John 4:30 - Printer Friendly

ESV: They went out of the town and were coming to him.

NIV: They came out of the town and made their way toward him.

NASB: They left the city and were coming to Him.

CSB: They left the town and made their way to him.

NLT: So the people came streaming from the village to see him.

KJV: Then they went out of the city, and came unto him.

NKJV: Then they went out of the city and came to Him.

Jesus speaks with a Samaritan woman at a well near the town of Sychar. Not only is He willing to converse with her, He knows her shameful past, and her spiritual struggles. While the disciples go into town and come back only with food, this Samaritan woman will convince others that they need to come and hear from Jesus themselves.

The fact that the people of town are on their way to see Jesus helps to clarify the meaning of His words in this passage. In verse 35, Jesus will tell His disciples to look—to "lift up your eyes"—on the fields of a harvest. Most likely, He would have been indicating the approaching crowd from the Samaritan town.

This incident is a powerful object lesson for the disciples. Their true purpose, in Christ, is not about physical things. It's about bringing others to a knowledge of the Messiah. The response of the townspeople is the first part of that lesson.

The second will come much later. When Jesus leaves His apostles to return to heaven, after His resurrection, He will tell them to be His "witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." In John chapters 2, 3, and 4, Jesus has done just that. He has traveled from Jerusalem to Judea, and into Samaria. Here, the Samaritan people will be proclaiming Him the Savior of the entire world (John 4:42). This underscores the purpose of discipleship and evangelism: teaching others about Christ, so they can go and do the same.

John 4:27–45 is an object lesson for the disciples. Jesus has just finished a conversation with a Samaritan woman, while the disciples were in town buying food. As it turns out, this supposedly unclean woman will soon bring back many people to meet Christ, while the disciples have brought no one. Jesus explains that some work to plant spiritual seeds, while others might be the ones collecting the harvest. Both are valuable and we should be ready for opportunities in either case.

Jesus speaks to a Samaritan woman who is drawing water from a well. Jesus both confronts her about her sin, and comforts her with the truth of the gospel. In particular, He explains that even though He knows her sins, He still seeks after her, and those like her. The woman returns to town, eventually bringing many people to meet Jesus. The disciples, meanwhile, have to be reminded of the purpose of their mission. Jesus also heals the son of a government official in a way that demonstrates the importance of trusting faith, rather than reliance on spectacle.

John chapter 4 continues the use of contrast. Jesus goes from conversing with an educated, powerful, prestigious man to talking to an outcast, unlearned, self-conscious woman. The combination of this passage, along with Jesus' conversation with Nicodemus, makes an important spiritual point. The gospel is for all people, in all places, and all times. Christ can reach each person exactly where he or she needs to be reached.

The gospel of John was written by the disciple John, decades later than the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. The author assumes that a reader is already familiar with the content of these other works. So, John presents a different perspective, with a greater emphasis on meaning. John uses seven miracles—which he calls “signs”—in order to prove that Jesus is, in fact, God incarnate. Some of the most well-known verses in all of the Bible are found here. None is more famous than the one-sentence summary of the gospel found in John 3:16.