adversity (as under A... [ Continue Reading ]
Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: Ver. 13. _Shall thirst again_] So shall all they, _quibus avaritiae aut ambitionis salsugo bibulam animare possidet._ He that seeks to satisfy his lusts goes about an endless business. Give, give, is the horse's... [ Continue Reading ]
But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. Ver. 14. _Shall never thirst_] His lips water not after homely provision, that hath lately tasted of delicate sustena... [ Continue Reading ]
The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw. Ver. 15. _Sir, give me this water_] We would all have immortality, but here on earth. Some think she jeers our Saviour here; who therefore in the next words arouseth her conscience.... [ Continue Reading ]
Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither. Ver. 16. _Go, call thy husband_] It was a great favour in Christ to receive that sinful woman that washed his feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair, and not to kick her out of his presence, as the Pharisees expected. How much g... [ Continue Reading ]
The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband: Ver. 17. _I have no husband_] _Lucretius ait, quasdam mulieres effugere unius viri torum, ut omnium fiant torus._ (Sphinx Philos.) " _Iesuitae etiam sunt_ Connubisanctifugae, clammeretrici... [ Continue Reading ]
For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly. Ver. 18. _He whom thou now hast, &c._] Here he comes home to her conscience; so must all that will do good on it, striving not so much to please as to profit. Bees are killed with honey but qui... [ Continue Reading ]
The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet. Ver. 19. _Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet_] To the "hidden man of the heart," 1 Peter 3:4, the plain song ever makes the best music. The Corinthian idiot, convinced of all, and having the secrets of his heart ripped up by th... [ Continue Reading ]
Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. Ver. 20. _Our fathers, &c._] No sooner doth she acknowledge him a prophet, but she seeks to be satisfied in a case of conscience. _Proh stuporem nostrum!_ Woe to our dulness!... [ Continue Reading ]
Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. Ver. 21. _Ye shall neither in this mountain, &c._] Herod's temple at Jerusalem was so set on fire by Titus's soldiers, that it could not be quenched by the ind... [ Continue Reading ]
Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. Ver. 22. _We know what we worship_] Christ also, as man, worshippeth, being less than himself as God. Christ is worshipped by angels as God, being greater than himself as man. _ Ye worship ye know not what_] And ye... [ Continue Reading ]
But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. Ver. 23. _The Father seeketh such_] Oh, how should this fire up our hearts to spiritual worship! that God seeks for such, with, "Let me see thy fac... [ Continue Reading ]
God _is_ a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship _him_ in spirit and in truth. Ver. 24. _God is a Spirit_] _Omnes nominis Iehovae literae sunt spirituales ut denotetur Deum esse spiritum._ (Alsted.) Though, to speak properly, God is not a spirit. For, first, spirit signifies breath, which... [ Continue Reading ]
The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things. Ver. 25. _I know that Messias, &c._] As who should say, we are not altogether so ignorant as you would make us,John 4:23. A dead woman must have four men to carry her out, as t... [ Continue Reading ]
Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am _he_. Ver. 26. _I that speak unto thee, &c._] No sooner do we think of Christ with any the least true desire after him, but he is presently with us. He invited himself to Zaccheus's table, &c. _Tantum velis, et Deus tibi praeoccurret, _ said a Father.... [ Continue Reading ]
And upon this came his disciples, and marvelled that he talked with the woman: yet no man said, What seekest thou? or, Why talkest thou with her? Ver. 27. _That he talked with the woman_] _Solum cum sola._ (Beza.) He might do that we must beware of, lest concupiscence kindle. Abraham may see Sodom... [ Continue Reading ]
The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men, Ver. 28. _Left her waterpot_] She had now greater things in hand, better things to look after. As Alexander, hearing of the riches of the Indies, divided his kingdom among his captains.... [ Continue Reading ]
Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ? Ver. 29. _Come, see a man, &c._] Weak means may, by God's blessing, work great matters. He can make the words of Naaman's servant greater in operation than the words of great Elisha, and by a poor captive girl bring... [ Continue Reading ]
Then they went out of the city, and came unto him. Ver. 30. _Then they went out_] More to see the news than else; as Moses' curiosity led him nearer the bush, wherehence he was called. It is good to come to the ordinances, though but for novelty; absence is without hope. What a deal lost Thomas by... [ Continue Reading ]
In the mean while his disciples prayed him, saying, Master, eat. Ver. 31. _Master, eat_] _Animantis cuiusque vita in fuga est, _ and must be repaired by nutrition, in a natural course. Only we must eat to live, and not live to eat only, as belly gods.... [ Continue Reading ]
But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of. Ver. 32. _I have meat to eat, &c._] Abraham's servant would not eat till he had despatched, his errand, Genesis 24:33. When we are to woo for Christ, we should forget our own interests and occasions. _Quaerite primum, &c._ Seek first th... [ Continue Reading ]
Therefore said the disciples one to another, Hath any man brought him _ought_ to eat? Ver. 33. _Hath any man brought, &c._] "Are not these yet carnal, and talk as men?"1 Corinthians 3:3. How dull and thick brained are the best till God rend the veil, and enlighten both organ and object!... [ Continue Reading ]
Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work. Ver. 34. _My meat is to do the will_] Job, Job 23:12, preferred it before his necessary food, that should keep him alive. So did Christ, when disappointed of a breakfast at the barren fig tree, and coming... [ Continue Reading ]
Say not ye, There are yet four months, and _then_ cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest. Ver. 35. _Say not ye, There are yet four months_] As who should say, ye so long for the time, that ye count how many months, we... [ Continue Reading ]
And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together. Ver. 36. _That he that soweth, &c._] That is, that both the prophets that sowed and the apostles that reaped, &c., for the people were prepared by the writi... [ Continue Reading ]
And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth. Ver. 37. _That saying true, &c._] Camerdrius recites the Senary at large. Αλλοι μεν σπειρους ', αλλοι δ αυ αμησονται .... [ Continue Reading ]
I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours. Ver. 38. _Other men have laboured_] Laboured even to lassitude, as the word κεκοπιακασι signifies (κοπιαω, κοπτω). The ministry is not then an easy trade, an idle man's occupation. Luth... [ Continue Reading ]
And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him for the saying of the woman, which testified, He told me all that ever I did. Ver. 39. _For the saying of the woman_] An unlikely means to effect so great a matter. But what is that to the Almighty? So Junius professeth, that the very first th... [ Continue Reading ]
So when the Samaritans were come unto him, they besought him that he would tarry with them: and he abode there two days. Ver. 40. _Were come unto him_] We no sooner believe, but we would fain see, and be brought _a spe ad speciem, _ from hope to sight.... [ Continue Reading ]
And many more believed because of his own word; Ver. 41. _Because of his own word_] This is it alone that is the foundation of faith, and converts the soul, Psalms 19:7. That of good wives winning their husbands,1 Peter 3:1, is meant by way of preparation only in general. And that of winning a soul... [ Continue Reading ]
And said unto the woman, Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard _him_ ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world. Ver. 42. _Not because of thy saying_] Properly, because of thy prittle prattle, Δια την σην λαλιαν, _propter loquacitatem tuam._... [ Continue Reading ]
Now after two days he departed thence, and went into Galilee. Ver. 43. _After two days he departed_] Though never so much made of, we must away when there is something elsewhere to be done for God.... [ Continue Reading ]
For Jesus himself testified, that a prophet hath no honour in his own country. Ver. 44. _Jesus himself testified_] Had testified, when he was cast out at Nazareth; therefore he came no more there. A minister that can do no good once in the place where he lives, is bound to leave, though the fault b... [ Continue Reading ]
Then when he was come into Galilee, the Galilaeans received him, having seen all the things that he did at Jerusalem at the feast: for they also went unto the feast. Ver. 45. _The Galileans received him_] Though those of Nazareth would not, others did. He that is sent and gifted by God shall have o... [ Continue Reading ]
So Jesus came again into Cana of Galilee, where he made the water wine. And there was a certain nobleman, whose son was sick at Capernaum. Ver. 46. _A certain nobleman_] One that belonged to the king, Βασιλικος, a royalist; for so the common people flatteringly styled Herod the tetrarch. Few noblem... [ Continue Reading ]
When he heard that Jesus was come out of Judaea into Galilee, he went unto him, and besought him that he would come down, and heal his son: for he was at the point of death. Ver. 47. _Besought him that he would, &c._] Even Darius, king of Persia, can give order for prayers to be made at Jerusalem f... [ Continue Reading ]
Then said Jesus unto him, Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe. Ver. 48. _Except ye see signs, &c._] Our Saviour first chides him, and upon his well bearing of that, accommodates him. He saw the courtiers' unbelief more dangerous to his soul than the disease could be to his son's bo... [ Continue Reading ]
The nobleman saith unto him, Sir, come down ere my child die. Ver. 49. _Sir, come down_] He fumes not at reproof (as many great ones would have done, _Tange montes, et fumigabunt_), but "suffers the word of exhortation,"Hebrews 13:22, being subdued thereunto by affliction.... [ Continue Reading ]
Jesus saith unto him, Go thy way; thy son liveth. And the man believed the word that Jesus had spoken unto him, and he went his way. Ver. 50. _Thy son liveth_] Is in very good health; for _non est vivere, sed valere, vita_ It is not to live but to live in good health, (Martial). So God is better to... [ Continue Reading ]
And as he was now going down, his servants met him, and told _him_, saying, Thy son liveth. Ver. 51. _Thy son liveth_] So the son was restored by his father's faith. It is a benefit to be born of good parents. Personal goodness is profitable to posterity.... [ Continue Reading ]
Then enquired he of them the hour when he began to amend. And they said unto him, Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him. Ver. 52. _Then inquired he, &c._] By a sweet providence, that God might be the more glorified and the man's faith confirmed. "All things cooperate," &c.,Romans 8:28. S... [ Continue Reading ]
So the father knew that _it was_ at the same hour, in the which Jesus said unto him, Thy son liveth: and himself believed, and his whole house. Ver. 53. _And he himself believed_] With a justifying faith, introduced at first by a common faith.... [ Continue Reading ]
This _is_ again the second miracle _that_ Jesus did, when he was come out of Judaea into Galilee. Ver. 54. _This is again the second miracle_] God keeps count of what he doth for us, and will call us to a reckoning. Should not we keep a register? write up the noble acts of the Lord? make a catalogu... [ Continue Reading ]