While the gospel of John has some pretty deep theological sections, like the opening “poem” (John 1:1-18) and several chapters containing teachings of Jesus to His disciples the night before His crucifixion (John 13-17), it also contains two miracles of Jesus for us to study at over the next several articles, in a narrative fashion that is more like what we may be used to in the other gospels.
Of course, all of the Bible is worth reading, but we should appreciate the fact that not all of it is written in exactly the same format. Those who say that we should take the Bible literally have to explain how trees clap their hands in Isaiah (Isaiah 55:12), while those who think that everything in the Bible is figurative will miss out on the reality of the historical events that are documented within its pages. I suspect that most of us fall somewhere closer to the middle of this spectrum, and may have different opinions on some of the more complex passages. However, when entering into a Bible study, it’s helpful to understand the format of the text, along with other factors like who wrote it (even if they were all inspired by the Holy Spirit), who it was written to, and when it was written.
The first part of John 4 recounts Jesus’ discussion with a Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well. You might know this account and how the woman’s testimony, combined with the other local Samaritans’ hearing of Jesus’ teachings, made a major impact in the town there. If not, I encourage you to read John 4:1-42.
Jesus “stayed two days” in Samaria (see John 4:40), but he was on His way to Galilee when this all started (see John 4:3), so it’s time for Him to continue His journey as we get to John 4:43.
After the two days he left for Galilee. (Now Jesus himself had pointed out that a prophet has no honor in his own country.) When he arrived in Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him. They had seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival, for they also had been there.
John 4:43-45 NIV
To be sure that we’re on the same page, let’s have a quick Q&A session. (Unlike when I taught the original material for this to a Sunday School class, I don’t have to wait on you to answer, though, if you want to just keep reading for the results!)
- Where was Jesus considered to be “from”, in the sense of where His family settled after their return from Egypt? (Nazareth; hence, why He is called Jesus the Nazarene)
- Which first-century region was Nazareth in (Idumea, Judea, Samaria, or Galilee)? (Galilee, which included towns like Cana, where He turned water into wine.)
We understand that Jesus was often rejected by His own people, whether the religious leaders in Jerusalem, or in His hometown (see Matthew 13:53-58, Mark 6:1-6). However, it says here that “the Galileans welcomed him”, which seems kind of the opposite of verse 44, that a prophet doesn’t have “honor in his own country”.
This is a tricky section to interpret, but there are multiple proposals to reconcile this. One proposal, suggested by a commentary (Brant & Krause, p.137), was that people in Samaria (which was definitely not Jesus’ hometown) had recently accepted Jesus based on a local woman’s testimony and Jesus’ words, but those in Galilee needed miracles to persuade them. As a result, those outside of Galilee actually gave Jesus more honor.
So, before we get into some miracles of Jesus over the next several articles, in light of the verses above, how does this apply to you and me? Are we Samaritans who heard the story of a woman who met Jesus at a well, or are we Galileans who saw (or heard about) miracles that Jesus performed in Jerusalem? In fact, while a variety of people visit this site (so I don’t know your ethnic heritage), statistics suggest that you and I are probably not in either of these demographic groups.
However, we do have an opportunity to determine what it will take for us to believe that Jesus is indeed the Son of God, the promised Christ (i.e., Messiah) who God the Father sent to pay for the sins of the world.
Like the Galileans, we can require Jesus to “prove himself” by showing us lots of miracles before we agree to believe Him. In this group are those who insist that Jesus “fix” our problems rather than helping us through them, or that He provide them with material and worldly “success” – like money, fame, and power.
Or, like the Samaritans, we can look at the facts that we know from history, accept the testimony of those who have gotten to know Jesus, and realize that He doesn’t have to meet our requirements in order for us to accept Him as our Lord and Savior. Instead, He has already established who He is, and provided more than enough facts and evidence for us to justify asking us to accept the details that we don’t yet understand (i.e., by faith).
I fear that some of us run the risk of being too “familiar” with Jesus. Like the Galileans, perhaps we have grown up in a church where Jesus is well-known. That’s not a bad thing, of course, but if we become so accustomed to Him that we forget His transcendence as God and the glory that He deserves as our Lord and Savior, we might neglect the reverence and awe that we owe to Him. Or, if we get too used to hearing His name as just another “church word”, we might challenge Him to prove Himself (through what we selfishly want Him to do for us), rather than accepting God’s plan for our lives (through both blessings and sorrow, joy and pain) and always being willing to accept that His will is better than our own.
Yes, the Bible was written years ago, but with the right context, it is applicable to us today as it was to those who lived contemporaneously with its writing.
From Sunday School lesson prepared for February 11, 2024
References:
- The Lookout, February 11, 2024, © 2024 Christian Standard Media.
- Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
- The College Press NIV Commentary – John, by Beauford H. Bryant and Mark S. Krause. © 1998 College Press Publishing Co.
Those Who Sin Differently 