At The Well

Exegetical Study of John 4:13-29

Troy Mangram 2/22/2012

Encountering Christ through Johns Gospel

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Authorship and Dating of the Fourth Gospel The Gospel of John is the fourth of the Gospel accounts found the New Testament canon, and the general consensus among historians and scholars is that it is the latest to be written. Tradition supposes that the apostle John, son of Zebedee, and brother of James the Less, is responsible for composing the gospel account, though the author is not named within the text. However, there is not widespread consensus on this point, as some scholars believe that one of Johns disciples or a member of the Johannine community wrote the Gospel (Harris). It is believed to have been written between 90 and 100 AD (Brown), and was certainly in circulation and well known early in the 2nd century. Many point to the relatively high Christology in John as evidence of a later date and author, one who was not an eye-witness of the life of Jesus (Harris). However, the content therein suggests that the Gospel was indeed written by someone who knew Jesus and was close to him. That said, there is little to no evidence, internal or external, sufficient enough to dismiss the Apostle John as the author of this Gospel (Barclay). Background of Johns Gospel Johns Gospel is unique among the Gospel accounts. Most of the content found within it is original, unlike the synoptics, which seem to draw from common sources. Also, unlike the other three, he places much of the focus on Passion, death, and resurrection of Christ, rather than his parable teachings and his Galilean ministry (Carson and Moo). Not only is what John offers extremely unique, the way he offers it is tantalizing as well. Interestingly, there are no parable accounts anywhere in John, and when Jesus does speak, his discourses are much longer than the pithy statements found in the synoptics. The Jesus found in this Gospel is appears to be much more divine than the Jesus of Mark, Matthew and Luke. John makes very bold statements

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concerning the divinity of Christ, so much so that some have accused his Gospel of being an early form of Gnostic Docetism. Whatever the case, for many believers throughout the centuries, this Gospel held a special place. Many go to it to feed their minds and nourish their hearts, because it offers the most penetrating gaze into the mysteries and truths of God and Christ in the New Testament (Barclay). Themes in Johns Gospel Various themes are woven throughout the Gospel of John in a very intelligent and pointed manner. Prevalent throughout the text are themes of light and darkness ( 1:4-5, 1:7-8, 1:9, 8:12, 9:5, 11:9-10, 12:35, 12:36), belief and faith in God(1:12, 2:23, 3:14-18, 3:36, 6:29, 6:35, 6:40, 6:47, 6:59, 7:38, 8:24, 58, 9:35-38, 10:38, 11:25-27, 12:44, 45, 14:11, 20:31), and knowledge. In fact, references to knowing and believing pervade Johns Gospel. Variations of the word knowing occur more than140 times using (84x), (57x), and a few rare synonyms Synoptic usage of these terms is relatively weak, with Matthews use of terms for knowing and believing producing a combined total of 136 occurrences, Marks combined usages totaling 89, and Lukes totaling 143. Furthermore, John also sets up his narrative with seven discourses, seven signs, and seven I Am statements, all declaring Christs divinity emphatically. There are also distinct Old Testament themes grafted into the gospel account to further testify to the person of Jesus, with the Scriptures testifying to who he is, and salvation coming from the Jews. Furthermore, there are more implicit connections to the OT narrative mostly present in the crucifixion such as Christs death and resurrection connecting back to Moses lifting the serpent Nehushtan in the wilderness and the Passover Lamb (Vincent). Purpose for Johns Gospel

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Many have proposed that the occasion for Johns construction of his Gospel was to augment the other writings that were already in circulation in the church. The chief reason for this position being that most of the material found in John is, again, unique to the Gospel itself. There are also those who hold the position that John wrote to combat some form of Gnosticism that was present in the Johannine community, which would have come as a result of a misunderstanding of his teachings about Christ. This would help to explain why John put extensive effort into establishing the deity of Christ, while also highlighting the very essence of his humanity in the Passion. Such a balance did not exist in the Gnostic understanding of Christ, which rejected the notion of his suffering because it was not reconcilable with his deity. While such elements could have very well been at play as John set out to orchestrate his masterpiece, his purpose for writing is much more simple and profound. Within the text itself, the purpose is found ( 20:30). He has made a selection of the many signs wrought by Jesus for an obvious purpose: But these are written, that ye may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye may have life in his name. This is the high and noble purpose plainly stated by the author (Robertson). Johns intent is to bring others to faith in Christ. His creative and dynamic approach focuses more one the person of Christ, rather than the life of Christ. This helps to explain why so much attention is given to his interactions with people, his identity, and most importantly his death. In their time and culture, it was held that more is revealed about a person in their death than in their life. Thusly, the Fourth Gospel is written in such a way that those who encounter it will not just know about Christ, but rather encounter Christ, and hopefully come to faith in him. Chapter 4 Introduction The fourth chapter of John focuses on Jesus interaction with the Samaritans, most notably, a Samaritan woman. In Johns time, Samaritans were considered to be the worst of

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outcasts (Wright). They were ethnically a mix of Assyrians and Jews, and therefore considered a perversion of the people of God, and no doubt a reminder of their unfaithfulness and exile. Although they were not held in any favorable regard by the Jewish people, they were of Jewish lineage, and did observe at least portions of the Torah and writings. However, their social and religious customs were detestable in the eyes of many Jews, especially the pious. In fact, it is written that Jews had no dealings with Samaritans (4:7). Even more so, Jewish men were not to have any public interaction or discourse with Samaritan women, per social customs. This makes Jesus interaction with the Samaritan woman at the well a very intriguing affair. John is intent to point out that this encounter occurs at about noon, at a well. The fact that this woman has come at this time of the day to draw water is particularly telling. Noon was the both the Jewish and Samaritan common time for a meal (Barnes), and therefore this woman should not have been coming to draw water at this time, for the evening was the common time to draw water (Vincent). However, it was through this unconventional encounter that the Messiah she has been looking for is revealed to her. Textual Analysis: John 4:13-29 Living Water
13

Jesus answered, Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but those who drink the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life. Jesus, just as he had done with Nicodemus (Chapter 3), is speaking to this woman on a

transcendent, or spiritual plane. While she was assuming he was speaking of the natural water coming from Jacobs well, he was really speaking of some sort of spiritual water that comes

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from him. In order to bring her to a better understanding, he begins to elaborate on the point he is trying to make to her. The water that does not satisfy is the water drawn from Jacobs well. On the surface, this is a point not worth making, for everyone knows that even after taking the most refreshing of drinks from any well, the sensation of thirst is inevitable. Therefore, though he is making reference to the Jacobs well, it can be reasonably asserted that he is not talking about the well as is. For Jacobs well stands as a representation of this womans, and all of Samarias trust in their lineage and worship as a true connection to YHWH. In essence, Jesus is telling her that her reliance on heritage and customs as a means of knowing God are futile, such things can only be found by knowing Him. The clue to this is in the phrase living water, which is a reference to the new life he is offering to any and all who will believe (Wright). This is also a statement Jesus makes later in John (7:37-38) on the last day of Sukkot, thus declaring that he would be the one to give them the living water that God promised himself to give them, which would then bubble out of them and refresh the world (Spangler and Tverberg), thereby fulfilling the Abrahamic covenant. This declaration is profound. Jesus in essence tells this woman that she can only come to fully know God through him, because he is God. The Womans Plight
15

The woman said to him, Sir, give me this water so that I wont get thirsty and have to keep

coming here to draw water. 16 He told her, Go, call your husband and come back. 17 I have no husband, she replied. Jesus said to her, You are right when you say you have no husband. 18 The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.

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Just as the audience sees with Nicodemus in the previous chapter when he questions how one can be born again, the woman does not fully understand Jesus but is intrigued by him nonetheless. This was very much his intent, so that she would have been prepared to receive what he was about to give her (Clarke). John then continues to move the story forward by revealing more startling details about the womans life. His command, Go, call your husband, in the Greek reads, . The statement

contains two imperatives, present active and first aorist active. Judging by the construction of his response to her it seems as if she had started to leave after her perplexed reply (Robertson). Her frequent trips to the well were partly to find a husband, as was the custom in OT times (Barnaby). We may not have all the conversation, but Jesus words appear to convict her enough to the point where she begins to consider her current state, and is thus becoming more ready to receive the revelation inherent within him. And John brings both characters alive to his audience through their interaction with one another. In the fact that she is currently unmarried, and has had five husbands already reveals much about her. Historically, the treatment of this text has rendered to this woman a very bad reputation. Many go as far as to assume that she is a person of bad character (Wright) because of her marital situation, and because she did not come to draw water with the other women. However, there is much more to this womans story than what is initially perceived. When considering that, in her time and place, women did not have the power of divorce it is likely that her constant rejection could to no real fault of her own. Only men possessed the power to divorce. It is worth noting that the Samaritans were very familiar with the Jewish laws, being at least part Jewish themselves, so it stands to reason that they would have considered parts of the Torah and Prophets very dear. The womans familiarity with OT prophecy is proof enough of that. With that said, there is a strain of rabbinic interpretation that

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takes Deuteronomy 24:1, which reads If a man marries a woman who becomes displeasing to him because he finds something indecent about her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce, gives it to her and sends her from his house., and teaches that a man could divorce his wife for virtually any reason at all. So much so, the Rabbi Akiba teaches that a man can divorce his wife if he finds another woman more beautiful, and Hillel taught that a woman could be divorce if she spoiled a dish for her husband (Azim). It stands to reason that this woman became a social pariah because of her inability to keep a man happy, likely through no substantial fault of her own. Perhaps she was just a bad cook, or physically unattractive. To make matters worse, the man she was currently with would not even honor her as a woman and marry her. That being the case, she is less a woman of bad character, and more a victim of an oppressive system. Through his encounter with her, the audience is given keen insight into the person of Christ. His interactions with the Samaritan woman reveals that he is one who is more than willing to break social customs for the purpose of ministering to the oppressed and feeding the hungry soul. Moreover, it is worth noting that while she was living with the sixth man, she has just encountered the seventh, a detail that does not occur by happenstance in Johns Gospel. Seven is an extremely important number in Jewish understanding, as it represents divinity and completion. In a subtle way, John is establishing that the womans experience with Jesus is a divine appointment and the completion of her thirst for affirmation. Spirit and Truth
19

Sir, the woman said, I can see that you are a prophet. 20 Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.

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21

Woman, Jesus replied, believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father

neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth. Her understanding continues to increase as her experience with Jesus deepens. The use of the Greek verb suggests that she is beginning to understand (Robertson). Her

declaration of him as a prophet shows that she is moving towards thinking on the transcendent plane he has been guiding her towards all along. In calling him a prophet she is accepting of him as being one sent by God who understood her by some divine endowment, though she did not yet fully understand who he was. In fact, she is still very much holding to her ancestry and worship traditions to the point that she defends her position even though Christ has said nothing concerning her heritage or religious practices. The Samaritans maintained that Mt.Gerizim was the mountain where Abraham offered of Isaac to YHWH (Gill), and that it was the true place of worship for the one true God. In bringing this up, she is likely attempting to shift the attention away from herself, as things were getting rather personal (Wright) His response to her reveals what he has come to accomplish. However, he does affirm Israels special place in salvation history. But he is also quick to point out that salvation is not exclusive to the Jews, for he declares that salvation comes from them, not for them. Furthermore, the idiom the time is coming occurs all throughout Johns Gospel (4:34; 5:25, 5:28; 16:2, 16:25, 16:32), and is used to highlight the new revelation that is present within him. In fact, the living water, and new revelation that is and is to come in Christ will render holy places obsolete. Worshipping God

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in spirit is in contrast to worshipping him according to any carnal conceptions that limit him to a time or place. Both the Jews and Samaritans were guilty of this (Gill). This is not the type of worship God is after. The proclamation is that Christ has come to bring a new experience of God that is not legalistic or locational, but relational. He has come to bring to birth heaven on earth (Wright). Therefore, the worship of the true God will be true. It will not be based on superstition and ignorance, as the Samaritans were seemingly also guilty of (Barclay), but rather the worship of God will be heartfelt and honest because it will be based on relationship. Jesus wants the point to be grasped that worship out of pious obligation is not what God desires. God desires, and has always desired for people to worship him out of love. Leaving Her Water Jar
25

The woman said, I know that Messiah (called Christ) is coming. When he comes, he will

explain everything to us. 26 Then Jesus declared, I, the one speaking to youI am he. 27 Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no one asked, What do you want? or Why are you talking with her? 28 Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, 29 Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah? She then reveals that she knows the Messiah is coming. The expectation of the Samaritans was that the Messiah would re-establish Israel as a kingdom, and Mt.Gerizim as the place of true worship. Though not correct, this expectation was certainly less secular than the prevailing expectation of 1st century Jewish faith (Scofield). The word found in verse 25 that is translated as I know is , which is to know by understanding. It is the type of knowledge one gains through observation or study, which is in contrast to , which is to know by

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experience. Interestingly, she claims to know about the Messiah, but what she does not realize is that she is experiencing him as she speaks. His response to her is very profound, bold, and striking. Upon her making mention of the Messiah, of his coming, and of his work, he took the opportunity of making himself known unto her (Gill), and so declared I am. He makes his revelation to her complete in stating in no uncertain terms that he indeed is the Messiah she has been seeking. His disciples returned and questioned him as to why he was speaking with her, though it does not appear as though he gave them any answer. He was intent on bringing truth and light, and extending salvation beyond the confines of Judaism and social propriety. Furthermore, she left her water jar. John adds this seemingly subtle detail to make strong point. She had been coming to the well to draw water, only to thirst again. Furthermore, she went to the very people that she was either ashamed to be around, or had cast her out in the first place, and testified to them about who Jesus is. Though she asks them, Could this be the Christ, we can gather that She is already convinced herself (4:26), but she puts the question in a hesitant form to avoid arousing opposition. With a womans intuition she avoided and uses . She does

not take sides, but piques their curiosity (Robertson). Thusly, as her experience progresses, so does her understanding of who he is. For she first considered him to be simply a Jewish man, then a prophet, and now she understands that he is the Messiah, and therefore has within herself a wellspring of living water that flows out as she bears witness to others about him in such a way as to draw them to him themselves. Application While there are many powerful lessons to draw from Johns Gospel, and from this section in particular, none seem to be more important than coming to know Christ and the implications of that experience. Just as the woman at the well came to understand, we are to seek to encounter

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Christ, to experience him, not simply read about or hear about him. It is by that experience that our lives are literally transformed. In coming to know him in the context of relationship our eyes are opened and our level of understanding is increased. The things that we once went to in order to draw life from are futile. Just as she left behind her water jar after her profound experience of Christ, we should leave behind those things we go to in order to find our substance, security, provision, identity, and life. The Christian should not define themselves in terms of their struggles, money, status, education, or physical appearance. Rather, we should define ourselves in terms of our encounter with Christ, who seeks to free us from such things and give us eternal life. And not an eternal life for our own sake, but a life that testifies to others who he is and the newness and liberty found in him. This works on both an individual and corporate level in the Church. Far too many times churches draw their life from, and define themselves by their location, the economic status of their members, their programs, or their building. Far too many times believers are made to feel as if they are the possession of their local church, and therefore cannot visit or leave without running the risk of falling from grace or backsliding. Moreover, it is the sad and unfortunate truth that many believers limit their worship or experience with Christ to Sunday mornings or their dedicated devotional time. We must understand that our faith is relational, and not locational, and it is in our relationship with Christ that we find life and life abundantly.

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References

1. Barclay, William. The Gospel of John. Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 1975. Print. 2. Barnes, L. (1964). Barnes' notes on the New Testament. 3. Brown, Raymond E. Introduction to the New Testament. New York: Anchor Bible. 1997 4. Carson, D. A., and Douglas J. Moo. An Introduction To The New Testament. 2006. 5. Harris, Stephen. Understanding The Bible. 7th. New York: McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages, 2011. Print.

6. Gill, John. John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible. John. USA: 1909. eBook.
7. . "John 4 TNIV." BibleGateway. Biblica, 11/9. Web. 20 Feb 2012. <http://www.biblegateway.com>. 8. McReynolds, Paul. Word Study: Greek-English New Testament. 4th Rev. ed. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 1993. Print 9. Robertson, A. T. Word Pictures In The New Testament. B&H Academic, 2000. 10. Scofield, C.I. Scofield Reference Bible. Standard ed. USA: Oxford University Press, 1909. eBook. 11. Spangler, Anne, and Lois Tverberg. Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 2009. Print. 12. Vincent, MR. Vincent's Word Studies in the New Testament. 4. Hendrickson Publishers, 1985. eBook. 13. Wright, NT. John For Everyone. Part 1. Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 2002. Print.