CHRIST AND THE WOMAN OF SAMARIA--THE SAMARITANS OF SYCHAR. (John 4:1-42) the Lord knew--not by report, but in the sense of Joh 2:25, for which reason He is here styled "the Lord."
1Cuando, pues, el Señor entendió que los fariseos habían oído decir: Jesús hace y bautiza más discípulos que Juan
2(aunque Jesús no bautizaba, sino sus discípulos),
3salió de Judea, y se fue otra vez a Galilea.
4Y le era necesario pasar por Samaria.
5Vino, pues, a una ciudad de Samaria llamada Sicar, junto a la heredad que Jacob dio a su hijo José.
6Y estaba allí el pozo de Jacob. Entonces Jesús, cansado del camino, se sentó así junto al pozo. Era como la hora sexta.
7Vino una mujer de Samaria a sacar agua; y Jesús le dijo: Dame de beber.
8Pues sus discípulos habían ido a la ciudad a comprar de comer.
9La mujer samaritana le dijo: ¿Cómo tú, siendo judío, me pides a mí de beber, que soy mujer samaritana? Porque judíos y samaritanos no se tratan entre sí.
10Respondió Jesús y le dijo: Si conocieras el don de Dios, y quién es el que te dice: Dame de beber; tú le pedirías, y él te daría agua viva.
11La mujer le dijo: Señor, no tienes con qué sacarla, y el pozo es hondo. ¿De dónde, pues, tienes el agua viva?
12¿Acaso eres tú mayor que nuestro padre Jacob, que nos dio este pozo, del cual bebieron él, sus hijos y sus ganados?
13Respondió Jesús y le dijo: Cualquiera que bebiere de esta agua, volverá a tener sed;
14mas el que bebiere del agua que yo le daré, no tendrá sed jamás; sino que el agua que yo le daré será en él una fuente de agua que salte para vida eterna.
15La mujer le dijo: Señor, dame esa agua, para que no tenga yo sed, ni venga aquí a sacarla.
16Jesús le dijo: Ve, llama a tu marido, y ven acá.
17Respondió la mujer y dijo: No tengo marido. Jesús le dijo: Bien has dicho: No tengo marido;
18porque cinco maridos has tenido, y el que ahora tienes no es tu marido; esto has dicho con verdad.
19Le dijo la mujer: Señor, me parece que tú eres profeta.
20Nuestros padres adoraron en este monte, y vosotros decís que en Jerusalén es el lugar donde se debe adorar.
21Jesús le dijo: Mujer, créeme, que la hora viene cuando ni en este monte ni en Jerusalén adoraréis al Padre.
22Vosotros adoráis lo que no sabéis; nosotros adoramos lo que sabemos; porque la salvación viene de los judíos.
23Mas la hora viene, y ahora es, cuando los verdaderos adoradores adorarán al Padre en espíritu y en verdad; porque también el Padre tales adoradores busca que le adoren.
24Dios es Espíritu; y los que le adoran, en espíritu y en verdad es necesario que adoren.
25Le dijo la mujer: Sé que ha de venir el Mesías, llamado el Cristo; cuando él venga nos declarará todas las cosas.
26Jesús le dijo: Yo soy, el que habla contigo.
27En esto vinieron sus discípulos, y se maravillaron de que hablaba con una mujer; sin embargo, ninguno dijo: ¿Qué preguntas? o, ¿Qué hablas con ella?
28Entonces la mujer dejó su cántaro, y fue a la ciudad, y dijo a los hombres:
29Venid, ved a un hombre que me ha dicho todo cuanto he hecho. ¿No será este el Cristo?
30Entonces salieron de la ciudad, y vinieron a él.
31Entre tanto, los discípulos le rogaban, diciendo: Rabí, come.
32Él les dijo: Yo tengo una comida que comer, que vosotros no sabéis.
33Entonces los discípulos decían unos a otros: ¿Le habrá traído alguien de comer?
34Jesús les dijo: Mi comida es que haga la voluntad del que me envió, y que acabe su obra.
35¿No decís vosotros: Aún faltan cuatro meses para que llegue la siega? He aquí os digo: Alzad vuestros ojos y mirad los campos, porque ya están blancos para la siega.
36Y el que siega recibe salario, y recoge fruto para vida eterna, para que el que siembra goce juntamente con el que siega.
37Porque en esto es verdadero el dicho: Uno es el que siembra, y otro es el que siega.
38Yo os he enviado a segar lo que vosotros no labrasteis; otros labraron, y vosotros habéis entrado en sus labores.
39Y muchos de los samaritanos de aquella ciudad creyeron en él por la palabra de la mujer, que daba testimonio diciendo: Me dijo todo lo que he hecho.
40Entonces vinieron los samaritanos a él y le rogaron que se quedase con ellos; y se quedó allí dos días.
41Y creyeron muchos más por la palabra de él,
42y decían a la mujer: Ya no creemos solamente por tu dicho, porque nosotros mismos hemos oído, y sabemos que verdaderamente este es el Salvador del mundo, el Cristo.
43Dos días después, salió de allí y fue a Galilea.
44Porque Jesús mismo dio testimonio de que el profeta no tiene honra en su propia tierra.
45Cuando vino a Galilea, los galileos le recibieron, habiendo visto todas las cosas que había hecho en Jerusalén, en la fiesta; porque también ellos habían ido a la fiesta.
46Vino, pues, Jesús otra vez a Caná de Galilea, donde había convertido el agua en vino. Y había en Capernaum un oficial del rey, cuyo hijo estaba enfermo.
47Este, cuando oyó que Jesús había llegado de Judea a Galilea, vino a él y le rogó que descendiese y sanase a su hijo, que estaba a punto de morir.
48Entonces Jesús le dijo: Si no viereis señales y prodigios, no creeréis.
49El oficial del rey le dijo: Señor, desciende antes que mi hijo muera.
50Jesús le dijo: Ve, tu hijo vive. Y el hombre creyó la palabra que Jesús le dijo, y se fue.
51Cuando ya él descendía, sus siervos salieron a recibirle, y le dieron nuevas, diciendo: Tu hijo vive.
52Entonces él les preguntó a qué hora había comenzado a estar mejor. Y le dijeron: Ayer a las siete le dejó la fiebre.
53El padre entonces entendió que aquella era la hora en que Jesús le había dicho: Tu hijo vive; y creyó él con toda su casa.
54Esta segunda señal hizo Jesús, cuando fue de Judea a Galilea.
JAMIESON-FAUSSET-BROWN BIBLE COMMENTARY
I
Versículo 2
I. Jesus baptized not--John being a servant baptized with his own hand; Christ as the Master, "bapti…
Jesus baptized not--John being a servant baptized with his own hand; Christ as the Master, "baptizing with the Holy Ghost," administered the outward symbol only through His disciples.
II
Versículo 3
II. left Judea--to avoid persecution, which at that early stage would have marred His work.
left Judea--to avoid persecution, which at that early stage would have marred His work.
departed into Galilee--by which time John had been cast into prison (Mar 1:14).
III
Versículo 4
III. must needs go through Samaria--for a geographical reason, no doubt, as it lay straight in his way…
must needs go through Samaria--for a geographical reason, no doubt, as it lay straight in his way, but certainly not without a higher design.
IV
Versículo 5
IV. cometh . . . to--that is, as far as: for He remained at some distance from it.
cometh . . . to--that is, as far as: for He remained at some distance from it.
Sychar--the "Shechem" of the Old Testament, about thirty-four miles from Jerusalem, afterwards called "Neapolis," and now "Nablous."
V
Versículo 6
V. wearied . . . sat thus--that is, "as you might fancy a weary man would"; an instance of the graph…
wearied . . . sat thus--that is, "as you might fancy a weary man would"; an instance of the graphic style of St. John [WEBSTER and WILKINSON]. In fact, this is perhaps the most human of all the scenes of our Lord's earthly history. We seem to be beside Him, overhearing all that is here recorded, nor could any painting of the scene on canvas, however perfect, do other than lower the conception which this exquisite narrative conveys to the devout and intelligent reader. But with all that is human, how much also of the divine have we here, both blended in one glorious manifestation of the majesty, grace, pity, patience with which "the Lord" imparts light and life to this unlikeliest of strangers, standing midway between Jews and heathens.
the sixth hour--noonday, reckoning from six A.M. From Sol 1:7 we know, as from other sources, that the very flocks "rested at noon." But Jesus, whose maxim was, "I must work the works of Him that sent Me while it is day" (Joh 9:4), seems to have denied Himself that repose, at least on this occasion, probably that He might reach this well when He knew the woman would be there. Once there, however, He accepts . . . the grateful ease of a seat on the patriarchal stone. But what music is that which I hear from His lips, "Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Mat 11:28).
VI
Versículo 7
VI. Give me to drink--for the heat of a noonday sun had parched His lips. But "in the last, that grea…
Give me to drink--for the heat of a noonday sun had parched His lips. But "in the last, that great day of the feast," Jesus stood and cried, saying, "If any man thirst let him come unto Me and drink" (Joh 7:37).
VII
Versículo 9
VII. How is it that thou--not altogether refusing, yet wondering at so unusual a request from a Jew, a…
How is it that thou--not altogether refusing, yet wondering at so unusual a request from a Jew, as His dress and dialect would at once discover Him to be, to a Samaritan.
for, &c.--It is this national antipathy that gives point to the parable of the good Samaritan (Luk 10:30-37), and the thankfulness of the Samaritan leper (Luk 17:16, Luk 17:18).
VIII
Versículo 10
VIII. If thou knewest, &c.--that is, "In Me thou seest only a petitioner to thee but if thou knewest wh…
If thou knewest, &c.--that is, "In Me thou seest only a petitioner to thee but if thou knewest who that Petitioner is, and the Gift that God is giving to men, thou wouldst have changed places with Him, gladly suing of Him living water--nor shouldst thou have sued in vain" (gently reflecting on her for not immediately meeting His request).
IX
Versículo 12
IX. Art thou greater, &c.--already perceiving in this Stranger a claim to some mysterious greatness.
Art thou greater, &c.--already perceiving in this Stranger a claim to some mysterious greatness.
our father Jacob--for when it went well with the Jews, they claimed kindred with them, as being descended from Joseph; but when misfortunes befell the Jews, they disowned all connection with them [JOSEPHUS, Antiquities, 9.14,3].
X
Versículo 13
X. thirst again . . . never thirst, &c.--The contrast here is fundamental and all comprehensive. "Th…
thirst again . . . never thirst, &c.--The contrast here is fundamental and all comprehensive. "This water" plainly means "this natural water and all satisfactions of a like earthly and perishable nature." Coming to us from without, and reaching only the superficial parts of our nature, they are soon spent, and need to be anew supplied as much as if we had never experienced them before, while the deeper wants of our being are not reached by them at all; whereas the "water" that Christ gives--spiritual life--is struck out of the very depths of our being, making the soul not a cistern, for holding water poured into it from without, but a fountain (the word had been better so rendered, to distinguish it from the word rendered "well" in Joh 4:11), springing, gushing, bubbling up and flowing forth within us, ever fresh, ever living. The indwelling of the Holy Ghost as the Spirit of Christ is the secret of this life with all its enduring energies and satisfactions, as is expressly said (Joh 7:37-39). "Never thirsting," then, means simply that such souls have the supplies at home.
into everlasting life--carrying the thoughts up from the eternal freshness and vitality of these waters to the great ocean in which they have their confluence. "Thither may I arrive!" [BENGEL].
XI
Versículo 15
XI. give me this water, &c.--This is not obtuseness--that is giving way--it expresses a wondering des…
give me this water, &c.--This is not obtuseness--that is giving way--it expresses a wondering desire after she scarce knew what from this mysterious Stranger.
XII
Versículo 16
XII. call thy husband--now proceeding to arouse her slumbering conscience by laying bare the guilty li…
call thy husband--now proceeding to arouse her slumbering conscience by laying bare the guilty life she was leading, and by the minute details which that life furnished, not only bringing her sin vividly up before her, but preparing her to receive in His true character that wonderful Stranger to whom her whole life, in its minutest particulars, evidently lay open.
XIII
Versículo 19
XIII. Sir, I perceive, &c.--Seeing herself all revealed, does she now break down and ask what hopes the…
Sir, I perceive, &c.--Seeing herself all revealed, does she now break down and ask what hopes there might be for one so guilty? Nay, her convictions have not reached that point yet. She ingeniously shifts the subject from a personal to a public question. It is not, "Alas, what a wicked life am I leading!" but "Lo, what a wonderful prophet I got into conversation with! He will be able to settle that interminable dispute between us and the Jews. Sir, you must know all about such matters--our fathers hold to this mountain here," pointing to Gerizim in Samaria, "as the divinely consecrated place of worship, but ye Jews say that Jerusalem is the proper place--which of us is right?" How slowly does the human heart submit to thorough humiliation! (Compare the prodigal; see on Luk 15:15). Doubtless our Lord saw through the fetch; but does He say, "That question is not the point just now, but have you been living in the way described, yea or nay? Till this is disposed of I cannot be drawn into theological controversies." The Prince of preachers takes another method: He humors the poor woman, letting her take her own way, allowing her to lead while He follows--but thus only the more effectually gaining His object. He answers her question, pours light into her mind on the spirituality of all true worship, as of its glorious Object, and so brings her insensibly to the point at which He could disclose to her wondering mind whom she was all the while speaking to.
XIV
Versículo 21
XIV. Woman, &c.--Here are three weighty pieces of information: (1) The point raised will very soon cea…
Woman, &c.--Here are three weighty pieces of information: (1) The point raised will very soon cease to be of any moment, for a total change of dispensation is about to come over the Church. (2) The Samaritans are wrong, not only as to the place, but the whole grounds and nature of their worship, while in all these respects the truth lies with the Jews. (3) As God is a Spirit, so He both invites and demands a spiritual worship, and already all is in preparation for a spiritual economy, more in harmony with the true nature of acceptable service than the ceremonial worship by consecrated persons, place, and times, which God for a time has seen meet to keep up till fulness of the time should come.
neither in this mountain nor yet at Jerusalem--that is, exclusively (Mal 1:11; Ti1 2:8).
worship the Father--She had talked simply of "worship"; our Lord brings up before her the great OBJECT of all acceptable worship--"THE FATHER."
XV
Versículo 22
XV. Ye worship ye know not what--without any revealed authority, and so very much in the dark. In thi…
Ye worship ye know not what--without any revealed authority, and so very much in the dark. In this sense, the Jews knew what they were about. But the most glorious thing here is the reason assigned,
for salvation is of the Jews--intimating to her that Salvation was not a thing left to be reached by any one who might vaguely desire it of a God of mercy, but something that had been revealed, prepared, deposited with a particular people, and must be sought in connection with, and as issuing from them; and that people, "the Jews."
16
Versículo 23
16. hour cometh, and now is--evidently meaning her to understand that this new economy was in some se…
hour cometh, and now is--evidently meaning her to understand that this new economy was in some sense being set up while He was talking to her, a sense which would in a few minutes so far appear, when He told her plainly He was the Christ.
17
Versículo 25
17. I know Messias cometh . . . when He is come, &c.--If we take our Lord's immediate disclosure of H…
I know Messias cometh . . . when He is come, &c.--If we take our Lord's immediate disclosure of Himself, in answer to this, as the proper key to its meaning to His ear, we can hardly doubt that the woman was already all but prepared for even this startling announcement, which indeed she seems (from Joh 4:29) to have already begun to suspect by His revealing her to herself. Thus quickly, under so matchless a Teacher, was she brought up from her sunken condition to a frame of mind and heart capable of the noblest revelations.
tell us all things--an expectation founded probably on Deu 18:15.
18
Versículo 26
18. I that speak . . . am he--He scarce ever said anything like this to His own people, the Jews. He …
I that speak . . . am he--He scarce ever said anything like this to His own people, the Jews. He had magnified them to the woman, and yet to themselves He is to the last far more reserved than to her--proving rather than plainly telling them He was the Christ. But what would not have been safe among them was safe enough with her, whose simplicity at this stage of the conversation appears from the sequel to have become perfect. What now will the woman say? We listen, the scene has changed, a new party arrives, the disciples have been to Sychar, at some distance, to buy bread, and on their return are astonished at the company their Lord has been holding in their absence.
19
Versículo 27
19. marvelled that he talked with the woman--It never probably occurred to them to marvel that He tal…
marvelled that he talked with the woman--It never probably occurred to them to marvel that He talked with themselves; yet in His eye, as the sequel shows, He was quite as nobly employed. How poor, if not false, are many of our most plausible estimates!
no man said . . . What? . . . Why?--awed by the spectacle, and thinking there must be something under it.
20
Versículo 28
20. left her water-pot--How exquisitely natural! The presence of strangers made her feel that it was …
left her water-pot--How exquisitely natural! The presence of strangers made her feel that it was time for her to withdraw, and He who knew what was in her heart, and what she was going to the city to do, let her go without exchanging a word with her in the hearing of others. Their interview was too sacred, and the effect on the woman too overpowering (not to speak of His own deep emotion) to allow of its being continued. But this one artless touch--that she "left her water-pot"--speaks volumes. The living water was already beginning to spring up within her; she found that man doth not live by bread nor by water only, and that there was a water of wondrous virtue that raised people above meat and drink, and the vessels that held them, and all human things. In short, she was transported, forgot everything but One, and her heart running over with the tale she had to tell, she hastens home and pours it out.
21
Versículo 29
21. is not this the Christ--The form of the question (in the Greek) is a distant, modest way of only …
is not this the Christ--The form of the question (in the Greek) is a distant, modest way of only half insinuating what it seemed hardly fitting for her to affirm; nor does she refer to what He said of Himself, but solely to His disclosure to her of the particulars of her own life.
22
Versículo 30
22. Then they went out, &c.--How different from the Jews! and richly was their openness to conviction…
Then they went out, &c.--How different from the Jews! and richly was their openness to conviction rewarded.
23
Versículo 31
23. meantime--that is, while the woman was away.
meantime--that is, while the woman was away.
Master, eat--Fatigue and thirst we saw He felt; here is revealed another of our common infirmities to which the Lord was subject--hunger.
24
Versículo 32
24. meat ye know not of--What spirituality of mind! "I have been eating all the while, and such food …
meat ye know not of--What spirituality of mind! "I have been eating all the while, and such food as ye dream not of." What can that be? they ask each other; have any supplies been brought Him in our absence? He knows what they are saying though He hears it not.
25
Versículo 34
25. My meat is, &c.--"A Servant here to fulfil a prescribed work, to do and to finish, that is 'meat'…
My meat is, &c.--"A Servant here to fulfil a prescribed work, to do and to finish, that is 'meat' to Me; and of this, while you were away, I have had My fill." And of what does He speak thus? Of the condescension, pity, patience, wisdom He had been laying out upon one soul--a very humble woman, and in some respects repulsive too! But He had gained her, and through her was going to gain more, and lay perhaps the foundations of a great work in the country of Samaria; and this filled His whole soul and raised Him above the sense of natural hunger (Mat 4:4).
26
Versículo 35
26. yet four months, and then harvest--that is, "In current speech, ye say thus at this season; but l…
yet four months, and then harvest--that is, "In current speech, ye say thus at this season; but lift up your eyes and look upon those fields in the light of another husbandry, for lo! in that sense, they are even now white to harvest, ready for the sickle." The simple beauty of this language is only surpassed by the glow of holy emotion in the Redeemer's own soul which it expresses. It refers to the ripeness of these Sycharites for accession to Him, and the joy of this great Lord of the reapers over the anticipated ingathering. Oh, could we but so, "lift up our eyes and look" upon many fields abroad and at home, which to dull sense appear unpromising, as He beheld those of Samaria, what movements, as yet scarce in embryo, and accessions to Christ, as yet seemingly far distant, might we not discern as quite near at hand, and thus, amidst difficulties and discouragements too much for nature to sustain, be cheered--as our Lord Himself was in circumstances far more overwhelming--with "songs in the night!"
27
Versículo 36
27. he that reapeth, &c.--As our Lord could not mean that the reaper only, and not the sower, receive…
he that reapeth, &c.--As our Lord could not mean that the reaper only, and not the sower, received "wages," in the sense of personal reward for his work, the "wages" here can be no other than the joy of having such a harvest to gather in--the joy of "gathering fruit unto life eternal."
rejoice together--The blessed issue of the whole ingathering is the interest alike of the sower as of the reaper; it is no more the fruit of the last operation than of the first; and just as there can be no reaping without previous sowing, so have those servants of Christ, to whom is assigned the pleasant task of merely reaping the spiritual harvest, no work to do, and no joy to taste, that has not been prepared to their hand by the toilsome and often thankless work of their predecessors in the field. The joy, therefore, of the great harvest festivity will be the common joy of all who have taken any part in the work from the first operation to the last. (See Deu 16:11, Deu 16:14; Psa 126:6; Isa 9:3). What encouragement is here for those "fishers of men" who "have toiled all the night" of their official life, and, to human appearance, "have taken nothing!"
28
Versículo 38
28. I sent you, &c.--The I is emphatic--I, the Lord of the whole harvest: "sent you," points to their…
I sent you, &c.--The I is emphatic--I, the Lord of the whole harvest: "sent you," points to their past appointment to the apostleship, though it has reference only to their future discharge of it, for they had nothing to do with the present ingathering of the Sycharites.
ye bestowed no labour--meaning that much of their future success would arise from the preparation already made for them. (See on Joh 4:42).
others laboured--Referring to the Old Testament laborers, the Baptist, and by implication Himself, though He studiously keeps this in the background, that the line of distinction between Himself and all His servants might not be lost sight of. "Christ represents Himself as the Husbandman [rather the Lord of the laborers], who has the direction both of the sowing and of the harvest, who commissions all the agents--those of the Old Testament as well as of the New--and therefore does not stand on a level with either the sowers or the reapers" [OLSHAUSEN].
29
Versículo 39
29. many . . . believed, &c.--The truth of Joh 4:35 begins to appear. These Samaritans were the found…
many . . . believed, &c.--The truth of Joh 4:35 begins to appear. These Samaritans were the foundation of the Church afterwards built up there. No miracle appears to have been wrought there (but unparalleled supernatural knowledge displayed): "we have heard Him ourselves" (Joh 4:42) sufficed to raise their faith to a point never attained by the Jews, and hardly as yet by the disciples--that He was "the Saviour of the world" [ALFORD]. "This incident is further remarkable as a rare instance of the Lord's ministry producing an awakening on a large scale" [OLSHAUSEN].
30
Versículo 40
30. abode two days--Two precious days, surely, to the Redeemer Himself! Unsought, He had come to His …
abode two days--Two precious days, surely, to the Redeemer Himself! Unsought, He had come to His own, yet His own received Him not: now those who were not His own had come to Him, been won by Him, and invited Him to their town that others might share with them in the benefit of His wonderful ministry. Here, then, would He solace His already wounded spirit and have in this outfield village triumph of His grace, a sublime foretaste of the inbringing of the whole Gentile world into the Church.
31
Versículo 43
31. SECOND GALILEAN MIRACLE--HEALING OF THE COURTIER'S SON. (Joh 4:43-54)
SECOND GALILEAN MIRACLE--HEALING OF THE COURTIER'S SON. (Joh 4:43-54)
after two days--literally, the two days of His stay at Sychar.
32
Versículo 44
32. For Jesus testified, &c.--This verse had occasioned much discussion. For it seems strange, if "Hi…
For Jesus testified, &c.--This verse had occasioned much discussion. For it seems strange, if "His own country" here means Nazareth, which was in Galilee, that it should be said He came to Galilee because in one of its towns He expected no good reception. But all will be simple and natural if we fill up the statement thus: "He went into the region of Galilee, but not, as might have been expected, to that part of it called 'His own country,' Nazareth (see Mar 6:4; Luk 4:24), for He acted on the maxim which He oft repeated, that 'a prophet,'" &c.
33
Versículo 45
33. received--welcomed Him.
received--welcomed Him.
having seen . . . at the feast--proud, perhaps, of their Countryman's wonderful works at Jerusalem, and possibly won by this circumstance to regard His claims as at least worthy of respectful investigation. Even this our Lord did not despise, for saving conversion often begins in less than this (so Zaccheus, Luk 19:3-10).
for they also went--that is, it was their practice to go up to the feast.
34
Versículo 46
34. nobleman--courtier, king's servant, or one connected with a royal household; such as Chuza (Luk 8…
nobleman--courtier, king's servant, or one connected with a royal household; such as Chuza (Luk 8:3), or Manaen (Act 13:1).
heard that Jesus was come out of Judea--"where he had doubtless seen or heard what things Jesus had done at Jerusalem" (Joh 4:45), [BENGEL].
come down--for Capernaum was down on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee.
35
Versículo 48
35. Except ye see signs, &c.--He did believe, both as his coming and his urgent entreaty show; but ho…
Except ye see signs, &c.--He did believe, both as his coming and his urgent entreaty show; but how imperfectly we shall see; and our Lord would deepen his faith by such a blunt and seemingly rough answer as He made to Nicodemus.
36
Versículo 49
36. come down ere my child die--"While we talk, the case is at its crisis, and if Thou come not insta…
come down ere my child die--"While we talk, the case is at its crisis, and if Thou come not instantly, all is over." This was faith, but partial, and our Lord would perfect it. The man cannot believe the cure could be wrought without the Physician coming to the patient--the thought of such a thing evidently never occurred to him. But Jesus will in a moment bring him up to this.
37
Versículo 50
37. Go thy way; thy son liveth--Both effects instantaneously followed:--"The man believed the word," …
Go thy way; thy son liveth--Both effects instantaneously followed:--"The man believed the word," and the cure, shooting quicker than lightning from Cana to Capernaum, was felt by the dying youth. In token of faith, the father takes his leave of Christ--in the circumstances this evidenced full faith. The servants hasten to convey the joyful tidings to the anxious parents, whose faith now only wants one confirmation. "When began he to amend? . . . Yesterday, at the seventh hour, the fever left him"--the very hour in which was uttered that great word, "Thy son liveth!" So "himself believed and his whole house." He had believed before this, first very imperfectly; then with assured confidence of Christ's word; but now with a faith crowned by "sight." And the wave rolled from the head to the members of his household. "To-day is salvation come to this house" (Luk 19:9); and no mean house this!
second miracle Jesus did--that is, in Cana; done "after He came out of Judea," as the former before.
Next: John Chapter 5
Nuevo Testamento
John — Capítulo 4
CHRIST AND THE WOMAN OF SAMARIA--THE SAMARITANS OF SYCHAR. (John 4:1-42) the Lord knew--not by report, but in the sense of Joh 2:25, for which reason He is here styled "the Lord."
Texto — Reina-Valera 1960
1Cuando, pues, el Señor entendió que los fariseos habían oído decir: Jesús hace y bautiza más discípulos que Juan
2(aunque Jesús no bautizaba, sino sus discípulos),
3salió de Judea, y se fue otra vez a Galilea.
4Y le era necesario pasar por Samaria.
5Vino, pues, a una ciudad de Samaria llamada Sicar, junto a la heredad que Jacob dio a su hijo José.
6Y estaba allí el pozo de Jacob. Entonces Jesús, cansado del camino, se sentó así junto al pozo. Era como la hora sexta.
7Vino una mujer de Samaria a sacar agua; y Jesús le dijo: Dame de beber.
8Pues sus discípulos habían ido a la ciudad a comprar de comer.
9La mujer samaritana le dijo: ¿Cómo tú, siendo judío, me pides a mí de beber, que soy mujer samaritana? Porque judíos y samaritanos no se tratan entre sí.
10Respondió Jesús y le dijo: Si conocieras el don de Dios, y quién es el que te dice: Dame de beber; tú le pedirías, y él te daría agua viva.
11La mujer le dijo: Señor, no tienes con qué sacarla, y el pozo es hondo. ¿De dónde, pues, tienes el agua viva?
12¿Acaso eres tú mayor que nuestro padre Jacob, que nos dio este pozo, del cual bebieron él, sus hijos y sus ganados?
13Respondió Jesús y le dijo: Cualquiera que bebiere de esta agua, volverá a tener sed;
14mas el que bebiere del agua que yo le daré, no tendrá sed jamás; sino que el agua que yo le daré será en él una fuente de agua que salte para vida eterna.
15La mujer le dijo: Señor, dame esa agua, para que no tenga yo sed, ni venga aquí a sacarla.
16Jesús le dijo: Ve, llama a tu marido, y ven acá.
17Respondió la mujer y dijo: No tengo marido. Jesús le dijo: Bien has dicho: No tengo marido;
18porque cinco maridos has tenido, y el que ahora tienes no es tu marido; esto has dicho con verdad.
19Le dijo la mujer: Señor, me parece que tú eres profeta.
20Nuestros padres adoraron en este monte, y vosotros decís que en Jerusalén es el lugar donde se debe adorar.
21Jesús le dijo: Mujer, créeme, que la hora viene cuando ni en este monte ni en Jerusalén adoraréis al Padre.
22Vosotros adoráis lo que no sabéis; nosotros adoramos lo que sabemos; porque la salvación viene de los judíos.
23Mas la hora viene, y ahora es, cuando los verdaderos adoradores adorarán al Padre en espíritu y en verdad; porque también el Padre tales adoradores busca que le adoren.
24Dios es Espíritu; y los que le adoran, en espíritu y en verdad es necesario que adoren.
25Le dijo la mujer: Sé que ha de venir el Mesías, llamado el Cristo; cuando él venga nos declarará todas las cosas.
26Jesús le dijo: Yo soy, el que habla contigo.
27En esto vinieron sus discípulos, y se maravillaron de que hablaba con una mujer; sin embargo, ninguno dijo: ¿Qué preguntas? o, ¿Qué hablas con ella?
28Entonces la mujer dejó su cántaro, y fue a la ciudad, y dijo a los hombres:
29Venid, ved a un hombre que me ha dicho todo cuanto he hecho. ¿No será este el Cristo?
30Entonces salieron de la ciudad, y vinieron a él.
31Entre tanto, los discípulos le rogaban, diciendo: Rabí, come.
32Él les dijo: Yo tengo una comida que comer, que vosotros no sabéis.
33Entonces los discípulos decían unos a otros: ¿Le habrá traído alguien de comer?
34Jesús les dijo: Mi comida es que haga la voluntad del que me envió, y que acabe su obra.
35¿No decís vosotros: Aún faltan cuatro meses para que llegue la siega? He aquí os digo: Alzad vuestros ojos y mirad los campos, porque ya están blancos para la siega.
36Y el que siega recibe salario, y recoge fruto para vida eterna, para que el que siembra goce juntamente con el que siega.
37Porque en esto es verdadero el dicho: Uno es el que siembra, y otro es el que siega.
38Yo os he enviado a segar lo que vosotros no labrasteis; otros labraron, y vosotros habéis entrado en sus labores.
39Y muchos de los samaritanos de aquella ciudad creyeron en él por la palabra de la mujer, que daba testimonio diciendo: Me dijo todo lo que he hecho.
40Entonces vinieron los samaritanos a él y le rogaron que se quedase con ellos; y se quedó allí dos días.
41Y creyeron muchos más por la palabra de él,
42y decían a la mujer: Ya no creemos solamente por tu dicho, porque nosotros mismos hemos oído, y sabemos que verdaderamente este es el Salvador del mundo, el Cristo.
43Dos días después, salió de allí y fue a Galilea.
44Porque Jesús mismo dio testimonio de que el profeta no tiene honra en su propia tierra.
45Cuando vino a Galilea, los galileos le recibieron, habiendo visto todas las cosas que había hecho en Jerusalén, en la fiesta; porque también ellos habían ido a la fiesta.
46Vino, pues, Jesús otra vez a Caná de Galilea, donde había convertido el agua en vino. Y había en Capernaum un oficial del rey, cuyo hijo estaba enfermo.
47Este, cuando oyó que Jesús había llegado de Judea a Galilea, vino a él y le rogó que descendiese y sanase a su hijo, que estaba a punto de morir.
48Entonces Jesús le dijo: Si no viereis señales y prodigios, no creeréis.
49El oficial del rey le dijo: Señor, desciende antes que mi hijo muera.
50Jesús le dijo: Ve, tu hijo vive. Y el hombre creyó la palabra que Jesús le dijo, y se fue.
51Cuando ya él descendía, sus siervos salieron a recibirle, y le dieron nuevas, diciendo: Tu hijo vive.
52Entonces él les preguntó a qué hora había comenzado a estar mejor. Y le dijeron: Ayer a las siete le dejó la fiebre.
53El padre entonces entendió que aquella era la hora en que Jesús le había dicho: Tu hijo vive; y creyó él con toda su casa.
54Esta segunda señal hizo Jesús, cuando fue de Judea a Galilea.
JAMIESON-FAUSSET-BROWN BIBLE COMMENTARY
Versículo 2
I. Jesus baptized not--John being a servant baptized with his own hand; Christ as the Master, "bapti…
Versículo 3
II. left Judea--to avoid persecution, which at that early stage would have marred His work.
Versículo 4
III. must needs go through Samaria--for a geographical reason, no doubt, as it lay straight in his way…
Versículo 5
IV. cometh . . . to--that is, as far as: for He remained at some distance from it.
Versículo 6
V. wearied . . . sat thus--that is, "as you might fancy a weary man would"; an instance of the graph…
Versículo 7
VI. Give me to drink--for the heat of a noonday sun had parched His lips. But "in the last, that grea…
Versículo 9
VII. How is it that thou--not altogether refusing, yet wondering at so unusual a request from a Jew, a…
Versículo 10
VIII. If thou knewest, &c.--that is, "In Me thou seest only a petitioner to thee but if thou knewest wh…
Versículo 12
IX. Art thou greater, &c.--already perceiving in this Stranger a claim to some mysterious greatness.
Versículo 13
X. thirst again . . . never thirst, &c.--The contrast here is fundamental and all comprehensive. "Th…
Versículo 15
XI. give me this water, &c.--This is not obtuseness--that is giving way--it expresses a wondering des…
Versículo 16
XII. call thy husband--now proceeding to arouse her slumbering conscience by laying bare the guilty li…
Versículo 19
XIII. Sir, I perceive, &c.--Seeing herself all revealed, does she now break down and ask what hopes the…
Versículo 21
XIV. Woman, &c.--Here are three weighty pieces of information: (1) The point raised will very soon cea…
Versículo 22
XV. Ye worship ye know not what--without any revealed authority, and so very much in the dark. In thi…
Versículo 23
16. hour cometh, and now is--evidently meaning her to understand that this new economy was in some se…
Versículo 25
17. I know Messias cometh . . . when He is come, &c.--If we take our Lord's immediate disclosure of H…
Versículo 26
18. I that speak . . . am he--He scarce ever said anything like this to His own people, the Jews. He …
Versículo 27
19. marvelled that he talked with the woman--It never probably occurred to them to marvel that He tal…
Versículo 28
20. left her water-pot--How exquisitely natural! The presence of strangers made her feel that it was …
Versículo 29
21. is not this the Christ--The form of the question (in the Greek) is a distant, modest way of only …
Versículo 30
22. Then they went out, &c.--How different from the Jews! and richly was their openness to conviction…
Versículo 31
23. meantime--that is, while the woman was away.
Versículo 32
24. meat ye know not of--What spirituality of mind! "I have been eating all the while, and such food …
Versículo 34
25. My meat is, &c.--"A Servant here to fulfil a prescribed work, to do and to finish, that is 'meat'…
Versículo 35
26. yet four months, and then harvest--that is, "In current speech, ye say thus at this season; but l…
Versículo 36
27. he that reapeth, &c.--As our Lord could not mean that the reaper only, and not the sower, receive…
Versículo 38
28. I sent you, &c.--The I is emphatic--I, the Lord of the whole harvest: "sent you," points to their…
Versículo 39
29. many . . . believed, &c.--The truth of Joh 4:35 begins to appear. These Samaritans were the found…
Versículo 40
30. abode two days--Two precious days, surely, to the Redeemer Himself! Unsought, He had come to His …
Versículo 43
31. SECOND GALILEAN MIRACLE--HEALING OF THE COURTIER'S SON. (Joh 4:43-54)
Versículo 44
32. For Jesus testified, &c.--This verse had occasioned much discussion. For it seems strange, if "Hi…
Versículo 45
33. received--welcomed Him.
Versículo 46
34. nobleman--courtier, king's servant, or one connected with a royal household; such as Chuza (Luk 8…
Versículo 48
35. Except ye see signs, &c.--He did believe, both as his coming and his urgent entreaty show; but ho…
Versículo 49
36. come down ere my child die--"While we talk, the case is at its crisis, and if Thou come not insta…
Versículo 50
37. Go thy way; thy son liveth--Both effects instantaneously followed:--"The man believed the word," …