John 4.1-14

1 Jesus knew the Pharisees had heard that he was baptizing and making more disciples than John 2 (though Jesus himself didn’t baptize them — his disciples did). 3 So he left Judea and returned to Galilee.

4 He had to go through Samaria on the way. 5 Eventually he came to the Samaritan village of Sychar, near the field that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there; and Jesus, tired from the long walk, sat wearily beside the well about noontime. 7 Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Please give me a drink.” 8 He was alone at the time because his disciples had gone into the village to buy some food.

9 The woman was surprised, for Jews refuse to have anything to do with Samaritans. She said to Jesus, “You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. Why are you asking me for a drink?”

10 Jesus replied, “If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water.”

11 “But sir, you don’t have a rope or a bucket,” she said, “and this well is very deep. Where would you get this living water? 12 And besides, do you think you’re greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us this well? How can you offer better water than he and his sons and his animals enjoyed?”

13 Jesus replied, “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. 14 But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.”

Comments

I have shared already about how John seems more aware than the previous Gospel writers that the nature of Jesus Christ was an important issue. At the start of chapter 1 we saw John begin with a very clear statement that Jesus is the Son of God, equal with the Father in being eternally present and in creating the world. Those who would deny that Jesus is God (like the Ebionites I have been writing about) have to contend with what John wrote here. This emphasis can make it seem that John has a view of Jesus that is more God and less human, or else that we as readers are prone to read back into John the later church decision that Jesus is to be regarded as fully God and fully human (this was decided at the Council of Nicea in 325AD). But I want to suggest that a proto-Nicene understanding of Jesus is present in John, that what Nicea came to affirm was congruent with what John had in mind (and viably consistent with what the other Gospels have too). This may sound like so much theological dancing around (and to some extent it is, cha cha cha!), but I do think there is an important point here for us (I try not to bore you with pointless theology – and yes, some of it is).
What we have in the beginning of this story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman is the juxtaposition of Jesus’ humanity and divinity – and what comes of that. This is a theme John is going to develop, we will see this as we go, and the groundwork for it is right here. Jesus is weary, thirsty, and alone. John knows we’ve read about the cross already, so he is expecting us to catch this foreshadowing. His thirst (can there be a better symbol for what it means to be human?) is what leads to his conversation with the woman, where he offers her an unlimited supply of water. This is a promise only a god could make. The woman was taken aback by such a strange response coming from a thirsty man who was breaking an ethnic and gender barrier in even speaking to her. What could he even mean?
We will get into her response tomorrow, but for today I want us to sit with this progression: out of a full expression of Jesus’ humanity comes a revelation of his divinity and a promise of – of what? What does the water represent? John will tell us later (7.39) that the water is a symbol for the Holy Spirit. The promise and giving of the Holy Spirit is a major theme in John and this is how the Spirit comes: through an expression of Jesus’ humanity and a revelation of his divinity. The culminating symbol for this will be on the cross, when Jesus’ side is pierced and blood and water flow (19.35). John makes clear that the Holy Spirit is not given until the death of Jesus. More than that, the Spirit is given BY the death of Jesus.
As Karl Barth explained it, “The community and all its members are born out of that wound in his side, and they live on that which flows from there: the blood and the water which is the Spirit. It is a community of the cross or it is not the Christian community at all.” (Karl Barth, Church Dogmatics IV/4, 126) The divine/human nature of Jesus is not just some weird theological concept. It is the wellspring from which the Holy Spirit flows and creates the community – the body of Christ. We are a community formed by and inescapably marked by the cross. Keep this in mind as we go (I know I keep saying that. I suppose it’s my job to do the reminding.) because we will see John develop this theme. And in the mean time, know that this is still how and why the Spirit comes: to reveal Jesus as God and human, to heal us as humans, to help us crucify our flesh as humans, and to resurrect us to new life in Christ.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale HousePublishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

John 3.22-36

22 Then Jesus and his disciples left Jerusalem and went into the Judean countryside.  Jesus spent some time with them there, baptizing people.

23 At this time John the Baptist was baptizing at Aenon, near Salim, because there was plenty of water there; and people kept coming to him for baptism. 24 (This was before John was thrown into prison.) 25 A debate broke out between John’s disciples and a certain Jew over ceremonial cleansing. 26 So John’s disciples came to him and said, “Rabbi, the man you met on the other side of the Jordan River, the one you identified as the Messiah, is also baptizing people. And everybody is going to him instead of coming to us.”

27 John replied, “No one can receive anything unless God gives it from heaven. 28 You yourselves know how plainly I told you, ‘I am not the Messiah. I am only here to prepare the way for him.’ 29 It is the bridegroom who marries the bride, and the best man is simply glad to stand with him and hear his vows. Therefore, I am filled with joy at his success. 30 He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less.

31 “He has come from above and is greater than anyone else. We are of the earth, and we speak of earthly things, but he has come from heaven and is greater than anyone else. 32 He testifies about what he has seen and heard, but how few trust what he tells them! 33 Anyone who accepts his testimony can affirm that God is true. 34 For he is sent by God. He speaks God’s words, for God gives him the Spirit without limit. 35 The Father loves his Son and has put everything into his hands. 36 And anyone who trusts God’s Son has eternal life. Anyone who doesn’t obey the Son will never experience eternal life but remains under God’s angry judgment.”

Comments

John the Baptist. Here was a guy full of the Spirit of God. Jesus called him the greatest of all the prophets (which is saying a lot when you think about Elijah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, etc., that’s a very select group to be the top of). He knew his ministry was from God. He knew he was right where he was supposed to be, doing exactly what he was meant to do (you know, that elusive spot so many of us chase for most of our lives). And yet, he saw his numbers and influence declining. More and more people were going over to Jesus. The other three Gospels make it seem as if John just stopped after Jesus came on the scene, but here we see there was some overlap. John and Jesus were baptizing almost side-by-side for a while. The pretext of the discussion is not clear. John the evangelist does not make clear why a ceremonial washing debate between John’s disciples and some random person should lead them to ask John about Jesus. It may have been that whatever the pretext, this issue of John’s decline was the concern closest to their hearts.

Pay close attention to what John says here. He describes himself as the best man, not the groom, and expresses gladness and joy at seeing the beginning of the Messiah’s ministry, acknowledging that his own decline is a necessary part of this process. He says that Jesus has come from heaven to explain heavenly things. This repeats what Jesus said to Nicodemus earlier in this chapter. John the writer wants to embed this picture in our minds: the Son of God come down to explain the kingdom and bring it into being. But even though Jesus comes from heaven and “God gives him the Spirit without limit,” John still points out how few people actually trust what Jesus was saying, despite the fact that Jesus was fully operating in God’s Spirit with no limit. No internal limit anyway. The ears of would-be listeners impose their own limits. John wasn’t concerned about competing with Jesus because Jesus was not the opposition. The closed ears and hardened hearts of the people were the only opposition.

Churches have a hard time taking John’s approach here, but it is no less true than it ever was. We should cheer each other’s successes, support each other’s endeavors, and be willing to decrease if that is what God has for us in a given season. We don’t measure success the way the world does – or at least we shouldn’t. One light doesn’t compete with another light. Each light only competes with darkness. When we shine our lights together, the darkness flees.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale HousePublishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.