John Gill

“You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and you do not understand these things?

“Jesus answered and said unto him,.... Upbraiding him with his continued and invincible ignorance, which was aggravated by his dignified character: art thou a master in Israel?”

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.

“For God so loved the world,.... The Persic version reads "men": but not every man in the world is here meant, or all the individuals of human nature; for all are not the objects of God's special love, which is here designed, as appears from…”

Everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come into the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.

“For every one that doth evil, hateth the light,.... Every man, the series of whose life and conversation is evil, hates Christ and his Gospel, cause they make manifest his evil deeds, convict him of them, and rebuke him for them: neither cometh to the…”

Now John was also baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because the water was plentiful there, and people kept coming to be baptized.

“And John also was baptizing in Aenon,.... The Syriac and Persic versions call it "Ain", or "In you", the fountain of the dove; and the Arabic version reads it, the fountain of "Nun": and whether it was a town, or river, it seems to have…”

(For John had not yet been thrown into prison.)

“For John was not yet cast into prison. As he afterwards was by Herod, for the sake of Herodias, because he reproved Herod for taking her to be his wife, when she was wife to his brother Philip; see Mat 14:3; and this circumstance shows…”

So John’s disciples came to him and said, “Look, Rabbi, the One who was with you beyond the Jordan, the One you testified about—He is baptizing, and everyone is going…

“And they came unto John,.... The Persic version reads, "he came unto John"; that disciple that had the controversy with the Jew about purifying, who not knowing well how to answer him, and which might be the case of more, applied to John: and said…”

The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom stands and listens for him, and is overjoyed to hear the bridegroom’s voice.

“He that hath the bride,.... By whom particular persons seem here to be meant, who were called, converted, and brought to Christ, and were made his disciples, and baptized, and so were openly espoused unto him; though sometimes it designs a particular church of Christ…”

The One who comes from above is above all. The one who is from the earth belongs to the earth and speaks as one from the earth.

“He that cometh from above,.... Meaning Christ; not that he brought his human nature with him from heaven, or that that is of a celestial nature; but he came from heaven in his divine person, not by change of place, he being God immense and…”

He testifies to what He has seen and heard, yet no one accepts His testimony.

“And what he hath seen and heard,.... Of the Father, of his mind and will, of his purposes and promises, of his love, grace, and mercy, in the council and covenant of peace, lying in his bosom, and being privy to all his secrets.”

He left Judea and returned to Galilee.

“He left Judaea,.... Where he had been for some time: at the feast of the passover he went up to Jerusalem, and after a short stay there, he came into the country part of Judea, where he tarried longer; and in both about the space…”

So He came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph.

“Then cometh he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar,.... Now called Neapolis (d); the same with "Sichem", or "Shechem", as appears from its situation, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph; see Gen 33:18; and is…”

(His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.)

“For his disciples were gone away,.... This is related, not so much to give a reason why Christ asked the woman for water, because his disciples were not present, to minister to him; but rather to show, that Christ took the opportunity, in their absence…”

Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again.

“Jesus answered and said unto her,.... In a mild and gentle manner, patiently bearing all her scoffs and flouts, and continuing to instruct and inform her, concerning this living water, showing the preferableness of it to all others: whosoever drinketh of this water; meaning in…”

The woman said to Him, “Sir, give me this water so that I will not get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.”

“The woman saith unto him, Sir,.... See Gill on Joh 4:11; give me this water, that I thirst not. The Syriac and Persic versions add, "again": neither come hither; the Ethiopic version adds here, "again"; to draw.”

In fact, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. You have spoken truthfully.”

“For thou hast had five husbands,.... Which she either had had lawfully, and had buried one after another; and which was no crime, and might be: the Sadducees propose a case to Christ, in which a woman is said to have had seven husbands successively…”

Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews say that the place where one must worship is in Jerusalem.”

“Our fathers worshipped in this mountain,.... Mount Gerizim, which was just by, and within sight; so that the woman could point to it; it was so near to Shechem, or Sychar, that Jotham's voice was heard from the top of it thither, Jdg 9:”

You worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews.

“Ye worship ye know not what,.... However, as to her question, he more directly replies by condemning the Samaritans, and their ignorance in worship, and by approving the Jews; and so manifestly gives the preference to the Jews, not only with respect to the place…”

Just then His disciples returned and were surprised that He was speaking with a woman. But no one asked Him, “What do You want from her?”

“And upon this came his disciples,.... Just as he was saying the above words, and making himself known in this full manner, his disciples, who had been into the city to buy food, came up to them: and marvelled that he talked with the woman…”

“Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?”

“Come, see a man,.... An uncommon, an extraordinary man, a prophet, and, who himself says, he is the Messiah, who is now at Jacob's well; come, go along with me, and see him and converse with him, and judge for yourselves, who, and what he…”

But He told them, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.”

“But he said unto them,.... That is, "Jesus", as the Persic, or the Lord Jesus, as the Ethiopic versions express it: I have meat to eat that ye know not of: meaning the conversion of the Samaritan woman, and of other Samaritans, who were flocking…”

Jesus explained, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to finish His work.

“Jesus saith unto them,.... His disciples: my meat is to do the will of him that sent me. The Ethiopic version reads, "of my Father that sent me", and who is undoubtedly intended.”

Do you not say, ‘There are still four months until the harvest’? I tell you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are ripe for harvest.

“Say not ye, there are yet four months,.... Our Lord had been in Jerusalem and Judea, about eight months from the last passover, and there remained four more to the next passover: and then cometh harvest? barley harvest, which began at that time.”

Already the reaper draws his wages and gathers a crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may rejoice together.

“And he that reapeth receiveth wages,.... Angels are sometimes called reapers, and so are ministers of the Gospel here.”

For in this case the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true.

“And herein is that saying true,.... This verifies that proverbial expression so much in use, and which may be applied to different persons and cases: one soweth, and another reapeth; the prophets sowed, and the apostles reaped.”

And many more believed because of His message.

“And many more believed,.... The Vulgate Latin, and all the Oriental versions add, "on him": when he was come into the city, and had preached to the inhabitants in general, a larger multitude than before believed in him as the Messiah, and professed him, and…”